# Free



## elbet.vdw

I would like to know what the Hebrew word for "free" is. Example sentences of the word used are: "I am free from sin" , "The truth will set you free."  
I want to get this tattooed on my wrist so this is very important to me! The words I have found so far are חופשי, ללא תשלום , ללא הגבלה (these are mostly from Google translate)
Which version is most commonly used in the Bible? Such as 1 Peter 2:16 "Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God."
Thanks in advance!


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## arielipi

There are several words for each use.
Free from sin, wouldnt be a direct translation,rather "clean" from sin - naki mekhata'im.
The truth will set you free, is a direct translation - lakhofshi.
i need to know what exactly the sentence you want is, so i can give you the right translation


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## airelibre

If its just the one word that you want, then perhaps free in the sense of liberated would be good: מְשֻׁחְרָר  
Meshoochrar
I would wait for clarofication and further advice, however.
Edit: without nikkudot (the vowel marks) it would be best to spell it משוחרר to differentiate from the word meaning liberator.


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## Nunty

Because Hebrew words are very dense with meaning, I suggest that you find the New Testament verse that you want to tattoo and use a Hebrew bible translation. For example, my bible translates 1 Peter 2:16 using חופשים, hofshim. 

The other two examples you got from Google are completely different contexts. ללא הגבלה means limitless and ללא תשלום means free in the sense of without payment.


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## elbet.vdw

Thanks for the replies so far!

I guess what it comes down to is what I want to word to mean, right?...this makes it very difficult since I want the word "free" to mean different things like it does in English (for example, free can mean free from sin, but it can also mean free to make my own decisions, or being a free human being.

If this is the case, and I have to make a choice, I would want the Hebrew word to pertain to being 'unbonded' in the sense that I am not enslaved by death or sin, but that I am free from it because of His death on the cross.

Does this make more sense?


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## Nunty

In that case, I suggest חופשי (hofshi), as in the verse from 1 Peter.


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## arielipi

Again, do you want a particular sentence or just a word with meaning of X?
You can however curve liberty in hebrew letters. now the thing is there are two words for free of something - khofshi and meshukhrar( חופשי משוחרר) and the difference is very little but significant.
It would really help if you could explain more.


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## fdb

I am not sure that you are aware  that the New Testament is written in Greek, not Hebrew. If you want a suitable Hebrew word why don't you give us a passage from the Old Testament which matches the desired meaning?


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## Malki92

fdb said:


> I am not sure that you are aware  that the New Testament is written in Greek, not Hebrew. If you want a suitable Hebrew word why don't you give us a passage from the Old Testament which matches the desired meaning?



Good call. I checked a Greek lexicon on the word here translated as "free" in 1 Peter 2:16 and apparently the Greek word ἐλεύθεροι is used here. In the Septuagint this word is used and it is translated from the Hebrew חפשי.


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## arielipi

actually, the new testament was written in hebrew originally, as the messengers were jews...


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## fdb

Hebrew was not a spoken language in Palestine in the first century, though it was of course used by scholars, and in the temple. The Jewish population was divided culturally into Hellenized Jews, who spoke and wrote in Greek, and non-Hellenized Jews, who spoke and wrote in Aramaic. The principal target audience of the books of the New Testament were Greek-speaking proselytes, Gentiles who worshiped the God of the Jews.


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## Nunty

Bearing the foregoing in mind - and at the risk of going outside the scope of this forum - I looked up 1 Peter 2:16 in the Peshitta (Aramaic) text. The word used there is בני חארא (bnei heirei), which in Hebrew is בני חורין (bnei horin). The masculine singular is בן חורין (ben horin), but I'm not sure if it would work for a tattoo.


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## arielipi

again, we need you to tell us what exactly you want it to mean, perhaps a few sentences could help.


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## fdb

Nunty said:


> Bearing the foregoing in mind - and at the risk of going outside the scope of this forum - I looked up 1 Peter 2:16 in the Peshitta (Aramaic) text. The word used there is בני חארא (bnei heirei), which in Hebrew is בני חורין (bnei horin). The masculine singular is בן חורין (ben horin), but I'm not sure if it would work for a tattoo.



