What does לָחַשׁ (lāḥaš) mean in the Bible?
לָחַשׁ (lāḥaš): Whispered incantation or charm-murmuring; ranges from intimate speech to magical/forbidden divination practices.
Hebrew · H3907
לָחַשׁ
To whisper ; by implication, to mumble a spell (as a magician)
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לָחַשׁ H3907
Pronunciation lāḥaš
What does לָחַשׁ (lāḥaš) mean in the Bible?
לָחַשׁ (lāḥaš): Whispered incantation or charm-murmuring; ranges from intimate speech to magical/forbidden divination practices.
Full entry for לָחַשׁ (H3907) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H3907?
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of the charmer (1), were whispering to one another (1), whisper (1).
Where does לָחַשׁ (lāḥaš) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 2 Samuel 12:19. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (2), 2 Samuel (1).
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 of the charmer 1× Psalms 58:5
were whispering to one another 1× 2 Samuel 12:19
whisper 1× Psalms 41:7
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 2 Samuel 12:19
Aligned rows 3
Books represented 2
2 Samuel 1 Psalms 2
Source forms
יִ֭תְלַחֲשׁוּ 1x yiṯ·la·ḥă·šū Psalms 41:7
מְלַחֲשִׁ֑ים 1x mə·la·ḥă·šîm Psalms 58:5
מִֽתְלַחֲשִׁ֔ים 1x miṯ·la·ḥă·šîm 2 Samuel 12:19
Parsing patterns
Verb - Hitpael - Imperfect - third person masculine plural 1x Psalms 41:7
Verb - Hitpael - Participle - masculine plural 1x 2 Samuel 12:19
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural 1x Psalms 58:5
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Whispered incantation or charm-murmuring; ranges from intimate speech to magical/forbidden divination practices.
Source Gloss
to whisper ; by implication, to mumble a spell (as a magician)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Whispered incantation or charm-murmuring; ranges from intimate speech to magical/forbidden divination practices.
to whisper; by implication, to mumble a spell (as a magician) BDB: whisper Usage: charmer, whisper (together).
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 2 Aligned forms 3
Hithpael reflexive or reciprocal — the subject acts on itself or mutually with others 2×
Participle active 2Sam 12:19 1×
Imperfect Ps 41:8 1×
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 1×
Participle active Ps 58:6 1×
Word Origins
לָחַשׁ 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.
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