הֶ֫פֶךְ
he.phekh
contrariness
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analysis of הֶפֶךְ (he.phekh) The Hebrew word הֶפֶךְ carries the meaning of "contrariness"—a state of opposition or reversal. Based on its lexical definition, the term describes something that runs counter to expectation or established order, suggesting a fundamental opposition or inversion of normal conditions. The word appears only twice in the biblical text, which limits our ability to observe varied contextual applications. This sparse occurrence suggests that הֶפֶךְ may represent a specific rather than common concept in biblical vocabulary. Without access to the particular verses where it appears, we cannot detail how the specific contexts shape or refine its abstract meaning of contrariness, but the rarity of usage indicates this was a specialized term rather than everyday language. The lexical definition alone—contrariness—points to a concept of opposition or reversal, though the full significance of how ancient Hebrew speakers employed this word would emerge most clearly from examination of those two biblical instances themselves.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences across the text
You are different from other women in your prostitution, in that no one follows you to play the prostitute; and whereas you give hire, and no hire is given to you, therefore you are different.” ’
Ezekiel 16:34You are different from other women in your prostitution, in that no one follows you to play the prostitute; and whereas you give hire, and no hire is given to you, therefore you are different.” ’