H2282 — חַג (chag)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2282
Original: חַג
Transliteration: chag
Pronunciation: khag
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: H2287 חָגַג (châgag) — to move in a circle, march in sacred procession, observe a festival
Occurrences: 55 unique verses (69 tokens), 17 books
First Occurrence: Exo 10:9 — "We will go with our young and with our old... for we must hold a feast unto the LORD"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Or חָג (châg); from H2287; a festival, or a victim therefor:—(solemn) feast (day), sacrifice, solemnity.

The root חָגַג (châgag) means "to move in a circle, to march in a sacred procession, to observe a festival." The noun captures both the occasion (the pilgrimage festival) and by extension the sacrificial victim offered at it.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
feast / a feast / the feast	41	74.5%
in the feast / of the feast / at the feast	9	16.4%
solemn feast(s) / feast days	4	7.3%
sacrifice / solemnity	1	1.8%

Note: The "sacrifice" rendering (Exo 23:18; 34:25) likely reflects the victim offered at the festival rather than the feast itself.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Nahum	1	2.1
Malachi	1	1.8
Zechariah	3	1.4
Amos	2	1.4
Hosea	2	1.0
2 Chronicles	7	0.9
Exodus	10	0.8
Ezra	2	0.7
Leviticus	4	0.5
1 Kings	4	0.5
Deuteronomy	5	0.5
Nehemiah	2	0.5
Ezekiel	5	0.4
Numbers	2	0.2
Judges	1	0.2
Isaiah	2	0.2
Psalms	2	0.1

Highest density is in the Minor Prophets (Nahum, Malachi, Amos, Hosea), where chag appears in prophetic rebuke. Highest volume is in Exodus (10) and 2 Chronicles (7), reflecting the Mosaic legislation and the royal feast observances. The word is absent from Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, and all narrative books that do not touch on festival worship.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Three Annual Pilgrimage Feasts¶

Chag is the overarching term for the three festivals requiring all male Israelites to appear before the LORD.

Exo 23:14–16 — "Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread... and the feast of harvest... and the feast of ingathering"
Deu 16:16 — "Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles"
Exo 34:22 — "Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end"

2. The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)¶

The single most prominent individual chag, running seven days from the 15th of the 7th month, with booths (sukkot).

Lev 23:34 — "The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD"
Lev 23:39–41 — "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days"
Deu 16:13–14 — "Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days... and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast"
Num 29:12 — "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation... ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days"

3. Temple Dedication and Royal Assembly Feasts¶

Chag marks the great national gatherings at the completion of the Temple and under covenant-renewing kings.

1 Ki 8:2 — "All the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month"
1 Ki 8:65 — "Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation... seven days and seven days"
2 Chr 7:8–9 — "Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him... they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days"
Ezr 3:4 — "They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings"

4. Prophetic Rebuke of Corrupted Feast-Keeping¶

The high density of chag in the Minor Prophets reflects its use in divine condemnation — Israel kept the form while abandoning the covenant.

Amos 5:21 — "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies"
Amos 8:10 — "I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation"
Hos 2:11 — "I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts"
Mal 2:3 — "Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts"

5. Eschatological Universal Feast of Tabernacles¶

Zechariah envisions chag expanding from an Israelite obligation to a universal annual observance in the messianic age.

Zec 14:16 — "Every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles"
Zec 14:18–19 — "The punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יוֹם (yôwm)	H3117	29x (53%)	"feast day(s)" — the day(s) of the feast
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	22x (40%)	"feast of the LORD" — divine ownership of the festival
חֹדֶשׁ (chôdesh)	H2320	20x (36%)	"the feast in the [nth] month" — calendrical precision
שֶׁבַע (shebaʻ)	H7651	20x (36%)	"seven days" duration formula
עָשָׂה (ʻâsâh)	H6213	19x (35%)	"keep/hold the feast" — observance as action
מַצָּה (matstsâh)	H4682	12x (22%)	"feast of unleavened bread"
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrâʼêl)	H3478	12x (22%)	"feast of Israel" / Israel assembled
סֻכָּה (çukkâh)	H5521	10x (18%)	"feast of tabernacles/booths"
שְׁבִיעִי (shᵉbîyʻîy)	H7637	9x (16%)	"the seventh month" feast context
מוֹעֵד (môwʻêd)	H4150	8x (15%)	pairing of "appointed time" + "pilgrimage feast"
חָגַג (châgag)	H2287	8x (15%)	root verb + noun: "celebrate the feast"

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2287 חָגַג (châgag) — root verb: to move in a circle, march in sacred procession, observe a festival (16x)
H2283 חָגָא (châgâʼ) — only 1x (Psa 107:27) — terror, dread (related to giddy/reeling motion of root)
H2284 חָגָב (châgâb) — locust (possibly from same root of circular movement)

Synonyms¶

H4150 מוֹעֵד (môwʻêd) — appointed time, festival, assembly; broader feast term overlapping chag
H6116 עֲצָרָה (ʻătsârâh) — solemn assembly, especially a festival gathering

Antonyms¶

H60 אֵבֶל (ʼêbel) — mourning; explicit feast-to-mourning reversal in Amos 8:10

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV Translation	Key Difference
מוֹעֵד (môwʻêd)	H4150	both → "feast", "solemn feast"	môwʻêd = any appointed time/place/meeting (229x, broader); chag = specifically the pilgrimage festival with processional character
מִשְׁתֶּה (mishteh)	H4960	both → "feast", "a feast"	mishteh = a drinking feast, banquet (social/celebratory); chag = a sacred pilgrimage festival commanded by God
עֲצֶרֶת (ʻătsâreth)	H6116	both appear in festival contexts	ʻătsâreth = the closing solemn assembly at end of feast; chag = the whole festival period

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
002002002011	Festivals	Primary pilgrimage-feast field documented throughout the study
001002006	Animals	Secondary sacrificial-victim sense, matching the lexicon note "a victim therefor"

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ἑορτή (heortḗ)	G1859	50x	31.28	Primary — "festival, feast"
ἑορτάζω (heortázō)	G1858	9x	18.31	Verbal cognate — "to keep a feast"
ἄζυμος (ázymos)	G106	12x	17.65	"unleavened" — feast of unleavened bread context
πανήγυρις (panḗgyris)	G3831	4x	13.98	"solemn assembly, festal gathering"

The primary LXX bridge G1859 ἑορτή carries chag directly into NT usage — all NT references to Jewish festival observance use heortḗ.