Hebrew word · H2740
חָרוֹן
charon
burning anger
Ḥaron: burning, glowing heat, from ḥarah, "to burn, be kindled (of anger)." ʾAf: nose, nostrils, face, and by extension anger. Hebrew pictured anger as heat in the nose: flaring, snorting nostrils. Together: "the burning of his nose," i.e., blazing anger. The phrase is used almost always of God.
Appears 41 times in 40 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) anger, heat, burning (of anger)
1a) always used of God's anger
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 Isaiah 13:13
- Range of meaning
Ḥaron: burning, glowing heat, from ḥarah, "to burn, be kindled (of anger)." ʾAf: nose, nostrils, face, and by extension anger. Hebrew pictured anger as heat in the nose: flaring, snorting nostrils. Together: "the burning of his nose," i.e., blazing anger. The phrase is used almost always of God.
- Against the English
"Burning anger" (BSB, NIV, NASB) keeps the heat. "Fierce anger" (KJV, WEB, ESV) keeps the intensity but loses the fire. YLT "the heat of his anger" is closest. None can keep the bodily image of the nose.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Exod 32:12; Num 25:4; Jer 4:8, 26; Zeph 2:2; Lam 1:12 ("the day of his burning anger"). The same phrase appears in Isa 13:9.
From the study of Exodus 32:12
- Range of meaning
ʾap means nose or nostrils, and by extension anger, from the flared, heated nostril of an angry face. ḥārôn means burning or heat. Together, 'burning of the nose' is the Hebrew idiom for fierce, blazing anger.
- Against the English
'Fierce anger' (BSB, NIV, ESV), 'fierce wrath' (KJV, WEB), 'heat of thine anger' (YLT). All are accurate. YLT keeps the most of the heat image.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Common in the Old Testament (Exod 15:7; Num 25:4; 32:14; Jonah 3:9: 'turn from his burning anger'). It is related to the verb ḥārâ, 'to burn', which appears in verse 10 ('that my anger may burn hot') and verse 11.
From the study of Jeremiah 12:13
- Range of meaning
'Burning of the nose', the fixed idiom for fierce or blazing anger. ḥārôn comes from ḥārâ 'to burn, be hot', and ʾap means 'nose/nostrils'. In the Hebrew Bible it is used almost only of God's anger.
- Against the English
'Fierce anger' is accurate. The physical picture (flared, hot nostrils) is lost, but nothing is distorted.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Exodus 32:12; Numbers 25:4; Jeremiah 4:8, 26; 25:37–38; 30:24. In Jeremiah 4:26, 'the fruitful land was a desert… before his burning anger' ties the phrase directly to the ruin of farmland.
Where it appears
Exodus · 2
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Exodus 15:7 חֲרֹ֣נְךָ֔ anger your
You overthrew Your adversaries by Your great majesty. You unleashed Your burning wrath; it consumed them like stubble.
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Exodus 32:12 מֵחֲר֣וֹן from [the] burning of
Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people.
Here: 'Burning, heat'. It is related to the verb 'burn' that God used in verse 10 ('that my anger may burn') and Moses used in verse 11. It points to anger at its hottest.
Numbers · 2
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Numbers 25:4 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that His fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”
Here: Heat, the intensity of the anger. Hebrew uses this word almost entirely for God's anger.
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Numbers 32:14 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
Now behold, you, a brood of sinners, have risen up in place of your fathers to further stoke the burning anger of the LORD against Israel.
Here: "The burning of." It comes from the verb "to be hot," the same verb used in verse 13 ("the anger of the LORD burned"). Lexicons note that this noun is used of God's anger in the Hebrew Bible.
Deuteronomy · 1
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Deuteronomy 13:17 מֵחֲר֣וֹן from [the] burning of
Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,
Here: 'From the burning of.' A word for heat or fire, used only of anger. It goes with the next word to make a strong idiom.
Joshua · 1
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Joshua 7:26 מֵחֲר֣וֹן from [the] burning of
And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.