The correct Syriac vocalisation is actually _bnay __ḥē__r__ē_, literally “sons of the free”; the singular is _bar __ḥē__r__ē_; the Hebrew equivalent of the latter is _bèn ḥōrīm _(with –_īm_, not _–īn_), for example in Eccl. 10:17. _bnay __ḥē__r__ē_ is the usual Syriac word for “free-born men, freedmen, nobles”. But more to the point: given the fact that throughout the ancient world branding is a sign of slavery it does indeed seem somewhat bizarre to want to use a word like this as a tattoo.


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## elbet.vdw

I guess a simple thing turned into a full blown discussion  

So far I've got khofshi, meshukhrar and _bèn ḥōrīm.
I think it's best for me NOT to try to explain what I want the word to mean, but for all of you to explain the different versions of the word so that I can pick one that suits me best.
_
Whether the New Testament was written in Greek or not (originally), it's not so much about what verse I want to use but more about what the different meanings of each version of the word free (in Hebrew) are.

Would it be better to have it done in Greek or even in Latin?


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## arielipi

The differences are vague to explain in my eyes.
khofshi is mostly in spirit, while meshukhrar is mostly physical. ben khorin is archaic nowadays but its a mix of both.

why dont you explain us what do you want it to mean?


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## InfatigableLearner

Hello to all,

I begin by noticing that elbet.vdw said they are looking for the sense of “free” as found in the phrases “I am free from sin” and “The truth will set you free” which are both ideas drawn from the Christian New Testament. Turning to the Modern Hebrew translation of the Christian New Testament by the United Bible Society, here is what one finds:

Romans 6:18 – וּלְאַחַר שֶׁשֻּׁחְרַרְתֶּם מִן הַחֵטְא (“and after you had been set free from sin...”)
Romans 6:22 – כְּשֶׁאַתֶּם מְשֻׁחְרָרִים מֵהַחֵטְא (“when you are set free from sin...”)
Romans 8:2 – שִׁחְרֵר אוֹתִי מֵחֹק הַחֵטְא וְהַמָּוֶת (“...has set me free from the law of sin and death”)

John 8:32 – וְהָאֱמֶת תְּשַׁחְרֵר אֶתְכֶם (“...and the truth will set you free”)

In all of these cases the Hebrew verb שִׁחְרֵר (“to set free/liberate/release”) serves as the translation for the Greek verb ἐλευθερόω (“to set free”). Thus I think the word which covers what elbet.vdw is searching for is best found in the verb שִׁחְרֵר. More specifically, I think that what elbet.vdw wants is this:

שֻׁחְרַרְתִּי (_shuchrarti_; “I have been set free”).

I note that elbet.vdw stated “I would want the Hebrew word to pertain to being ‘unbonded’ in the sense that I am not enslaved by death or sin” and this is indeed what is communicated by שֻׁחְרַרְתִּי though “death” or “sin” are not actually inherent to the verb itself. The converse of this phrase would be שֻׁעְבַּדְתִּי (“I have been enslaved”).

The adjectival form of this verb, מְשֻׁחְרָר (_meshuchrar_), was mentioned by airelibre and arielipi and means “freed” or “liberated.” In my view this adjectival form makes a good second option and the converse of this adjective is מְשֻׁעְבָּד (“enslaved”).

Nunty focused on elbet.vdw’s citation of 1 Peter 2:16 where one finds the following in the same translation noted above:

1 Peter 2:16 – הִתְנַהֲגוּ כַּאֲנָשִׁים חָפְשִׁיִּים (“conduct yourselves as free men...”)

In this passage the adjective חָפְשִׁי (c_hofshi_) is used and if elbet.vdw were to use this, then the meaning would simply be “free.” I think this option is less appealing given the more direct connection that the verb שִׁחְרֵר has with the use of “free” from the Christian New Testament noted above which is the same one that elbet.vdw is in search of.

