חרש
to plough
‘to plough’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Hiphil verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘cut in’
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”). Here: ‘be silent’
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”).
- Hithpael
- The reflexive or reciprocal stem (the subject acts on itself).
Form
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Participle Passive
- A verbal adjective expressing action received (“written”).
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.
Person
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms 34 distinct
- Verb, Qal, Jussive, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular 6 times (8%)
- Verb, Hiphil, Imperfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular 5 times (7%)
- Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 5 times (7%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 4 times (6%)
- Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Construct 4 times (6%)
- Verb, Hiphil, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 4 times (6%)
- Verb, Hiphil, Sequential Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 3 times (4%)
- Verb, Hiphil, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural 3 times (4%)
+26 more forms (38 occurrences)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 72 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H2790 appears — 65 distinct verses across 21 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 2 verses
- Genesis 24:21 מַחֲרִ֕ישׁ Hiphil ptcp.act ms The man looked steadfastly at her, holding his peace, to know whether Yahweh had made his journey prosperous or not.
- Genesis 34:5 וְ/הֶחֱרִ֥שׁ conj + Hiphil pf 3ms Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his cattle in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came.
Exodus 1 verse
Numbers 4 verses
- Numbers 30:4 וְ/הֶחֱרִ֥ישׁ conj + Hiphil wpf 3ms and her father hears her vow, and her bond with which she has bound her soul, and her father holds his peace at her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she has bound her soul shall stand.
- Numbers 30:7 וְ/הֶחֱרִ֣ישׁ conj + Hiphil wpf 3ms and her husband hear it, and hold his peace at her in the day that he hears it; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she has bound her soul shall stand.
- Numbers 30:11 וְ/הֶחֱרִ֣שׁ conj + Hiphil wpf 3ms and her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and didn't disallow her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she bound her soul shall stand.
- Numbers 30:14 הַחֲרֵשׁ֩ יַחֲרִ֨ישׁ הֶחֱרִ֥שׁ Hiphil inf.abs Hiphil impf 3ms Hiphil pf 3ms But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows, or all her bonds, which are on her: he has established them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.
Deuteronomy 1 verse
Judges 3 verses
- Judges 14:18 חֲרַשְׁתֶּ֣ם Qal pf 2mp The men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? He said to them, If you hadn't plowed with my heifer, You wouldn't have found out my riddle.
- Judges 16:2 וַ/יִּתְחָרְשׁ֤וּ conj + Hithpael wimpf 3mp [It was told] the Gazites, saying, Samson is come here. They compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, [Let be] until morning light, then we will kill him.
- Judges 18:19 הַחֲרֵ֜שׁ Hiphil impv 2ms They said to him, Hold your peace, lay your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?
1 Samuel 4 verses
- 1 Samuel 7:8 תַּחֲרֵ֣שׁ Hiphil juss 2ms The children of Israel said to Samuel, "Don't cease to cry to Yahweh our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines."
- 1 Samuel 8:12 וְ/לַ/חֲרֹ֤שׁ conj + prep + Qal inf.cs and he will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and [he will set some] to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
- 1 Samuel 10:27 כְּ/מַחֲרִֽישׁ prep + Hiphil ptcp.act ms But certain worthless fellows said, How shall this man save us? They despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
- 1 Samuel 23:9 מַחֲרִ֣ישׁ Hiphil ptcp.act ms David knew that Saul was devising mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring here the ephod.
2 Samuel 2 verses
- 2 Samuel 13:20 הַחֲרִ֨ישִׁי֙ Hiphil impv 2fs Absalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon your brother been with you? but now hold your peace, my sister: he is your brother; don't take this thing to heart. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.
- 2 Samuel 19:10 מַחֲרִשִׁ֖ים Hiphil ptcp.act mp Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why don't you speak a word of bringing the king back?
1 Kings 1 verse
2 Kings 1 verse
Nehemiah 1 verse
Esther 2 verses
- Esther 4:14 הַחֲרֵ֣שׁ תַּחֲרִישִׁי֮ Hiphil inf.abs Hiphil impf 2fs For if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish: and who knows whether you haven't come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
- Esther 7:4 הֶחֱרַ֔שְׁתִּי Hiphil pf 1cs for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondservants and bondmaids, I had held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king's damage.
