H7364 — רָחַץ (rachats)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H7364
Original: רָחַץ
Transliteration: râchats
Pronunciation: raw-khats'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 71 unique verses (76 tokens) across 18 books
First Occurrence: Gen 18:4 — "Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to lave (the whole or a part of a thing): — bathe (self), wash (self).

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	72	wash, bathe (active/reflexive)
Pual	2	be washed (passive — Eze 16:4; Pro 30:12)
Hithpael	1	wash oneself (reflexive — Job 9:30)

The Qal dominates overwhelmingly (96%). The two Pual occurrences mark situations where washing was expected but absent (Eze 16:4 — newborn Israel not washed) or insufficient (Pro 30:12 — a generation not washed from filthiness). The single Hithpael (Job 9:30) is emphatic self-washing: "If I wash myself with snow water."

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
wash / and wash / to wash / Wash	~35	49%
bathe / and bathe	~16	23%
washed / and washed	~12	17%
Other forms (shall wash, they washed, washing, etc.)	~8	11%

KJV translates rachats as "wash" when hands, feet, or sacrificial parts are the object, and "bathe" when the whole body is immersed. Both render the same Hebrew word; the distinction is English, not Hebrew.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	26	3.0
Exodus	11	0.9
Genesis	5	0.3
2 Samuel	3	0.4
2 Kings	3	0.4
Psalms	3	0.1
Ezekiel	3	0.2
Numbers	3	0.2
Deuteronomy	2	0.2
Song of Solomon	2	—
Isaiah	2	0.2
Job	2	0.2
Judges	1	0.2
Ruth	1	—
1 Samuel	1	0.1
1 Kings	1	0.1
2 Chronicles	1	0.1
Proverbs	1	0.1

Leviticus alone accounts for 37% of all occurrences, with the highest density (3.0 per 100 verses). Including Exodus and Numbers, the Torah contains 56% of all uses. The word is fundamentally cultic-ritual vocabulary concentrated in the Pentateuch's purity legislation.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Priestly/Ritual Purification — Body Washing¶

The dominant category. Washing the body (or "flesh," basar) in water as part of ritual purification, especially for priests before service and for anyone transitioning from unclean to clean status. - Exo 29:4 — "and shalt wash them with water" (Aaron and sons at tabernacle door) - Exo 40:12 — "and wash them with water" (priestly consecration) - Lev 16:4 — "shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water" (Day of Atonement preparation) - Lev 16:24 — "And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place" (after atonement rites)

2. Impurity Removal — Contact Defilement¶

Persons who become ritually unclean through contact must wash their body in water and remain unclean until evening. Appears as a formulaic pattern in Leviticus 15. - Lev 15:5 — "shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even" - Lev 15:11 — "he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even" - Lev 15:27 — "shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even" - Num 19:7 — "the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water"

3. Sacrificial Preparation — Washing Inwards and Legs¶

Washing the entrails and legs of sacrificial animals before burning on the altar — a ritual cleansing of the offering itself. - Exo 29:17 — "wash the inwards of him, and his legs" - Lev 1:9 — "his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water" - Lev 1:13 — "he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water" - Lev 8:21 — "he washed the inwards and the legs in water"

4. Hospitality — Foot Washing¶

Washing feet upon arrival as a gesture of hospitality in patriarchal and later narrative contexts. - Gen 18:4 — "wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree" (Abraham to the three visitors) - Gen 24:32 — "gave them water, and they washed their feet" (Laban's hospitality) - Gen 43:24 — "they washed their feet" (Joseph's steward to the brothers) - Jdg 19:21 — "they washed their feet, and did eat and drink"

5. Personal Hygiene and Self-Preparation¶

Non-ritual washing for cleanliness, grooming, or preparing oneself for an occasion. - Ruth 3:3 — "Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee" - 2 Sam 12:20 — "David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself" - 2 Sam 11:2 — "a woman washing herself" (Bathsheba bathing) - Song 5:3 — "I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?"

6. Healing Washing¶

Washing in water as a means of divine healing or restoration. - 2 Ki 5:10 — "Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee" - 2 Ki 5:12 — "may I not wash in them, and be clean?" - 2 Ki 5:13 — "wash, and be clean"

7. Metaphorical/Figurative Washing¶

Moral or spiritual cleansing, or victory imagery. - Isa 1:16 — "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings" - Isa 4:4 — "the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion" - Psalm 26:6 — "I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar" - Psalm 73:13 — "Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency" - Psalm 58:10 — "he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked" (victory metaphor)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
מַיִם (mayim)	H4325	41x (58%)	"wash/bathe in water" — the medium of washing
בֶּגֶד (beged)	H899	20x (28%)	"wash his clothes and bathe" — paired garment + body purification
כָּבַס (kabas)	H3526	19x (27%)	kabas for garments, rachats for body — paired ritual formula
עֶרֶב (ereb)	H6153	18x (25%)	"unclean until the even" — temporal boundary of impurity
טָמֵא (tame)	H2930	15x (21%)	"bathe... and be unclean" — impurity status being resolved
בָּשָׂר (basar)	H1320	13x (18%)	"wash/bathe his flesh" — body as object of washing
רֶגֶל (regel)	H7272	11x (15%)	"wash feet" — hospitality and priestly service
מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeach)	H4196	9x (13%)	altar context — sacrificial preparation or priestly approach
טָהֵר (taher)	H2891	8x (11%)	"wash... and be clean" — washing as means to cleanness

Synonyms¶

H1740 דּוּחַ (duwach) — to rinse, thrust away (2v); figurative washing/cleansing
H2135 זָכָה (zakah) — to be pure, clean (8v); moral/forensic purity
H2141 זָכַך (zakak) — to be clear, clean (4v); physical/moral brightness
H3526 כָּבַס (kabas) — to wash, trample (51v); laundering garments by treading
H7857 שָׁטַף (shataph) — to overflow, rinse, wash away (31v); forceful washing by flooding

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
כָּבַס (kabas)	H3526	"wash," "shall wash"	kabas = treading/scrubbing garments; rachats = laving body/body parts in water
שָׁטַף (shataph)	H7857	"washed"	shataph = forceful flooding/rinsing away; rachats = controlled bathing/laving
דּוּחַ (duwach)	H1740	"they washed"	duwach = figurative rinsing/casting aside (2v only); rachats = literal water-washing
νίπτω (nipto)	G3538	"to wash," "washed"	nipto = NT partial washing (hands/feet); rachats = OT broader (whole or part)
λούω (louo)	G3068	"and washed," "washed"	louo = NT full-body bathing; rachats covers both partial and full washing

Semantic Domain¶

[002001001012] Clean — Domain neighbors: H1252 bor (purity), H1305 barar (make bright/purify), H1740 duwach (rinse), H2212 zaqaq (refine), H2219 zarah (winnow)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
λούω (louo)	G3068	40	8.30	Primary — full-body bathing
πλύνω (plyno)	G4150	25	7.43	Washing objects/garments (overlap with kabas)
νίπτω (nipto)	G3538	19	8.26	Partial washing — hands, feet

The LXX translators distinguish what the Hebrew does not: louo for whole-body immersion, nipto for hands/feet, and plyno for objects. Rachats in Hebrew covers all three semantic spaces.