Here: 'From the burning of', from a root meaning to be hot or to burn. It is always used of anger, almost always God's, and points back to 7:1, where 'the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel' (same root).
1 Samuel · 1
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1 Samuel 28:18 חֲרוֹן־ [the] burning of
Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out His burning anger against Amalek, the LORD has done this to you today.
2 Kings · 1
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2 Kings 23:26 מֵחֲר֤וֹן from [the] burning of
Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the fury of His burning anger, which was kindled against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke Him to anger.
2 Chronicles · 4
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2 Chronicles 28:11 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives you took from your kinsmen, for the fierce anger of the LORD is upon you.”
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2 Chronicles 28:13 וַחֲר֥וֹן and burning of
“You must not bring the captives here,” they said, “for you are proposing to bring guilt upon us from the LORD and to add to our sins and our guilt. For our guilt is great, and fierce anger is upon Israel.”
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2 Chronicles 29:10 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that His fierce anger will turn away from us.
Here: "The burning of". A strong word for blazing heat. It is used almost only of God's anger, and it makes that anger intense and active.
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2 Chronicles 30:8 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
Now do not stiffen your necks as your fathers did. Submit to the LORD and come to His sanctuary, which He has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that His fierce anger will turn away from you.
Here: 'The burning of': from a root meaning to be hot or to blaze. It intensifies the noun that follows.
Ezra · 1
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Ezra 10:14 חֲר֤וֹן [the] burning of
Let our leaders represent the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at an appointed time, together with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.”
Nehemiah · 1
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Nehemiah 13:18 חָרוֹן֙ anger
Did not your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling His wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!”
Job · 1
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Job 20:23 חֲר֣וֹן [the] burning of
When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.
Psalms · 6
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Psalm 2:5 וּֽבַחֲרוֹנ֥וֹ and in fury his
Then He rebukes them in His anger, and terrifies them in His fury:
Here: 'And in his burning.' The noun comes from a verb meaning 'to be hot, to burn'. It usually appears in the set phrase 'burning of nose' (fierce anger). Here the poet splits that phrase across the two lines: 'nose' in the first, 'burning' in the second.
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Psalm 58:9 חָ֝ר֗וֹן burning
Before your pots can feel the burning thorns—whether green or dry—He will sweep them away.
Here: From the root "to burn, be hot." Elsewhere it almost always means burning anger, usually God's. Opposite "green/raw," it most likely means "burning/glowing" here. The poet may also mean you to hear God's wrath in the word.
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Psalm 69:24 וַחֲר֥וֹן and [the] burning of
Pour out Your wrath upon them, and let Your burning anger overtake them.
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Psalm 78:49 חֲר֬וֹן [the] burning of
He unleashed His fury against them, wrath, indignation, and calamity—a band of destroying angels.
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Psalm 85:3 מֵחֲר֥וֹן from [the] burning of
You withheld all Your fury; You turned from Your burning anger.
Here: "From the burning of." The noun comes from a root meaning "to be hot, to burn." In the Hebrew Bible it is always used with anger, almost always God's. The prefix "from" shows the direction: God moves away from the point of blazing heat.
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Psalm 88:16 חֲרוֹנֶ֑יךָ anger<s> your
Your wrath has swept over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.
Isaiah · 2
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Isaiah 13:9 וַחֲר֣וֹן and burning of
Behold, the Day of the LORD is coming—cruel, with fury and burning anger—to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners within it.
Here: 'And the burning of...' It comes from a verb meaning 'to burn, glow hot'. In the Bible it is used almost only of God's anger, so it signals divine anger at full heat.
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Isaiah 13:13 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts on the day of His burning anger.
Here: From the verb "to burn, be hot." Anger pictured as fire, and in the Bible it is almost always God's anger. Repeats v. 9.