Job 10 verses
- Job 1:14 חֹֽרְשׁ֔וֹת Qal ptcp.act fp that there came a messenger to Job, and said, "The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them,
- Job 4:8 חֹ֣רְשֵׁי Qal ptcp.act mp cs According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity, And sow trouble, Reap the same.
- Job 6:24 אַחֲרִ֑ישׁ Hiphil impf 1cs "Teach me, and I will hold my peace; Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
- Job 11:3 יַחֲרִ֑ישׁו Hiphil impf 3mp Should your boastings make men hold their peace? When you mock, shall no man make you ashamed?
- Job 13:5 הַחֲרֵ֣שׁ תַּחֲרִישׁ֑וּ/ן Hiphil inf.abs Hiphil impf 2mp + sfx n Oh that you would be completely silent! Then you would be wise.
- Job 13:13 הַחֲרִ֣ישׁוּ Hiphil impv 2mp "Be silent, leave me alone, that I may speak. Let come on me what will.
- Job 13:19 אַחֲרִ֣ישׁ Hiphil impf 1cs Who is he who will contend with me? For then would I hold my peace and give up the spirit.
- Job 33:31 הַ֝חֲרֵ֗שׁ Hiphil impv 2ms Mark well, Job, and listen to me: Hold your peace, and I will speak.
- Job 33:33 הַ֝חֲרֵ֗שׁ Hiphil impv 2ms If not, listen to me: Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom."
- Job 41:12 אַחֲרִ֥ישׁ Hiphil impf 1cs "I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, Nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
Psalms 9 verses
- Psalms 28:1 תֶּחֱרַ֪שׁ Qal juss 2ms To you, Yahweh, I call. My rock, don't be deaf to me; Lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit.
- Psalms 32:3 הֶ֭חֱרַשְׁתִּי Hiphil pf 1cs When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
- Psalms 35:22 תֶּחֱרַ֑שׁ Qal juss 2ms You have seen it, Yahweh. Don't keep silent. Lord, don't be far from me.
- Psalms 39:12 תֶּ֫חֱרַ֥שׁ Qal juss 2ms "Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don't be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, A foreigner, as all my fathers were.
- Psalms 50:3 יֶ֫חֱרַ֥שׁ Qal juss 3ms Our God comes, and does not keep silent. A fire devours before him. It is very tempestuous around him.
- Psalms 50:21 וְֽ/הֶחֱרַ֗שְׁתִּי conj + Hiphil wpf 1cs You have done these things, and I kept silent. You thought that the "I AM" was just like you. I will rebuke you, and accuse you in front of your eyes.
- Psalms 83:1 תֶּחֱרַ֖שׁ Qal juss 2ms God, don't keep silent. Don't keep silent, And don't be still, God.
- Psalms 109:1 תֶּחֱרַֽשׁ Qal juss 2ms God of my praise, don't remain silent,
- Psalms 129:3 חָרְשׁ֣וּ חֹרְשִׁ֑ים Qal pf 3cp Qal ptcp.act mp The plowers plowed on my back. They made their furrows long.
Proverbs 8 verses
- Proverbs 3:29 תַּחֲרֹ֣שׁ Qal juss 2ms Don't devise evil against your neighbor, Seeing he dwells securely by you.
- Proverbs 6:14 חֹרֵ֣שׁ Qal ptcp.act ms In whose heart is perverseness, Who devises evil continually, Who always sows discord.
- Proverbs 6:18 חֹ֭רֵשׁ Qal ptcp.act ms A heart that devises wicked schemes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief,
- Proverbs 11:12 יַחֲרִֽישׁ Hiphil impf 3ms One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, But a man of understanding holds his peace.
- Proverbs 12:20 חֹ֣רְשֵׁי Qal ptcp.act mp cs Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, But joy comes to the promoters of peace.
- Proverbs 14:22 חֹ֣רְשֵׁי חֹ֣רְשֵׁי Qal ptcp.act mp cs Qal ptcp.act mp cs Don't they go astray who plot evil? But love and faithfulness belong to those who plan good.
- Proverbs 17:28 מַ֭חֲרִישׁ Hiphil ptcp.act ms Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted wise. When he shuts his lips, he is thought to be discerning.
