What does חָטָא mean in the Bible?
חָטָא is the OT's primary word for sin as a moral and relational reality. The root image is missing — not hitting what you aimed at, not arriving where you were bound to go.
Hebrew · H2398
חָטָא
Properly, to miss ; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin ; by inference, to forfeit , lack , expiate , repent , (causatively) lead astray , condemn
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
חָטָא H2398
What does חָטָא mean in the Bible?
חָטָא is the OT's primary word for sin as a moral and relational reality. The root image is missing — not hitting what you aimed at, not arriving where you were bound to go.
Reader summary
Full entry for חָטָא (H2398) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2398?
The BSB source-word alignment has 238 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include to commit (19), We have sinned (18), sins (15), I have sinned (12), he has committed (11).
Where does חָטָא appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 20:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Leviticus (30), 1 Kings (23), 2 Kings (18), Numbers (18).
Are there verse guides for חָטָא?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
חָטָא is the OT's primary word for sin as a moral and relational reality. The root image is missing — not hitting what you aimed at, not arriving where you were bound to go. But this is not mere imprecision. In the OT, missing is ordinarily relational: it happens in relation to someone. Joseph says 'How could I sin against God?' (Gen 39:9). David says 'Against You, You only, have I sinned' (Ps 51:4).
Sin is not failure measured against an abstract standard; it is an offense committed against a Person. The word also spans remedy: the Piel stem means to decontaminate, to perform the priestly act that removes what the Qal named. The architecture is built into the root itself: the same word that names the wound also names the work of cleansing it.
How the Bible Uses It
חָטָא is currently indexed about 240 times in the local Hebrew index, with especially dense usage in the Pentateuch's legal and ritual sections (Leviticus, Numbers), the Deuteronomistic History's evaluation of kings and Israel's covenantal faithfulness, and the Psalms' language of personal confession. Key texts represent each dimension of its meaning.
- Gen.39.9
No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”
Joseph's refusal frames sin as an offense against God, not merely a social or moral transgression. 'Against God' is the defining orientation of חָטָא throughout the OT.
- Lev.4.3
If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.
The sin offering legislation (Lev 4-5) treats sin as culpability that generates ritual defilement requiring atonement. חָטָא here grounds the entire sacrificial system for sin.
- Ps.51.4
Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.
David's confession after Nathan's rebuke. The psalm does not deny the harm done to Bathsheba and Uriah — it asserts that all sin is, at its deepest, committed against God. This is the most theologically concentrated use of חָטָא in the Psalter.
- 1Kgs.14.16
So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
The Hiphil causative — leading others into sin — is the Deuteronomistic History's repeated verdict on the northern kings. National sin is real and has leaders.
- Isa.43.27
Your first father sinned, and your spokesmen rebelled against Me.
Isaiah situates חָטָא in the arc of Israel's history from the beginning. Sin is not incidental to the story; it is the thread that runs through it.
- Ezek.18.20
The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.
Ezekiel's individualized account of חָטָא: each person bears their own sin. This addresses the despairing proverb that children bear their parents' guilt. Personal accountability is rooted in the meaning of the word.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It to commit 19× 1 Kings 14:16, 1 Kings 15:26, 1 Kings 15:30, 1 Kings 15:34
