WG: Acceptance / Divine Pleasure
Overview
The acceptance concept in Hebrew Scripture centres on God evaluating and receiving (or rejecting) offerings, persons, and conduct. It involves the verb of evaluation (râtsâh), its nominal result (râtsôwn), a near-synonym for delight (châphêts), and the primary offering types that serve as objects of acceptance.
Word Group Members
| Strong's |
Word |
Transliteration |
POS |
Occ. |
Role in Concept |
Library Entry |
| H7521 |
רָצָה |
râtsâh |
verb |
54v |
The evaluation — "be pleased with, accept" |
H7521-ratsah.md |
| H7522 |
רָצוֹן |
râtsôwn |
noun |
56v |
The state/quality — "favour, acceptance, delight" |
H7522-ratsown.md |
| H2654 |
חָפֵץ |
châphêts |
verb |
71v |
Synonymous evaluation — "delight in, desire" |
TODO(need H2654 study) |
| H4503 |
מִנְחָה |
minchâh |
noun |
194v |
Object of acceptance — "grain/meal offering" |
H4503-minchah.md |
| H5930 |
עֹלָה |
ʻôlâh |
noun |
262v |
Object of acceptance — "burnt offering" |
H5930-olah.md |
| H5375 |
נָשָׂא |
nâsâʼ |
verb |
607v |
Confused with râtsâh — "lift up, bear, accept" |
H5375-nasa.md |
Relationships
Shared Roots
- râtsâh (H7521) and râtsôwn (H7522) — same ר-צ-ה root; verb and derived noun
- minchâh (H4503) and ʻôlâh (H5930) — not etymologically related, but form a formulaic pair in sacrificial legislation
Co-occurrence (appear in same verses)
| Word A |
Word B |
Shared Verses |
Typical Context |
| minchâh (H4503) |
ʻôlâh (H5930) |
43v |
Standard sacrificial pair: "burnt offering and meat offering" |
| râtsâh (H7521) |
minchâh (H4503) |
5v |
God accepting/rejecting the grain offering |
| râtsâh (H7521) |
ʻôlâh (H5930) |
5v |
God accepting/rejecting the burnt offering |
| châphêts (H2654) |
ʻôlâh (H5930) |
6v |
"The LORD delighteth not in burnt offerings" |
| râtsâh (H7521) |
châphêts (H2654) |
2v |
Paired in Psalm 51:16 — rejection of mere ritual |
| râtsôwn (H7522) |
ʻôlâh (H5930) |
3v |
"Acceptable burnt offering" (Lev 1:3) |
LXX Overlaps
| Hebrew Words |
Shared Greek |
Notes |
| râtsâh (H7521) + châphêts (H2654) |
both → εὐδοκέω (G2106) |
LXX uses one Greek verb for both Hebrew pleasure/delight verbs |
| minchâh (H4503) + ʻôlâh (H5930) |
both → θυσία (G2378) |
LXX sometimes flattens both offering types into generic "sacrifice" |
| râtsâh (H7521) + nâsâʼ (H5375) |
both → δέχομαι (G1209) |
"Receive/accept" — the transactional sense |
Roles in the Concept
- Evaluator: râtsâh (רָצָה H7521) — the act of evaluating and finding acceptable or unacceptable
- State: râtsôwn (רָצוֹן H7522) — the resulting condition of favour, acceptance, or goodwill
- Synonym: châphêts (חָפֵץ H2654) — parallel evaluative verb, emphasizing inclination/desire
- Object (grain): minchâh (מִנְחָה H4503) — the grain/meal offering presented for acceptance
- Object (burnt): ʻôlâh (עֹלָה H5930) — the whole burnt offering presented for acceptance
- Confused: nâsâʼ (נָשָׂא H5375) — "accept" in the sense of "lift up/bear" (overlaps in KJV translation but different mechanism: bearing vs. evaluating)
Key Passages Where Multiple Group Words Appear Together
- Amos 5:22 — [râtsâh + minchâh + ʻôlâh] "Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them"
- Jer 14:12 — [râtsâh + minchâh + ʻôlâh] "when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them"
- Psalm 51:16 — [râtsâh + châphêts + ʻôlâh] "thou desirest not sacrifice... thou delightest not in burnt offering"
- Judg 13:23 — [châphêts + minchâh + ʻôlâh] "If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands"
- Lev 1:3-4 — [râtsôwn + râtsâh + ʻôlâh] "a male without blemish... at his own voluntary will [râtsôwn]... it shall be accepted [râtsâh]"
Generated from: gather_word_group_data.py, search_strongs.py
Last updated: 2026-05-05