טף

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
ט־פ־ף (ṭ-p-p)
1 term

Uncertain; from the same root as Arabic طَفِيف (ṭafīf, “small, insignificant”).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /taf/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

טַף • (taf) m (no plural forms, Biblical Hebrew pausal form טָף) [pattern: קֶטֶל]

1. (chiefly Modern Israeli Hebrew) babies, infants, small children

   אֲנָשִׁים, נָשִׁים, יְלָדִים וָטַף. ― anashím, nashím, y'ladím vatáf. ― Men, women, children and infants.

2. (Biblical Hebrew) children
   • Tanach, Numbers 31:9, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וַיִּשְׁבּוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־נְשֵׁי מִדְיָן וְאֶת־טַפָּם וְאֵת כׇּל־בְּהֶמְתָּם וְאֶת־כׇּל־מִקְנֵהֶם וְאֶת־כׇּל־חֵילָם בָּזָזוּ׃

     The Israelites took the women and children of the Midianites captive, and seized as booty all their beasts, all their herds, and all their wealth.

   1. (by extension) family, household (women and children)
      • Tanach, 2 Chronicles 20:13, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

        וְכׇל־יְהוּדָה עֹמְדִים לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה גַּם־טַפָּם נְשֵׁיהֶם וּבְנֵיהֶם׃

        And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, [families]: their wives, and their children.

      • Tanach, Genesis 47:12, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

        וַיְכַלְכֵּל יוֹסֵף אֶת־אָבִיו וְאֶת־אֶחָיו וְאֵת כׇּל־בֵּית אָבִיו לֶחֶם לְפִי הַטָּף׃

        And Joseph sustained his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to the want of their little ones [families].

   2. (by extension) young adults
      • Tanach, Leviticus 31:18, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

        וְכֹל הַטַּף בַּנָּשִׁים אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדְעוּ מִשְׁכַּב זָכָר הַחֲיוּ לָכֶם׃

        But all the [young] women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

Usage notes

This noun is always used collectively and therefore uncountable.

Declension

Declension of טַף

	isolated forms		with possessive pronouns
Number:	State:	form	Person:	singular		plural
				m	f	m	f
singular	indefinite	טַף	first	טַפִּי		טַפֵּנוּ
	definite	הַטַּף	second	טַפְּךָ	טַפֵּךְ	טַפְּכֶם	טַפְּכֶן
	construct	טַף־	third	טַפּוֹ	טַפָּהּ	טַפָּם	טַפָּן

Derived terms

• שְׁמַרְטַף (shmartáf, “babysitter”)

References

• H2945 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Klein, Ernest (1987) “טַף”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[1], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 247b
• Jastrow, Marcus (1903) A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature‎^[2], London, New York: Luzac & Co., G.P. Putnam's Sons, page 545a
• “טף” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language