Word Studies¶
H1818 — dam (דָּם) — "Blood"¶
Original: דָּם Transliteration: dam (dawm) Part of Speech: Masculine noun BLB Count: 361 (Strong's concordance: 391 occurrences, 69 unique translations)
Definition: From (compare); blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or an animal; by analogy, the juice of the grape; figuratively (especially in the plural) bloodshed (i.e. drops of blood): blood(-y, -guiltiness), (-thirsty), innocent.
Translations¶
| Translation | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| the blood | 79 | 20.2% |
| blood | 75 | 19.2% |
| of blood | 20 | 5.1% |
| his blood | 18 | 4.6% |
| of the blood | 17 | 4.3% |
| in the blood | 11 | 2.8% |
| the blood thereof | 10 | 2.6% |
| their blood | 10 | 2.6% |
| with blood | 10 | 2.6% |
| bloody | 9 | 2.3% |
Key Verses (where translated "blood")¶
Genesis 4:10,11; 9:6; 37:22; Exodus 4:9; 7:19,21; 22:2,3; Leviticus 3:17; 4:5,16; 15:19; 16:27; 17:4,10,12; Numbers 35:33; Deuteronomy 17:8; 19:10,13; 21:7,8,9; 22:8; 32:14; 1 Samuel 19:5; 25:26,31,33; 1 Kings 2:31; 2 Kings 3:23; 21:16; 24:4; 1 Chronicles 22:8; 28:3; 2 Chronicles 19:10; Job 39:30; Psalm 94:21; 106:38; Proverbs 1:16,18; 6:17; 30:33; Isaiah 59:7; 66:3; Jeremiah 7:6; 22:3,17; 26:15; Ezekiel 16:38; 22:3,6,9,12,27; 23:45; 33:25; 35:6; 39:17,19; 43:18; Hosea 4:2; Joel 2:30; 3:19; Jonah 1:14; Habakkuk 2:8,17
LXX Connections¶
| Greek Word | Strong's | Count | PMI Score | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| αἷμα (haima) | G129 | 269 | 6.20 | blood (direct equivalent) |
| ἐκχέω (ekcheo) | G1632 | 49 | 5.04 | pour out |
| σφάζω (sphazo) | G4969 | 22 | 4.60 | to slaughter/butcher |
| ἄθωος (athoos) | G121 | 17 | 4.94 | innocent |
| ἔνοχος (enochos) | G1777 | 10 | 5.60 | liable/guilty |
| θυσιαστήριον (thysiastērion) | G2379 | 36 | 3.16 | altar/place of sacrifice |
| βάπτω (bapto) | G911 | 7 | 4.91 | to dip/immerse |
| φόνος (phonos) | G5408 | 6 | 4.77 | murder/slaughter |
Notes¶
- The etymological connection between H1818 dam ("blood") and H119 adam ("man/to be red") is significant: adam derives from adamah ("ground/soil"), both related to redness — the color of blood and red earth. Man (adam) was made from the ground (adamah), and his life (nephesh) is in his blood (dam).
- Dam appears in both literal (sacrificial blood) and figurative (guilt, judgment, violence) senses throughout the OT.
H5315 — nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ) — "Soul / Life / Living Being"¶
Original: נֶפֶשׁ Transliteration: nephesh (neh-fesh) Part of Speech: Feminine noun BLB Count: 753 (Strong's concordance: 780 occurrences, 214 unique translations)
Definition: From; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental): any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, dead(-ly), desire, (dis-)contented, fish, ghost, greedy, he, heart(-y), (hath, jeopardy of) life (in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-)self, them (your)-selves, slay, soul, tablet, they, thing, (she) will, would have it.