- Proverbs 20:4 יַחֲרֹ֑שׁ Qal impf 3ms The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter; Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Isaiah 4 verses
- Isaiah 28:24 יַחֲרֹ֥שׁ הַ/חֹרֵ֖שׁ Qal impf 3ms ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act ms Does he who plows to sow plow continually? does he [continually] open and harrow his ground?
- Isaiah 36:21 וַֽ/יַּחֲרִ֔ישׁוּ conj + Hiphil wimpf 3mp But they held their peace, and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, saying, Don't answer him.
- Isaiah 41:1 הַחֲרִ֤ישׁוּ Hiphil impv 2mp Keep silence before me, islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment.
- Isaiah 42:14 אַחֲרִ֖ישׁ Hiphil impf 1cs I have long time held my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: [now] will I cry out like a travailing woman; I will gasp and pant together.
Jeremiah 4 verses
- Jeremiah 4:19 אַחֲרִ֑ישׁ Hiphil impf 1cs My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I can't hold my peace; because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
- Jeremiah 17:1 חֲרוּשָׁה֙ Qal ptcp.pass fs The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, [and] with the point of a diamond: it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars;
- Jeremiah 26:18 תֵֽחָרֵשׁ֙ Niphal impf 3fs Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
- Jeremiah 38:27 וַ/יַּחֲרִ֣שׁוּ conj + Hiphil wimpf 3mp Then came all the princes to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
Hosea 2 verses
- Hosea 10:11 יַחֲר֣וֹשׁ Qal impf 3ms Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; So I will put a yoke on her beautiful neck. I will set a rider on Ephraim. Judah will plow. Jacob will break his clods.
- Hosea 10:13 חֲרַשְׁתֶּם Qal pf 2mp You have plowed wickedness. You have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, For you trusted in your way, in the multitude of your mighty men.
Amos 2 verses
- Amos 6:12 יַחֲר֖וֹשׁ Qal impf 3ms Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, And the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;
- Amos 9:13 חוֹרֵשׁ֙ Qal ptcp.act ms "Behold, the days come," says Yahweh, "That the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the one treading grapes him who sows seed; And sweet wine will drip from the mountains, And flow from the hills.
Micah 2 verses
- Micah 3:12 תֵֽחָרֵ֑שׁ Niphal impf 3fs Therefore Zion for your sake will be plowed like a field, And Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble, And the mountain of the temple like the high places of a forest.
- Micah 7:16 תֶּחֱרַֽשְׁנָה Qal impf 3fp The nations will see and be ashamed of all their might. They will lay their hand on their mouth. Their ears will be deaf.
Habakkuk 1 verse
Zephaniah 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.
“to plough” is the headline sense of the Hebrew verb חרש (chârash). First canonically at Genesis 24:21, it enters the text early. With 65 verses in 21 books, it is a moderately common word in the Hebrew Bible. The verb spans 3 stems, from Qal to Niphal. It clusters with חריש, חרישי and חרש under a shared root. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H2790 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 →
- 65
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 65 distinct verses.
- 21 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 21 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #550
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 550 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 65 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 65 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 30 verses · 46%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 27 verses · 42%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 8 verses · 12%
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).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Held his peace 4×, Hold not thy peace 3×, Hold thy peace 3×
- American Standard Version†: Me 5×, Devise 3×, Hold not thy peace 3×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Be silent 5×, Plow 4×, Says nothing 4×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Be silent 7×, Do 3×, Is silent 3×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H2790 across 74† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 56 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H2790 across 74† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 51 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 H2790 across 69† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 41 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 3 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H2790 across 89† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 42 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
18 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
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 18 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.