Thus I think your options elbet.vdw are 1. שוחררתי (_shuchrarti_; “I have been set free”), 2. משוחרר (_meshuchrar_; “freed”/“liberated”), or 3. חופשי (c_hofshi_; “free”). If you are looking for option 1 in Greek, the original language of the Christian New Testament, I believe this would be ἠλευθερώθην (_eleutherothen_; "I have been set free"). You are of course free to choose the one you think best...

InfatigableLearner

P.S. I wonder why with all the posts that have been coming here about tattoos in Hebrew, no one ever thinks about the Hebrew phrase which is most applicable:

וּכְתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע לֹא תִתְּנוּ בָּכֶם


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## fdb

InfatigableLearner said:


> P.S. I wonder why with all the posts that have been coming here about tattoos in Hebrew, no one ever thinks about the Hebrew phrase which is most applicable:
> 
> וּכְתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע לֹא תִתְּנוּ בָּכֶם



I quoted Lev. 19:28 in one of the many previous threads of this kind, but someone censored it. Better luck to you.


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## InfatigableLearner

fdb said:


> Better luck to you.



My comment comes from a place of curiosity, not censor. If that comment is found to be so controversial that it should be excised from my post, I would not even fight about it.


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## airelibre

I think people should be notified of this verse when they post tattoo threads, just in case they are unaware of it. However, provided they are happy with their decision, we should not question their motives and should help in translation regardless.


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## Egmont

InfatigableLearner said:


> ...P.S. I wonder why with all the posts that have been coming here about tattoos in Hebrew, no one ever thinks about the Hebrew phrase which is most applicable:
> 
> וּכְתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע לֹא תִתְּנוּ בָּכֶם


I suspect that someone who wants a tattoo that reflects Christian beliefs, and who refers (in post 1) to the First Epistle of Peter as part of the Bible, is not very concerned with what he or she would consider to be "Old Testament" prohibitions.


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## Malki92

Egmont said:


> I suspect that someone who wants a tattoo that reflects Christian beliefs, and who refers (in post 1) to the First Epistle of Peter as part of the Bible, is not very concerned with what he or she would consider to be "Old Testament" prohibitions.


לא באמת ככה.  בברית חדשה, ישוע אמר שבא לא להרוס את התורה, אז אם יש לנוצרים כבוד לדברי ישוע, הם גם כן יכבדו את התנ"ך​


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## elbet.vdw

Thanks for the lengthy reply *InfatigableLearner.

*As I read from *airelibre *is it possible to write this word without the 'nikkudot' or is this something that's crucial to the meaning of the word?

Also, does everyone agree with the translations *InfatigableLearner *has given? 

PS: I've had many debates and class discussions about getting a tattoo as a Christian. Yes, I understand that it does prohibit this in Leviticus (and I'm sure this isn't the only verse that says something about it) but have you looked at the surrounding texts? Refer to this page: http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/f/tattoochristian.htm (Instead of me rambling on about it, since this would have to find it's place in a different forum).


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## airelibre

Yes, I agree with InfatigableLearner.
The Nikkudot would only be necessary if the vav (ו) were not included, since in this case the word could mean one of two things. The vav just makes it clear which pronunciation is the intended one, so no, nikkudot are not necessary.
חופשי Hofshi and שוחררתי shukhrarti are clear also without nikkudot. In normal written Hebrew nikkudot are hardly ever used because even if two different words are spelt the same, the context will show which pronunciation is the one intended, whereas a single word may benefit from vowel points when there is a lack of context.


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## arielipi

i also agree with infatig.


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## fdb

We do not want to get into a theological debate, but perhaps we can say this much: The apostle declared that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13). From a consistent Pauline standpoint one could argue that this refers not merely to circumcision, keeping the Sabbath and the food regulations, but to the Law in its entirety, for example the prohibition of tattooing, the ban on men lying with men as with women, and everything else that is forbidden in the Torah. But in this case perhaps you should use the word used by Paul himself:

ἐλεύθερος “free”.


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## FreePassage

Well I Am Looking For Something That Better Left Unexplained As Well, Wether It Be For Personal Clarification  Or Freedom From Interference Or Those That Interfere.. 

So All In All I Personally Am Looking  For "Free-Safe Passage" As A Command, Direction And Instructions.


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