Hebrew word · H2336

חוֹחַ

choach

thistle

The root word ḥôaḥ most often means 'thorn, brier, thornbush' (Job 31:40; Prov 26:9; Song 2:2; Isa 34:13). A closely related word ḥāḥ (H2397) means 'hook' or 'ring': the ring put through the nose or jaw of a captured animal or prisoner (2 Kgs 19:28 = Isa 37:29; Ezek 19:4, 9; 29:4; 38:4).

Appears 12 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) thorn, brier, bramble, thornbush, thicket

2) hook, ring, fetter

Also means: cha.vach (חָוָח "thicket" H2337)

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

From the study of 2 Chronicles 33:11

Range of meaning

The root word ḥôaḥ most often means 'thorn, brier, thornbush' (Job 31:40; Prov 26:9; Song 2:2; Isa 34:13). A closely related word ḥāḥ (H2397) means 'hook' or 'ring': the ring put through the nose or jaw of a captured animal or prisoner (2 Kgs 19:28 = Isa 37:29; Ezek 19:4, 9; 29:4; 38:4). The plural here with 'with' (instrument) fits 'hooks' best. Lexicons either list a separate 'hook' sense of ḥôaḥ for this verse or treat the word as a spelling variant of ḥāḥ. A thorn and a hook are both sharp, curved points, so the overlap is natural.

Against the English

KJV 'among the thorns' and YLT 'among the thickets' take the word in its commoner 'thorn' sense, as a place where Manasseh was caught (supposedly hiding). Most modern versions (ESV, NASB 'with hooks'; NIV and BSB 'put a hook in his nose'; NLT a 'ring through his nose') take it as an instrument. 'Nose' is not in the Hebrew. It is supplied from the parallel image in 2 Kgs 19:28. WEB 'in chains' follows the Septuagint's 'in bonds'.

How it drifted

Older translators knew the word mainly as 'thorn'. Without Assyrian reliefs to compare, a king caught 'in the thorns' seemed a reasonable picture. Modern knowledge of Assyrian practice and closer comparison with Ezek 19 moved translators to 'hooks'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 19:4 and 19:9 are the closest parallels: a 'lion cub', meaning a king of Judah, is brought 'with hooks' to Egypt and then 'with hooks' to the king of Babylon. 2 Kgs 19:28 has Yahweh threatening Sennacherib: 'I will put my hook in your nose.' Visually, Esarhaddon's victory stele from Zincirli (ancient Sam'al) shows the king holding ropes fastened to rings through the lips of two small kneeling captive rulers. Assyrian royal inscriptions also speak of leading defeated kings by a rope through the jaw or nose, like animals.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 13:6 וּבַֽחֲוָחִים֙ and in <the> thickets

    Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.

    Here: Dense thorny scrub where a man could crawl out of sight. Because the word is a little odd in this list, some scholars think it was originally 'holes'.

2 Kings · 2

  1. 2 Kings 14:9 הַח֜וֹחַ הַחֽוֹחַ׃ <the> thornbush, the thornbush

    But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle.

2 Chronicles · 3

  1. 2 Chronicles 25:18 הַח֜וֹחַ הַחֽוֹחַ׃ the thornbush

    But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle.

  2. 2 Chronicles 33:11 בַּחֹחִ֑ים with <the> hooks

    So the LORD brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

    Here: Hooks or rings driven through the nose or lip of a captive, who was then led by a rope. The same image appears in 2 Kgs 19:28 and Ezek 19:4, 9. The word can also mean 'thorn', which is the source of the KJV's 'among the thorns'.

Job · 2

  1. Job 31:40 ח֗וֹחַ thorn[s]

    then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” Thus conclude the words of Job.

  2. Job 41:2 וּ֝בְח֗וֹחַ and with a hook

    Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 26:9 ח֭וֹחַ thorn[s]

    Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 2:2 הַחוֹחִ֔ים the thorns

    Like a lily among the thorns is my darling among the maidens.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 34:13 וָח֖וֹחַ and thornbush[es]

    Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 9:6 ח֖וֹחַ thorn[s]

    For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.

    Here: A thorny bush. Paired with nettles, it pictures homes gone to ruin and taken back by the wild.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.