TR: yad → cheír (Hand / Agency)¶
The Chain¶
Hebrew OT LXX (Greek OT) Greek NT
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יָד (yad) → χείρ (cheír) → χείρ (cheír)
H3027, 1,437x 1,197x as primary 169x in NT
"hand, power, translation of yad "hand"
direction, agency"
LXX fidelity: 83% of H3027 occurrences in the LXX are rendered χείρ (1,197 of ~1,437). The correspondence is one of the strongest in the entire Hebrew–Greek lexicon.
OT Usage (Hebrew)¶
| Strong's | Word | Transliteration | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H3027 | יָד | yad | 1,437 | the open/extended hand; power, direction, means, agency |
| H3028 | יַד | yad (Aram.) | ~17 | Aramaic cognate, same meaning |
| H3709 | כַּף | kaph | ~193 | palm, hollow of hand — cupped shape |
Key OT semantic range of H3027: - Anatomical hand: "put his hand upon the burnt offering" (Lev 1:4) - Divine power/judgment: "the hand of the LORD" — Exo 9:3; Psa 75:8; Isa 66:14 - Deliverance/protection: "delivered into his hand" (Jdg 1:2); "saved from the hand of enemies" (Psa 31:15) - Agency by means of: "by the hand of Moses" — Ex 35:29 (= through the instrumentality of) - Ritual: hand-laying (samak) at sacrifices, ordinations — Lev 1:4; Num 8:10 - Social/legal: "give into the hand of" = transfer authority/custody
First OT occurrence: Gen 3:22 — "lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life"
See canonical word study: H3027-yad.md
LXX Bridge¶
| Hebrew | Greek Translation | LXX Co-occ | PMI Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H3027 יָד (yad) | G5495 χείρ | 1,197x | 27.00 | Primary equivalent — overwhelming |
| H3027 → | G3860 παραδίδωμι | 112x | 15.74 | "deliver into the hand of" — the idiom rendered as a verb |
| H3027 → | G1614 ἐκτείνω | 71x | 14.38 | "stretch out the hand" — the phrase rendered as a verb |
| H3027 → | G1807 ἐξαιρέω | 49x | 11.01 | "deliver/rescue from the hand of" — idiom rendered as verb |
| H3027 → | G1023 βραχίων | 30x | 8.08 | "arm" — OT idioms like "outstretched arm" |
| H3709 כַּף (kaph) | G5495 χείρ | 122x | 16.79 | Palm of hand — LXX uses the same Greek word for both yad and kaph |
Semantic shift in translation: In Hebrew, H3027 (yad) and H3709 (kaph) are distinct words for distinct aspects of the hand (extended vs. cupped). The LXX collapses both into χείρ, losing this distinction. NT χείρ therefore covers the semantic range of both Hebrew words without differentiating them. Additionally, many Hebrew idioms built on yad (e.g., "deliver into the hand of," "stretch out the hand") are sometimes rendered idiomatically in Greek (as verbs like παραδίδωμι or ἐκτείνω) rather than preserving the literal χείρ.
NT Usage (Greek)¶
| Strong's | Word | Transliteration | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G5495 | χείρ | cheír | 169 | the hand — physical, divine, and transferred-authority uses |
| G5499 | χειροποίητος | cheiropoiētos | 6 | made with hands (often negative — human-built vs. divine) |
| G5500 | χειροτονέω | cheirotoneō | 4 | appoint/ordain (lit. "stretch out the hand" in voting) |
| G5496 | χειραγωγέω | cheiragōgeō | 2 | lead by the hand (guide a blind person) |
| G5497 | χειραγωγός | cheiragōgos | 1 | hand-leader (one who guides a blind person) |
| G5498 | χειρόγραφον | cheirographon | 1 | handwriting, certificate of debt |
Key NT passages: - Jhn 10:28–29 — "no man shall pluck them out of my hand… no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand" — echoes OT "hand of God" protection language - Act 4:28, 30 — "whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined… By stretching forth thine hand to heal" — explicit divine hand theology - Heb 10:31 — "a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" — OT judgment-hand language sustained in NT
Direct OT→NT Quotations¶
| NT Verse | Quotes OT | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Heb 1:10 | Psa 102:25 | "the heavens are the works of thy hands" — applied to Christ as Creator |
| Heb 8:9 | Jer 31:32 | "I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt" — covenant context |
| Act 7:50 | Isa 66:2 | "Hath not my hand made all these things?" — Stephen's defense |
| Rom 10:21 | Isa 65:2 | "I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient people" — LXX identical |
Continuity and Shifts¶
What stays the same across testaments: - χείρ preserves the full OT semantic breadth of yad: anatomical hand, divine power/agency, healing/sacramental touch, custody/transfer of authority, and judgment - "The hand of the LORD" theology from the OT (Exo 9:3; 1Sa 5:6; Isa 40:2) carries directly into NT language about the Father's hand (Jhn 10:28–29; 1Pe 5:6; Heb 10:31) - The "laying on of hands" ritual (OT ordination/sacrifice: Lev 1:4; Num 8:10) continues as a NT sacramental practice (Act 8:17–19; 1Ti 4:14; Heb 6:2)
What shifts: - OT emphasizes the divine hand in salvation history (Exodus, conquest); NT applies this to Jesus' miracles and apostolic signs - The Pauline epistles introduce the autograph motif — χείρ as personal signature authenticating letters (Gal 6:11; Col 4:18; 2Th 3:17), with no OT parallel - NT adds the apocalyptic "mark in the hand" motif (Rev 14:9; 20:4) — a symbolic counter-image to the divine seal
Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source, --lookup) Last updated: 2026-04-02