Translations (top)¶
| Translation | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| my soul | 95 | 12.2% |
| soul | 43 | 5.5% |
| thy soul | 42 | 5.4% |
| his soul | 36 | 4.6% |
| the souls | 27 | 3.5% |
| the soul | 21 | 2.7% |
| my life | 20 | 2.6% |
| thy life | 19 | 2.4% |
| his life | 16 | 2.1% |
| creature | 9 | 1.2% |
| person | 8 | 1.0% |
| life | 8 | 1.0% |
| body | 4 | 0.5% |
| desire | 2 | 0.3% |
Connection to Blood (dam)¶
The nephesh-dam connection is the theological core of the blood doctrine: - Leviticus 17:11 — "For the nephesh (life/soul) of the flesh is in the dam (blood)" - Leviticus 17:14 — "For [it is] the nephesh (life) of all flesh; the dam (blood) of it [is] for the nephesh (life) thereof" - Genesis 9:4 — "But flesh with the nephesh (life) thereof, [which is] the dam (blood) thereof, shall ye not eat" - Deuteronomy 12:23 — "for the dam (blood) is the nephesh (life)" - Leviticus 17:11 uses nephesh three times: (1) "the nephesh of the flesh is in the blood" (2) "to make atonement for your nephashoth [plural]" (3) "the blood maketh atonement for the nephesh"
H3725 — kippur (כִּפֻּר) — "Atonement / Expiation"¶
Original: כִּפֻּר Transliteration: kippur (kip-poor) Part of Speech: Masculine plural noun BLB Count: 8
Definition: From (H3722 kaphar); expiation (only in plural): atonement.
Key Verses¶
- Exodus 29:36; 30:10,16
- Leviticus 23:27,28; 25:9
- Numbers 5:8; 29:11
Notes¶
- Kippur is used exclusively in the plural (kippurim), always in the phrase "yom ha-kippurim" (Day of Atonement) or "kesef ha-kippurim" (atonement money).
- Derived from the root kaphar (H3722), which in the Piel stem means "to cover/atone/make expiation."
- The prior study (sanc-17-atonement-vocabulary) established that all cultic uses of kaphar employ the Piel (intensive) stem, never the Qal.
G129 — haima (αἷμα) — "Blood"¶
Original: αἷμα Transliteration: haima (hah-ee-mah) Part of Speech: Neuter noun BLB Count: 99 (Strong's concordance: 89 occurrences)
Definition: Of uncertain derivation; blood, literally (of men or animals).
Translations¶
| Translation | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| blood | 69 | 77.5% |
| of blood | 8 | 9.0% |
| the blood | 5 | 5.6% |
| from blood | 2 | 2.2% |
| (other) | 5 | 5.6% |
Key NT Blood-of-Christ Occurrences¶
- Matthew 26:28 — "this is my blood of the new testament"
- Mark 14:24 — "This is my blood of the new testament"
- Luke 22:20 — "the new testament in my blood"
- John 6:53-56 — "Except ye eat the flesh... and drink his blood"
- Acts 20:28 — "the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood"
- Romans 3:25 — "a propitiation through faith in his blood"
- Romans 5:9 — "justified by his blood"
- 1 Corinthians 10:16 — "the communion of the blood of Christ"
- Ephesians 1:7 — "redemption through his blood"
- Ephesians 2:13 — "made nigh by the blood of Christ"
- Colossians 1:14,20 — "redemption through his blood... peace through the blood of his cross"
- Hebrews 9:12-14 — "by his own blood he entered in once... the blood of Christ"
- Hebrews 10:19 — "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus"
- Hebrews 12:24 — "the blood of sprinkling"
- Hebrews 13:12,20 — "sanctify the people with his own blood... blood of the everlasting covenant"
- 1 Peter 1:2,19 — "sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ... precious blood of Christ"
- 1 John 1:7 — "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin"
- Revelation 1:5 — "washed us from our sins in his own blood"
- Revelation 5:9 — "hast redeemed us to God by thy blood"
- Revelation 7:14 — "washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb"
- Revelation 12:11 — "they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb"
G130 — haimatekchysia (αἱματεκχυσία) — "Shedding of Blood"¶
Original: αἱματεκχυσία Transliteration: haimatekchysia (hah-ee-mat-ek-khoo-see-ah) Part of Speech: Feminine noun BLB Count: 1 (HAPAX LEGOMENON)
Definition: From haima (G129) and a derivative of ekcheo (G1632 "to pour out"); an effusion of blood: shedding of blood.
Key Verse¶
- Hebrews 9:22 — "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood (haimatekchysia) is no remission."
Notes¶
- This is a compound word: haima ("blood") + ekchysis ("pouring out"), creating "blood-pouring" or "blood-shedding."
- As a hapax legomenon (occurring only once in the entire NT), this word was likely coined by the author of Hebrews to express the unique theological concept of blood-shedding as the indispensable condition for forgiveness.
