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H2287 · Hebrew · Old Testament
חָגַג
Chagag
Verb
To celebrate a feast, to observe a festival, to dance

Definition

The Hebrew verb chagag means to hold a feast, to observe a sacred festival, to celebrate with festive assembly. It is the root behind chag (H2282), the common word for Israel's three great pilgrimage feasts (Passover/Unleavened Bread, Weeks, Tabernacles). The word carries connotations of joyful, communal celebration before the LORD.

Usage & Theological Significance

Israel's feasts (chagim) were not optional spiritual extras — they were commanded covenant celebrations rehearsing the drama of redemption. Each feast proclaimed something about God's saving work: Passover (redemption from slavery), Firstfruits (resurrection), Pentecost (harvest/Spirit), Tabernacles (God dwelling with His people). The New Testament reveals Christ as the fulfillment of every festival. Christians gather weekly to celebrate the ultimate festival — the resurrection of Jesus — and await the final great feast: the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).

Key Bible Verses

Exodus 5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'"
Leviticus 23:41 You shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year.
Deuteronomy 16:15 For seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God at the place that the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.
Psalm 42:4 These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
Zechariah 14:16 Everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.

Related Words

External Resources

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