We have sinned 18× Numbers 21:7, Deuteronomy 1:41, Judges 10:10, Judges 10:15
sins 15× Leviticus 4:3, Leviticus 4:22, Leviticus 4:27, Leviticus 5:1
I have sinned 12× Exodus 9:27, Exodus 10:16, Numbers 22:34, 1 Samuel 15:24
he has committed 11× Leviticus 4:3, Leviticus 4:23, Leviticus 4:28, Leviticus 4:35
sin 11× Numbers 32:23, 1 Samuel 14:34, 1 Samuel 19:4, 1 Kings 8:46
to sin 10× 1 Kings 16:2, 1 Kings 21:22, 1 Kings 22:52, 2 Kings 21:11
sinned 9× Numbers 14:40, Judges 11:27, 1 Samuel 19:4, 1 Samuel 24:11
have sinned 6× Joshua 7:20, 2 Samuel 19:20, 2 Samuel 24:17, 1 Kings 8:50
. . . 4× Leviticus 4:28, Numbers 15:28, Lamentations 1:8, Ezekiel 43:22
have I sinned 4× Genesis 20:9, 1 Kings 18:9, Psalms 51:4, Jeremiah 37:18
has sinned 3× Exodus 32:33, Joshua 7:11, 1 Chronicles 21:17
have committed 3× Exodus 32:30, Exodus 32:31, Nehemiah 1:6
they have sinned 3× 1 Kings 8:33, Jeremiah 50:7, Zephaniah 1:17
they sin 3× 1 Kings 8:46, 2 Chronicles 6:36, Hosea 13:2
who sins 3× Leviticus 4:2, Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20
[Your people] have sinned 2× 1 Kings 8:35, 2 Chronicles 6:26
And purify 2× Numbers 31:20, Ezekiel 45:18
had committed 2× 1 Kings 15:30, 1 Kings 16:13
he has sinned 2× Leviticus 6:4, Numbers 6:11
Purify 2× Exodus 29:36, Numbers 19:20
they have committed 2× Leviticus 4:14, Jeremiah 33:8
They sinned 2× Nehemiah 9:29, Ezekiel 37:23
to purify 2× Leviticus 14:49, Numbers 19:13
- 1× Leviticus 5:11
a sinner 1× Ecclesiastes 8:12
After he purifies 1× Numbers 19:19
amiss 1× Job 5:24
and caused them to commit 1× 2 Kings 17:21
and forfeiting 1× Habakkuk 2:10
And he shall cleanse 1× Leviticus 14:52
and he who fails 1× Isaiah 65:20
and offered it for sin 1× Leviticus 9:15
and sin 1× Genesis 39:9
and sinned 1× Jeremiah 44:23
and sins 1× Leviticus 5:15
and so cause you to sin 1× Deuteronomy 20:18
and the sinner 1× Proverbs 11:31
and you sinned 1× Ezekiel 28:16
are sinning 1× 1 Samuel 14:33
bear the guilt 1× Genesis 44:32
bear the guilt before you 1× Genesis 43:9
bore the loss myself 1× Genesis 31:39
bring sin 1× Deuteronomy 24:4
But he who fails to find me 1× Proverbs 8:36
but the fault 1× Exodus 5:16
but the sinner 1× Ecclesiastes 7:26
but the sinner’s 1× Proverbs 13:22
but to the sinner 1× Ecclesiastes 2:26
commit 1× Ezekiel 16:51
committed 1× Numbers 12:11
drew him into sin 1× Nehemiah 13:26
for a sin offering 1× 2 Chronicles 29:24
for his sin 1× Leviticus 5:7
for sin 1× Hosea 8:11
for sinning 1× Hosea 8:11
for we sinned 1× Isaiah 64:5
forfeits 1× Proverbs 20:2
from sinning 1× Genesis 20:6
had sinned 1× 2 Kings 17:7
has committed 1× 1 Kings 14:16
he committed 1× 2 Kings 21:17
he had committed 1× 1 Kings 16:19
he has harmed 1× Leviticus 5:16
he may have committed 1× Deuteronomy 19:15
he sinned 1× Exodus 9:34
he sins 1× Ezekiel 33:12
I have done wrong 1× 2 Kings 18:14
I sinned 1× Job 10:14
If I have sinned 1× Job 7:20
is to be cleansed 1× Ezekiel 43:22
it must still be purified 1× Numbers 31:23
misses the mark 1× Proverbs 19:2
missing 1× Judges 20:16
must purify himself 1× Numbers 19:12
O sinful 1× Isaiah 1:4
offended 1× Genesis 40:1
or if he commits any such sin 1× Leviticus 6:3
purified 1× Numbers 8:21
purify himself 1× Numbers 19:12
Purify me 1× Psalms 51:7
purifying 1× Leviticus 8:15
she has sinned 1× Jeremiah 50:14
should sin 1× 1 Samuel 12:23
sinner 1× Ecclesiastes 9:18
so it is for the sinner 1× Ecclesiastes 9:2
so that I will not sin 1× Psalms 39:1
so that I would sin 1× Nehemiah 6:13
steals those who have sinned 1× Job 24:19
the more they sinned 1× Hosea 4:7
the purification 1× Ezekiel 43:23
the sin he has committed 1× Leviticus 5:5
their sins 1× Jeremiah 33:8
they cause you to sin 1× Exodus 23:33
they committed 1× 1 Kings 14:22
they have sinned against You 1× 2 Chronicles 6:24
they kept on sinning 1× Psalms 78:32
they withdraw 1× Job 41:25
those who indict 1× Isaiah 29:21
thus you will cleanse 1× Ezekiel 43:20
to sin against 1× Genesis 42:22
we have committed 1× Jeremiah 16:10
