What does חֶמְדָּה (ḥemĕdāh) mean in the Bible?
Ḥemdâ describes desirability or a valued thing in selected clothing, treasure and land passages. Genesis 27:15 identifies Esau's finest clothes, which Rebekah places on Jacob.
Hebrew · H2532
חֶמְדָּה
Ḥemdâ describes desirability or a valued thing in selected clothing, treasure and land passages. Genesis 27:15 identifies Esau's finest clothes, which Rebekah places on Jacob.
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חֶמְדָּהH2532
Pronunciationḥemĕdāh
What does חֶמְדָּה (ḥemĕdāh) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for חֶמְדָּה (H2532) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2532?
The BSB source-word alignment has 23 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include precious (2), the pleasant (2), a desirable (1), and riches (1), and their precious (1).
Where does חֶמְדָּה (ḥemĕdāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 27:15. Its strongest book concentrations include Daniel (7), 2 Chronicles (4), Jeremiah (3), 1 Samuel (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Ḥemdâ describes desirability or a valued thing in selected clothing, treasure and land passages. Genesis 27:15 identifies Esau's finest clothes, which Rebekah places on Jacob. Second Chronicles 32:27 describes valuable articles among Hezekiah's stored riches. The valuation identifies an object considered choice or precious; it does not by itself approve what its owner or user subsequently does.
Psalm 106:24 calls the land pleasant while describing its rejection and disbelief of God's promise. Jeremiah 3:19 speaks of a desirable inheritance within a parental and covenant address that confronts betrayal. These uses require attention to how valued gifts are received or refused. The noun should not be restricted to a particular prophetic title merely because an English lexical gloss lists desire. Teaching can explain value without making expensive possessions a character certificate or a beautiful land a guarantee that every inhabitant responds faithfully.
Passage contextCanonical parallel
How the Bible Uses It
Choice garments, royal valuables and desirable land name different valued objects. Their users and recipients act within separate narratives, so desirability cannot certify character, faithful reception or a prophetic identity absent further textual evidence.
- Gen.27.15
And Rebekah took the finest clothes in the house that belonged to her older son Esau, and she put them on her younger son Jacob.
Esau's finest clothes are put on Jacob during the preparation that precedes his false claim of identity. The clothes' valued quality does not morally endorse the use.
- 2Chr.32.27
Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles.
Valuable articles appear within Hezekiah's large treasuries and wealth. The noun classifies prized objects rather than providing a complete judgment of the king's character.
- Ps.106.24
They despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His promise.
The pleasant land is despised while God's promise is disbelieved. Its desirability and the people's refusal coexist, preventing a claim that valuable gifts necessarily produce faithful response.
- Jer.3.19
Then I said, ‘How I long to make you My sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations!’ I thought you would call Me ‘Father’ and never turn away from following Me.
A desirable land and inheritance appear within God's expressed covenant intention, followed by an accusation of betrayal. The valued gift belongs with the relationship the address describes.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itprecious2×Hosea 13:15, Nahum 2:9
the pleasant2×Psalms 106:24, Zechariah 7:14
a desirable1×Jeremiah 3:19
and riches1×Daniel 11:38
and their precious1×Daniel 11:8
and valuables1×2 Chronicles 20:25
for the one desired1×Daniel 11:37
kinds of valuable1×2 Chronicles 32:27
like fine1×Jeremiah 25:34
My pleasant1×Jeremiah 12:10
of value1×2 Chronicles 36:10
one’s regret1×2 Chronicles 21:20
rich1×Daniel 10:3
stately1×Isaiah 2:16
the desire1×1 Samuel 9:20
the finest1×Genesis 27:15
the riches1×Daniel 11:43
who is highly precious1×Daniel 10:11
with all [their] treasures1×Haggai 2:7
you who are highly precious1×Daniel 10:19
your beautiful1×Ezekiel 26:12
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 27:15הַחֲמֻדֹ֔תtothe finestArticle | Noun - feminine plural1 Samuel 9:20חֶמְדַּ֣תtothe desireNoun - feminine singular construct2 Chronicles 20:25חֲמֻד֔וֹתtoand valuablesNoun - feminine plural2 Chronicles 21:20חֶמְדָּ֔הtoone’s regretNoun - feminine singular2 Chronicles 32:27חֶמְדָּֽה׃tokinds of valuableNoun - feminine singular2 Chronicles 36:10חֶמְדַּ֣תtoof valueNoun - feminine singular constructPsalms 106:24חֶמְדָּ֑הtothe pleasantNoun - feminine singularIsaiah 2:16הַחֶמְדָּֽה׃tostatelyArticle | Noun - feminine singularJeremiah 3:19חֶמְדָּ֔הtoa desirableNoun - feminine singularJeremiah 12:10חֶמְדָּתִ֖יtoMy pleasantNoun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 27:15
