H2401 H2401
Sin, transgression — a great moral offense before God; rarely, a sin-offering presented at the altar
The feminine noun חֲטָאָה is a variant form of the common חַטָּאת, denoting sin as a weighty moral reality. It appears almost exclusively in the phrase חֲטָאָה גְדֹלָה ('great sin'), marking acts of extraordinary gravity — Abimelech's near-violation of Sarah (Gen 20:9), the golden calf (Exod 32:21, 30, 31), and Jeroboam's idolatry (2 Kgs 17:21). The Psalms add theological depth: sin can be 'covered' in forgiveness (Ps 32:1) or even a wicked man's prayer can 'become sin' (Ps 109:7). A single occurrence in Ps 40:6 may denote a sin-offering, linking moral failure to its ritual remedy.
1. sense 1 — Sin as moral transgression, especially grave offense before God. Six of seven occurrences carry this meaning, frequently in the powerful phrase חֲטָאָה גְדֹלָה ('great sin'). Abimelech protests 'you have brought a great sin upon me' (Gen 20:9), Moses confronts Aaron about the golden calf with the same phrase (Exod 32:21, 30, 31), and Jeroboam 'caused Israel to sin with a great sin' (2 Kgs 17:21). The Psalms use it for sin as a spiritual condition: 'blessed is he whose sin is covered' (Ps 32:1) and the prayer of the wicked 'becomes sin' (Ps 109:7). Multilingual glosses uniformly render it with terms for sin — Spanish 'pecado,' French 'péché,' German 'Sünde.' 7×
AR["خَطيئَة","خَطيئَةً","خَطِيئَةً","خَطِيئَتِهِ"]·ben["পাপ","পাপ-রূপে"]·DE["Suende","Sünde","ein-suendigen","eine-Sünde","für-Sünde"]·EN["a-sin","for-sin","sin"]·FR["péché","un-péché","à-péché"]·heb["חטאה","ל-חטאה"]·HI["पअप","पाप","पाप-के-लिए"]·ID["dosa"]·IT["peccato","un-peccato"]·jav["dosa","dosanipun"]·KO["죄","죄-로","죄가","죄를"]·PT["como-pecado","o-pecado","pecado"]·RU["грех","грехом"]·ES["para-pecado","pecado"]·SW["dhambi"]·TR["günah","günahı"]·urd["گناہ","گناہ-جس-کی"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. sense 2 — A sin-offering — the ritual sacrifice prescribed to address sin. In Ps 40:6, 'burnt offering and sin-offering (חֲטָאָה) you have not required,' the word appears alongside עוֹלָה in a context that most ancient versions and commentators read as sacrificial terminology. The multilingual evidence reflects this: English 'and sin-offering,' Spanish 'y ofrenda por pecado,' German 'und Sünde-Opfer.' This cultic sense parallels the far more common חַטָּאת in Leviticus, linking the moral weight of sin to its prescribed ritual resolution. 1×
AR["وَخَطيئَةً"]·ben["ও-পাপ-বলি"]·DE["und-Sünde-Opfer"]·EN["and-sin-offering"]·FR["et-péché"]·heb["ו-חטאה"]·HI["और-पापबलि"]·IT["e-peccato"]·jav["lan-kurban-dosa"]·KO["그리고-속죄제-를"]·PT["e-oferta-pelo-pecado"]·RU["и-жертвы-за-грех"]·ES["y-ofrenda-por-pecado"]·SW["na-sadaka-ya-dhambi"]·TR["ve-günah-sunusu"]·urd["اور-گناہ-کی-قربانی"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† חֲטָאָה n.f. sin, sin-offering (?)— 1. sin, chiefly in the phrase ח׳ גְדֹלָה great sin Gn 20:9 (E) Ex 32:21, 30, 31 (JE), 2 K 17:21; כְּסוּי ח׳ ψ 32:1 he whose sin is covered is blessed; but the prayer of the wicked becomes sin when he is judged ψ 109:7. 2. sin-offering (according to most) עולה וחטאה ψ 40:7 whole burnt-offering and sin-offering (so Vrss Thes MV SS al., but whole burnt-offering with sin v. BrMP 329).