What does חֵפֶץ (ḥēp̄eṣ) mean in the Bible?
What gives someone pleasure, what they desire, and what they pursue are closely related in the range of this Hebrew noun. The passage must identify the particular interest.
Hebrew · H2656
חֵפֶץ
Pleasure ; hence (abstractly) desire ; concretely, a valuable thing; hence (by extension) a matter (as something in mind)
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חֵפֶץH2656
Pronunciationḥēp̄eṣ
What does חֵפֶץ (ḥēp̄eṣ) mean in the Bible?
What gives someone pleasure, what they desire, and what they pursue are closely related in the range of this Hebrew noun. The passage must identify the particular interest.
Reader summary
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).
What This Word Actually Means
What gives someone pleasure, what they desire, and what they pursue are closely related in the range of this Hebrew noun. The passage must identify the particular interest. Psalm 1:2 places the faithful person's delight in the Lord's instruction and joins it to sustained meditation. Psalm 16:3 speaks of delight in the faithful people of the land. Neither passage treats delight as an isolated burst of emotion with no object or enduring attachment.
The same noun can occur in a rebuke. Isaiah 58:3 exposes people who pursue their own interests while oppressing workers on a fast day. In verse 13, seeking one's own pleasure is contrasted with honoring the Lord's holy day. The noun does not make every desire good or every pleasure bad. Ecclesiastes 12:10 also speaks of the Teacher's search for delightful sayings alongside accurate words of truth. Attend to what is desired, how it is pursued, and whether the passage approves it.
source_lexiconPassage contextPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
Delight in divine instruction and faithful companions contrasts with self-serving pursuits during worship, while the Teacher's pleasing words remain accountable to truth rather than mere attractiveness.
- Ps.1.2
But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.
The person's delight has a named object, the Lord's law, and is accompanied by meditation day and night. The verse describes a settled orientation without prescribing an emotional intensity that every reading must produce.
- Ps.16.3
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellence in whom all my delight resides.
The speaker expresses delight in the saints in the land, within a confession that the Lord is the source of good and the chosen portion. Affection for faithful companions belongs within that allegiance.
- Isa.58.3
“Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers.
The people complain that their fasting goes unnoticed, but the reply exposes their pursuit of their own interests and oppression of workers. Religious observance does not conceal the treatment of those under their power.
- Isa.58.13
If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the Lord’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,
Seeking one's own pleasure is among the actions contrasted with honoring the holy day. The different words rendered as delight in this passage should not all be assigned to this one Hebrew noun.
- Eccl.12.10
The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.
The Teacher seeks delightful sayings and records accurate words of truth. The pairing keeps pleasing expression connected with truthful teaching instead of making attractiveness a substitute for accuracy.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itpleasure3×Ecclesiastes 5:4, Ecclesiastes 12:1, Malachi 1:10
you desire3×1 Kings 5:8, Proverbs 3:15, Proverbs 8:11
as you please2×Isaiah 58:3, Isaiah 58:13
desire2×2 Samuel 23:5, 1 Kings 9:11
purpose2×Ecclesiastes 3:1, Ecclesiastes 8:6
she desired2×1 Kings 10:13, 2 Chronicles 9:12
. . .1×Hosea 8:8
activity1×Ecclesiastes 3:17
and the good pleasure1×Isaiah 53:10
delight1×1 Samuel 15:22
delightful1×Ecclesiastes 12:10
desires1×1 Samuel 18:25
does he care1×Job 21:21
Does it delight1×Job 22:3
he wanted1×1 Kings 5:10
his delight1×Psalms 1:2
His desire1×Isaiah 48:14
like an unwanted1×Jeremiah 48:38
my delight1×Psalms 16:3
My good pleasure1×Isaiah 46:10
my needs1×1 Kings 5:9
of delight1×Malachi 3:12
of precious1×Isaiah 54:12
one wants1×Jeremiah 22:28
that I desire1×Isaiah 44:28
the desires1×Job 31:16
the matter1×Ecclesiastes 5:8
they desired1×Psalms 107:30
who delight in them1×Psalms 111:2
with eager1×Proverbs 31:13
your own pleasure1×Isaiah 58:13
Show sample aligned rows
