What does חֵפֶץ (ḥēp̄eṣ) mean in the Bible?
חֵפֶץ (ḥēp̄eṣ): Moves from God's sovereign pleasure or delight to human desire; expresses what is valued, chosen, or purposed.
Hebrew · H2656
חֵפֶץ
Pleasure ; hence (abstractly) desire ; concretely, a valuable thing; hence (by extension) a matter (as something in mind)
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חֵפֶץ H2656
Pronunciation ḥēp̄eṣ
What does חֵפֶץ (ḥēp̄eṣ) mean in the Bible?
חֵפֶץ (ḥēp̄eṣ): Moves from God's sovereign pleasure or delight to human desire; expresses what is valued, chosen, or purposed.
Full entry for חֵפֶץ (H2656) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2656?
The BSB source-word alignment has 39 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include pleasure (3), you desire (3), as you please (2), desire (2), purpose (2).
Where does חֵפֶץ (ḥēp̄eṣ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Samuel 15:22. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (8), Ecclesiastes (7), 1 Kings (5), Psalms (4).
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 pleasure 3× Ecclesiastes 5:4, Ecclesiastes 12:1, Malachi 1:10
you desire 3× 1 Kings 5:8, Proverbs 3:15, Proverbs 8:11
as you please 2× Isaiah 58:3, Isaiah 58:13
desire 2× 2 Samuel 23:5, 1 Kings 9:11
purpose 2× Ecclesiastes 3:1, Ecclesiastes 8:6
she desired 2× 1 Kings 10:13, 2 Chronicles 9:12
. . . 1× Hosea 8:8
activity 1× Ecclesiastes 3:17
and the good pleasure 1× Isaiah 53:10
delight 1× 1 Samuel 15:22
delightful 1× Ecclesiastes 12:10
desires 1× 1 Samuel 18:25
does he care 1× Job 21:21
Does it delight 1× Job 22:3
he wanted 1× 1 Kings 5:10
his delight 1× Psalms 1:2
His desire 1× Isaiah 48:14
like an unwanted 1× Jeremiah 48:38
my delight 1× Psalms 16:3
My good pleasure 1× Isaiah 46:10
my needs 1× 1 Kings 5:9
of delight 1× Malachi 3:12
of precious 1× Isaiah 54:12
one wants 1× Jeremiah 22:28
that I desire 1× Isaiah 44:28
the desires 1× Job 31:16
the matter 1× Ecclesiastes 5:8
they desired 1× Psalms 107:30
who delight in them 1× Psalms 111:2
with eager 1× Proverbs 31:13
your own pleasure 1× Isaiah 58:13
Show sample aligned rows
1 Samuel 15:22 הַחֵ֤פֶץ to delight Article | Noun - masculine singular 1 Samuel 18:25 חֵ֤פֶץ to desires Noun - masculine singular 2 Samuel 23:5 חֵ֖פֶץ to desire Noun - masculine singular 1 Kings 5:8 חֶפְצְךָ֔ to you desire Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular 1 Kings 5:9 חֶפְצִ֔י to my needs Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular 1 Kings 5:10 חֶפְצֽוֹ׃ to he wanted Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular 1 Kings 9:11 חֶפְצ֑וֹ to desire Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular 1 Kings 10:13 חֶפְצָהּ֙ to she desired Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular 2 Chronicles 9:12 חֶפְצָהּ֙ to she desired Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular Job 21:21 חֶפְצ֣וֹ to does he care Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 1 Samuel 15:22
Aligned rows 39
Books represented 12
1 Samuel 2 2 Samuel 1 1 Kings 5 2 Chronicles 1 Job 3 Psalms 4 Proverbs 3 Ecclesiastes 7 Isaiah 8 Jeremiah 2 Hosea 1 Malachi 2
Source forms
חֵ֖פֶץ 4x ḥê·p̄eṣ 2 Samuel 23:5, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Ecclesiastes 5:4, Jeremiah 22:28
חֵ֔פֶץ 4x ḥê·p̄eṣ Ecclesiastes 3:17, Ecclesiastes 8:6, Isaiah 58:3, Malachi 3:12
חֵ֥פֶץ 2x ḥê·p̄eṣ Jeremiah 48:38, Hosea 8:8
חֵֽפֶץ׃ 2x ḥê·p̄eṣ Ecclesiastes 12:1, Isaiah 54:12
חֶפְצָהּ֙ 2x ḥep̄·ṣāh 1 Kings 10:13, 2 Chronicles 9:12
חֶפְצִ֖י 2x ḥep̄·ṣî Isaiah 44:28, Isaiah 46:10
בְּחֵ֣פֶץ 1x bə·ḥê·p̄eṣ Proverbs 31:13
הַחֵ֤פֶץ 1x ha·ḥê·p̄eṣ 1 Samuel 15:22
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular 15x 1 Samuel 18:25, 2 Samuel 23:5, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Ecclesiastes 3:17
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular 5x 1 Kings 5:10, 1 Kings 9:11, Job 21:21, Psalms 1:2
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular 4x 1 Kings 5:9, Psalms 16:3, Isaiah 44:28, Isaiah 46:10
Article | Noun - masculine singular 3x 1 Samuel 15:22, Job 22:3, Ecclesiastes 5:8
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular 2x Proverbs 3:15, Isaiah 58:13
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular 2x 1 Kings 5:8, Isaiah 58:13
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular 2x 1 Kings 10:13, 2 Chronicles 9:12
Adjective - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural 1x Psalms 111:2
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Moves from God's sovereign pleasure or delight to human desire; expresses what is valued, chosen, or purposed.
Source Gloss
pleasure ; hence (abstractly) desire ; concretely, a valuable thing; hence (by extension) a matter (as something in mind)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Moves from God's sovereign pleasure or delight to human desire; expresses what is valued, chosen, or purposed.
pleasure; hence (abstractly) desire; concretely, a valuable thing; hence (by extension) a matter (as something in mind) BDB: delight Usage: acceptable, delight(-some), desire, things desired, matter, pleasant(-ure), purpose, willingly.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
Delight or will.
Showing 1 selected witness from 39 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
Why This Word Matters
Affirms that God accomplishes what pleases him. Isaiah 46:8-11
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