Original Word: רָחַץ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: rachats
Pronunciation: rah-KHATS
Phonetic Spelling: (raw-khats')
KJV: bathe (self), wash (self)
NASB: bathe, wash, washed, bathed, washing, bathing, washed away
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to lave (the whole or a part of a thing)

bathe self, wash self

A primitive root; to lave (the whole or a part of a thing) -- bathe (self), wash (self).

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to wash, wash off or away, bathe
NASB Translation
bathe (25), bathed (6), bathing (1), wash (24), washed (13), washed away (1), washing (2).

רָחַץ₇₂ verb wash, wash off, away, bathe (Late Hebrew = Biblical Hebrew; Arabic (also of garments); Ethiopic , sweat; compare Assyrian ra—âƒu, overflow, flood (on — = see Nö^{ZMG xi (1886), 727})); —

Qal₆₉ Perfect3masculine singular ׳ר Isaiah 4:4 +, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular יִרְחַץ Deuteronomy 23:12 + etc.; Imperative masculine singular רְחַץ 2 Samuel 11:8; 2 Kings 5:13; masculine plural רַחֲצוּ Genesis 18:4 +; Infinitive construct רְחֹץ Genesis 24:32 +, לְרָחְצָה Exodus 30:18 +; Participle feminine singular רֹחֶ֫צֶת 2 Samuel 11:2, feminine plural רֹחֲצוֺת Songs 5:12; —

1 transitive wash (with water), with accusative feet (רגלים; בַּמַּיִם often expressed), Genesis 18:4; Genesis 19:2; Genesis 24:32; Genesis 43:24 (all J), Judges 19:21; 1 Samuel 25:41; 2 Samuel 11:8; Songs 5:3; מְּעָמָיו בְּדַם הָרָשָׁע ׳יִר Psalm 58:11 (figurative of righteous, at ׳יs vengeance); with accusative hands (יָדַיִם) Deuteronomy 21:6 (+ עַל over, in ceremonial, to express innocence), hence figurative כַּמַּי בְּנַקָּיוֺן ׳אֶר Psalm 26:6; Psalm 73:13; hands and feet Exodus 30:19 (+ מִן of laver), Exodus 30:21; Exodus 40:31 (+ מִן id.; all P); with accusative face (מָּנָיו) Genesis 43:31 (J); with accusative of person Ezekiel 16:9; Exodus 29:4; Exodus 40:12; Leviticus 8:6 (all P), accusative בְּשָׂרוֺ (often "" כבּס of garments), Leviticus 14:9; Leviticus 15:13 9t. P (H); with accusative of parts of sacrificial victim Exodus 29:17; Leviticus 1:9,13; Leviticus 8:21; Leviticus 9:14; wash off, away, with accusative of filth Isaiah 4:4 (figurative).

2 intransitive wash, bathe (oneself): Exodus 2:5 (E), 2 Samuel 11:2; 2 Samuel 12:20; 1 Kings 22:38; 2 Kings 5:10,12,13; Isaiah 1:16; Ezekiel 23:40 (+ ל person for whom), Ruth 3:3; Leviticus 14:8 14t. P (often "" כבּס); + ב of laver 2 Chronicles 4:6 (twice in verse); of eyes, bathed in milk (בֶּחָלָב) Songs 5:12 (figurative); Job 29:6 (figurative), see הָלִיךְ.

Pu`al Perfect3masculine singular רֻחָ֑ץ Proverbs 30:12 be washed (+ מִן of filth, figurative); 2 feminine singular בְּמַיִם לֹא רֻחַצְתְּ Ezekiel 16:4 (in figurative).

Hithpa`el Perfect1singular הִתְרָחַצְתִּי במו שׁלג Job 9:30 if I washed myself in snow (figurative).

Scope and Range of Usage

The verb occurs roughly seventy-two times across the Hebrew canon and consistently denotes the action of washing the body, parts of the body, or objects with water. The contexts fall into five broad spheres: priestly ritual, individual purification after uncleanness, hospitality and daily hygiene, judicial symbolism, and prophetic or poetic metaphor.

Ritual Purity in the Tabernacle and Temple

1. Priests. Before any sacred service the sons of Aaron had to wash. “Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet from it…so they shall wash…so that they will not die” (Exodus 30:19-21). Their initial consecration likewise began with a full washing (Exodus 29:4; Exodus 40:12). The laver thus signified that holy ministry demands prior cleansing.
2. Sacrificial Parts. Entrails and legs of burnt-offerings were rinsed before being placed on the altar (Leviticus 1:9, 13). This underscored that only what is cleansed may be offered to the LORD.
3. Festivals and Atonement. On the Day of Atonement the high priest bathed twice, marking transitions from common to holy and back again (Leviticus 16:4, 24).
4. Levites and Nazirites. The Levites’ inauguration (Numbers 8:7) and the Nazarite’s completion of his vow (Numbers 6:18) both required washing, highlighting personal dedication to God.

Individual Purification after Uncleanness

Chapters such as Leviticus 14–15 and Numbers 19 prescribe bathing after contact with disease, bodily discharges, or death. Example: “He is then to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be clean by evening” (Numbers 19:19). The repeated evening clause illustrates grace: defilement was real yet temporary upon obedience.

Hospitality and Daily Hygiene

Patriarchs provided water for guests’ feet (Genesis 18:4; 24:32; 43:24), a gesture of welcome that prefigures Christ’s foot-washing in John 13. Domestic scenes include Ruth’s preparatory washing before meeting Boaz (Ruth 3:3) and Bathsheba bathing (2 Samuel 11:2). The act reflects normal cleanliness but also covenant kindness when extended to others (Judges 19:21).

