H2287 — חָגַג (chagag)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2287
Original: חָגַג
Transliteration: chagag
Pronunciation: khaw-gag'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: חגג — to move in a circle
Occurrences: 16 tokens in 14 unique verses across 8 books
First Occurrence: Exo 5:1 — "Let my people go, that they may hold a feast (chagag) unto me in the wilderness"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root (compare H2283, H2328); properly, to move in a circle, i.e. (specifically) to march in a sacred procession, to observe a festival; by implication, to be giddy: — celebrate, dance, (keep, hold) a (solemn) feast (holiday), reel to and fro.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Forms Attested
Qal	16	Imperfect (8), Perfect (3), Participle (2), Infinitive Construct (3), Imperative (1)

All 16 occurrences are Qal. No Niphal, Piel, Hiphil, or other stems attested.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
keep (a feast)	7	50.0%
keep it a feast	2	14.3%
celebrate	1	7.1%
hold a feast	1	7.1%
keep a solemn feast	1	7.1%
kept holyday	1	7.1%
dancing	1	7.1%
reel to and fro	1	7.1%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Nahum	1	2.1
Zechariah	3	1.4
Exodus	3	0.2
Leviticus	2	0.2
Numbers	1	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
1 Samuel	1	0.1
Psalms	2	0.1

Concentrated in Pentateuchal legislation (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy = 7 of 16 tokens). Prophetic eschatological use in Zechariah 14 (3 tokens). Absent from historical narratives except 1 Sam 30:16. The two Psalms occurrences represent both the festive and physical-motion senses.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Appointed Festival Observance (Legislative Commands)¶

The dominant use: commanded observance of Israel's annual pilgrimage festivals. - Exo 23:14 — "Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year." - Lev 23:39 — "ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath." - Lev 23:41 — "And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year." - Num 29:12 — "ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days"

2. Exodus Liberation — Feast as Act of Worship¶

The first occurrence frames chagag as the purpose of Israel's exodus: worship through festival. - Exo 5:1 — "Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." - Exo 12:14 — "ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever."

3. Eschatological Feast-Keeping (Prophetic)¶

Nations compelled to observe YHWH's festivals in the messianic age. - Zec 14:16 — "every one that is left of all the nations... 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 — "if the family of Egypt go not up... there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles." - Zec 14:19 — "the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles." - Nah 1:15 — "O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows"

4. Festive Celebration / Dancing (Participial)¶

The participial form describes joyful, possibly circular movement associated with feasting. - 1 Sam 30:16 — "they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil" - Psa 42:4 — "I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday."

5. Physical Reeling / Staggering¶

The root sense of circular motion applied to physical disorientation. - Psa 107:27 — "They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end."

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
חַג (chag)	H2282	8x (57%)	Cognate accusative: "keep a feast" (chagag + chag)
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	8x (57%)	Object of worship: "keep a feast unto the LORD"
כֹּל (kol)	H3605	6x (43%)	Universalizing: "all nations" / "all the fruit"
יוֹם (yom)	H3117	5x (36%)	Duration: "seven days shalt thou keep a feast"
שֶׁבַע (sheba)	H7651	4x (29%)	Seven-day festival duration
סֻכָּה (sukkah)	H5521	3x (21%)	"feast of tabernacles" (Zec 14:16–19)
עָלָה (alah)	H5927	3x (21%)	Pilgrimage: "go up... to keep the feast"
חֹדֶשׁ (chodesh)	H2320	3x (21%)	Calendar specification: "in the seventh month"
שָׁנֶה (shaneh)	H8141	3x (21%)	Annual cycle: "seven days in the year"

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2282 חַג (chag) — noun: feast, festival, solemnity (62v). The cognate noun derived from chagag.
H2283 חָגָא (chagaʼ) — noun: terror, dread (hapax, Isa 19:17). Related by root.
H2328 חוּג (chuwg) — verb: to draw a circle, compass (3v). Shares the circular-motion root concept.

Synonyms¶

H5128 נוּע (nuwa) — to waver, tremble, stagger (36v). Overlaps in the "reel/stagger" sense.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
שָׁמַר (shamar)	H8104	"keep"	shamar = guard, watch, preserve; chagag = observe festively
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	"keep"	asah = do, make (general action); chagag = specifically festival observance

Semantic Domains¶

[002001001063] Unsteady — physical instability, reeling (Psa 107:27 sense)
[002002002011] Festivals — appointed religious celebrations (primary domain)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
ἑορτάζω (heortazo)	G1858	13x	10.46	Primary: "keep festival" — near one-to-one
σκηνοπηγία (?)	G4634	3x	9.92	"feast of tabernacles" (Zec 14)
ἑορτή (heorte)	G1859	6x	6.87	Noun form used when LXX recasts verb as noun

The G1858 ἑορτάζω mapping is dominant (13 of 16 tokens) with very high PMI (10.46), but co-occurrence count is below the trace threshold of 20.