2635. chasaph

Lexical Summary

chasaph: To strip, peel, make bare

Original Word: חֲסַף
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: chacaph
Pronunciation: khaw-saf'
Phonetic Spelling: (khas-af')
KJV: clay
NASB: clay, pottery
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) from a root corresponding to that of H2636 (חַספַּס - flake-like thing)]

1. a clod

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

clay

(Aramaic) from a root corresponding to that of chacpac; a clod -- clay.

see HEBREW chacpac

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
(Aramaic) from a root corresponding to that of chaspas
Definition
clay, potsherd
NASB Translation
clay (7), pottery (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

חֲסַף noun [masculine] clay, potsherd (ᵑ7 id.; Christian-Palestinian Aramaic clay vessel, plural potsherds Schulth⁶⁸, Syriac potsherd; ᵑ7 חצְבָא, Late Hebrew חָצָב clay vessel; Assyrian —aƒbu, id., jar (PS¹²³⁸), whence Arabic pottery Frä¹⁶⁹, but Sabean חסף jar, acc to Hom^ZMG Hom^{xivi (1892), 532}; compare Ethiopic jar (transposed; Di¹²⁶⁵); see Biblical Hebrew [חַסְמַּם]); — ׳ח absolute Daniel 2:41 (יְ מֶּחָר ׳ח), חֲסַ֑ף Daniel 2:33. Daniel 2:42; construct טִינָא ׳ח Daniel 2:41. Daniel 2:43; emphatic חַסְמָּא Daniel 2:34. Daniel 2:35. Daniel 2:43.v: 45.

Topical Lexicon

Physical and Cultural Background

In the ancient Near East, common clay from riverbeds and arid alluvium was an indispensable raw material. Shaped into tablets, bricks, and household vessels, it symbolized both utility and fragility. In Babylon, where Daniel ministered, artists often sheathed monumental statues with precious metals but relied on unfired or poorly fired clay for interior supports—economical yet brittle. The mixed-material colossi that dotted palace courtyards supplied the imagery God used in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Occurrences in Daniel 2

חֲסַף occurs nine times, all within Daniel 2:33-45, describing the “clay” of the statue’s feet and toes. Representative verses from the Berean Standard Bible highlight the theme:
• Daniel 2:33 “its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.”
• Daniel 2:41 “Just as you saw the feet and toes, which were partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet some of the strength of the iron will be in it—just as you saw the iron mixed with clay.”
• Daniel 2:42 “The toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.”

Symbolic Meaning in the Vision

1. Fragility versus might. Iron represents military strength; clay represents inherent weakness. The mixture foretells a realm that outwardly inherits Roman robustness yet inwardly lacks cohesion.
2. Division. Ten toes of mingled substances prefigure a confederation of successor states rather than a single monolith.
3. Human inability. Clay-iron alloy refuses to bond, portraying the futility of political alliances forged apart from divine purpose (Daniel 2:43).
4. Ultimate overthrow. The “stone… cut out, but not by human hands” destroys both iron and clay (Daniel 2:34-35, 45), assuring that Messiah’s kingdom supersedes every human empire.

Historical Fulfilment and Prophetic Horizon

Traditional interpretation identifies the four metals as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The feet of iron mixed with clay depict the later, divided phase of the Roman sphere—manifest in shifting European coalitions and still awaiting its final configuration when Christ returns. The brittleness of חֲסַף therefore continues to bear witness to God’s sovereignty over geopolitical structures that appear formidable yet prove unstable in His timing.

Theological Threads

• Human frailty. Scripture frequently pairs clay with creaturely weakness (Job 10:9; Isaiah 64:8), and Daniel 2 extends the motif to nations.
• Potter’s rights. By naming the substance “potter’s clay” (Daniel 2:41) the text recalls the Maker’s absolute authority (Romans 9:21).
• The Stone. The clay’s shattering under the Stone underscores the finality of Christ’s dominion (Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42).

