rachats · wash

What it means

rachats (רָחַץ) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “wash”.

Wash oneself, bathe.

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 wash something, or bathe.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To wash with water, or to wash oneself, bathe. It is said of hands and feet, of the whole body and of the parts of an animal for sacrifice. It is a central verb in the laws of cleansing.

• Washing the feet when a guest arrives Genesis 18:4Genesis 19:2
• The priests wash before serving Exodus 29:4Exodus 30:19
• Bathing to become clean Leviticus 15:5Leviticus 16:42 Kings 5:10
• Washing the entrails of the victim Leviticus 1:9
• Washing as part of personal care Ruth 3:32 Samuel 11:2

Historical and cultural background

The law commanded Aaron and his sons to wash their hands and their feet at the basin before going into the tent of meeting (Exodus 30:19-20), and the one made unclean by a flow to “bathe in water” (Leviticus 15:5).

How we translate it

“Wash” 26 times and “washed” 15 when it is a part of the body or a thing; “bathe” 24 when the law asks for the whole body to be washed in water (“bathe in water”, Leviticus 15:5). “I will wash in innocence my hands” (Psalm 26:6) keeps the image.

How it is translated

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

• wash ×26
• bathe ×24
• washed ×15
• bathing ×2
• washing ×2
• bathed there ×1
• he has bathed ×1
• you bathed ×1

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Genesis×5
• Exodus×11
• Leviticus×26
• Numbers×3
• Deuteronomy×2
• Judges×1
• Ruth×1
• 1 Samuel×1
• 2 Samuel×3
• 1 Kings×1
• 2 Kings×3
• 2 Chronicles×2
• Job×2
• Psalms×3
• Proverbs×1
• Song of Songs×2
• Isaiah×2
• Ezekiel×3

• Genesis 18:4

  Let a little water be brought, please, and wash your feet, and rest under the tree.

• Genesis 19:2

  He said, “Look now, my lords, please turn aside to the house of your servant, spend the night, and wash your feet; then you can rise early and go on your way.” They said, “No, we will spend the night in the square.”

• Genesis 24:32

  The man came into the house, and he unloaded the camels and gave straw and fodder to the camels and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

• Genesis 43:24

  The man brought the men into the house of Joseph and gave them water, and they washed their feet, and he gave fodder to their donkeys.

• Genesis 43:31

  Then he washed his face and came out, and controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.”

• Exodus 2:5

  The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, while her young women were walking beside the Nile. She saw the ark among the reeds and sent her maid, and she took it.

• Exodus 29:4

  Aaron and his sons you shall bring near to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water.

• Exodus 29:17

  You shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head.

• Exodus 30:18

  “You shall make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing, and put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

• Exodus 30:19

  Aaron and his sons shall wash from it their hands and their feet.

• Exodus 30:20

  When they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to offer up in smoke a fire offering to YHWH,

• Exodus 30:21

  they shall wash their hands and their feet so that they will not die; and it shall be for them a statute forever, for him and for his offspring throughout their generations.”

• Exodus 40:12

  And you shall bring Aaron and his sons near to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water.

• Exodus 40:30

  And he put the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing.

• Exodus 40:31

  And Moses and Aaron and his sons would wash from it their hands and their feet.

• Exodus 40:32

  When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they came near to the altar, they would wash, as YHWH had commanded Moses.

• Leviticus 1:9

  Its entrails and its legs he shall wash in water, and the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH.

• Leviticus 1:13

  The entrails and the legs he shall wash in water, and the priest shall present all of it and offer it up in smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to YHWH.

• Leviticus 8:6

  Moses brought near Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.

• Leviticus 8:21

  The entrails and the legs he washed in water, and Moses offered up in smoke the whole ram on the altar; it was a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma, it was a fire offering to YHWH, as YHWH had commanded Moses.

• Leviticus 9:14

  He washed the entrails and the legs and offered them up in smoke on top of the burnt offering on the altar.

• Leviticus 14:8

  The one being purified shall wash his garments, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water, and he will be clean; and after that he may come into the camp, but he shall remain outside his tent seven days.

• Leviticus 14:9

  On the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair: his head, his beard, and the brows of his eyes; all his hair he shall shave off; he shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water, and he will be clean.

• Leviticus 15:5

  And anyone who touches his bed shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:6

  And whoever sits on the object on which the man with the discharge sat shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:7

  And whoever touches the body of the man with the discharge shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:8

  And if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:10

  And whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening; and whoever carries those things shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:11

  And anyone whom the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:13

  And when the man with the discharge becomes clean from his discharge, he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his garments and bathe his body in living water, and he shall be clean.

• Leviticus 15:16

  And if a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe all his body in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:18

  And a woman with whom a man lies with an emission of semen: they shall bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:21

  And anyone who touches her bed shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:22

  And anyone who touches any object on which she sits shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:27

  And anyone who touches them shall be unclean, and he shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 16:4

  He shall put on a holy linen tunic, and linen undergarments shall be on his body, and he shall tie a linen sash around him, and wrap his head with a linen turban; they are holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and put them on.

• Leviticus 16:24

  And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make expiation for himself and for the people.

• Leviticus 16:26

  And the one who sends away the goat to Azazel shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water, and after that he may come into the camp.

• Leviticus 16:28

  And the one who burns them shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water, and after that he may come into the camp.

• Leviticus 17:15

  And any person who eats an animal that died or one torn by beasts, whether native or resident alien, shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean.

And 32 more times.