Hebrew Explorer logo
Hebrew Explorer
The tool for deep Hebrew research into the biblical Scriptures

חָבָא châbâʼ — to secrete

pronounced khaw-baw' · Strong's H2244 · 33 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible · 5 stems: Niph'al, Hitpa'el, Hiph'il, Pu'al, Hoph'al

Translated in the KJV as × held, hide, do secretly.

a primitive root (compare H2245); to secrete.

châbâʼ in each stem

Niph'al 15×

Simple · passive — the plain action; the subject has it done to them

Perfect (qatal) 5Wayyiqtol 2Participle (passive) 2Infinitive construct 2Imperfect (yiqtol) 2Participle (active) 1Sequential perfect (weqatal) 1

וָאֵחָבֵֽא Gen 3:10 Wayyiqtol, 1st person common singular

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. (KJV)

נַחְבֵּ֨אתָ֙ Gen 31:27 Perfect (qatal), 2nd person masculine singular

Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? (KJV)

וַיֵּחָבְא֥וּ Josh 10:16 Wayyiqtol, 3rd person masculine plural

But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. (KJV)

Hitpa'el 10×

Intensive · reflexive — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject does it to or for themselves

Participle (active) 5Wayyiqtol 2Imperfect (yiqtol) 2Perfect (qatal) 1

וַיִּתְחַבֵּ֨א Gen 3:8 Wayyiqtol, 3rd person masculine singular

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. (KJV)

וַיִּֽתְחַבְּא֣וּ 1Sam 13:6 Wayyiqtol, 3rd person masculine plural

When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. (KJV)

הִתְחַבְּאוּ 1Sam 14:11 Perfect (qatal), 3rd person common plural

And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. (KJV)

Hiph'il

Causative · active — causing someone or something to do the action; the subject does it

Perfect (qatal) 3Wayyiqtol 3

הֶחְבְּאַ֔תָה Josh 6:17 Perfect (qatal), 3rd person feminine singular

And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. (KJV)

הֶחְבִּ֨יאָה֙ Josh 6:25 Perfect (qatal), 3rd person feminine singular

And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. (KJV)

וַֽיַּחְבִּיאֵ֞ם 1Kgs 18:4 Wayyiqtol, 3rd person masculine singular

For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) (KJV)

Pu'al

Intensive · passive — the action intensified, repeated or brought about; the subject has it done to them

Perfect (qatal) 1

חֻ֝בְּא֗וּ Job 24:4 Perfect (qatal), 3rd person common plural

They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together. (KJV)

Hoph'al

Causative · passive — causing someone or something to do the action; the subject has it done to them

Perfect (qatal) 1

הָחְבָּ֑אוּ Isa 42:22 Perfect (qatal), 3rd person common plural

But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. (KJV)

What the stems mean

A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›

Open in Hebrew Explorer with Verb Anatomy on →

In the app, tap any Hebrew verb while reading: its root, stem and form are named, the letters of the word itself are coloured to show which is which, and the stem's meaning is put in plain English. châbâʼ in the lexicon ›

Morphology from OpenScriptures MorphHB (CC BY 4.0); definitions from Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (public domain); text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex.

Open Hebrew Explorer — 30+ free study tools →