Hebrew word · H2339

חוּט

chut

thread

Thread, cord, line. It can be a fine thread (Song 4:3, 'a scarlet thread'), a cord (Josh 2:18, Rahab's scarlet cord; Eccl 4:12, the threefold cord) or a measuring line (1 Kgs 7:15; Jer 52:21).

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

a thread, cord, line, string

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 Genesis 14:23

Range of meaning

Thread, cord, line. It can be a fine thread (Song 4:3, 'a scarlet thread'), a cord (Josh 2:18, Rahab's scarlet cord; Eccl 4:12, the threefold cord) or a measuring line (1 Kgs 7:15; Jer 52:21).

Against the English

'Thread' is accurate. What English loses is how the 'from… to…' phrase works as an idiom of totality.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible as listed above. Commentators (e.g. Speiser; Sarna) point to similar 'from X to Y' formulas in later Aramaic legal documents from Elephantine in Egypt (5th century BC), such as 'from straw to thread'. These appear in clauses where a party gives up every claim to property. The parallel is suggestive, not proof of a fixed legal formula in Genesis.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 14:23 מִחוּט֙ from a thread

    that I will not accept even a thread, or a strap of a sandal, or anything that belongs to you, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’

    Here: 'From a thread': a single strand of yarn, the cheapest and smallest thing in a pile of plunder. It is the starting point of a 'from… to…' phrase that covers everything.

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 2:18 חוּט֩ [the] thread of

    unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother and brothers and all your family into your house.

    Here: Thread or string. 'Cord of thread' means a line made of twisted threads: thin and light, but strong enough to hang from a window and easy to see.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 16:12 כַּחֽוּט׃ like <the> thread

    So Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But while the men were hidden in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like they were threads.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 7:15 וְחוּט֙ and a line of

    He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:12 וְהַחוּט֙ and the thread

    And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 4:3 כְּח֤וּט [are] like [the] thread of

    Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon, and your mouth is lovely. Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate.

    Here: A thin thread or cord, with the prefix 'like'. The picture is narrow and finely drawn, so it is about the shape of the lips as well as their colour.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 52:21 וְח֛וּט and a line of

    Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall and twelve cubits in circumference; each was hollow, four fingers thick.

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