rachak · be far

What it means

rachak (רָחַק) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “be far”.

Go far away; in the causative form, remove far away.

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 be distant: "do not stay away from me".
2. To put something far away, remove it from oneself or from another.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To be far, to go far away; in the causative, to remove far, to put something or someone away. From the same root are רָחוֹק (‘far’) and מֶרְחָק (‘distance’).

• “Do not be far from me”: the plea Psalms 22:11Psalms 22:19Psalms 38:21
• Going far from YHWH Jeremiah 2:5Isaiah 29:13Psalms 119:150
• “He has removed from us our transgressions” Psalms 103:12
• Keeping falsehood far away Exodus 23:7Proverbs 30:8Proverbs 4:24
• Justice that is far away Isaiah 59:9Deuteronomy 12:21

Historical and cultural background

Hagar sat down opposite Ishmael “a good way off, about a bowshot {away}”, because she did not want to see the child die (Genesis 21:16).

How we translate it

“Far” 53 times: “be far”, “is far”, “went far” when the verb describes a distance; “keep far”, “put far”, “has removed far” when it is the causative (“{so far} he has removed from us our transgressions”, Psalm 103:12). In Genesis 21:16, “a good way off”.

How it is translated

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

• far ×53
• remove ×2
• good way off ×1
• had gone some distance ×1

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Genesis×2
• Exodus×4
• Deuteronomy×2
• Joshua×2
• Judges×1
• Job×8
• Psalms×12
• Proverbs×6
• Ecclesiastes×1
• Isaiah×8
• Jeremiah×2
• Lamentations×1
• Ezekiel×5
• Joel×2
• Micah×1

• Genesis 21:16

  Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about a bowshot away, for she said, “Let me not see the death of the child.” And she sat opposite him, lifted up her voice, and wept.

• Genesis 44:4

  They had gone out of the city and had not gone far when Joseph said to the one over his house, “Get up, pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?

• Exodus 8:28

  Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to YHWH your Elohim in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Pray for me.”

• Exodus 23:7

  Keep far from a false matter, and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not declare righteous the wicked.

• Exodus 33:7

  And Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought YHWH would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.

• Deuteronomy 12:21

  If the place that YHWH your Elohim chooses to put his name there is far from you, then you may sacrifice from your herd and from your flock that YHWH has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates with all the desire of your soul.

• Deuteronomy 14:24

  But if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it, because the place that YHWH your Elohim chooses to put his name there is far from you, when YHWH your Elohim blesses you,

• Joshua 3:16

  the waters coming down from above stopped; they rose up in one heap, very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, came to an end, were cut off. And the people crossed opposite Jericho.

• Joshua 8:4

  He commanded them, saying, “See, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, and be all of you ready.

• Judges 18:22

  They had gone some distance from the house of Micah, when the men who were in the houses that were near the house of Micah were summoned and overtook the sons of Dan.

• Job 5:4

  His sons are far from salvation; they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver.

• Job 11:14

  if wickedness is in your hand, put it far away, and do not let injustice dwell in your tents;

• Job 13:21

  put your palm far from upon me, and let your terror not terrify me.

• Job 19:13

  My brothers he has removed far from me, and my acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.

• Job 21:16

  Look, their prosperity is not in their hand; the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

• Job 22:18

  Yet he had filled their houses with good things; but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

• Job 22:23

  If you return to Shaddai, you will be built up; if you remove injustice far from your tent,

• Job 30:10

  They abhor me, they keep far from me, and from my face they do not hold back spit.

• Psalms 22:11

  Do not be far from me, for distress is near, for there is no helper.

• Psalms 22:19

  But you, YHWH, do not be far; my strength, hurry to my help.

• Psalms 35:22

  You have seen it, YHWH; do not be deaf; Adonai, do not be far from me.

• Psalms 38:21

  Do not abandon me, YHWH; my Elohim, do not be far from me.

• Psalms 55:7

  look, I would flee far away; I would spend the night in the wilderness. Selah.

• Psalms 71:12

  Elohim, do not be far from me; my Elohim, hurry to my help.

• Psalms 88:8

  You have put far my acquaintances from me; you have made me an abomination to them; I am shut in, and I will not go out.

• Psalms 88:18

  You have put far from me friend and companion; my acquaintances are the dark place.

• Psalms 103:12

  As far as the east is from the west, so far he has removed from us our transgressions.

• Psalms 109:17

  And he loved cursing, and it came on him; and he did not delight in blessing, and it was far from him.

• Psalms 119:150

  Those who pursue infamy have drawn near; from your instruction they are far.

• Proverbs 4:24

  Put away from you perversity of mouth, and deviousness of lips put far from you.

• Proverbs 5:8

  Keep your way far from her, and do not come near to the door of her house;

• Proverbs 19:7

  All the brothers of a poor man hate him; how much more do his companions go far from him! He pursues words; they are not there.

• Proverbs 22:5

  Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.

• Proverbs 22:15

  Folly is bound to the heart of a young man; the rod of correction will drive it far from him.

• Proverbs 30:8

  falsehood and a word of lies keep far from me; poverty and riches do not give me; feed me with the bread of my portion,

• Ecclesiastes 3:5

  a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to keep far from embracing;

• Isaiah 6:12

  and YHWH removes far away human beings, and great is the abandonment in the midst of the land.

• Isaiah 26:15

  You have added to the nation, YHWH, you have added to the nation; you have been glorified; you have moved far off all the ends of the land.

• Isaiah 29:13

  And Adonai said: “Because this people draws near with its mouth, and with its lips they honor me, but its heart it has removed far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men learned by rote,

• Isaiah 46:13

  I have brought near my righteousness; it will not be far off, and my salvation will not delay; and I will put in Zion salvation, for Israel my beauty.”

And 17 more times.