חוּט
thread
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct 4 times (57%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 3 times (43%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 7 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H2339 appears — 7 distinct verses across 7 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis 1 verse
Joshua 1 verse
Judges 1 verse
1 Kings 1 verse
Ecclesiastes 1 verse
Song of Solomon 1 verse
Jeremiah 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“thread” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun חוט (chûwṭ). Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 14:23. The Hebrew Bible uses it across 7 verses — uncommon. Related forms include חוט. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H2339 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 7
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 7 distinct verses.
- 7 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 7 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #2,835
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 2,835 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 7 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 7 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 4 verses · 57%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 2 verses · 29%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 1 verse · 14%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Are like a thread 1×, Cord 1×, Fillet 1×
- American Standard Version: Line 2×
- Berean Standard Bible: Circumference 1×, Like threads 1×, Moreover a cord 1×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Are 1×, Cord of 1×, Like a thread of 1×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H2339 across 7 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H2339 across 7 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 5 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H2339 across 5 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Not rendered by a distinct English word in 2 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H2339 across 8 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 3 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1. thread, as easily broken Ju 16:12 (sim.); as composing a rope or cord; תִּקְוַת ח׳ הַשָּׁנִי הַזֶּה Jos 2:18 (JE) this cord of scarlet thread (lit. the cord of this thread of scarlet); prob. also מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹךְ נַעַל Gn 14:23 from a thread to a sandal-thong; in sim. כְּח׳ הַשָּׁנִי Ct 4:3 like a thread of scarlet are thy lips. e.g. Judges 16:12
- 2. cord, הַח׳ הַמְּשֻׁלָּשׁ Ec 4:12 a three-fold cord. e.g. Ecclesiastes 4:12
- 3. line, as measure of length 1 K 7:15 and a line of twelve cubits surrounded (i.e. would surround) it (cf. קָו v 23), so Je 52:21. e.g. 1 Kings 7:15
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
n.m. Jos 2:18 thread, cord, line (NH id.; Arabic خَيْطٌ, Aramaic ܚܽܘܛܳܐ, חוּטָא)—ח׳ abs. Gn 14:23 + 2 times; cstr. Jos 2:18 + 3 times;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: from an unused root probably meaning to sew
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
חוֹט
- (חטט) incisors. Bekh. VI, 4 (39ᵃ) ח׳ החיצונות (Mish. ed. חִיטָּיו, read חוּ׳) the central two incisors, הפנימיות (Bab. ed. הפנימים) the one each to the right and left of the central incisors. Ib. 35ᵃ; 37ᵃ
חוּט I
- (v. חָטַט) to dig, perforate.—Pol. חוֹטֵט, Hithpol. הִתְחוֹטֵט, v. חָטַט.
חוּט
- Pa. חַיֵּיט same. Targ. Y. Ex. XXI, 6.—B. Bath. 58ᵃ, v. חַטִּיטָא.
חוּט II
- to fasten, esp. (denom. of חֲוַט) to provide a shoe with straps. Y. Kil. IX, 32ᵈ top לא יֵחוֹט ליה מסאניה that he should not make for his (woolen) shoes straps of flax but leather thongs. Ib. מהו מֵיחוֹט מסאניה בכיתן (not דכ׳) is it permitted to put flax straps on &c.?
- 1. same, same, to fasten, strap. Targ. Y. Deut. XXV, 9.
- 2. to sew. Targ. Job XVI, 15; a. e.—Men. 37ᵇ האי מאן דחַיְּיטֵיה לגלימיה he who sewed the trail of his cloak up. Y. Shebi. IV, 35ᵃ bot. הוה מְחַיֵּיט וכ׳ was doing tailor’s work at &c.; a. fr.
- 3. to mend, patch. Lam. R. to I, 1 רבתי (חד כות׳ 1) ח׳ ליה מן וכ׳ he patched it in one place &c.; a. e.
- 4. to form a net of straps, plait. Ab. Zar. 75ᵃ דחַיְּיטֵי בחבלי וכ׳ Ms. M. (ed. דחַיְּטֵי) which they plait with chords &c.
חֲוַט
- , shoe-thong. Y. Kil. IX, 32ᵈ top, v. חוּט II.
חוּט III
- preced. wds.)
- 1. thread, chord, strap; sinew. Kel. XXIX, 3 ח׳ משקולת chord of the plumb-line; ib. 4 ח׳ מאזנים of the balances.—Yeb. 121ᵇ, a. fr. ח׳ השערה a single hair, v. דִּקְדֵּק.—Ḥull. III, 1, a fr. ח׳ השדרה the spinal chord.—Ḥag. 12ᵇ הקב"ה … ח׳ של חסד the Lord strings around him a chord of grace (protection). Meg. 13ᵃ ח׳ של חסד וכ׳ a chord of (divine) grace was strung &c. Men. 39ᵃ נפסק הח׳ מעיקרו the twining thread of the show-fringes is broken at the top. Ib. ח׳ של כרך the thread used for twining; a. fr.—Y. Sabb. VI, 8ᵇ bot. חוטמה וכ׳, read: חוט דומה לשערה a band (of hair) resembling her own hair.—Pl. חוּטִים, חוּטִין. Snh. 52ᵃ, a. e. שני ח׳ של אש two threads (lines) of fire. Lev. R. s. 14, v. זְהוֹרִית.—Men. 39ᵇ חוּטֵי צמר woolen threads (as show-fringes). Sabb. VI, 5 חוטי שיער bands made of hair. Ib. 6 בח׳ וכ׳ with threads … in their ears (in place of earrings). Ḥull. 93ᵃ ח׳ שביד the veins of the fore-foot; a. fr.