Judicial and Civic Symbolism

Deuteronomy 21:6 pictures city elders washing their hands over the heifer to attest innocence in an unsolved murder. Psalm 26:6 transfers the image to worship: “I wash my hands in innocence and go around Your altar, O LORD.” The physical gesture communicates moral responsibility before God and man.

Spiritual and Moral Cleansing

The prophets turn physical washing into a call for repentance:
• “Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight” (Isaiah 1:16).
• “Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved” (Jeremiah 4:14).

David pleads, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity” (Psalm 51:2), joining outward ritual to inward renewal.

Prophetic and Eschatological Hope

Ezekiel 16:9 presents God Himself washing abandoned Israel: “I bathed you with water and rinsed off your blood.” Zechariah 13:1 announces a future “fountain…to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” Both texts anticipate a definitive divine washing that transcends Levitical shadows.

Christological Fulfillment

Old Testament washing rites find their substance in Jesus Christ. He offers the ultimate cleansing “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10), foreshadowed by every priestly bath and every sprinkled object. The opened fountain of Zechariah meets its reality in the blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of the Savior (John 19:34). Christian baptism, while distinct in sign, carries forward the same biblical theology of washing, now grounded in union with the risen Lord.

Ministry and Discipleship Implications

1. Holiness precedes service. Leaders should examine their lives in light of the laver principle.
2. Hospitality mirrors divine grace. Providing for physical needs, even so small as water for travel-worn feet, images Christlike love.
3. Preaching should connect the external act with the internal heart. Calls to repent echo Isaiah and Jeremiah.
4. Worship gains integrity when believers, like David, approach God with “washed hands” through confession and faith.
5. Pastoral care may draw on the cleansing motif to assure the repentant of full forgiveness: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

The recurring verb for washing thus weaves a unifying thread from Genesis hospitality, through Levitical ritual, to prophetic promise and New Covenant reality—demonstrating the consistent biblical message that a holy God graciously provides the means by which His people may be made clean.

אֶרְחַ֣ץ אֶרְחַ֥ץ ארחץ בִּרְחֹ֣ץ ברחץ הִתְרָחַ֥צְתִּי התרחצתי וְרַחֲצ֖וּ וְרַחֲצ֣וּ וְרָחֲצ֛וּ וְרָחֲצ֣וּ וְרָחַ֣צְתְּ ׀ וְרָחַ֤ץ וְרָחַ֥ץ וְרָחַ֧ץ וְרָחַ֨ץ וְרָחַצְתָּ֤ וְרָחַצְתָּ֥ וַֽיִּרְחֲצוּ֙ וַיִּרְחֲצ֣וּ וַיִּרְחַ֣ץ וַיִּרְחַ֥ץ וָאֶרְחַ֖ץ וָאֶרְחָצֵ֣ךְ וּרְחַ֣ץ וארחץ וארחצך וירחץ וירחצו ורחץ ורחצו ורחצת יִ֝רְחַ֗ץ יִרְחֲצוּ֙ יִרְחֲצוּ־ יִרְחַ֣ץ יִרְחָ֑ץ יִרְחָ֑צוּ ירחץ ירחצו ירחצו־ לְרָחְצָ֑ה לְרָחְצָ֣ה לְרָחְצָ֥ה לְרָחְצָֽה׃ לִרְחֹ֕ץ לִרְחֹ֣ץ לרחץ לרחצה לרחצה׃ רְחַ֥ץ רַחֲצוּ֙ רָחַ֛צְתְּ רָחַ֣ץ רָחַ֥ץ רָחַ֥צְתִּי רָחָ֑צוּ רֹֽחֲצוֹת֙ רֹחֶ֖צֶת רֻחַ֖צְתְּ רֻחָֽץ׃ רחץ רחץ׃ רחצו רחצות רחצת רחצתי ’er·ḥaṣ ’erḥaṣ bir·ḥōṣ birChotz birḥōṣ erChatz hiṯ·rā·ḥaṣ·tî hitraChatzti hiṯrāḥaṣtî lə·rā·ḥə·ṣāh leracheTzah lərāḥəṣāh lir·ḥōṣ lirChotz lirḥōṣ ra·ḥă·ṣū rā·ḥā·ṣū rā·ḥaṣ rā·ḥaṣ·tî rā·ḥaṣt raChatz raChatzt raChatzti raChatzu rāḥaṣ rāḥaṣt rāḥaṣtî raḥăṣū rāḥāṣū rə·ḥaṣ reChatz rəḥaṣ rō·ḥă·ṣō·wṯ rō·ḥe·ṣeṯ rochatzOt roChetzet rōḥăṣōwṯ rōḥeṣeṯ ru·ḥāṣ ru·ḥaṣt ruChatz ruChatzt ruḥāṣ ruḥaṣt ū·rə·ḥaṣ ureChatz ūrəḥaṣ vaerChatz vaerchaTzech vaiyirChatz vaiyirchaTzu veraChatz veraChatzt verachatzTa verachaTzu wā’erḥaṣ wā’erḥāṣêḵ wā·’er·ḥā·ṣêḵ wā·’er·ḥaṣ way·yir·ḥă·ṣū way·yir·ḥaṣ wayyirḥaṣ wayyirḥăṣū wə·ra·ḥă·ṣū wə·rā·ḥă·ṣū wə·rā·ḥaṣ wə·rā·ḥaṣ·tā wə·rā·ḥaṣt wərāḥaṣ wərāḥaṣt wərāḥaṣtā wəraḥăṣū wərāḥăṣū yir·ḥă·ṣū yir·ḥā·ṣū yir·ḥă·ṣū- yir·ḥaṣ yir·ḥāṣ yirChatz yirchatzu yirḥaṣ yirḥāṣ yirḥăṣū yirḥāṣū yirḥăṣū-Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts