7496. rapha
Strong's Lexicon
rapha: Spirit, ghost, shade

Original Word: רָפָא
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: rapha
Pronunciation: rah-fah'
Phonetic Spelling: (raw-faw')
Definition: Spirit, ghost, shade
Meaning: lax, a ghost

Word Origin: Derived from the root רָפָא (rapha), meaning "to heal" or "to restore."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: - G4151 (pneuma): Often translated as "spirit" or "ghost" in the New Testament, referring to both the Holy Spirit and human spirits.

- G5315 (phasma): Meaning "apparition" or "ghost," used in contexts of supernatural appearances.

Usage: The term "rapha" in the Hebrew Bible is often used to refer to spirits or shades, particularly in the context of the dead or the departed. It is associated with the concept of the afterlife and the existence of spirits in Sheol, the abode of the dead. The word is sometimes translated as "ghost" or "shade," indicating a non-corporeal presence.

Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Near Eastern cultures, including Israel, there was a belief in an underworld or a realm where the spirits of the dead resided. This realm, often referred to as Sheol in the Hebrew Bible, was thought to be a shadowy place where the "rapha" or shades existed. The Israelites, like their neighbors, had a complex understanding of life after death, which included the existence of these spirits. However, the Hebrew Bible emphasizes the sovereignty of God over life and death, contrasting with the more elaborate afterlife beliefs of surrounding cultures.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from raphah
Definition
shades, ghosts
NASB Translation
dead (3), departed spirits (4), spirits of the dead (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
I, II. רְפָאִים see below רפה.

I. רְפָאִים noun masculineJob 26:5

plural shades, ghosts (by most connected with above √, as sunken, powerless, ones, StaG. i.420; Phoenician רפאם); — Wisdom Literature and late, name of dead in She'ôl, with article ׳הָר Job 26:5, elsewhere nearly = proper name: ׳ר Isaiah 14:9 (in Sh®°ôl), Isaiah 26:4 ("" מֵתִים), Psalm 88:11 ("" id.), Proverbs 2:18 ("" מָוֶת), Proverbs 9:18 (in עִמְקֵי שְׁאוֺל), קְהַל רְפָאִים Proverbs 21:16; of righteous Israel Isaiah 26:19 earth shall cast forth ׳ר ("" מֵתֶיךָ).

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
dead, deceased

From rapha' in the sense of raphah; properly, lax, i.e. (figuratively) a ghost (as dead; in plural only) -- dead, deceased.

see HEBREW rapha'

see HEBREW raphah

Forms and Transliterations
הָרְפָאִ֥ים הרפאים רְ֝פָאִ֗ים רְפָאִ֖ים רְפָאִ֣ים רְפָאִ֥ים רְפָאִים֙ רפאים hā·rə·p̄ā·’îm harefaIm hārəp̄ā’îm rə·p̄ā·’îm refaIm rəp̄ā’îm
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Job 26:5
HEB: הָרְפָאִ֥ים יְחוֹלָ֑לוּ מִתַּ֥חַת
NAS: The departed spirits tremble Under
KJV: Dead [things] are formed
INT: the departed tremble Under

Psalm 88:10
HEB: פֶּ֑לֶא אִם־ רְ֝פָאִ֗ים יָק֤וּמוּ ׀ יוֹד֬וּךָ
NAS: for the dead? Will the departed spirits rise
KJV: to the dead? shall the dead arise
INT: wonders lo spirits rise praise

Proverbs 2:18
HEB: בֵּיתָ֑הּ וְאֶל־ רְ֝פָאִ֗ים מַעְגְּלֹתֶֽיהָ׃
NAS: And her tracks [lead] to the dead;
KJV: and her paths unto the dead.
INT: her house to the dead tracks

Proverbs 9:18
HEB: יָ֭דַע כִּֽי־ רְפָאִ֣ים שָׁ֑ם בְּעִמְקֵ֖י
NAS: But he does not know that the dead are there,
KJV: But he knoweth not that the dead [are] there; [and that] her guests
INT: know that the dead are there the depths

Proverbs 21:16
HEB: הַשְׂכֵּ֑ל בִּקְהַ֖ל רְפָאִ֣ים יָנֽוּחַ׃
NAS: Will rest in the assembly of the dead.
KJV: in the congregation of the dead.
INT: of understanding the assembly of the dead will rest

Isaiah 14:9
HEB: עוֹרֵ֨ר לְךָ֤ רְפָאִים֙ כָּל־ עַתּ֣וּדֵי
NAS: It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all
KJV: it stirreth up the dead for thee, [even] all the chief ones
INT: come arouses the spirits all the leaders

Isaiah 26:14
HEB: בַּל־ יִחְי֔וּ רְפָאִ֖ים בַּל־ יָקֻ֑מוּ
NAS: will not live, the departed spirits will not rise;
KJV: they shall not live; [they are] deceased, they shall not rise:
INT: will not live the departed will not rise

Isaiah 26:19
HEB: טַלֶּ֔ךָ וָאָ֖רֶץ רְפָאִ֥ים תַּפִּֽיל׃ ס
NAS: will give birth to the departed spirits.
KJV: and the earth shall cast out the dead.
INT: the dew and the earth to the departed will give

8 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 7496
8 Occurrences


hā·rə·p̄ā·’îm — 1 Occ.
rə·p̄ā·’îm — 7 Occ.
















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