Lexical Summary
reyach: Scent, aroma, fragrance, odor
Original Word:רֵיחַ
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:reyach
Pronunciation:ray'-akh
Phonetic Spelling:(ray'-akh)
KJV: savour, scent, smell
Word Origin:[fromH7306 (רוַּח - Spirit)]
1. odor (as if blown)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
savour, scent, smell
Fromruwach; odor (as if blown) -- savour, scent, smell.
see HEBREWruwach
Brown-Driver-Briggs
58Jeremiah 48:11 (properly
breath); — absolute
Songs 2:13 +, usually construct
Genesis 8:21 +; suffix
Jeremiah 48:11;
Songs 1:12,
Exodus 5:21; —
scent, odour, of plants and fieldsGenesis 27:27 (JE) Cant 1:12; 2:3; 4:11; Song 7:14;Hosea 14:7, of ointments Cant 1:3;Hosea 4:10, of person and garmentsGenesis 27:27 (twice in verse) (JE) Cant 4:11;Songs 7:9; of waterJob 14:9; figurative of influence, reputationExodus 5:21 (J)Jeremiah 48:11.
,odour of soothing (to God), tranquillizing odour (of ascending sacrifices, see )Genesis 8:21 (J), elsewhereEzekiel 6:13;Ezekiel 16:19;Ezekiel 20:28,41 and P:Exodus 29:18,25,41;Leviticus 1:9 16t. Leviticus;Numbers 15:3 17t. Numbers.
Topical Lexicon
Summary of Thematic Usageרֵיחַ (reach) speaks of every kind of smell—pleasant or foul—but most often it denotes the fragrance that rises from covenant sacrifices and signifies divine pleasure. Roughly two-thirds of its occurrences are in Torah legislation; the remainder appear in narrative, poetry and prophecy where scent becomes a metaphor for blessing, intimacy, discernment or judgment.
Aroma of Acceptable Worship
1. First use: “The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in His heart, ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of man’” (Genesis 8:21). The post-flood burnt offering establishes a baseline: fragrance is the evidence of atonement received.
2. Priestly pattern: Each burnt, grain, fellowship and drink offering is “a pleasing aroma to the LORD” (e.g.,Leviticus 1:9; 2:2; 3:16;Numbers 15:3-7). The phrase turns dry ritual into relational experience—Yahweh “breathes in” the obedience of His people.
3. Daily continuity: The perpetual morning and evening lambs “are a regular offering—a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD” (Numbers 28:6, 8). Israel’s calendar is perfumed by unbroken worship.
4. Solomon alludes to the same theology in temple construction: “We are to burn incense of sweet aromas before Him” (2 Chronicles 2:4).
Fragrance and Covenant Relationship
• Blessing: Isaac declares over Jacob, “The smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed” (Genesis 27:27). Fragrance marks the heir of promise.
• Curse: When covenant is violated, the privilege is withdrawn—“I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings” (Leviticus 26:31). Amos, Hosea and Isaiah expand this warning with imagery of stench replacing perfume (Isaiah 3:24).
• Intercession: Moses twice intercedes that the worship of Israel not be rejected; both times God signals acceptance by “the aroma” (compareExodus 29:18 with 29:42-46).
Sacrificial Theology
The repeated formula “pleasing aroma” (reach nihoach) blends two notions: tangible smoke and intangible favor. The odor itself does nothing, yet it reveals the substitutionary logic of sacrifice—wrath diverted, communion restored. Paul later captures this in “Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2), directly echoing Levitical terminology.
Non-Cultic Occurrences in Narrative and Wisdom Literature
• Courtship: Song of Solomon pictures love as an extravagant bouquet. “Your name is perfume poured out” (1:3); “The vines in blossom give forth fragrance” (2:13). Here רֵיחַ communicates delight and mutual desire, mirroring the delight between Yahweh and His people.
• Royal luxury: “All your robes are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia” (Psalm 45:8). Kingship is clothed in sweet scent, anticipating Messiah’s anointing.
• Sensory discernment:Proverbs 27:9 compares hearty counsel to “the sweetness of one’s friend” and oil’s fragrance; relationship and wisdom are “smelled” before they are seen.
Prophetic Reversals: From Perfume to Stench
Whenever Israel turns to idolatry the prophets use olfactory reversal:
- Idols “neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell” (Deuteronomy 4:28); lifeless gods cannot respond to offering.
- Moab has “been at ease from his youth… his aroma has remained unchanged” (Jeremiah 48:11), a sarcastic wordplay on wine left undisturbed—stagnation, not sanctification.
- The day of the LORD changes Jerusalem’s cosmetics to decay: “Instead of fragrance there will be stench” (Isaiah 3:24). The sweet smoke of true worship is replaced by the rot of apostasy.
Echoes into the New Testament
Though רֵיחַ is Hebrew, its theology saturates the New Testament:
• Christ’s cross = ultimate “pleasing aroma” (Ephesians 5:2).
• Believers, united to Him, become “the aroma of Christ to God” (2 Corinthians 2:15).
• Prayer is “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Revelation 5:8). The Levitical cloud finds eschatological fulfillment.
Pastoral and Ministry Application
1. Worship that pleases God still ascends through substitutionary sacrifice—now realized in Christ. Ministry is fragrant insofar as it exalts Him.
2. Personal holiness influences corporate worship; unrepentant sin turns sweet aroma into stench (compareLeviticus 26:31 with1 Corinthians 11:27-32).
3. Evangelism carries a dual effect: life to some, death to others (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). The same gospel-aroma that delights God exposes rebellion.
4. Spiritual discernment includes “smelling” the fruit of teaching and conduct (Hebrews 5:14); churches should cultivate environments where the fragrance of grace is unmistakable.
Thus רֵיחַ threads through Scripture as a sensory witness to covenant fidelity, pointing ultimately to the crucified and risen Christ whose once-for-all sacrifice guarantees that the fragrance of redeemed worship will never fade.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּרֵ֖יחַ בְּרֵ֣יחַ בריח וְרֵ֥יחַ וְרֵ֥יחַֽ וְרֵיח֖וֹ וריח וריחו כְּרֵ֣יחַ כְּרֵ֥יחַ כריח לְרֵ֙יחַ֙ לְרֵ֣יחַ לְרֵ֤יחַ לְרֵ֥יחַ לְרֵֽיחַ־ לריח לריח־ מֵרֵ֣יחַ מריח רֵ֑יחַ רֵ֗יחַ רֵ֚יחַ רֵ֣יחַ רֵ֤יחַ רֵ֥יחַ רֵ֧יחַ רֵֽיחַ־ רֵיחֵ֗נוּ רֵיחֽוֹ׃ ריח ריח־ ריחו׃ ריחנו bə·rê·aḥ bərêaḥ beReiach kə·rê·aḥ kərêaḥ keReiach lə·rê·aḥ lə·rê·aḥ- lərêaḥ lərêaḥ- leReiach mê·rê·aḥ mêrêaḥ meReiach rê·aḥ rê·aḥ- rê·ḥê·nū rê·ḥōw rêaḥ rêaḥ- rêḥênū rêḥōw Reiach reiChenu reiCho veReiach vereiCho wə·rê·aḥ wə·rê·ḥōw wərêaḥ wərêḥōw
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