חרש I
Qal
- Pf. חָֽרְשׁוּ ψ 129:3, חֲרַשְׁתֶּם Ju 14:18 Ho 10:13; Impf. יַחֲרֹשׁ Is 28:24 Pr 20:4; יַחֲרוֹשׁ Ho 10:11 + Am 6:12 (v. infr.); 2 ms. תַּחֲרֹשׁ Dt 22:10 Pr. 3:29; Inf. cstr. חֲרֹשׁ 1 S 8:12; Pt. חֹרֵשׁ Gn 4:22 + 5 times; חוֹרֵשׁ Am 9:13; pl. חֹרְשִׁים ψ 129:3, חֹרְשֵׁי Jb 4:8 + 3 times, fpl. abs. חֹרְשׁוֹת Jb 1:14; pass. חֲרוּשָׁה Je 17:1:— e.g. Psalms 129:3
- 1. cut in, engrave, of worker in metals ח׳ נְחֹשֶׁת וּבַרְזֶל Gn 4:22 (J), ח׳ נחשׁת 1 K 7:14; fig. ח׳ עַל־לוּחַ לִבָּם Je 17:1 engraved on the tablet of their heart. e.g. Genesis 4:22
- 2. plough, lit., human subj. (animal usually c. בְּ), no obj. expr. 1 K 19:19 Dt 22:10 Is 28:24, so יַחֲרוֹשׁ בבקרים Am 6:12 (but read prob. יֵחָרֵשׁ בבקר יָם, v. We al.); c. acc. cogn. ח׳ חֲרִישׁוֹ 1 S 8:12 plough his ploughing (= do his ploughing), Pr 20:4; fig. Ju 14:18 Ho 10:11; with ethical ref. ח׳ רֶשַׁע v 13 (‖ קצר), ח׳ אָוֶן Jb 4:8 (‖ זרע, קצר); עַל־גַּבִּי חָֽרְשׁוּ חֹרְשִׁים ψ 129:3 upon my back have ploughmen ploughed (fig. of oppression by wicked); חֹרֵשׁ = ploughman Is 28:24, Am 9:13 (‖ קוֹצֵר); ח׳ with oxen subj. only Jb 1:14. e.g. 1 Kings 19:19
- 3. devise (as one who works in, practises), usually bad sense, obj. רָעָה Pr 3:29, רַע 6:14; מַחְשְׁבוֹת אָוֶן v 18, חֹרְשֵׁי רַע Pr 12:20; 14:22; but also חֹרְשֵׁי טוֹב v 22. e.g. Proverbs 3:29
Niphal
- Impf. 3 fs. צִיּוֹן שָׂדֶה תֵּחָרֵשׁ Mi 3:12 Zion, as a field she shall be ploughed = Je 26:18. e.g. Micah 3:12
Hiphil
- Pt. מַחֲרִישׁ רָעָה עַל־ 1 S 23:9 fabricating mischief against (v. Dr, and cf. We). e.g. 1 Samuel 23:9
חרש II
- 1. be silent, dumb, speechless;
- 2. be deaf; chiefly poet. (NH Pi. make deaf; Aramaic ܚܪܶܫ, ܚܪܰܫ be dumb, deaf; Arabic خَرِسَ be dumb, speechless, cf. Assyrian ḫarâšu, restrain, according to DlPr 100; v. LagBN 120)—
Qal
- Impf. יֶחֱרָ֑שׁ ψ 50:3; 2 ms. תֶּחֱרַשׁ ψ 28:1; 83:2; תֶּחֱרַ֑שׁ ψ 35:22; 109:1; תֶּחֱרָ֑שׁ ψ 39:13; 3 fpl. תֶּחֱרַ֑שְׁנָה Mi 7:16;— e.g. Psalms 50:3
- 1. be silent, always of God’s keeping silence when men pray ψ 35:22; 50:3; 83:2; 109:1; sq. אֶל־ 39:13. e.g. Psalms 35:22
- 2. be deaf, subj. י׳, sq. מִמֶּנִּי ψ 28:1; subj. אָזְנַיִם Mi 7:16. e.g. Psalms 28:1
Hiphil
- Pf. חֶחֱרִשׁ Nu 30:15 Gn 34:5; וְהֶחֱרִישׁ consec. Nu 30:5, 8; וְהֶחֱרִשׁ consec. Nu 30:12; הֶחֱרַ֫שְׁתִּי Est 7:4 + 2 times etc.; Impf. יַחֲרִישׁ Nu 30:15 + 2 times (incl. Zp 3:17 v. infr.); 2 ms. תַּחֲרִישׁ Hb 1:13; juss. תַּחְרֵשׁ 1 S 7:8; 2 mpl. תַּחֲרִישׁוּן Jb 13:5; תַּחֲרִשׁוּן Ex 14:14, etc.; Imv. הַחֲרֵשׁ Ju 18:19 + 2 times; הַחֲרִ֫ישִׁי 2 S 13:20; הַחֲרִ֫ישׁוּ Jb 13:13 Is 41:1; Inf. abs. הַחֲרֵשׁ Nu 30:15 + 2 times; Pt. מַחֲרִישׁ Gn 24:21 + 2 times (incl. 1 S 10:27 v. infr.); מַחֲרִישִׁים 2 S 19:11;— e.g. Numbers 30:15
