chata · sin

What it means

chata (חָטָא) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “sin”.

Miss the mark of what God asks, do wrong. In another form of the verb, "purify" from sin; also bear the loss.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To do wrong, fail God or another.
2. To miss the target, fail to hit.
3. To lead others into doing wrong.
4. To cleanse from sin or uncleanness.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Sin. BDB notes that the proper sense is to miss, to miss the mark, and from there to sin; in other forms, to make a sin offering or to purify.

• To miss the mark (literally) Judges 20:16
• To sin against God Genesis 39:92 Samuel 12:13Psalms 51:4
• To sin against another person Genesis 20:6
• To make others sin 1 Kings 14:16
• To purify from sin Leviticus 14:49Numbers 19:19

Historical and cultural background

Judges 20:16 shows the original sense: the slingers of Benjamin “could sling a stone at a hair and not miss”.

How we translate it

“Sin” 69 times, “sinned” 66, “we have sinned” 23, “sins” 22, “I have sinned” 15. חָטָא לְ is translated “sin against”, also between persons. In the form that means to purify it is translated “purify” (Leviticus 14:49), and in its literal sense, “miss” (Judges 20:16).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• sin ×69
• sinned ×66
• we have sinned ×23
• sins ×22
• I have sinned ×15
• he has committed ×9
• sinner ×8
• sinning ×8
• purify ×4
• purify himself ×4
• others ×10

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×8
• Exodus×10
• Leviticus×30
• Numbers×18
• Deuteronomy×6
• Joshua×2
• Judges×4
• 1 Samuel×14
• 2 Samuel×4
• 1 Kings×23
• 2 Kings×18
• 1 Chronicles×2
• 2 Chronicles×8
• Nehemiah×6
• Job×12
• Psalms×9
• Proverbs×6
• Ecclesiastes×7
• Isaiah×6
• Jeremiah×14
• Lamentations×3
• Ezekiel×16
• Daniel×4
• Hosea×5
• Micah×1
• Habakkuk×1
• Zephaniah×1

• Genesis 20:6

  Then Elohim said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this; and I also kept back you from sinning against me; that is why I did not let you touch her.

• Genesis 20:9

  Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? Deeds that ought not to be done you have done to me.”

• Genesis 31:39

  What was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it; from my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

• Genesis 39:9

  He is not greater in this house than I, and he has not withheld from me anything except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against Elohim?”

• Genesis 40:1

  It happened after these things that the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the baker sinned against their lord, the king of Egypt.

• Genesis 42:22

  Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the child’? But you did not listen. And look, his blood too is being required.”

• Genesis 43:9

  I will be surety for him; from my hand you may require him. If I do not bring him to you and set him before you, then I will have sinned against you for all time.

• Genesis 44:32

  For your servant became surety for the young man to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him to you, then I will have sinned against my father for all time.’

• Exodus 5:16

  No straw is given to your servants, yet bricks! they keep saying to us, ‘Make them!’ And look, your servants are beaten; but the sin is your people’s.”

• Exodus 9:27

  Then Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and for Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time; YHWH is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones.

• Exodus 9:34

  But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again and made his heart insensitive, he and his servants.

• Exodus 10:16

  Pharaoh hurried to call Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against YHWH your Elohim and against you.

• Exodus 20:20

  Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for Elohim has come in order to test you, and so that the fear of him may be before you, so that you may not sin.”

• Exodus 23:33

  They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, surely it will be a snare to you.”

• Exodus 29:36

  A bull for a sin offering you shall offer each day for expiation; and you shall purify the altar when you make expiation for it, and anoint it to consecrate it.

• Exodus 32:30

  And it happened on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to YHWH; perhaps I can make expiation for your sin.”

• Exodus 32:31

  So Moses returned to YHWH and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold.

• Exodus 32:33

  And YHWH said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, him I will blot out from my book.

• Leviticus 4:2

  “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: When a person sins inadvertently against any of the commandments of YHWH concerning things that should not be done, and does any one of them,

• Leviticus 4:3

  if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he shall present for his sin that he has sinned a young bull without defect to YHWH as a sin offering.

• Leviticus 4:14

  when the sin that they have sinned in it becomes known, the assembly shall present a young bull as a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting.

• Leviticus 4:22

  When a chief sins and does inadvertently any one of all the commandments of YHWH his Elohim concerning things that should not be done, and becomes guilty,

• Leviticus 4:23

  or his sin that he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a male goat without defect.

• Leviticus 4:27

  And if any one person of the people of the land sins inadvertently by doing any one of the commandments of YHWH concerning things that should not be done, and becomes guilty,

• Leviticus 4:28

  or his sin that he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a female goat, without defect, for his sin that he has committed.

• Leviticus 4:35

  All its fat he shall remove, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace, and the priest shall offer up in smoke them on the altar, on top of the fire offerings of YHWH. So the priest shall make expiation for him for his sin that he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

• Leviticus 5:1

  If a person sins in that he hears the public call to testify under oath, and he is a witness, whether he has seen or known the matter, if he does not declare it, he shall bear his iniquity.

• Leviticus 5:5

  When he becomes guilty in one of these, he shall confess that in which he has sinned.

• Leviticus 5:6

  He shall bring his guilt offering to YHWH for his sin that he has committed: a female from the flock, a ewe lamb or a female goat, as a sin offering; and the priest shall make expiation for him for his sin.

• Leviticus 5:7

  And if his means do not reach enough for a lamb, he shall bring as his guilt offering for what he has sinned two turtledoves or two young pigeons to YHWH, one as a sin offering and one as a burnt offering.

• Leviticus 5:10

  The second he shall offer as a burnt offering according to the regulation. So the priest shall make expiation for him for his sin that he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

• Leviticus 5:11

  But if his means do not reach to two turtledoves or to two young pigeons, he shall bring, as his offering for what he has sinned, a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering; he shall not put oil on it, and he shall not put frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

• Leviticus 5:13

  So the priest shall make expiation for him for his sin that he has committed in any of these, and he will be forgiven. And the rest shall be for the priest, as with the grain offering.”

• Leviticus 5:15

  “When a person acts unfaithfully and sins inadvertently in regard to the holy things of YHWH, he shall bring his guilt offering to YHWH, a ram without defect from the flock, by your valuation in shekels of silver, by the shekel of the sanctuary, as a guilt offering.

• Leviticus 5:16

  And what he has sinned against the holy thing he shall restore, and he shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest; and the priest shall make expiation for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.

• Leviticus 5:17

  And if a person sins and does any one of all the commandments of YHWH concerning things that should not be done, though he did not know it, he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity.

• Leviticus 6:2

  “When a person sins and commits unfaithfulness against YHWH by lying to his neighbor about a deposit or a pledge or a robbery, or has exploited his neighbor,

• Leviticus 6:3

  or has found something lost and lied about it and sworn falsely about any one of all the things that a man may do so as to sin by them,

• Leviticus 6:4

  when he has sinned and is guilty, he shall restore what he robbed or what he gained by exploitation or the deposit that was deposited with him or the lost thing that he found,

• Leviticus 6:26

  The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it; it shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting.

And 198 more times.