Hebrew word · Strong's H2403

חַטָּאָה

chaṭṭâʼâh · khat-taw-aw' · noun · “sin, sin offering”

In a sentence

Chattaʾah means sin — and also the sin offering brought for it. The Hebrew Bible uses the same word for the failure and the sacrifice that covers it.

Chattaʾah comes from a root meaning to miss the mark. It names a failure to hit God’s standard — in act, thought, or omission.

Strikingly, the same word also names the sin offering that deals with it. Israel’s sacrificial system foreshadowed how sin is finally answered: not by ignoring it but by atonement — fulfilled at the cross, where Jesus “became sin” for us.

Strong's reference

Definition: an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiation; also (concretely) an offender

KJV usage: punishment (of sin), purifying(-fication for sin), sin(-ner, offering).

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Leviticus 4:3 “If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.” Isaiah 53:6 “We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.