we have sinned against You 1× Jeremiah 14:7
who offers 1× Leviticus 6:26
would you sin 1× 1 Samuel 19:5
you [people] have sinned 1× Jeremiah 40:3
you are to purify 1× Numbers 31:19
you from sinning 1× Exodus 20:20
you had committed 1× Deuteronomy 9:18
you had sinned 1× Deuteronomy 9:16
you have sinned 1× Hosea 10:9
you sin 1× Job 35:6
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 20:6 מֵחֲטוֹ־ to from sinning Preposition-m | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Genesis 20:9 חָטָ֣אתִי to have I sinned Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular Genesis 31:39 אֲחַטֶּ֔נָּה to bore the loss myself Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular | third person feminine singular Genesis 39:9 וְחָטָ֖אתִי to and sin Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular Genesis 40:1 חָֽטְא֛וּ to offended Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural Genesis 42:22 תֶּחֶטְא֥וּ to to sin against Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural Genesis 43:9 וְחָטָ֥אתִֽי to bear the guilt before you Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular Genesis 44:32 וְחָטָ֥אתִי to bear the guilt Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular Exodus 5:16 וְחָטָ֥את to but the fault Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular Exodus 9:27 חָטָ֣אתִי to I have sinned Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 20:6
Aligned rows 238
Books represented 27
Genesis 8 Exodus 10 Leviticus 30 Numbers 18 Deuteronomy 6 Joshua 2 Judges 4 1 Samuel 14 2 Samuel 4 1 Kings 23 2 Kings 18 1 Chronicles 2 2 Chronicles 8 Nehemiah 6 Job 12 Psalms 9 Proverbs 6 Ecclesiastes 7 Isaiah 6 Jeremiah 14 Lamentations 3 Ezekiel 16 Daniel 4 Hosea 5 Micah 1 Habakkuk 1 Zephaniah 1
Source forms
הֶחֱטִ֖יא 11x he·ḥĕ·ṭî 1 Kings 14:16, 1 Kings 15:26, 1 Kings 15:30, 1 Kings 15:34
חָֽטְאוּ־ 8x ḥā·ṭə·’ū- 1 Kings 8:50, 2 Chronicles 6:39, Nehemiah 9:29, Job 8:4
חָטָ֖אנוּ 7x ḥā·ṭā·nū 1 Samuel 7:6, Jeremiah 8:14, Jeremiah 14:20, Jeremiah 16:10
חָטָ֖א 6x ḥā·ṭā Leviticus 4:23, Leviticus 4:35, Leviticus 5:5, Leviticus 5:10
חָטָ֑א 5x ḥā·ṭā Leviticus 4:28, Leviticus 19:22, 2 Kings 21:17, Isaiah 43:27
חָטָֽאנוּ׃ 5x ḥā·ṭā·nū Numbers 12:11, Numbers 14:40, Nehemiah 1:6, Jeremiah 14:7
הֶחֱטִ֥יא 4x he·ḥĕ·ṭî 2 Kings 3:3, 2 Kings 13:2, 2 Kings 13:11, 2 Kings 15:18
חָטָ֔א 4x ḥā·ṭā 1 Kings 14:16, 1 Kings 15:30, 1 Kings 16:19, Ezekiel 33:16
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular 30x Exodus 32:31, Exodus 32:33, Leviticus 4:3, Leviticus 4:23
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular 26x Genesis 20:9, Exodus 9:27, Exodus 10:16, Numbers 22:34
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common plural 24x Numbers 12:11, Numbers 14:40, Numbers 21:7, Deuteronomy 1:41
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular 19x 1 Kings 14:16, 1 Kings 15:26, 1 Kings 15:30, 1 Kings 15:34
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural 19x Genesis 40:1, Leviticus 4:14, 1 Kings 8:50, 1 Kings 14:22
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 13x Leviticus 4:3, Leviticus 4:22, Leviticus 6:4, Numbers 16:22
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct 7x Exodus 9:34, Leviticus 6:3, Job 31:30, Psalms 78:17
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular 7x Leviticus 4:2, Leviticus 4:27, Leviticus 5:1, Leviticus 5:17
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- The fact that chata covers both intentional and inadvertent failing should shape your self-awareness — sin in the Bible includes not only willful rebellion but also the subtle ways you miss the mark without realizing it.
- Biblical sin (chata) is primarily relational offense before it is legal violation — authentic repentance addresses the broken relationship, not merely corrects a behavior.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that the 'missing the mark' etymology makes sin sound mild — the full Old Testament picture shows that even inadvertent sin was serious enough to require atonement.
