---
title: חֵךְ — palate · The Tanakh dictionary
description: חֵךְ (2441), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 18 times: palate. BDB 1906: n.m. palate, roof of mouth, gums. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# חֵךְ

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«חֵךְ» in the Tanakh dictionary: **palate** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 18 times · **Key:** 2441 · **BDB:** חֵךְ²

### Glosses

palate (12); mouth (4); a.palate (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

palate [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2441/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. palate, roof of mouth, gums [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2441/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. palate, roof of mouth, gums (NH id.; Aramaic ܚܶܢܟܳܐ, חִכָּא; Arabic حَنَكٌ palate, roof of mouth, jaws, lower part of mouth, lower jaw of horse, mouth, etc. Lane659 Dozyi. 332);—abs.ח׳ Jb 12:11; 34:3; sf. חִכִּי Pr 8:7 + 6 times, חִכְּךָ Ho 8:1, חִכֶּ֑ךָ Ez 3:26 Pr 24:13; chiefly poet., especially WisdLt:—חִכֵּךְ Ct 7:10, חִכּוֹ La 4:4 + 2 times, חִכָּהּ Pr 5:3, חִכָּם Jb 29:10;—palate, roof of mouth: אֶל־חִכְּךָ שֹׁפָר Ho 8:1 a trumpet to thy palate! (or gums; as in Eng., to thy lips); often c. לָשׁוֹן, tongue clings (דבק) to חך, expression for speechlessness Ez 3:26 Jb 29:10, as imprecation ψ 137:6; for the parching of extreme thirst La 4:4 (בַּצָּמָא), cf. ψ 22:16 MT יָבֵשׁ כַּחֶרֶשׂ כֹּחִי, read חִכִּי for כחי v. Checrit. n. (‖ לְשׁוֹנִי מֻדְבָּק מַלְקוֹחָ֑י). as organ of speech, Pr 5:3; 8:7 (both ‖ שְׂפָתַיִם), Jb 31:30; 33:2 דִּבְּרָה לְשׁוֹנִי בְחִכִּי (‖ פָּתַחְתִּי פִי). as organ of taste Jb 12:11; 34:3, פִּרְיוֹ מָתוֹק לְחִבִּי Ct 2:3 his fruit was sweet to my palate, Pr 24:13 (implied sim. of wisdom as sweet to the soul); fig. of God’s words as sweet לְח׳ ψ 119:103 (‖ פִּי); of taste as distinguishing misfortunes Jb 6:30 (‖ לָשׁוֹן; \> others of speech); of keeping wickedness בְּתוֹךְ ח׳ Jb 20:13 (‖ תַּחַת לָשׁוֹן), i.e. delighting in and prolonging the taste of it. nearly = mouth, as an element in personal sweetness and beauty Ct 5:16; 7:10.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 18 of its verses cited, 2 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (2 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (1 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «חֵךְ» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2441/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Job 34:3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.34.3/)

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כִּי־אֹ֭זֶן מִלִּ֣ין תִּבְחָ֑ן וְ֝חֵ֗ךְ יִטְעַ֥ם לֶאֱכֹֽל׃

*Word for word:* (dm) \[the\].ear words it.tests and.\[the\] palate it.tastes (to) food

*JPS 1917:* For the ear trieth words, as the palate tasteth food.

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[Job 29:10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.29.10/)

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קוֹל־נְגִידִ֥ים נֶחְבָּ֑אוּ וּ֝לְשׁוֹנָ֗ם לְחִכָּ֥ם דָּבֵֽקָה׃

*Word for word:* the.voice of.nobles they.were.hidden and tongue their to palate their it.stuck

*JPS 1917:* The voice of the nobles was hushed, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

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