- The LXX does not use this word; the author appears to have constructed it from existing Greek roots.
- The "almost" (schedon, G4975) qualifier in the same verse acknowledges exceptions (cf. Lev 5:11-13, non-blood atonement via grain offering) while establishing blood-shedding as the normative requirement.
G4473 — rhantismos (ῥαντισμός) — "Sprinkling"¶
Original: ῥαντισμός Transliteration: rhantismos (hran-tis-mos) Part of Speech: Masculine noun BLB Count: 2
Definition: From (G4472 rhantizo); aspersion (ceremonially or figuratively): sprinkling.
Key Verses¶
- Hebrews 12:24 — "And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling (rhantismos), that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel."
- 1 Peter 1:2 — "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling (rhantismos) of the blood of Jesus Christ."
OT Background (LXX usage)¶
Numbers 19:9,13,20 — the sprinkling of the water of purification (the red heifer rite). This connects the NT "sprinkling of blood" language to the OT purification rituals.
Notes¶
- The Hebrew equivalent for sprinkling blood is nazah (H5137), which occurs 28 times in the OT, predominantly in Leviticus for the priestly blood-sprinkling rituals.
- Rhantismos in Heb 12:24 creates a direct comparison: Abel's blood cried from the ground for justice/vengeance (Gen 4:10); Christ's blood of sprinkling speaks "better things" — mercy and forgiveness.
G629 — apolytrosis (ἀπολύτρωσις) — "Redemption / Ransom in Full"¶
Original: ἀπολύτρωσις Transliteration: apolytrosis (ap-ol-oo-tro-sis) Part of Speech: Feminine noun BLB Count: 10
Definition: From a compound of apo (G575) and lytron (G3083 "ransom"); (the act) ransom in full.
Key Verses¶
- Romans 3:24 — "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"
- Ephesians 1:7 — "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins"
- Ephesians 1:14 — "the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession"
- Colossians 1:14 — "In whom we have redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins"
- Hebrews 9:15 — "for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament"
- Luke 21:28 — "your redemption draweth nigh"
- Romans 8:23 — "the redemption of our body"
Notes¶
- The prefix apo- ("away from") + lytrosis ("ransoming") = "ransoming away from" or "complete ransom."
- In Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:14, apolytrosis is explicitly connected to "through his blood" (dia tou haimatos autou), making the blood the payment/means of the ransom.
- The connection between blood (haima) and ransom (apolytrosis) parallels the OT principle: blood = life given as ransom for life.
H5137 — nazah (נָזָה) — "Sprinkle"¶
Original: נָזָה Transliteration: nazah (naw-zaw) Part of Speech: Verb BLB Count: 24 (Strong's: 28 occurrences)
Definition: A primitive root; to spirt, i.e. besprinkle (especially in expiation): sprinkle.
Translations¶
| Translation | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| and sprinkle | 8 | 28.6% |
| And he shall sprinkle | 3 | 10.7% |
| shall sprinkle | 2 | 7.1% |
| shall he sprinkle | 2 | 7.1% |
| (other sprinkling forms) | 13 | 46.4% |
Key Verses¶
- Leviticus 4:6 — "the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD"
- Leviticus 4:17 — "the priest shall dip his finger [in some] of the blood, and sprinkle [it] seven times before the LORD"
- Leviticus 16:14 — "sprinkle [it] with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times"
- Leviticus 16:15 — "bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat"
- Leviticus 16:19 — "And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times"
- Isaiah 52:15 — "So shall he sprinkle many nations" (Messianic prophecy)
- Numbers 19:4 — Eleazar shall sprinkle [the red heifer's blood] before the tabernacle
Notes¶
- Nazah is the technical verb for the sprinkling of sacrificial blood in priestly ritual. It is distinct from zaraq (H2236), which means to toss or dash blood against the altar.
- The nazah verb appears especially in two contexts: (1) the seven-fold sprinkling before the veil (sin offerings for priest/congregation, Lev 4:6,17) and (2) the Day of Atonement blood sprinkling on the mercy seat (Lev 16:14,15,19).
- Isaiah 52:15 uses nazah in the Messianic Servant prophecy, connecting the priestly blood-sprinkling ministry to the work of the Messiah.