- Do not use Psalm 51:4 ('against you only have I sinned') to argue that sin has no horizontal (person-to-person) dimension — Psalm 51 arises from David's sins against Bathsheba and Uriah; the vertical emphasis is about ultimate accountability, not denial of the human harm.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. properly, to miss ; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin ; by inference, to forfeit , lack , expiate , repent , (causatively) lead astray , condemn
Source Gloss
properly, to miss ; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin ; by inference, to forfeit , lack , expiate , repent , (causatively) lead astray , condemn
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 4 Aligned forms 188
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 151×
Perfect 1Kgs 14:16 · 1Kgs 15:30 · 1Kgs 16:19 · 1Sam 19:4 · 2Kgs 21:17 · Exod 32:31 · Exod 32:33 · Ezek 3:21 · Ezek 18:24 · Ezek 33:16 · Isa 43:27 · Job 1:22 · Job 2:10 · Josh 7:11 · Lev 4:3 · Lev 4:23 110×
Imperfect 1Kgs 8:31 · 1Kgs 8:46 · 1Sam 2:25 · 2Chr 6:22 · 2Chr 6:36 · Deut 19:15 · Eccl 7:20 · Lev 4:3 · Lev 4:22 · Lev 5:23 · Num 16:22 · Ezek 14:13 · Lev 4:2 · Lev 4:27 · Lev 5:1 · Lev 5:17 30×
Participle active 1Sam 14:33 · Eccl 8:12 · Isa 1:4 · Prov 13:22 · Prov 14:21 · Prov 19:2 · Prov 20:2 7×
Jussive Gen 42:22 · Ps 4:5 · 1Sam 19:4 3×
Infinitive construct Ezek 3:21 1×
Hiphil causative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action 28×
Perfect 1Kgs 14:16 · 1Kgs 15:26 · 1Kgs 15:30 · 1Kgs 15:34 · 1Kgs 16:26 · 1Kgs 22:53 · 2Kgs 3:3 · 2Kgs 10:29 · 2Kgs 10:31 · 2Kgs 13:2 · 2Kgs 13:6 · 2Kgs 13:11 · 2Kgs 14:24 · 2Kgs 15:9 · 2Kgs 15:18 · 2Kgs 15:24 22×
Imperfect Deut 24:4 · Exod 23:33 · Judg 20:16 3×
Infinitive construct Jer 32:35 2×
Participle active Isa 29:21 1×
Hithpael reflexive or reciprocal — the subject acts on itself or mutually with others 8×
Imperfect Num 19:12 · Num 19:13 · Num 19:20 · Num 31:23 · Num 31:19 · Num 31:20 · Job 41:17 8×
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 1×
Perfect Ezek 43:22 1×
Word Origins
חָטָא is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The Hebrew root image — missing — is not a softening of sin but an intensification of it. Missing is not an accident; it is the failure of the whole person to hit the mark they were made for, which is God Himself. The breadth of stems is pastorally important: the Piel of the same root that names sin also performs the priestly decontamination. The language of the problem and the language of the solution share a root, which foreshadows what atonement means.
The grammar of sin and the grammar of cleansing share a root in Hebrew, and the preacher should name that.
Anchor passage
Gen.39.9
Doctrinal connections
- H3722 כָּפַר (atone/cover) — the Piel of H2398 and the concept of כָּפַר together form the OT's problem-and-remedy architecture
- G266 ἁμαρτία — the LXX rendering; the NT inherits this vocabulary directly
- G629 ἀπολύτρωσις — the NT's answer to what חָטָא accumulates across the OT
- Ps 51 — the concentrated confessional theology of חָטָא
The Piel stem is pastorally counterintuitive: the same verb that means 'to sin' in Qal means 'to decontaminate, to purify' in Piel. This is not coincidence or ambiguity. The Piel handles something defiled by sin by using the sin vocabulary itself — the priest performs a ḥāṭāʾ on what was made ḥāṭāʾ. The ritual language is built into the word's own morphology.
From Old to New Testament
G266 ἁμαρτία is the LXX and NT heir of חָטָא. Rom 3:23 ('all have sinned,' ἥμαρτον) and Rom 6:23 ('the wages of sin is death') are the NT's answer to Ezek 18:20. G629 ἀπολύτρωσις names the NT redemption that addresses the accumulated חָטָא of the covenant people.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain