H2399 H2399
Sin, transgression against God or man; rarely a sin offering or minor fault
The noun חֵטְא is one of Hebrew's primary words for sin, built from the root חטא meaning 'to miss the mark.' It denotes moral and religious transgression against God's revealed will — a concept so central that it appears from Genesis through Daniel in every literary genre. Isaiah 1:18 uses it in God's famous invitation: 'though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.' Occasionally the word extends to interpersonal wrongs (Gen 41:9, where Pharaoh's cupbearer remembers 'my faults'), and in one instance (2 Kgs 12:16) it appears to designate the sin offering itself, the sacrificial remedy for the transgression it names.
Senses
1. sin, transgression — The primary sense: sin or transgression against God's law and covenant. This covers 33 of 35 occurrences, spanning both singular and plural forms with various pronominal suffixes. Key passages include Leviticus 19:17 ('you shall not bear sin because of him'), Psalm 51:11 ('hide your face from my sins'), and Isaiah 1:18 ('though your sins be as scarlet'). Every target language renders it with its standard sin vocabulary — Spanish 'pecado,' French 'péché,' German 'Sünde' — confirming the unified theological core. 33×
AR["بِخَطِيئَتِهِ", "بِـ-خَطِيَّتِهِ", "حَطَايِم", "خَطيئَةٌ", "خَطِيئَةً", "خَطِيئَةٌ", "خَطِيئَةُ", "خَطِيئَتَهُ", "وَخَطَايَا"]·ben["এবং-পাপগুলি", "তার-পাপ", "তার-পাপ।", "তার-পাপে", "পাপ", "পাপসমূহ"]·DE["Suende", "Suende-von", "[בחטאו]", "[וחטאי]", "[חטאים]", "fuer-sein-Suende", "in-sein-Suende", "sein-Suende", "suendigte"]·EN["a-sin", "and-sins-of-", "for-his-sin", "his-sin", "in-his-sin", "is-sin", "sin", "sin-of", "sins"]·FR["[בחטאו]", "[וחטאי]", "[חטא]", "dans-son-péché", "pour-son-péché", "pécheur", "péché", "péché-de", "son-péché"]·heb["ב-חטאו", "ב-חטאו-ו", "ו-חטאי", "חטא", "חטאו", "חטאים"]·HI["अपना-पाप", "अपने-पाप-में", "और-पाप", "पाप", "पाप-अपने-में", "पाप-उसका", "पाप-उसके-में", "पापों", "बखेत्टो-अपने-में"]·ID["dalam-dosanya", "dan-dosa-dosa", "dosa", "dosa-dosa", "dosanya", "karena-dosanya"]·IT["[בחטאו]", "[וחטאי]", "[חטא]", "in-suo-peccare", "peccare", "peccare-di", "peccato", "per-suo-peccare", "per-suo-peccato", "sins", "suo-peccare"]·jav["dosa", "dosa-nipun", "dosa.", "dosanipun.", "ing-dosanipun", "ing-dosanipun-piyambak", "kaluputan", "lan-dosa-dosa", "wonten-ing-dosanipun"]·KO["그-죄-로", "그리고-죄들을", "그의-죄", "그의-죄-로", "에-그-죄", "에-그의-죄", "죄", "죄-를", "죄가", "죄들", "죄로", "죄의"]·PT["e-pecados-de", "em-pecado-seu", "pecado", "pecado-seu", "pecados", "por-seu-pecado", "seu-pecado"]·RU["в-грехе-своём", "грех", "грех-его", "грех-свой", "греха", "грехи", "грехом", "за-грех-свой", "на-вас"]·ES["en-pecado-de-él", "pecado", "pecado-de", "pecados", "por-pecado-su", "por-su-pecado", "sea-pecado", "su-pecado", "y-pecados-de"]·SW["dhambi", "dhambi-yake", "kwa-dhambi-yake", "makosa", "na-dhambi-za"]·TR["-günahında-onun", "gunah", "gunahlari", "günah", "günahında", "günahında-onun", "günahını", "ve-günahlarını"]·urd["اور-گناہ", "اُس-کا-گناہ", "اپنا-گناہ", "اپنے-گناہ-میں", "میں-اپنے-گناہ", "گناہ", "گناہ-اپنے-میں", "گناہ-کے-لیے", "گناہ-ہے", "گناہوں"]
