Properly, to plump , i.e. fill up hollows; by implication, to cover (for clothing or secrecy)
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כָּסָה (kasah) is the Hebrew word for covering — the act of placing something over that which is hidden, clothed, overwhelmed, or protected. In Scripture it spans from the flood covering the mountains (Gen 7:19) to YHWH's glory covering the tabernacle (Exod 40:34) to the most theologically profound use: the covering of sin (Ps 32:1, 85:2).
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Full entry for כָּסָה (H3680) · Open the biblical lexicon
כָּסָה (kasah) is the Hebrew word for covering — the act of placing something over that which is hidden, clothed, overwhelmed, or protected. In Scripture it spans from the flood covering the mountains (Gen 7:19) to YHWH's glory covering the tabernacle (Exod 40:34) to the most theologically profound use: the covering of sin (Ps 32:1, 85:2).
The BSB source-word alignment has 152 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include covering (9), and covered (7), cover (7), that covers (7), and cover (4).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 7:19. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (22), Psalms (17), Exodus (15), Isaiah (12).
This entry includes 3 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
כָּסָה (kasah) is the Hebrew word for covering — the act of placing something over that which is hidden, clothed, overwhelmed, or protected. In Scripture it spans from the flood covering the mountains (Gen 7:19) to YHWH's glory covering the tabernacle (Exod 40:34) to the most theologically profound use: the covering of sin (Ps 32:1, 85:2). The kasah of sin is one of the OT's central atonement images: to have one's sin covered is to have it hidden from YHWH's judgment-sight — which is not evasion but forgiveness, the legitimate covering that YHWH himself performs.
Psalm 32:1 gives kasah its forgiveness form: 'Blessed (ashrei) is he whose transgression is forgiven (nesui pesha), whose sin (chataah) is covered (kesui).' The two parallel verbs — nasa (to lift up/forgive) and kasah (to cover) — are the two great atonement-images of the Psalter. The sin is either lifted off (nasa) or covered over (kasah): in either case it no longer stands before YHWH as an accusation. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 4:7-8 to establish that Abraham's righteousness was imputed apart from works: 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.'
Psalm 85:2 gives kasah its historical-restoration form: 'You have forgiven (nasata) the iniquity (avon) of your people; you have covered (kissita) all their sin (chattatam). Selah.' The psalm is a post-exilic meditation on YHWH's restoration: he has restored the fortunes of Jacob (v. 1), covered all their sin (v. 2), withdrawn his wrath (v. 3). The kasah of all their sin is the comprehensive covering — not some sins, not most sins, but kol (all).
Proverbs 10:12 gives kasah its love-covering form: 'Hatred stirs up strife, but love (ahavah) covers (tekasse) all offenses (pesha).' Love performs the kasah that YHWH performs in Psalm 32 — it covers rather than exposes, it protects rather than publicizes. This is not the covering of injustice (which Neh 4:5 refuses) but the covering of interpersonal offense within relationship: love does not broadcast the failures of the beloved but covers them with the gift of ongoing loyalty. Peter cites this in 1 Peter 4:8: 'love covers a multitude of sins.'
Exodus 40:34 gives kasah its theophany form: 'Then the cloud covered (vayekhas) the tent of meeting and the glory of YHWH filled (vayimale) the tabernacle.' The cloud-kasah over the tabernacle is the divine covering of the covenant meeting-space: YHWH's presence (represented by the cloud and the glory/kavod) settles over and into the prepared sanctuary. The kasah here is not the covering of sin but the covering of the human space by divine presence.
For the preacher, כָּסָה (kasah) gives the congregation the grammar of both divine covering and human covering: YHWH covers sin with forgiveness (Ps 32:1, 85:2); love covers offense with loyalty (Prov 10:12); and the glory covers the sanctuary with presence (Exod 40:34).
כָּסָה (kasah) has about 153 occurrences in the local index. Its theological center is the covering of sin by YHWH (Ps 32:1, 85:2), love's covering of offense (Prov 10:12), and the divine-glory covering of the tabernacle (Exod 40:34). Physical kasah uses: the flood covering mountains (Gen 7:19), garments covering nakedness (Gen 9:23, 24:65), and the locust swarm covering the earth (Exod 10:5).
The contrast runs between kasah as protection/forgiveness (legitimate covering) and kasah as concealment of injustice (illegitimate covering, Neh 4:5).
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Kasah as atonement-covering: 'blessed (ashrei) is he whose transgression (pesha) is forgiven (nesui, lifted), whose sin (chataah) is covered (kesui).' The two parallel atonement images — nasa (lift/forgive) and kasah (cover) — describe the same reality from different angles: the sin is removed (lifted off) and hidden from judgment-view (covered). Psalm 32's context is David's post-confession relief (v.
3-5): When he kept silent, his strength dried up; when he confessed, YHWH forgave (nasa) the iniquity of his sin. The kasah is the result of the confession: YHWH does the covering after the transgressor confesses. Paul quotes this in Romans 4:7-8 for justification by faith.
You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah
Kasah of all sin: 'you covered (kissita) all their sin (kol-chattatam) — Selah.' The comprehensive kasah of Psalm 85:2 is the historical celebration of YHWH's post-exile restoration: the sins that sent Israel into exile have been covered. The kol (all) is total — no partial covering but complete atonement. The psalm moves from this past covering (v. 1-3) to a present prayer (v.
4-7: Restore us again) to a future promise (v. 10-13: steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss). The kasah of the past is the foundation for hope in the present.
Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.
