H898 — בָּגַד (bagad)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H898
Original: בָּגַד
Transliteration: bâgad
Pronunciation: baw-gad'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root; to cover (with a garment); figuratively, to act covertly
Occurrences: 39 unique verses (58 tokens) across 12 books
First Occurrence: Exo 21:8 — "If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to cover (with a garment); figuratively, to act covertly; by implication, to pillage: — deal deceitfully (treacherously, unfaithfully), offend, transgress(-or), (depart), treacherous (dealer, -ly, man), unfaithful(-ly, man), very.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	49 (100%)	deal treacherously, act faithlessly

All 49 verb tokens are Qal. No Niphal, Piel, Hiphil, or other stems attested.

Conjugation breakdown: | Form | Count | Notes | |------|-------|-------| | Participle (boged/bogdim) | ~21 | Substantival "treacherous ones / the treacherous dealer" — dominant in Proverbs and prophets | | Perfect (bagad/bagdu) | ~19 | Completed acts of treachery — narrative and accusatory | | Imperfect (yibgod/tibgod) | ~6 | Ongoing or future treachery — warnings and judgments | | Infinitive Construct | 2 | Verbal noun — Exo 21:8, Isa 33:1 | | Infinitive Absolute | 2 | Emphatic — Isa 48:8, Jer 5:11 | | Wayyiqtol | 2 | Sequential narrative — Jdg 9:23, Psa 78:57 |

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
deal/dealt treacherously	~23	59%
transgressor(s) / transgress	~9	23%
deal/dealt deceitfully	2	5%
dealt unfaithfully / unfaithful man	2	5%
offend	1	3%
very (intensifier in compounds)	2	5%

The KJV overwhelmingly renders bagad with "treacherously" (59%). The "transgressor" renderings appear exclusively in Proverbs for the participle bogdim. "Deceitfully" and "unfaithfully" are minor variants.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Malachi	5	9.1
Habakkuk	2	3.6
Proverbs	9	1.0
Hosea	2	1.0
Lamentations	1	0.6
Jeremiah	7	0.5
Isaiah	4	0.3
Psalms	5	0.2
Judges	1	0.2
Exodus	1	0.1
1 Samuel	1	0.1
Job	1	0.1

Pattern: Overwhelmingly prophetic and wisdom literature. Malachi has the highest density (9.1 per 100 verses) with five occurrences concentrated in the marriage-covenant passage (2:10–16). Proverbs has the highest raw count (9) using the participle bogdim as a character type. The word is absent from the Pentateuch outside one case law (Exo 21:8), absent from most historical books, and absent from the NT entirely.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Covenant Treachery Against YHWH¶

National Israel or Judah breaking faith with God — the most common prophetic usage. - Jer 3:8 — "treacherous Judah... her treacherous sister Judah" - Jer 5:11 — "the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me" - Hos 5:7 — "they have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children" - Hos 6:7 — "they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me"

2. Marriage Treachery / Covenant-Breaking Between Spouses¶

Violation of the marriage covenant, used literally and as metaphor for Israel's apostasy. - Mal 2:14 — "the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously" - Mal 2:15 — "let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth" - Jer 3:20 — "as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me" - Exo 21:8 — "seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her" (betrothed woman sold into servitude)

3. The Treacherous as a Character Type (Proverbs)¶

The participle bogdim functions as a substantive noun labeling a moral character type — always negatively. - Pro 2:22 — "the transgressors shall be rooted out" - Pro 11:3 — "the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them" - Pro 13:15 — "the way of transgressors is hard" - Pro 25:19 — "confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth"

4. International / Political Treachery¶

Nations or political entities acting treacherously against others. - Isa 21:2 — "the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth" - Isa 33:1 — "woe to thee that... dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee" - Hab 1:13 — "wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously" - Hab 2:5 — "he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man"