2. sin offering — A cultic-technical extension: the sin offering, where חֵטְא refers not to the transgression but to the sacrifice prescribed to atone for it. At 2 Kings 12:16, the 'sin money' (כֶּסֶף חַטָּאת) was not brought into the temple treasury. This metonymic shift from offense to offering is well attested with the related noun חַטָּאת and appears once here with חֵטְא. The multilingual glosses show compound forms — 'sin-offerings' — distinguishing it from the abstract moral sense. 1×
AR["ٱلْخَطَايَا"]·ben["পাপার্থক-বলির"]·DE["Suende-offerings"]·EN["sin-offerings"]·FR["péché-offerings"]·heb["חטאות"]·HI["खट्टाओत-की"]·ID["korban-dosa"]·IT["peccato-offerte"]·jav["kurban-dosa"]·KO["속죄제들의"]·PT["oferta-pelo-pecado"]·RU["грехов"]·ES["pecados"]·SW["dhambi"]·TR["günah-sunuları"]·urd["گناہ-کی"]
3. offense, fault, error — A lighter sense of fault, offense, or error — a wrong committed against another person rather than a grave theological transgression. Deuteronomy 19:15 stipulates that 'a single witness shall not suffice against a person for any offense' (חֵטְא), where the legal context concerns human wrongs adjudicated in court. Genesis 41:9, where the cupbearer recalls 'my faults today,' similarly points to interpersonal rather than divine-relational failure. 1×
AR["خَطَأٍ"]·ben["দোষ"]·DE["offense"]·EN["offense"]·FR["offense"]·heb["חטא"]·HI["भूल"]·ID["pelanggaran"]·IT["offense"]·jav["kaluputan"]·KO["범죄"]·PT["falta"]·RU["проступка"]·ES["falta"]·SW["kosa"]·TR["günahta"]·urd["خطا"]
Related Senses
H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)H7563 1. wicked person (259×)H7451c 1. moral evil or wickedness (234×)H5771 1. iniquity, sin, wrongdoing (222×)H6662 1. righteous person (substantive) (195×)G0266 1. sin, failure, transgression (173×)H2403b 1. sin, transgression (170×)H2617a 1. Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love (167×)H2398 1. Qal: to sin, commit sin (165×)H6666 1. righteousness, moral uprightness (145×)G5485 1. grace, divine favor (141×)H7451a 1. morally evil, wicked (129×)H2403b 2. sin-offering, sacrifice for sin (120×)G2570 1. good, right, excellent (98×)H6588 1. transgression, offense against God (88×)G0018 1. good (moral quality) (85×)H2896b 1. good, what is good (85×)H7451b 1. evil, wickedness (moral) (83×)H7451a 2. evil, harm, calamity (80×)G1342 1. righteous, upright (of persons) (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† חֵטְא n.m. Dt 15:9 sin (on format. v. LagBN 142)—ח׳ Lv 19:17 + 15 times; sf. חֶטְאוֹ Lv 24:15 + 5 times, חֲטָאָו֯ La 3:39, חֶטְאָם Lv 20:20; pl. חֲטָאִים Ec 10:4; cstr. חֲטָאֵי 2 K 10:29 Ez 23:49; sf. חֲטָאַי Gn 41:9, חֲטָאָ֑י Is 38:17 ψ 51:11, חֲטָאֵינוּ Dn 9:16 ψ 103:10, חֲטָאֵיכֶם Is 1:18;— 1. sin: a. against man Gn 41:9 (E) Ec 10:4. b. elsewhere ag. God, abs. Is 31:7 Ho 12:9; ח׳ חָטָא La…