Love's kasah of offenses: 'love (ahavah) covers (tekasse) all offenses (kol pesha).' The proverb contrasts two responses to offense: hatred stirs up (teorer) strife by publicizing and exploiting the offense; love covers (kasah) by choosing not to expose. The kasah of love is not the suppression of justice (which Prov 17:15 condemns) but the covenant-loyalty that does not broadcast the failings of the beloved.
1 Peter 4:8 applies this directly: 'Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.' James 5:20 uses the same image: bringing a sinner back from error 'will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.'
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
The glory-kasah over the tabernacle: 'the cloud covered (vayekhas) the tent of meeting (ohel moed) and the glory (kavod) of YHWH filled (vayimale) the tabernacle (mishkan).' The completion of the tabernacle construction (Exod 35-40) culminates in this double event: the cloud-kasah and the kavod-filling. The verb pair (kasah + male) is the paired description of YHWH's arrival: he covers the meeting-space with his cloud-presence and fills the physical structure with his glory.
The same event marks the completion of Solomon's temple (1 Kgs 8:10-11): 'the cloud filled the house of YHWH... the glory of YHWH filled the house.' The kasah of glory is the OT's model for divine inhabitation.
Finally, the waters completely prevailed upon the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered.
The flood-kasah: 'the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the whole heavens were covered (vayekasu).' The primordial kasah of judgment is the flood covering every mountain: no human refuge escapes the water's coverage. The same kasah-verb that covers sin in Psalm 32:1 covers the earth in judgment in Genesis 7:19 — the coverage of judgment and the coverage of forgiveness use the same word, pointing to the typological connection: the flood is judgment that passes over the ark-inhabitants, as the blood covers the Passover doorposts, as the atonement-covering of Psalm 32:1 hides the sinner from judgment.
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Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Hebrew word. To cover by filling hollows; concealment ranges from protective clothing to hidden shame or divine forgiveness.
To cover by filling hollows; concealment ranges from protective clothing to hidden shame or divine forgiveness.
properly, to plump, i.e. fill up hollows; by implication, to cover (for clothing or secrecy) BDB: cover Usage: clad self, close, clothe, conceal, cover (self), (flee to) hide, overwhelm. Compare 3780.
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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 153 lexical occurrence verses.
כָּסָה is a primitive root - no further derivation.
The term highlights forgiveness and restraint in responding to offenses. Proverbs 10:12
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
כָּסָה (kasah) gives the congregation the image of covering — and its most important theological direction is upward: YHWH covers the sin of his people (Ps 32:1, 85:2). The word operates as one of the OT's central atonement images alongside nasa (to lift/forgive, H5375) and kapper (to atone/cover, H3722 — the root of kapporet, the mercy seat). Psalm 32:1's kasah is the blessed state of the forgiven person: sin covered from YHWH's judgment-sight.
The preacher can move from the physical kasah (the flood covering mountains in judgment, Gen 7:19) to the glory-kasah (YHWH's presence covering the tabernacle, Exod 40:34) to the atonement-kasah (YHWH covering sin, Ps 32:1) to love's kasah (interpersonal offense covered by loyalty, Prov 10:12). Each is a form of the same word, and together they trace the full theological range of covering.
Paul's use of Psalm 32:1-2 in Romans 4:7-8 connects the kasah directly to justification by faith: the covering of sin is not earned but received — the believer is the one whose sin has been covered by YHWH's own action, not by their own works. 1 Peter 4:8 extends love's kasah into the community of the forgiven: those whose sins have been covered by YHWH now cover one another's offenses with the same covering-love.
Ps.32.1
כָּסָה (kasah, H3680) is related to but distinct from כִּפֶּר (kipper, H3722, to atone/make atonement — the root of kapporet, H3727, mercy seat). Both involve covering — kasah is the general covering/concealing verb; kipper is the specific sacrificial atonement. The noun כְּסוּת (kesut, H3682, covering/garment — 8 occurrences) derives from kasah. In Psalm 32:1 the adjective form kesui (covered) is used.
A near-synonym is סָתַר (satar, H5641, to hide/conceal — also used of hiding sins, Ps 51:9: 'hide your face from my sins'). The Piel of kasah (intensive: to cover over completely) is used for overwhelming coverage: Exod 10:5 (locusts covering the earth), Ps 104:9 (YHWH covering the deep with a garment). In NT Greek, the primary heirs are kalupto (G2572, to cover, to hide) and epikalupto (G1943, to cover over — used in Rom 4:7 quoting Ps 32:1) and katakalupto (to cover up).
1 Peter 4:8 uses kalupto: 'love covers (kalupsei) a multitude of sins.'
Romans 4:7-8 quotes Psalm 32:1-2 in Paul's argument for justification by faith: 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered (epekaleiphthesan — covered over). Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.' The kasah of Psalm 32 becomes Paul's evidence that David knew a righteousness apart from works: the blessed person in Psalm 32 is not the one who performed righteous deeds but the one whose sin was covered by YHWH.
1 Peter 4:8 draws on Proverbs 10:12's kasah-love: 'Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers (kalupsei) a multitude of sins.' James 5:20 uses the same image for evangelism: bringing a sinner back 'will save his soul from death and will cover (kaluphsei) a multitude of sins.' The community of the forgiven (whose sins are covered by YHWH's atonement) becomes a community that covers one another's offenses with the same covering-love.
Hebrews 9:5 mentions the 'mercy seat (hilasterion) of glory' over which the cherubim spread their wings — the kasah of the cherubim over the kapporet is the tabernacle's physical image of the covering-atonement that Hebrews describes as fulfilled in Christ.
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