5. Interpersonal Treachery (Against Community)¶

Breach of faith between individuals or within a community. - Mal 2:10 — "why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother?" - Job 6:15 — "my brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook" - Jer 12:6 — "even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee" - Lam 1:2 — "all her friends have dealt treacherously with her"

6. Self-Restraint from Treachery¶

The rare case of holding back from treachery out of moral awareness. - Psa 73:15 — "if I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children" - Psa 25:3 — "let them be ashamed which transgress without cause"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	11x (28%)	"dealt treacherously against the LORD" — object of treachery
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Israel)	H3478	7x (18%)	"the house of Israel... have dealt treacherously" — subject
אָמַר (amar)	H559	6x (15%)	Prophetic speech formula introducing the accusation
אֱלֹהִים (elohim)	H430	4x (10%)	"against their God" — divine object of faithlessness
יְהוּדָה (Judah)	H3063	4x (10%)	"treacherous Judah" — Jeremiah's characterization
צַדִּיק (tsaddiq)	H6662	4x (10%)	Righteous-treacherous contrast (Pro 11:3,6; 21:18; Jer 12:1)
רָשָׁע (rasha)	H7563	4x (10%)	Wicked-treacherous pairing
אָח (ach)	H251	3x (8%)	"deal treacherously... against his brother" — interpersonal
אִשָּׁה (ishshah)	H802	3x (8%)	"wife of thy youth" — marriage-treachery contexts
בְּרִית (berith)	H1285	3x (8%)	"transgressed the covenant" — covenant-violation frame

Semantic Domain: Unfaithfulness¶

From SDBH domain [002001002027]: | Strong's | Word | Transliteration | Role | |----------|------|-----------------|------| | H898 | בָּגַד | bâgad | This word — act treacherously | | H899 | בֶּגֶד | beged | Noun cognate — treachery; also "garment" (homonym) | | H900 | בֹּגְדוֹת | bogdowth | Feminine plural — treacheries (hapax, Zep 3:4) | | H901 | בָּגוֹד | bagôwd | Adjective — treacherous (hapax, Jer 3:7) | | H2181 | זָנָה | zanah | Play the harlot — sexual/spiritual infidelity | | H2183 | זְנוּנִים | znunim | Whoredoms — acts of spiritual adultery |

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
פָּשַׁע (pasha)	H6586	"transgress / transgressor"	pasha = rebel against authority (political revolt metaphor); bagad = betray trust within a relationship
מָעַל (maal)	H4603	"deal unfaithfully / transgress"	maal = breach of faith specifically against sacred things (trespass against holy property); bagad = breach of relational trust (covenant, marriage)
שָׁקַר (shaqar)	H8266	"deal falsely"	shaqar = speak/act falsehood (deception focus); bagad = violate trust/covenant (betrayal focus)

Referenced in Existing Word Studies¶

H2181-zanah.md — spiritual harlotry, overlapping covenant-infidelity domain
H4878-mshuwbah.md — backsliding, apostasy
H6586-pasha.md — rebel, transgress

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
ἀθετέω (atheteo)	G114	12	7.34	Primary — "set aside, nullify, reject"
ἐγκαταλείπω (enkataleipo)	G1459	6	4.63	"Forsake, abandon" — treachery as abandonment
ἄνομος (anomos)	G459	4	4.63	"Lawless" — treachery as lawlessness
καταφρονέω (kataphroneo)	G2706	3	7.31	"Despise" — treachery as contempt
ἀπώλεια (apoleia)	G684	3	4.62	"Destruction" — consequence of treachery
ἀσεβής (asebes)	G765	4	3.66	"Ungodly" — character of treacherous person

The LXX fragments bagad across multiple Greek words rather than providing a single dominant equivalent. The highest PMI score goes to ἀθετέω (atheteo) — "to set aside, nullify, reject" — which captures the covenant-annulment dimension of bagad. The lack of a single consistent Greek rendering reflects the word's relational complexity: treachery against covenant partners is not easily captured by one Greek concept.