H4254 — מַחֲלָצָה (machalatsah)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H4254
Original: מַחֲלָצָה
Transliteration: machalatsah
Pronunciation: makh-al-aw-tsaw
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: חָלַץ (chalats, H2502) — to pull off, strip, draw out; by implication to deliver, equip
Occurrences: 2 tokens in 2 unique verses (2 books)
First Occurrence: Isa 3:22 — "The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,"
Hapax Legomenon: No (but near-hapax — only 2 OT occurrences)

Lexicon Definition¶

From H2502 (chalats); a mantle (as easily drawn off): — changeable suit of apparel, change of raiment.

The etymology ties directly to the root idea of "drawing off" or "stripping away" — a garment designed to be removed and replaced, hence "change of raiment." The noun form with the ma- prefix indicates the product or instrument of the root action: the garment that is changed/exchanged.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
The changeable suits of apparel	1	50%
with change of raiment	1	50%

Both KJV renderings preserve the "change" element from the chalats root. The word consistently denotes clothing meant for exchange or replacement — fine garments kept for special occasions.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Zechariah	1	0.5
Isaiah	1	0.1

Confined to two prophetic books. In Isaiah, the word appears in a catalogue of luxury items belonging to the daughters of Zion. In Zechariah, it appears in the high-priestly investiture vision. The two contexts represent the secular-luxury pole and the sacred-investiture pole of the word's range.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Luxury / Festival Garments (Secular Context)¶

Isa 3:22 — "The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,"

Part of a 21-item catalogue (Isa 3:18–24) of luxury goods to be stripped from the daughters of Zion. Listed alongside mantles (H4595 maataphah), wimples (H4304 mitpachath), and crisping pins (H2754 chariyt). The machalatsah here denotes high-quality garments kept as wardrobe changes — fine clothing reserved for festive or formal occasions.

2. Divinely Bestowed Clean Garments (Sacred Context)¶

Zec 3:4 — "And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment."

The angel commands removal of filthy (tsow, H6674 — excremental soiling) garments from Joshua the high priest and replaces them with machalatsah. The exchange is explicitly equated with the removal of iniquity (avon, H5771). The "change of raiment" here functions as the clean replacement garments in a divine investiture ceremony.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
בֶּגֶד (beged)	H899	1x (50%)	"filthy garments ... change of raiment" — the defiled beged replaced by machalatsah
חָרִיט (chariyt)	H2754	1x (50%)	Listed together in Isaiah's luxury catalogue
לָבַשׁ (labash)	H3847	1x (50%)	"I will clothe thee with change of raiment"
מִטְפַּחַת (mitpachath)	H4304	1x (50%)	Co-listed luxury items in Isa 3:22
מַעֲטָפָה (maataphah)	H4595	1x (50%)	Co-listed luxury items in Isa 3:22
סוּר (sur)	H5493	1x (50%)	"Take away the filthy garments" — removal preceding investiture
עָוֺן (avon)	H5771	1x (50%)	"I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee" — machalatsah = removal of sin
צוֹא (tsow)	H6674	1x (50%)	"filthy garments" contrasted with the clean machalatsah

With only 2 verses, all collocations are 1x. The theologically significant pairing is tsow/beged + machalatsah (filthy garments removed, clean garments bestowed) linked to avon removal.

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2502 חָלַץ (chalats) — root verb: to pull off, strip; deliver, equip (for fight); arm oneself (44 occurrences)
H2488 חֲלִיצָה (chaliytsah) — stripped garment, spoil (from same root; only in Jdg 14:19 — the garments Samson stripped from the slain)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
חֲלִיפָה (chaliphah)	H2487	"change of garments" (Gen 45:22, Jdg 14:12–19, 2Ki 5:5–23)	From H2498 chalaph "to pass on/change"; denotes a set of clothing given as a gift or prize — 12 occurrences vs. machalatsah's 2; different root family
בֶּגֶד (beged)	H899	"garment, raiment, apparel" (217 occurrences)	Generic term for any garment or clothing; machalatsah specifically denotes a replacement/exchange garment
שִׂמְלָה (simlah)	H8071	"raiment, apparel, garment" (29 occurrences)	Outer garment or mantle; general clothing term without the "change/exchange" nuance
לְבוּשׁ (lbuwsh)	H3830	"raiment, apparel, garment" (32 occurrences)	General clothing/covering term from labash "to clothe"; no exchange/replacement connotation
מַלְבּוּשׁ (malbuwsh)	H4403	"raiment, apparel" (8 occurrences)	Formal/stately clothing from labash; used for royal wardrobes (1Ki 10:5, 2Ki 10:22); no root connection to stripping/exchanging

The key distinction: machalatsah (from chalats "to strip off") inherently carries the idea of garments meant to be exchanged — pulled off and replaced. The near-synonym chaliphah (H2487, from chalaph "to change/pass") overlaps most closely but comes from a different root family and is used primarily for gift-sets of clothing.

Semantic Domain: Clothing¶

From SDBH domain [001002008001002] "Clothing": Other domain members include H73 abnet (sash), H155 addereth (mantle/glory-cloak), H232 ezowr (girdle), H641 ephod (priestly ephod).

LXX Mapping¶

No LXX alignment data available in the database. The Septuagint renders Zec 3:4 with ἱμάτια (himatia, "garments/robes") and Isa 3:22 with variations by manuscript tradition. Neither captures the etymological "exchange" nuance of the Hebrew.