קָסַס
qa.sas
to strip
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analysis of Hebrew קָסַס (qasas) The Hebrew verb קָסַס (qasas) carries the fundamental meaning "to strip," describing the action of removing covering or outer layers from something. Based on the lexical data provided, this word appears only once in the biblical text, which severely limits our ability to determine its full semantic range or contextual applications with certainty. The single occurrence of this word in the Bible prevents us from establishing whether "to strip" applies broadly to various contexts—such as stripping plants, animals, clothing, or objects—or whether it has a more specialized meaning within biblical Hebrew. Without multiple attestations, we cannot confidently trace how the term was used across different biblical narratives or whether its meaning shifted in different literary genres or time periods. The rarity of the word suggests it may have been either a less common synonym for more frequent stripping verbs, or it may have described a specific type of removal action in its one biblical occurrence. The minimal textual evidence means scholars must be cautious about drawing firm conclusions regarding this word's theological or practical significance in ancient Israel. Its lone appearance in Scripture leaves fundamental questions unanswered about its precise usage, intensity, and cultural context.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence across the text