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Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary: The Old Testament Hebrew word: חזה

Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/Dictionary/ht/ht-z-he.html

חזה

Abarim Publications' online Biblical Hebrew Dictionary

חזה

Scholars identify two separate roots of the form חזה (hzh), but a poetic eye will notice that both roots prominently reflect visibility:


חזה I

The verb חזה (haza I) is a poetic verb meaning to look, see or behold (Song of Solomon 7:1, Isaiah 33:20), to experience a prophetic vision (Numbers 24:4, Ezekiel 12:27), or to understand/perceive (Job 34:32, Psalm 63:2). The more regular verb meaning to see is ראה (ra'a), but its usages seem parallel. Perhaps the verb חזה (haza I) is slightly loftier than ראה (ra'a).

This verb's derivatives are:

  • The masculine noun חזה (hozeh), meaning seer (2 Kings 17:13, 2 Samuel 24:11).
  • The masculine noun חזון (hazon), meaning vision (Micah 3:6, Isaiah 29:7, Jeremiah 23:16). This noun occurs in the titles (the first few words) of the books of Isaiah, Nahum and Obadiah.
  • The feminine noun חזות (hazot), meaning visions. This word only occurs in 2 Chronicles 9:29, in the title of a collection of visions of Iddo the seer.
  • The similar feminine noun חזות (hazut), meaning vision (Isaiah 21:2), or conspicuous (Daniel 8:5).
  • The masculine noun חזיון (hizzayon), meaning vision (Isaiah 22:1, Job 4:13).
  • The masculine noun מחזה (mahazeh), meaning vision (Genesis 15:1, Ezekiel 13:7).
  • The similar feminine noun מחזה (meheza), literally meaning place of vision. It's used only 1 Kings 7:4, where it appears to denote a window.
חזה II

The root חזה (hzh II) is not used as a verb in the Bible, but in cognate languages it may mean to be opposite or in front. In the Bible this root shows up only in the masculine noun חזה (hazeh), denoting the breast of an animal. This word occurs only in wave-offering scenes, where it denotes the breast-piece of sacrificial animals (Exodus 29:26, Leviticus 7:30, Numbers 6:20).


Associated Biblical names