diff --git a/lib/utils/validator.js b/lib/utils/validator.js
index 5a45c88d..147e4a69 100644
--- a/lib/utils/validator.js
+++ b/lib/utils/validator.js
@@ -279,9 +279,9 @@ Validator.prototype.hash = function hash(key, fallback) {
 
   if (typeof value !== 'string') {
     if (!Buffer.isBuffer(value))
-      throw new Error(fmt(key) + ' must be a buffer.');
+      throw new Error(fmt(key) + ' must be a hash.');
     if (value.length !== 32)
-      throw new Error(fmt(key) + ' must be a buffer.');
+      throw new Error(fmt(key) + ' must be a hash.');
     return value.toString('hex');
   }