Aligned rows23
Books represented12
Genesis11 Samuel12 Chronicles4Psalms1Isaiah1Jeremiah3Ezekiel1Daniel7Hosea1Nahum1Haggai1Zechariah1
Source forms
חֶמְדָּֽה׃4xḥem·dāh2 Chronicles 32:27, Jeremiah 25:34, Hosea 13:15, Nahum 2:9
חֶמְדַּ֣ת3xḥem·daṯ1 Samuel 9:20, 2 Chronicles 36:10, Haggai 2:7
חֶמְדָּ֔ה2xḥem·dāh2 Chronicles 21:20, Jeremiah 3:19
הַחֶמְדָּֽה׃1xha·ḥem·dāhIsaiah 2:16
הַחֲמֻדֹ֔ת1xha·ḥă·mu·ḏōṯGenesis 27:15
וּבַחֲמֻדֽוֹת׃1xū·ḇa·ḥă·mu·ḏō·wṯDaniel 11:38
חֶמְדָּ֑ה1xḥem·dāhPsalms 106:24
חֶמְדָּ֖ה1xḥem·dāhZechariah 7:14
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular8x2 Chronicles 21:20, 2 Chronicles 32:27, Psalms 106:24, Jeremiah 3:19
Noun - feminine singular construct4x1 Samuel 9:20, 2 Chronicles 36:10, Daniel 11:37, Haggai 2:7
Adjective - masculine singular3xDaniel 10:3, Daniel 10:11, Daniel 10:19
Article | Noun - feminine plural1xGenesis 27:15
Article | Noun - feminine singular1xIsaiah 2:16
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural1xDaniel 11:38
Noun - feminine plural1x2 Chronicles 20:25
Noun - feminine plural construct1xDaniel 11:43
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Discuss the use and allegiance attached to valuables without equating poverty or wealth with automatic moral character.
- When readers encounter a debated prophetic translation, distinguish observed wording from an interpretation that still needs its own review.
Avoid claiming...
- Ḥemdâ does not certify the virtue of a treasured object's user or guarantee faithful reception of a desirable gift.
- The selected noun contexts do not establish that every occurrence is a messianic title or resolve Haggai 2:7's interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Desire for what is visually appealing or precious; covetousness carrying moral weight in Torah prohibitions
Source Gloss
delight
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Desire for what is visually appealing or precious; covetousness carrying moral weight in Torah prohibitions
delight BDB: desire Usage: desire, goodly, pleasant, precious.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
חֶמְדָּה is built from this root:
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 clothes in Genesis 27 are described as fine before they become part of Jacob's false presentation to Isaac. The valuation names their quality rather than making the deception faithful. Hezekiah's treasured objects provide another ordinary referent, while the pleasant land in Psalm 106 demonstrates that a desirable gift can be despised instead of received with trust.
Jeremiah's inheritance language belongs to an address about covenant relation and betrayal, not to an independent rule that every valued possession assures divine approval. Matthew 6's teaching about treasure and the heart offers a Christian comparison that examines allegiance rather than price. Haggai 2:7 also requires its own syntax and surrounding argument when readers discuss alternative desire or treasure renderings. This noun's selected object uses do not settle that separate question or permit an unreviewed prophetic identity to be inserted into every occurrence.
Anchor passage
Ps.106.24
Doctrinal connections
- Genesis 27:14-24 places valued garments within preparation for Jacob's explicitly false identity claim.
- Second Chronicles 32:27-29 describes treasured articles and abundant resources received by Hezekiah.
- Psalm 106:24-27 contrasts the pleasant land with disbelief, grumbling and refusal to hear God.
- Jeremiah 3:19-22 joins desirable inheritance with parental address, betrayal and a call to return.
- Haggai 2:6-9 supplies a separate prophetic context whose treasure or desire rendering requires its own evidence.
- Matthew 6:19-24 tests treasure by the heart's allegiance and incompatible service rather than material price.
The noun can describe desirability or prized objects in clothing, treasury and inheritance contexts. A related alternate source form does not require one prophetic-title gloss; each occurrence's referent and construction must be explained before a theological identification.
From Old to New Testament
Matthew 6:19-24 connects treasured possessions with the heart and the impossibility of serving God and money together. This supports examining response and allegiance alongside the Hebrew valued-object uses. It does not identify every ḥemdâ object with Christ or settle Haggai's separate prophetic reading through a lexical shortcut.
Passage contextCanonical parallel