The Hebrew verb kachad means to hide, to conceal, or to cut off/destroy. The double meaning is significant: to hide something thoroughly can amount to destroying it. The term describes both human concealment of guilt and the obliteration of something from existence.
Job's protestation of integrity — 'I will not hide from you' — and his desire to have his case heard by God represent the ultimate test of honesty before an omniscient God. Nothing can truly be kachad from God: 'nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight' (Hebrews 4:13).
The prophets declared that God sees what is concealed. True repentance requires bringing what is hidden into the open before God — the same principle underlying James 5:16: 'confess your sins to each other.'