Jeremiah · 9
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Jeremiah 4:8 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”
Here: From a root meaning 'to burn, be hot'. 'The burning of…' heightens the anger to its fiercest pitch. In the Bible the word is used almost only of God's anger.
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Jeremiah 4:26 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert. All its cities were torn down before the LORD, before His fierce anger.
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Jeremiah 12:13 מֵחֲר֖וֹן from [the] burning of
They have sown wheat but harvested thorns. They have exhausted themselves to no avail. Bear the shame of your harvest because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”
Here: 'Because of the burning of…'. It uses the same preposition as the previous word, so the two phrases pair up: the failed harvest and, behind it, the cause. The root means to burn or glow hot.
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Jeremiah 25:37 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
The peaceful meadows have been silenced because of the LORD’s burning anger.
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Jeremiah 25:38 חֲר֣וֹן חֲר֥וֹן [the] anger of, [the] burning of
He has left His den like a lion, for their land has been made a desolation by the sword of the oppressor, and because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
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Jeremiah 30:24 חֲרוֹן֙ [the] burning of
The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this.
Here: From the verb 'to burn, be hot'. The word is used only of anger, and only of God's anger. It names the white-hot intensity of the anger: its 'burning'.
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Jeremiah 49:37 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
So I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives. I will bring disaster upon them, even My fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will send out the sword after them until I finish them off.
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Jeremiah 51:45 מֵחֲר֖וֹן from [the] burning of
Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the LORD.
Here: 'From the burning of…' The noun comes from a verb meaning 'to be hot, to be kindled.' The prefix 'from' marks what they must get away from. It could also mean 'because of' (see YLT).
Lamentations · 2
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Lamentations 1:12 חֲר֥וֹן [the] burning of
Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day of His fierce anger?
Here: "The burning of". It comes from a verb meaning to burn or grow hot: anger blazing at full intensity.
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Lamentations 4:11 חֲר֣וֹן [the] burning of
The LORD has exhausted His wrath; He has poured out His fierce anger; He has kindled a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations.
Here: 'The burning of.' It comes from the root 'to burn, be hot' and makes the heat stronger still. In the Bible it is used almost only of God's anger.
Ezekiel · 2
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Ezekiel 7:12 חָר֖וֹן anger
The time has come; the day has arrived. Let the buyer not rejoice and the seller not mourn, for wrath is upon the whole multitude.
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Ezekiel 7:14 חֲרוֹנִ֖י anger my
They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one goes to war, for My wrath is upon the whole multitude.
Hosea · 1
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Hosea 11:9 חֲר֣וֹן [the] burning of
I will not execute the full fury of My anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not man—the Holy One among you—and I will not come in wrath.
Here: 'The burning of…' From the root for growing hot. In the Bible it nearly always comes in the fixed phrase 'burning of the nose', the strongest way Hebrew says 'fury'.
Jonah · 1
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Jonah 3:9 מֵחֲר֥וֹן from [the] burning of
Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”
Here: "From the burning of." The word means heat or blaze, and in the Bible it is used only of God's anger. It is the heat of the anger, not just the fact that God is angry.
Nahum · 1
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Nahum 1:6 בַּחֲר֣וֹן at [the] burning of
Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His burning anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; even rocks are shattered before Him.
Here: From a root meaning 'to burn, be hot'. 'In the burning of' means while the heat is blazing: who can rise up in the middle of it?
Zephaniah · 2
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Zephaniah 2:2 חֲרוֹן֙ [the] burning of
before the decree takes effect and the day passes like chaff, before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the Day of the LORD’s anger comes upon you.
Here: 'The burning of'. It comes from a root meaning 'to be hot, to burn'. The word is used almost only of God's anger and marks it at its most intense.
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Zephaniah 3:8 חֲר֣וֹן [the] burning of
Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “until the day I rise to testify. For My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them My indignation—all My burning anger. For all the earth will be consumed by the fire of My jealousy.
Here: 'The burning of,' from a root meaning to be hot or kindled. Hebrew describes intense anger as heat.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.