רָפָהrâphâh

sink, relax, let, drop

Pronunciation: raw-faw' · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H7503

Meanings

Qal

1. sink down (Isaiah 5:24; Judges 19:9)

2. sink, drop (Nehemiah 6:9; 2 Samuel 4:1; Isaiah 13:7)

3. sink, relax, abate (Judges 8:3)

4. relax, withdraw (Exodus 4:26)

Niph`al: idle (Exodus 5:8; Exodus 5:17)

Hiph`il

1. let drop (2 Samuel 24:16; 1 Chronicles 21:15; Joshua 10:6)

2. let go (Song of Solomon 3:4; Proverbs 4:13; Job 27:6)

3. refrain (Judges 11:37; Deuteronomy 9:14; Psalms 37:8)

Hithpa`el: hast shewn thyself slack (Proverbs 24:10; Proverbs 18:9; Joshua 18:3)

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 46 times in the Bible.

  • Exodus 4:26 (When she said “a bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.) After that, the Lord left him alone.
  • Exodus 5:8 But still require them to make the same number of bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy. That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.’
  • Exodus 5:17 But Pharaoh shouted, “You’re just lazy! Lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’
  • Deuteronomy 4:31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.
  • Deuteronomy 9:14 Leave me alone so I may destroy them and erase their name from under heaven. Then I will make a mighty nation of your descendants, a nation larger and more powerful than they are.’
  • Deuteronomy 31:6 So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
See every passage

Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).