Ministry Implications

1. Discernment. Believers evaluating world events should remember that superpowers rest on feet of clay; lasting confidence belongs to the everlasting kingdom.
2. Humility. Personal ambitions built on human durability mirror the statue’s doomed footing; disciples are called to build on the Rock (Matthew 7:24-27).
3. Hope. The predicted collision of Stone and clay guarantees the triumph of righteousness. Mission and worship thrive on that certainty.

Related Biblical Imagery

• Genesis 2:7—humanity formed from dust, reinforcing the clay-man parallel.
• Jeremiah 18:1-6—the potter’s wheel, divine reshaping of nations.
• 2 Corinthians 4:7—“treasure in jars of clay,” power emanating from God, not vessels.

Summary

חֲסַף in Daniel 2 accents the brittleness of human enterprise and the inevitability of Christ’s unshakeable reign. Whether in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace or today’s corridors of power, clay remains clay, destined to crumble before the Stone that becomes “a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35).

Forms and Transliterations

בַּחֲסַ֣ף בַּחֲסַ֥ף בחסף וְחַסְפָּ֑א וחספא חֲסַ֑ף חֲסַ֤ף חֲסַֽף׃ חַסְפָּ֨א חַסְפָּֽא׃ חַסְפָּא֙ חסף חסף׃ חספא חספא׃ ba·ḥă·sap̄ bachaSaf baḥăsap̄ chaSaf chasPa ḥă·sap̄ ḥas·pā ḥăsap̄ ḥaspā vechasPa wə·ḥas·pā wəḥaspā

Englishman's Concordance

Daniel 2:33
HEB: ק) דִּ֥י חֲסַֽף׃
NAS: of iron and partly of clay.
KJV: of iron and part of clay.
INT: at forasmuch of clay

Daniel 2:34
HEB: דִּ֥י פַרְזְלָ֖א וְחַסְפָּ֑א וְהַדֵּ֖קֶת הִמּֽוֹן׃
NAS: of iron and clay and crushed
KJV: [that were] of iron and clay, and brake
INT: forasmuch of iron and clay and crushed them

Daniel 2:35
HEB: כַחֲדָ֡ה פַּרְזְלָא֩ חַסְפָּ֨א נְחָשָׁ֜א כַּסְפָּ֣א
NAS: the iron, the clay, the bronze,
KJV: was the iron, the clay, the brass,
INT: the same the iron the clay the bronze the silver

Daniel 2:41
HEB: (מִנְּהֵ֞ן ק) חֲסַ֤ף דִּֽי־ פֶחָר֙
NAS: of potter's clay and partly
KJV: of potters' clay, and part
INT: and toes partly clay forasmuch of potter's

Daniel 2:41
HEB: פַּ֨רְזְלָ֔א מְעָרַ֖ב בַּחֲסַ֥ף טִינָֽא׃
NAS: mixed with common clay.
KJV: mixed with miry clay.
INT: the iron mixed clay common

Daniel 2:42
HEB: (וּמִנְּהֵ֣ין ק) חֲסַ֑ף מִן־ קְצָ֤ת
NAS: and partly of pottery, [so] some
KJV: and part of clay, [so] the kingdom
INT: of iron at of pottery partly end

Daniel 2:43
HEB: פַּרְזְלָא֙ מְעָרַב֙ בַּחֲסַ֣ף טִינָ֔א מִתְעָרְבִ֤ין
NAS: with common clay, they will combine
KJV: with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves
INT: the iron mixed clay common will combine

Daniel 2:43
HEB: מִתְעָרַ֖ב עִם־ חַסְפָּֽא׃
NAS: as iron does not combine with pottery.
KJV: is not mixed with clay.
INT: combine with pottery

Daniel 2:45
HEB: פַּרְזְלָ֨א נְחָשָׁ֤א חַסְפָּא֙ כַּסְפָּ֣א וְדַהֲבָ֔א
NAS: the bronze, the clay, the silver
KJV: the brass, the clay, the silver,
INT: the iron the bronze the clay the silver and the gold

9 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2635
9 Occurrences

ba·ḥă·sap̄ — 2 Occ.
ḥă·sap̄ — 3 Occ.
ḥas·pā — 3 Occ.
wə·ḥas·pā — 1 Occ.