Bible word study

Kaphar (Strong’s H3722): Meaning in the Bible

Kaphar (כָּפַר) is the Hebrew word numbered H3722 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel. In the King James Bible it is translated appease, make (an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive.

כָּפַר
kâphar · Hebrew
Strong’s H3722 · kaw-far'

The full Strong’s definition

to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel

Derivation. a primitive root;

How the King James Bible translates it

appease, make (an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile(-liation).

And Christ

The verb means to cover or atone, to make things right at cost. Christians read it as pointing toward the cross, where the covering of sin is accomplished once for all in Christ.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

Related words

Kopher (H3724)All Bible word studies

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