- 1. be silent (= exhibit silence)
- a. almost always of men Gn 24:21; 34:5 Ex 14:14 (all J), Ju 18:19 2 S 13:20; 19:11 2 K 18:36 = Is 36:21, Je 4:19 Jb 6:24; 13:5, 13, 19; 33:31, 33 Pr 11:12; 17:28 ψ 32:3 Ne 5:8 Est 4:14(×2); 7:4; also וַיְהִי כְּמַחֲרִישׁ 1 S 10:27 (but read rather ויהי כְּמֵחֹדֶשׁ and it came to pass after about a month, 𝔊 Dr); יחרישׁ באהבתו Zp 3:17 (𝔊 𝔖 יְחַדֵּשׁ he will renew his love, v. especially BuhlZAW v. 1885, 183); ח׳ c. לְ pers. keep silence at one, i.e. fail to make objection at proper time Nu 30:5, 8, 12, 15(×3) (all P); הח׳ אלי Is 41:1 pregn. = come silently unto me; sq. מִן pers. cease to speak with Je 38:27; be silent about, pass by in silence, sq. acc. אח׳ בַּדָּיו Jb 41:4. e.g. Genesis 24:21
- b. rarely of God, permitting evil in silence Hb 1:13 Is 42:14 ψ 50:21. e.g. Habakkuk 1:13
- 2. once causat. make silent, c. acc. Jb 11:3. e.g. Job 11:3
- 3. be deaf, shew deafness: אַל־תַּחֲרֵשׁ מִמֶּנּוּ מִזְּעֹק 1 S 7:8 be not deaf (turning) from us, so as not to cry. e.g. 1 Samuel 7:8
Hithpa. Hithp
- Impf. 3 mpl. וַיִּתְחָֽרְשׁוּ Ju 16:2 and they kept quiet. e.g. Judges 16:2
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
vb. cut in, engrave, plough, devise (NH id., plough, so Ethiopic ሐረሰ Ph. חרש, Aramaic (rare) חֲרַת engrave, ܚܪܰܬ cleave, plough, Arabic حَرَثَ plough)—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
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.
חֶרֶשׂ
- , v. חֶרֶס
חָרַשׁ I
- (b. h.)
- 1. to engrave, draw, design. Koh. R. to I, 16 הלב חוֹרֵשׁ the heart designs.
- 2. to plough. Macc. III, 9 יש חוֹרֵשׁ תלם וכ׳ one may plough one bed and &c. Taan. 29ᵃ וח׳ את העיר Ms. M. and passed the plough over the city of Jerusalem. Sabb. VII, 2; a. fr.—Trnsf. to have sexual intercourse. Y. Yeb. I, 2ᵇ top. Gen. R. s. 98; a. e.
- to be ploughed over. Taan. IV, 6 נֶחְרְשָׁה העיר the plough was passed over the city of Jerusalem; a. e.
חָרַשׁ II
- Pi. חֵרֵשׁ, חֵי׳ (denom. of חֵרֵשׁ) to deafen, make deaf. B. Kam. 86ᵃ שחֵירְשׁוֹ וכ׳ when he made him deaf without wounding him. Ib. החוֹרֵשׁ את אביו (Ms. H. a. R. חֵרֵשׁ); ib. 98ᵃ חֵרְשׁוֹ לאביו if one injured his father’s hearing; v. חֲרִישָׁה II. Kidd. 24ᵇ.—Sabb. 109ᵃ top. יד מְחָרֶשֶׁת the unwashed hand put to the ear causes deafness.
- 1. same. B. Kam. 86ᵃ להַחֲרִישׁ, v. חֲרִישָׁה II.
- 2. (b. h.) to be silent. Y. Pes. IX, end. 37ᵃ (ref. to Prov. XVII, 28) ואין צ"ל חכם מַחֲרִישׁ and it is needless to say the same of a wise man keeping silence. [Usu. שָׁתַק.] e.g. Proverbs 17:28
- to become deaf (and dumb). Yeb. XIV, 1; Tosef. Ter. I, 1 פיקח ונ׳ if he had been well-hearing and became etc.; v. חֵרֵשׁ.
