2247. chabah

Lexical Summary

chabah: To hide, to conceal

Original Word: חָבָה
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: chabah
Pronunciation: khaw-BAH
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-bah')
KJV: hide (self)
NASB: hide, conceal
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to secrete

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

hide self

A primitive root (compare chabab); to secrete -- hide (self).

see HEBREW chabab

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to withdraw, hide
NASB Translation
conceal (1), hide (4).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[חָבָה] verb withdraw, hide, compare חבא; —

Qal Imperative masculine singular חֲבִי Isaiah 26:20 (Aramaic form, Ol^{§ 235, 3} Ew^{§ 224.c} Du; Di reads חֲבֵּי = חֲבֵה), withdraw into privacy ("" בּאֹ בַחֲדָרֶיךָ).

Niph`al Perfect וְנֶחְבָּה consecutive Jeremiah 49:10; לְנַחְבֵּתֶם consecutive Joshua 2:16 (JE); Infinitive לְהֵחָבֵה (as א׳׳ל) 1 Kings 22:25; 2 Kings 7:12; withdraw, hide oneself, literal Josh 216 (JE), followed by שָׁמָּה; 2 Kings 7:12 with בְּ local; 1 Kings 22:25; of Esau = Edom, hiding from judgment of ׳י, וְנֶחְבָּה לֹא יוּכָּ֑ל Jeremiah 49:10, as pointed, meant no doubt as perfect, but construction then hard; read rather infinitive absolute נַחְבֹּה; so Gf Gie and others (see Kö^{i. 624}).

Topical Lexicon

Overview

חָבָה (Strong’s 2247) appears five times in the Old Testament, each occurrence describing a deliberate act of withdrawing from sight. The verb always points to purposeful concealment—either for self-preservation or as a futile attempt to escape inevitable judgment. Together the texts trace a consistent biblical pattern: hiding can be a wise act of faith under God’s direction, yet it is powerless when God Himself exposes what is hidden.

Occurrences in Scripture

• Joshua 2:16 – Rahab instructs the spies, “Hide yourselves there three days until the pursuers have returned.” Their concealment preserves the messianic line that will come through Rahab (Matthew 1:5).
• 1 Kings 22:25 – Zedekiah is told, “You will soon see, on that day when you hide in an inner room,” highlighting the prophet Micaiah’s certainty of fulfilled judgment.
• 2 Kings 7:12 – The starving king suspects an Aramean ambush: “They have left the camp to hide in the field,” illustrating military stratagem and fearful unbelief in the face of God’s promised deliverance.
• Isaiah 26:20 – “Go, my people, enter your rooms… Hide yourselves a little while until the fury has passed.” Here hiding is divinely commanded shelter during eschatological wrath, echoing the Passover refuge (Exodus 12:22-23).
• Jeremiah 49:10 – “I will uncover his hiding places, and he will not be able to conceal himself,” declaring Edom’s total exposure under divine judgment.

Themes of Protective Concealment

1. Faith-Directed Refuge – In Joshua 2:16 and Isaiah 26:20 the concealed place is ordained by the Lord. To hide in obedience is to trust His means of salvation, prefiguring the believer’s spiritual refuge “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).
2. Divine Timing – Both passages emphasize temporary concealment (“three days,” “a little while”), underscoring that hiding is never permanent but calibrated to God’s timetable of deliverance.

Judgment and Futile Evasion

1 Kings 22:25 and Jeremiah 49:10 portray hiding as a last resort of the guilty. Human ingenuity cannot shield from divine omniscience; “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight” (Hebrews 4:13). Edom’s downfall stands as a warning that unrepentant hearts will ultimately be laid bare.

Prophetic and Eschatological Resonance

Isaiah 26:20 looks beyond the historical siege of Judah to the ultimate day of the Lord. The safe chamber evokes the ark, the Passover houses, and the upper room—types of Christ, the final sanctuary from wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10). The passage assures the faithful remnant that God Himself provides secure hiding until judgment is accomplished.

Ministry Application

• Discern the difference between fear-driven retreat and faith-driven refuge. The former distrusts God; the latter waits on Him (Psalm 27:14).
• Encourage believers to seek spiritual “rooms” of prayer and communion, especially during seasons of cultural upheaval, confident that “He will conceal me in His shelter” (Psalm 27:5).
• Proclaim that secret sin cannot remain hidden. Call for transparent repentance before God exposes what is concealed (Luke 12:2-3).

Related Biblical Imagery

Psalm 91:1 pictures the one “who dwells in the shelter of the Most High”; Proverbs 28:13 warns that “whoever conceals his sins does not prosper.” These texts, alongside the five חָבָה references, form a theology of hiding that alternates between sanctuary and exposure, always under God’s sovereign eye.

Summary

חָבָה encapsulates a two-edged reality: God appoints hiding places to shield His people, yet He strips away every refuge of the unrepentant. In Christ the ultimate paradox resolves—our lives are hidden in Him even as His light lays bare all darkness, bringing both safety and sanctity to those who trust Him.

Forms and Transliterations

וְנֶחְבָּ֖ה וְנַחְבֵּתֶ֨ם ונחבה ונחבתם חֲבִ֥י חבי לְהֵחָבֵ֤ה לְהֵחָבֵֽה׃ להחבה להחבה׃ chaVi ḥă·ḇî ḥăḇî lə·hê·ḥā·ḇêh lehechaVeh ləhêḥāḇêh venachbeTem venechBah wə·naḥ·bê·ṯem wə·neḥ·bāh wənaḥbêṯem wəneḥbāh

Englishman's Concordance

Joshua 2:16
HEB: בָכֶ֖ם הָרֹדְפִ֑ים וְנַחְבֵּתֶ֨ם שָׁ֜מָּה שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת
NAS: will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there
KJV: meet you; and hide yourselves there three
INT: happen the pursuers and hide there three

1 Kings 22:25
HEB: חֶ֥דֶר בְּחֶ֖דֶר לְהֵחָבֵֽה׃
NAS: an inner room to hide yourself.
KJV: into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
INT: an inner room to hide

2 Kings 7:12
HEB: מִן־ הַֽמַּחֲנֶה֙ לְהֵחָבֵ֤ה [בְהַשָּׂדֶה כ]
NAS: from the camp to hide themselves in the field,
KJV: of the camp to hide themselves in the field,
INT: from the camp to hide country saying

Isaiah 26:20
HEB: ק) בַּעֲדֶ֑ךָ חֲבִ֥י כִמְעַט־ רֶ֖גַע
NAS: behind you; Hide for a little
KJV: thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little
INT: door behind Hide A little while

Jeremiah 49:10
HEB: אֶת־ מִסְתָּרָ֔יו וְנֶחְבָּ֖ה לֹ֣א יוּכָ֑ל
NAS: So that he will not be able to conceal himself; His offspring
KJV: and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed
INT: have uncovered his hiding to conceal not will not be able

5 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2247
5 Occurrences

ḥă·ḇî — 1 Occ.
lə·hê·ḥā·ḇêh — 2 Occ.
wə·naḥ·bê·ṯem — 1 Occ.
wə·neḥ·bāh — 1 Occ.