Hebrew word · H2750

חֳרִי

chori

burning

ḥŏrî = burning, heat (root ḥrh, 'to burn, blaze'). ʾap = nose, nostril, and by extension anger (the flaring, hot nose). 'Burning of nose' is a fixed idiom for fierce anger (Exodus 11:8; Deuteronomy 29:24; Lamentations 2:3).

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

heat (of anger), burning (of 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 7:4

Range of meaning

ḥŏrî = burning, heat (root ḥrh, 'to burn, blaze'). ʾap = nose, nostril, and by extension anger (the flaring, hot nose). 'Burning of nose' is a fixed idiom for fierce anger (Exodus 11:8; Deuteronomy 29:24; Lamentations 2:3).

Against the English

KJV, WEB and BSB 'fierce anger'; YLT 'fierceness of the anger'. Accurate, but the English loses the fire wordplay with the 'smoking' brands just before.

Used elsewhere in the period

The idiom is common in the Hebrew Bible for both human and divine anger. Elsewhere Isaiah uses ʾap for God's anger (Isaiah 5:25; 9:12).

From the study of Deuteronomy 29:24

Range of meaning

'Ap means "nose" or "nostrils," by extension "face," and very often "anger." Hebrew pictured anger in the body: the flared, hot-breathing nose. Ḥŏrî is a rare noun from ḥ-r-h, "to burn, glow." The verb ḥārâ 'ap ("the nose burned") is the standard idiom for becoming angry (e.g. Exod 4:14; Num 11:1). The noun phrase ḥŏrî 'ap, "burning of nose," appears only a handful of times: Exod 11:8 (Moses leaving Pharaoh "in hot anger"), Deut 29:24 (Hebrew 29:23), 1 Sam 20:34 (Jonathan leaving Saul's table), Isa 7:4, Lam 2:3 and 2 Chr 25:10. In every case it describes intense, visible fury.

Against the English

KJV and WEB keep the image of heat ("the heat of this great anger"). BSB uses "great outburst of anger" and NIV uses "fierce, burning anger." Both keep the intensity, but "outburst" adds the idea of something sudden and uncontrolled. That idea is not in the Hebrew, and the context does not support it.

How it drifted

In everyday modern English, "anger" and especially "outburst" suggest a lapse of self-control. In Deuteronomy, divine anger is the announced response of a covenant partner who has been wronged. It is set out in advance in the curse lists (Deut 28; 29:20-23) and explained at once in v. 25. It is truly felt, since the image is bodily and hot, but it is not arbitrary.

Used elsewhere in the period

BDB and HALOT list ḥŏrî as "burning, heat (of anger)." The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation) renders the phrase with two anger words: thymos ("passion, rage") and orgē ("wrath"). Ancient Near Eastern texts also describe angry gods in bodily, fiery terms, and a god's anger at a land often explains a disaster in Mesopotamian laments (e.g. the city laments over Ur).

From the study of Exodus 11:8

Range of meaning

Af means 'nose, nostrils' and, by extension, 'face' and 'anger.' Chori means 'burning, heat.' Together they make a set phrase: 'burning of nose' = blazing, fierce anger. Hebrew linked anger with the nose (hot breath, flared nostrils), and patience with 'long of nose' (erekh appayim, 'slow to anger,' Exodus 34:6).

Against the English

"Hot with anger" (BSB), "hot anger" (WEB, ESV) and "heat of anger" (YLT) keep the heat. KJV's "a great anger" keeps the intensity but loses the burning picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

The exact phrase bo-chori af is used of Jonathan leaving Saul's table in fury (1 Samuel 20:34), of God's wrath (Lamentations 2:3), of Judah's soldiers (2 Chronicles 25:10). Compare Deuteronomy 29:24 and Isaiah 7:4.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 11:8 בָּחֳרִי־ with heat of

    And all these officials of yours will come and bow before me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will depart.” And hot with anger, Moses left Pharaoh’s presence.

    Here: "In the burning of": from a root meaning to burn or be hot. It joins with the next word into a fixed phrase for blazing anger.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 29:24 חֳרִ֛י [is] [the] heat of

    So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’

    Here: "The burning of." The word comes from the root ḥ-r-h, "to burn, be hot." Paired with 'ap it makes the idiom for blazing anger. Here the idea of heat echoes the land literally burned with sulfur in v. 23.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 20:34 בָּחֳרִי־ in [the] heat of

    Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger and did not eat any food that second day of the month, for he was grieved by his father’s shameful treatment of David.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 25:10 בָּחֳרִי־ in [the] heat of

    So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. And they were furious with Judah and returned home in great anger.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 7:4 בָּחֳרִי־ by [the] heat of

    and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.

    Here: 'In the burning of.' The word comes from the root for burning or blazing, so it continues the fire picture: their 'burning' anger is only smoke.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 2:3 בָּֽחֳרִי in [the] heat of

    In fierce anger He has cut off every horn of Israel and withdrawn His right hand at the approach of the enemy. He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire that consumes everything around it.

    Here: 'In the burning of…'. The noun comes from the verb for burning or being kindled (ḥārâ), so the anger is pictured as heat. This heat language returns at the end of the verse as real fire.

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