חֲרַשׁ
- (v. preced. wds.)
- 1. to be entangled. Targ. Job VIII, 17.
- 2. to be choked, obstructed, deaf. Gen. R. s. 81 (prov.) מהולתך חַרְשָׁה וכ׳ if thy sieve is choked, knock at it (when you are forgetful of your duties, the Lord will remind you through affliction); v. טְרַשׁ II.
- 3. to practice witchcraft. Gen. R. s. 86 באתר דחרשין חֲרִישִׁין where there are sorcerers witchcraft is practiced.
- to entangle, inure. Targ. Ez. XIII, 20 (h. text צדד).
- to be entangled, confounded. Y. Ḥag. II, 77ᶜ top (expl. תאלמנה, Ps. XXXI, 19) יִתְחַרְשָׁן וכ׳ may their lips be confounded, crushed, silenced, cmp. אִלֵּם a. חֵרֵשׁ; Gen. R. s. 1 (corr. acc.) e.g. Psalms 31:19
חָרָשׁ
- artist, artisan, carpenter, turner (faber). Deut. R. s. 2 לח׳ שהיה וכ׳ like an artist that was making an image &c.—Pl. חָרָשִׁים. Gen. R. s. 65, end; s. 70, v. חֲמוֹר; Pesik. Shek., p. 15ᵃ.—Trsnf. scholar. Gitt. 88ᵃ (ref. to II Kings XXIV, 16) חָ׳ שבשעה … כחֵרְשִׁין the scholars were named ḥarash, for when they opened argument, all were like dumb; Snh. 38ᵃ; Yalk. Dan. 1066; a. e.—Pl. as above. Ḥag. 14ᵃ (ref. to Is. III, 3). e.g. 2 Kings 24:16
חָרָשׁ ²
- sorcerer, v. חָרָשָׁא.
חֶרֶשׁ
- v. חֵרֵשׁ) silence. Tanḥ. Sh’mini 9 (play on חָרָשׁ, II Kings XXIV, 16) אלו … תפלת ח׳ בלחש וכ׳ ḥarash means those who hold silent prayers in murmuring, and yet conquer &c. e.g. 2 Kings 24:16
חֶרֶשׂ ²
- Ḥeres or Ḥeresh. Ab. IV, 15. Yoma 4ᵇ; a. e.
חֵרֵשׁ
- [closed up,] deaf, dumb (cmp. אִלֵּם); deaf and dumb. Ter. I, 2 ח׳ שדברו וכ׳ the ḥeresh of which the scholars speak (in a legal sense) means everywhere deaf and dumb. Ib. ח׳ המדבר וכ׳ a ḥeresh that can talk but not hear. Meg. II, 4 חוץ מח׳ except a deaf person. Sifré Num. 153 (ref. to Num. XXX, 5; 12) להוציא את הח׳ this excludes the case of the father (the husband) being deaf; Ned. 73ᵃ; a. fr.—Pl. חֵרְשִׁים, חֵרְשִׁין. Ḥag. 14ᵃ; Gitt. 88ᵃ, v. חָרָשׁ. Ruth R. s. 2 beg. (ref. to חרש, Josh. II, 1) עשו עצמכם ח׳ pretend to be deaf.—Fem. חֵרֶשֶׁת. Gitt. V, 5. Yeb. XIV, 1; a. e.—Pl. חֵרְשׁוֹת. Ib. 3. e.g. Numbers 30:5
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 66 distinct written forms H2790 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 6 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H2790, 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
- חריש chârîysh H2758 ploughing
- חרישי chărîyshîy H2759 harsh
- חרש cheresh H2791 silently
- חרש chôresh H2793 forest
- חרש chôrêsh H2794 metalworker
- חרש chêrêsh H2795 deaf
- חרש chârâsh H2796 craftsman
- חרשת chărôsheth H2799 carving
- מחרשה machărêshâh H4281 plowshare
- מחרשת machăresheth H4282 plowshare
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 11 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 62 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 65 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 24:21
- Exodus 14:14
- Numbers 30:4
- Deuteronomy 22:10
- Judges 14:18
- 1 Samuel 7:8
- 2 Samuel 13:20
- 1 Kings 19:19
- 2 Kings 18:36
- Esther 4:14
- Job 1:14
- Psalms 28:1
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.
