H6452 — פָּסַח (pasach)¶
Core Data¶
- Strong's: H6452
- Original: פָּסַח
- Transliteration: pasach (pâçach)
- Pronunciation: paw-sakh'
- Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
- Root: Primitive root (no stated derivation); cognate noun H6453 פֶּסַח (pesach, "Passover") and adjective H6455 פִּסֵּחַ (pisseach, "lame")
- Occurrences: 8 unique verses in OT (8 tokens)
- Books: 4 (Exodus, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, Isaiah)
- First Occurrence: Exo 12:13 — "when I see the blood, I will pass over you"
- Hapax Legomenon: No
Lexicon Definition¶
A primitive root; to hop, i.e. (figuratively) skip over (or spare); by implication, to hesitate; also (literally) to limp, to dance: — halt, become lame, leap, pass over.
Verb Stem Distribution¶
| Stem | Count | Typical Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Qal | 5 | pass over, spare (Exo 12); hesitate/halt (1Ki 18:21); hover protectively (Isa 31:5) |
| Niphal | 1 | become lame (2Sa 4:4 — Mephibosheth's injury) |
| Piel | 1 | leap, dance frenziedly (1Ki 18:26 — Baal prophets on the altar) |
Note: 2Sa 5:6 ("the blind and the lame") is tagged H6452 in some concordances but is morphologically the adjective H6455 פִּסֵּחַ (pisseach). The verbal occurrences proper total 7.
Translation Distribution (KJV)¶
| Translation | Verses | % |
|---|---|---|
| pass over / passed over | 3 | 37.5% |
| halt | 1 | 12.5% |
| became lame | 1 | 12.5% |
| the lame | 1 | 12.5% |
| leaped | 1 | 12.5% |
| passing over | 1 | 12.5% |
Distribution by Book¶
| Book | Count | Per 100 Verses |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Samuel | 2 | 0.29 |
| Exodus | 3 | 0.25 |
| 1 Kings | 2 | 0.25 |
| Isaiah | 1 | 0.08 |
Concentrated in the Exodus Passover narrative (3 of 8). The remaining occurrences are scattered across historical and prophetic contexts with no secondary clustering.
Semantic Categories¶
1. Divine Protective Passing-Over (Sparing from Judgment)¶
The core Passover usage — God "hopping over" the blood-marked Israelite houses during the tenth plague. - Exo 12:13 — "when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt" - Exo 12:23 — "the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you" - Exo 12:27 — "It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses"
2. Hovering / Shielding (Protective Action)¶
Extended metaphor of divine protection, combining the Passover "sparing" sense with imagery of a bird defending its nest. - Isa 31:5 — "As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it"
3. Limping / Hesitating (Indecision)¶
The physical sense of uneven, hobbling movement applied metaphorically to spiritual vacillation between YHWH and Baal. - 1Ki 18:21 — "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word"
4. Becoming Lame (Physical Injury)¶
Niphal reflexive — the physical sense of the root, denoting permanent crippling. - 2Sa 4:4 — "his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth"
5. Frenzied Leaping / Ritual Dance¶
Piel intensive — energetic, repeated hopping or leaping in the context of pagan ritual. - 1Ki 18:26 — "they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made"
6. Physical Lameness (Adjective / Participial)¶
- 2Sa 5:6 — "Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither" (tagged H6452 in concordances; morphologically the derived adjective H6455)
Common Collocations¶
| Word | Strong's | Co-occurrences | Typical Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| יְהֹוָה (YHWH) | H3068 | 4x (50%) | YHWH as subject of passing over (Exo 12; Isa 31) |
| בַּיִת (bayith) | H1004 | 3x (38%) | "passed over the houses" — the Exodus narrative |
| מִצְרַיִם (Mitsrayim) | H4714 | 3x (38%) | Egypt as location of the Passover event |
| בּוֹא (bo') | H935 | 3x (38%) | "not suffer the destroyer to come in" — protective exclusion |
| דָּם (dam) | H1818 | 2x (25%) | blood as the condition for passing over |
| בַּעַל (Ba'al) | H1168 | 2x (25%) | Baal context in 1Ki 18 (halting/leaping) |
| נָגַף (nagaph) | H5062 | 2x (25%) | "smite" — the plague that pasach averts |
Related Words¶
Word Family / Cognates¶
- H6453 פֶּסַח (pesach) — masculine noun: "Passover" (the festival or the victim); 49 verses. Derived from H6452.
- H6455 פִּסֵּחַ (pisseach) — adjective: "lame"; 14 verses. Derived from H6452.
Easily Confused Words¶
| Word | Strong's | Shared Translation | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| עָבַר (ʻabar) | H5674 | "pass over" (38x) | ʻabar = cross over, traverse (physical movement); pasach = skip over, spare (protective hopping) |
| דָּלַג (dalag) | H1801 | "leap" (5x) | dalag = joyful springing/leaping; pasach Piel = frenzied ritual hopping |
| פִּסֵּחַ (pisseach) | H6455 | "lame" (14x) | pisseach = the adjective "lame"; pasach Niphal = the process of becoming lame |
Semantic Domains (SDBH)¶
- Unable [002001001061] — physical incapacity (lameness sense)
- Move [002002001012] — physical motion (hopping, leaping sense)
- Non-Engage [002003003012] — refraining from action (passing over, sparing sense)
- Think [002004002013] — deliberation/hesitation (halting between opinions)
LXX Mapping¶
The LXX data for H6452 does not show a single dominant Greek equivalent (no dedicated verb with high co-occurrence). The LXX renders the Passover occurrences periphrastically rather than with a consistent single Greek verb; the concept is carried primarily by the noun πάσχα (pascha, G3957), a transliteration of the Aramaic/Hebrew פסחא/פסח rather than a translation.
Generated from: gather_word_data.py, hebrew_parser.py, search_relationships.py, search_strongs.py Last updated: 2026-04-30