חִבֻּק

# Chibbúq: A Rare Hebrew Word for Folding The Hebrew word *chibbúq* (חִבֻּק) refers to the act of folding. Based on its limited appearance in the biblical text—occurring only twice—this term represents a relatively uncommon word in Hebrew Scripture, suggesting it was used for specific contexts rather than everyday purposes. The scarcity of this word's occurrence makes it difficult to establish a broad range of meaning or usage patterns from biblical data alone. With only two instances in the entire Hebrew Bible, *chibbúq* appears to have been employed in particular textual moments rather than serving as a standard or frequently repeated term. This rarity indicates that when biblical authors chose this specific word, they likely had deliberate reasons for selecting it over other possible expressions. Without access to the specific passages where *chibbúq* appears, one can only note that its fundamental semantic field concerns the physical action of folding—bringing parts of something together in overlapping layers. The word's limited presence in Scripture reflects the practical, episodic nature of folding as a described action, relevant to certain narrative or descriptive moments but not central to the theological or everyday vocabulary of biblical Hebrew.