- 2. (Geogr.) air-line. Tosef. Ter. II, 12. Ib. 13 מן הח׳ ולפנים וכ׳ what is inside (East) of the line is considered as belonging to the land of Israel.—[Tosef. Kel. B. Bath. V, 14 יוצאת החוט, v. חוּץ II.]
חָטַט
- 1. to dig, cut out (of the sucket), hollow out. Mikv. IV, 3 החוֹטֵט בצינור וכ׳ if one makes a cavity in a water pipe for the deposit of pebbles. Gen. R. s. 34 היה חוטט את וכ׳ the embryo would cut its way through &c. Kidd. 24ᵇ וחֲטָטָהּ and he (the master) cut it (the eye) out.
- 2. to rake, clean a well. M. Kat. I, 2 וחוֹטְטִין אותן and you may clean the wells. Ib. 5ᵃ ח׳ … ואין חופרין וכ׳ you may clean …, but not dig (deepen) &c. [Ib. ולא חוטטין לתוכן you must not rake pebbles into them; v., however vers. Ms. M., Rabb. D. S. a. l.]—Y. ib. 80ᵇ bot. חוטטין אותן גרפין לון וכ׳ (not חוטטן) ḥot’tin means ‘they rake them’, as we read (Mikv. l. c.).
- 3. to take sheaves out with a rake. Succ. I, 8 החוטט בגדיש וכ׳ if one takes sheaves out of a stack, so as to form a shed (Succah). Ib. 15ᵃ
- 1. to rake. Y. Sabb. III, beg. 5ᶜ צריך לחַטֵּט ביד וכ׳ he must rake (coals and ashes out of the oven) with a handle, which proves that he must clean thoroughly.
- 2. to make holes, to pick. Tosef. Mikv. VII (VIII), 2 אוצין צריך לחטט Var. (ed. Zuck. לחַטְחֵט) if the holes in the baskets are filled up with grapes &c., one must clean them by picking. B. Kam. 18ᵃ תרנגולין שהיו מְחַטְּטִין וכ׳ chickens that picked on the rope of a bucket. Tosef. B. Mets. VIII, 30 שמְחַטְּטִין את וכ׳ (Var. שמְחַטְחֲטִין) for they pick holes in the walls.
- 3. (with אחר) to dig after, to trace with the knife. Ḥull. 74ᵇ; Tosef. Ib. VII, 4.
- 4. to trim. Sabb. 90ᵃ; Men. 107ᵃ, v. מָחַט.
- same. Y. Orl. III, 63ᵃ מצוי לחַטְחֵט אחריו it is likely that they dig after it (to take it out of the ground); a. e. (v. supra).
- to be dug out, picked out. Kidd. 24ᵇ נֶחְטְטָה עינה if the bird’s eye was picked out; Zeb. VII, 5 (68ᵇ) Ar. (ed. נסמית).
- to be exhumed. Yeb. 63ᵇ מתים מִתְחַטְּטִין the dead are exhumed (by the Guebres).
- ), part. מְחוֹטֵט (v. מַחַט) stinging (the eye), dazzling, v. infra.
- to be cut (of jewels), to be polished, glisten. Meg. 12ᵃ (play on בה̇ט̇, Esth. I, 6) אב̇נים שמִתְח̇וֹטְֹטוֹת על בעליהן וי"א אב̇נים המְח̇וֹטְֹטוֹת לעינים במקומן Ms. F. (v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 5) stones which glisten on those who wear them, and some say, Stones which dazzle the eyes in the place where they are found. e.g. Esther 1:6
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 7 distinct written forms H2339 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| וְ/הַ/חוּט֙ | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute | Ecclesiastes 4:12 | 1 |
| וְ/ח֛וּט | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct | Jeremiah 52:21 | 1 |
| וְ/חוּט֙ | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct | 1 Kings 7:15 | 1 |
| חוּט֩ | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct | Joshua 2:18 | 1 |
| כְּ/ח֤וּט | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct | Song of Solomon 4:3 | 1 |
| כַּ/חֽוּט | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute | Judges 16:12 | 1 |
| מִ/חוּט֙ | Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute | Genesis 14:23 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H2339, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 7 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 7 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 14:23
- Joshua 2:18
- Judges 16:12
- 1 Kings 7:15
- Ecclesiastes 4:12
- Song of Solomon 4:3
- Jeremiah 52:21
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
