Hebrew word · H2290
חֲגוֹרָה
chagorah
belt
A belt, sash or girdle tied around the waist, from the verb ḥāgar, "to gird, tie on around the waist." Here it is a band or wrap around the hips that covers the loins.
Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
girdle, loin-covering, belt, loin-cloth, armour
Also means: cha.gor (חֲגוֹר "belt" H2290A)
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
A belt, sash or girdle tied around the waist, from the verb ḥāgar, "to gird, tie on around the waist." Here it is a band or wrap around the hips that covers the loins.
- Against the English
KJV "aprons," YLT "girdles," ESV "loincloths," NASB "loin coverings," BSB/NIV/WEB "coverings." "Coverings" is safe but vague. "Aprons" and "girdles" now call up the wrong image (a kitchen apron, a corset). "Loincloths" or "waist-wraps" come closest.
- How it drifted
English "apron" and "girdle" have changed in everyday use since 1611, and the meanings they now bring to mind do not match a band of leaves tied around the hips.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Jonathan gives David his ḥăgôr (belt) in 1 Sam 18:4. In 2 Sam 18:11 a belt is offered as a reward, and in 1 Kgs 2:5 there is blood "on the belt around his waist." In 2 Kgs 3:21 "all who could gird on a belt" means men of fighting age, and Isa 3:24 has "instead of a sash, a rope." The Greek Septuagint uses perizōmata, "things girded around," and the Latin Vulgate borrows the same word (perizomata).
- Range of meaning
Ḥăgôrâ/ḥăgôr is a belt, sash or loin-girdle. For a soldier it was the belt that held the sword. Jonathan gave David his armour "even his belt" (1 Sam 18:4), and Joab himself once offered a belt as a reward (2 Sam 18:11). Naʿal is a sandal. "Belt on the waist, sandals on the feet" describes a man dressed and ready for action (compare Exod 12:11; Isa 5:27).
- Against the English
KJV "girdle" now suggests a woman's undergarment, and "shoes" suggests modern footwear. WEB's "sash" and the BSB and NIV's "belt… sandals" are closer.
- How it drifted
"Girdle" narrowed in 20th-century English to mean a woman's foundation garment.
- Used elsewhere in the period
2 Sam 20:8 describes Joab at Amasa's murder: wearing his military garment, "and over it a belt with a sword fastened on his loins in its sheath". The sword slipped out, and he used it to disembowel Amasa at arm's length while holding his beard as if to kiss him.
From the study of Proverbs 31:24
- Range of meaning
A belt, sash or waistband tied around the waist over the tunic or robe. These could be plain or richly woven and ornamented, and were worn by both men and women. They were also used to tuck up a garment for work or travel.
- Against the English
KJV "girdle" was accurate in 1611 (a belt). Modern English "girdle" usually means a woman's tight foundation undergarment, which is misleading. "Sash" (BSB, WEB) or "belt" (NASB) is better.
- How it drifted
The English word "girdle" narrowed in the 19th–20th centuries to mean a corset-like undergarment.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In 1 Samuel 18:4 Jonathan gives David his robe, sword, bow and belt (chagor), a gift of honour. In 2 Samuel 20:8 Joab's belt holds his sword. The related verb chagar, "to gird," is very common (compare v. 17, where she "girds her loins with strength").
Similar words
Where it appears
Genesis · 1
-
Genesis 3:7 חֲגֹרֹֽת׃ loin coverings
And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.
Here: From the verb "to gird, tie around the waist." Elsewhere it is a belt or sash. Here it is a band or wrap around the hips and loins, a minimal covering, in contrast to the full "tunics" God gives in 3:21.
1 Samuel · 1
-
1 Samuel 18:4 חֲגֹרֽוֹ׃ belt his
And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
2 Samuel · 2
-
2 Samuel 18:11 וַחֲגֹרָ֖ה and a belt
“You just saw him!” Joab exclaimed. “Why did you not strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a warrior’s belt!”
-
2 Samuel 20:8 חֲג֥וֹר a belt of
And while they were at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa joined them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire, with a dagger strapped to his belt. And as he stepped forward, he slipped the dagger from its sheath.
1 Kings · 1
-
1 Kings 2:5 בַּחֲגֹֽרָתוֹ֙ on belt his
Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.
Here: "On his belt", the soldier's belt that held his sword. At Amasa's murder it held the dagger Joab drew (2 Sam 20:8).
2 Kings · 1
-
2 Kings 3:21 חֲגֹרָה֙ a belt
Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So all who could bear arms, young and old, were summoned and stationed at the border.
Proverbs · 1
-
Proverbs 31:24 וַ֝חֲג֗וֹר and a belt
She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchants.
Here: "And a belt/sash." A band tied around the waist over the clothing, often woven and decorated, worn by men as well as women. Singular, but it stands for the kind of item she supplies ("sashes").
Isaiah · 1
-
Isaiah 3:24 חֲגוֹרָ֤ה a belt
Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of styled hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, shame.
Here: A decorative waist sash. Worn by fashionable women it was ornament as much as function; compare the sashes listed in 3:20.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.