1 Samuel 15:22הַחֵ֤פֶץtodelightArticle | Noun - masculine singular1 Samuel 18:25חֵ֤פֶץtodesiresNoun - masculine singular2 Samuel 23:5חֵ֖פֶץtodesireNoun - masculine singular1 Kings 5:8חֶפְצְךָ֔toyou desireNoun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular1 Kings 5:9חֶפְצִ֔יtomy needsNoun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular1 Kings 5:10חֶפְצֽוֹ׃tohe wantedNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular1 Kings 9:11חֶפְצ֑וֹtodesireNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular1 Kings 10:13חֶפְצָהּ֙toshe desiredNoun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular2 Chronicles 9:12חֶפְצָהּ֙toshe desiredNoun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singularJob 21:21חֶפְצ֣וֹtodoes he careNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row1 Samuel 15:22
Aligned rows39
Books represented12
1 Samuel22 Samuel11 Kings52 Chronicles1Job3Psalms4Proverbs3Ecclesiastes7Isaiah8Jeremiah2Hosea1Malachi2
Source forms
חֵ֖פֶץ4xḥê·p̄eṣ2 Samuel 23:5, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Ecclesiastes 5:4, Jeremiah 22:28
חֵ֔פֶץ4xḥê·p̄eṣEcclesiastes 3:17, Ecclesiastes 8:6, Isaiah 58:3, Malachi 3:12
חֵ֥פֶץ2xḥê·p̄eṣJeremiah 48:38, Hosea 8:8
חֵֽפֶץ׃2xḥê·p̄eṣEcclesiastes 12:1, Isaiah 54:12
חֶפְצָהּ֙2xḥep̄·ṣāh1 Kings 10:13, 2 Chronicles 9:12
חֶפְצִ֖י2xḥep̄·ṣîIsaiah 44:28, Isaiah 46:10
בְּחֵ֣פֶץ1xbə·ḥê·p̄eṣProverbs 31:13
הַחֵ֤פֶץ1xha·ḥê·p̄eṣ1 Samuel 15:22
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular15x1 Samuel 18:25, 2 Samuel 23:5, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Ecclesiastes 3:17
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular5x1 Kings 5:10, 1 Kings 9:11, Job 21:21, Psalms 1:2
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular4x1 Kings 5:9, Psalms 16:3, Isaiah 44:28, Isaiah 46:10
Article | Noun - masculine singular3x1 Samuel 15:22, Job 22:3, Ecclesiastes 5:8
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular2xProverbs 3:15, Isaiah 58:13
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular2x1 Kings 5:8, Isaiah 58:13
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular2x1 Kings 10:13, 2 Chronicles 9:12
Adjective - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural1xPsalms 111:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Attend to how people are treated when evaluating the pursuits that accompany religious activity.
- Encourage patient engagement with Scripture without demanding that a grieving person perform an expected emotion.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that the noun makes every human pleasure sinful or every desired purpose divinely endorsed.
- Do not claim that a season of low enjoyment proves that a person has abandoned faith.
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 definitionSource: 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
For the Preacher and Teacher
Psalm 1:2 joins delight with the repeated practice of attending to God's instruction. The psalm is concerned with the direction in which a life is rooted, not with measuring the strength of a pleasant feeling at each moment. A reader can return attentively to the text during a hard season without pretending that every reading feels effortless.
Isaiah 58 supplies a searching companion question. People may be occupied with fasting while their own interests and their treatment of workers contradict the worship they claim. The criticism concerns their conduct; the noun itself does not declare all enjoyment sinful. Ecclesiastes 12:10 gives a further positive use in the Teacher's search for pleasing, truthful words. Teach desire with its object and consequences in view. Welcome the pleasure of learning what is true while allowing the truth to examine the pursuits and relationships that shape daily life.
Anchor passage
Ps.1.2
Doctrinal connections
- Psalm 1:1-3 connects delight in the Lord's instruction with meditation and the image of a fruit-bearing tree.
- Psalm 16:1-5 places delight in faithful companions within the speaker's confession of refuge and good in God.
- Isaiah 58:3-5 exposes fasting accompanied by oppressive work practices and violent conflict.
- Isaiah 58:13-14 contrasts self-directed pursuits on the holy day with honoring the Lord and finding delight in Him.
- Ecclesiastes 12:9-11 joins the Teacher's care for pleasing expression with knowledge, accuracy and truth.
- John 15:9-11 connects remaining in Jesus' love, keeping His commands and the joy He intends for His disciples.
The noun can name delight, desire, an interest or a purpose, so English pleasure does not fit every setting in exactly the same way. Its moral direction comes from its object and context. Similar English words in a passage may translate different Hebrew words.
From Old to New Testament
John 15:9-11 connects love, obedience and Jesus' promised joy. This is a thematic connection with Psalm 1's delight in God's instruction, not a claim that the Hebrew noun occurs in John's Greek text. Both passages give attention to a relationship expressed in continuing response rather than a momentary display of enthusiasm.
Passage contextPastoral applicationCanonical parallel