The Bible Word 'Hate'

 The Bible Word, ‘Hate’

In the King James Version (KJV), the word "hate" (base form) appears 87 times. Variants add more: "hated" ~60 times, "hateth" ~31 times, plus smaller numbers for "hatest," "hateful," and "hating." Total usage of related forms exceeds 180. It appears across both Testaments, with notable frequency in Psalms, Deuteronomy, and Proverbs.
The English word in the KJV translates words from the original languages (primarily Hebrew in the OT, with some Aramaic; Greek in the NT). Biblical "hate" often carries a stronger emotional or active sense than modern casual usage, but it frequently functions relatively (e.g., "love less" or "reject/turn away from" in comparison) rather than always meaning intense personal malice or emotional loathing. Context is essential.
Old Testament (Mainly Hebrew)
The dominant Hebrew word is שָׂנֵא (sānêʾ / sane', Strong's H8130), a primitive root meaning "to hate (personally)." It is translated as "hate" 136 times in the KJV (plus other renderings like enemy/foe in a few cases), for a total of ~146 occurrences.
- Core meaning: To hate, detest, be hostile toward, or treat as an enemy. It can imply active aversion, rejection, or avoidance.
- Nuances in context:
- Emotional/hostile hate: Genuine dislike or enmity (e.g., toward evil, enemies of God, or personal foes). Examples include commands to hate evil or descriptions of hatred toward God’s people.
- Relative/comparative sense ("love less" or "reject"): Common in family or preference contexts. Classic example: Genesis 29:30-31 — Jacob "loved Rachel more than Leah," and the text immediately says the Lord saw that "Leah was hated." This doesn't mean Jacob loathed Leah, but that she was loved less or set in a lower position of favor.
- God’s "hate": Often toward sin, idolatry, or injustice (e.g., Malachi 1:2-3, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" — understood as divine election/rejection or preference in covenant purpose, not literal emotional hatred of Esau as a person).
- Pictographic/ancient root insight: Linked to ideas of a "thorn seed" — something sharp that causes one to turn away or avoid.
Other Hebrew words occasionally contribute to "hate" translations, but sānêʾ dominates.
New Testament (Greek)
The primary Greek word is μισέω (miseō, Strong's G3404), meaning "to hate, detest (especially to persecute); by extension, to love less." It occurs ~42 times in the Greek NT (translated as "hate" 41 times + "hateful" once in KJV).
- Core meaning: To detest, pursue with hatred, or abhor. It can carry strong negative force (e.g., the world's hatred of Jesus and His followers — John 15:18-25).
- Nuances in context:
- Strong aversion: Persecution, rejection of light/evil, or moral opposition (e.g., "no man can serve two masters... he will hate the one" in Matthew 6:24).
- Relative sense ("love less"): Key in discipleship passages. Luke 14:26 — "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother..." This is hyperbolic/rhetorical (a common Semitic idiom) meaning to love Jesus supremely, even above family loyalties — not literal emotional hatred of parents. Similar in John 12:25.
- Jesus and the NT often contrast hate with love, calling believers to love enemies while noting the reality of opposition.
- Context always rules: "Hate" can be literal enmity, moral rejection of sin, or relative preference. Modern English "hate" (intense emotional disgust) is narrower than the biblical range.
- God's character: Scripture emphasizes that God hates sin and evil deeds far more than people themselves (though judgment falls on persistent rebellion).
- Practical: Many verses urge hating evil (Psalm 97:10, Proverbs 8:13) while loving people, including enemies (Matthew 5:44).
Several verses in the King James Version (KJV) Bible describe God’s hatred for sin and wickedness. While the phrase "God hates the sin but loves the sinner" is a common theological concept often attributed to St. Augustine, scripture also shows God's aversion to the actions and, at times, those who willfully continue in them.
Some key KJV verses regarding God's view of sin:
• Proverbs 6:16-19 (Things God Hates)
"These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."
• Psalm 5:4-6 (God's Rejection of Evil)
"For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man."
• Psalm 11:5 (God's Soul Hatred of Evil)
"The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth."
• Proverbs 8:13 (The Call to Hate Evil)
"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."
• Habakkuk 1:13 (God's Holiness)
"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity..."
• Psalm 97:10 (A Call for Believers)
"Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked."

God Hates sin. More importantly a Holy God can not associate Himself with any sin or He would no longer be Holy, He would no longer be God. God asked in all of His Word to return to Him, Repent and He will be liberal in forgiving your sins.

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