Lexical Summary chasaph: To strip, make bare, uncover Original Word: חָשַׂף Strong's Exhaustive Concordance make bare, clean, discover, draw out, take, uncover A primitive root; to strip off, i.e. Generally to make naked (for exertion or in disgrace), to drain away or bail up (a liquid) -- make bare, clean, discover, draw out, take, uncover. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to strip off, strip, make bare NASB Translation bared (2), draw (1), scoop (1), strip off (1), stripped them bare (1), stripped your off (1), stripped...bare (1), strips the bare (1), uncovered (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs חָשַׂף verb strip off, strip, make bare — Qal Perfect חָשַׂף Isaiah 52:10, חֲשָׂפָהּ Joel 1:7, חָשַׂפְתִּי Jeremiah 13:26; Jeremiah 49:10; Imperfect וַיֶּחֱשׂף Psalm 29:9; Imperative feminine singular חֶשְׂמִּיֿ Isaiah 47:2; Infinitive absolute חָשׂף Joel 1:7; construct לַחְשׂף Isaiah 30:14; Haggai 2:16; Passive participle חֲשׂוּפָה Ezekiel 4:7, חֲשׂוּפַי Isaiah 20:4 (plural construct ? compare below). — 1 strip off, expose oneself by removing (object שֹׁבֶל, flowing skirt, train) Isaiah 47:2 of Babylon, personified as queen ("" גַּלִּי שׁוֺק), שׁוּלַיִךְ עַלמָּֿנַיִךְ ׳ח Jeremiah 13:26. 2 strip, lay bare, figurative of ׳י Isaiah 52:10 object זְרוֺעַ קדשׁו; of prophet, Ezekiel 4:7 (but Co strike out see as interpolation); object person Jeremiah 49:10 ("" גִּלֵּיתִי); חָשׂף חשׂפהּ Joel 1:7 of locusts stripping fig-tree; חֲשׂוּפַי שֵׁת Isaiah 20:4 (participle either singular collective, with formative ending יַ֯, De LagSe i. 19 (compare 69), BN 192; or plural construct, see Ges§ 87, 1 c.); יְעָרוֺת ׳ח Psalm 29:9 of voice of ׳י (i.e. a storm) stripping forests. 3 draw (water) Isaiah 30:14; (wine) Haggai 2:16; properly take from the surface, skim. חֲשׂוּפַי Isaiah 20:4 see חשׂף. above Topical Lexicon Root Imagery and Range of Meaning The verb conveys the idea of stripping, laying bare, or uncovering so that what was hidden stands exposed. Whether applied to forests, human limbs, clay vessels, or entire nations, the action is decisive, visible, and irreversible. In Creation and Nature (Psalm 29:9; Joel 1:7) • Psalm 29:9: “The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare, and in His temple all cry, ‘Glory!’” The term paints a picture of God’s thunderous voice peeling foliage from the trees, declaring His unrivaled sovereignty over the natural order. National Shame and Divine Judgment (Isaiah 20:4; Isaiah 47:2-3; Jeremiah 13:26; Jeremiah 49:10) In each passage God promises to “bare” a people’s nakedness, exposing sin and helplessness: The verb thus serves as courtroom language: God strips away pretensions, revealing guilt. Prophetic Sign-Acts (Isaiah 20:2-4; Ezekiel 4:7) Both Isaiah and Ezekiel embody the word by literally uncovering parts of their bodies. Isaiah’s three-year walk “naked and barefoot” previewed Egypt’s future shame, while Ezekiel, with “arm bared,” faced the model of besieged Jerusalem. These living sermons dramatize that the prophetic word is not mere speech but enacted reality. Salvation Displayed (Isaiah 52:10) “The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” Here the same verb reverses the connotation: exposure is not shame but triumph. The uncovered arm signifies power put on public display, anticipating the ultimate revelation of salvation through the Servant of the LORD. Brokenness and Economic Loss (Isaiah 30:14; Haggai 2:16) Isaiah 30:14 speaks of pottery shattered so completely that no shard remains “to scoop coals from a hearth or skim water from a cistern.” Haggai 2:16 recalls days when a farmer came “to draw out fifty measures” of wine but found only twenty. The verb’s use for “scooping/drawing out” underscores barrenness—there is nothing left to ladle. Divine withholding exposes the emptiness of self-reliance. Ministry and Pastoral Implications 1. Preaching must uncover sin before it can announce grace. The verb’s frequent pairing with judgment reminds the church never to soften God’s diagnosis. Historical and Cultural Insights Ancient warfare often paraded captives partially unclothed to shame them; prophetic utilization of this image (Isaiah 20; Jeremiah 13) would have been immediately recognizable. Likewise, farmers in Judah used broken pottery shards (ostraca) as everyday tools; Isaiah’s metaphor of an unusable shard struck at daily routines, not abstract concepts. Theological Reflection From Eden onward humanity has attempted to cover guilt with fig leaves, yet God alone can adequately clothe (Genesis 3:21). The recurring uncovering in these texts foreshadows the cross, where Jesus Christ was publicly exposed (Hebrews 13:12) so that believers might be clothed with His righteousness (Revelation 7:14). The pattern is consistent: exposure of sin, provision of salvation, call to holiness. Summary חָשַׂף describes the decisive act of laying bare—whether forests, forearms, or entire nations. In judgment it humiliates; in redemption it glorifies. Its eleven occurrences trace a theological arc: the God who strips away every false covering is the same God who rolls up His sleeve to redeem. Forms and Transliterations וְלַחְשֹׂ֥ף וַֽיֶּחֱשֹׂ֪ף וַחֲשׂוּפַ֥י וחשופי ויחשף ולחשף חֲשָׂפָהּ֙ חֲשׂוּפָ֑ה חֶשְׂפִּי־ חָשַׂ֣פְתִּי חָשַׂ֤ף חָשַׂ֥פְתִּי חָשֹׂ֤ף חשופה חשף חשפה חשפי־ חשפתי לַחְשֹׂף֙ לחשף chaSaf chasaFah chaSafti chaSof chasuFah chespi ḥă·śā·p̄āh ḥā·śap̄ ḥā·śap̄·tî ḥā·śōp̄ ḥă·śū·p̄āh ḥāśap̄ ḥăśāp̄āh ḥāśap̄tî ḥāśōp̄ ḥăśūp̄āh ḥeś·pî- ḥeśpî- lachSof laḥ·śōp̄ laḥśōp̄ vachasuFai vaiyecheSof velachSof wa·ḥă·śū·p̄ay waḥăśūp̄ay way·ye·ḥĕ·śōp̄ wayyeḥĕśōp̄ wə·laḥ·śōp̄ wəlaḥśōp̄Links Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Psalm 29:9 HEB: יְחוֹלֵ֣ל אַיָּלוֹת֮ וַֽיֶּחֱשֹׂ֪ף יְעָ֫ר֥וֹת וּבְהֵיכָל֑וֹ NAS: to calve And strips the forests KJV: to calve, and discovereth the forests: INT: to calve the deer and strips the forests his temple Isaiah 20:4 Isaiah 30:14 Isaiah 47:2 Isaiah 52:10 Jeremiah 13:26 Jeremiah 49:10 Ezekiel 4:7 Joel 1:7 Joel 1:7 Haggai 2:16 11 Occurrences |
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