Hebrew word · H2759
חֲרִישִׁי
charishit
scorching
Appears only here, so the meaning is uncertain. It is linked either to ḥrš I "plough, engrave, cut" (hence "cutting") or to ḥrš II "be silent, still" (hence a "still, sultry" heat with no breeze). Some connect it to the hot harvest season (ḥārîš, "ploughing time").
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
harsh, hot, sultry, silent (meaning uncertain)
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
Appears only here, so the meaning is uncertain. It is linked either to ḥrš I "plough, engrave, cut" (hence "cutting") or to ḥrš II "be silent, still" (hence a "still, sultry" heat with no breeze). Some connect it to the hot harvest season (ḥārîš, "ploughing time"). Most modern lexicons settle on "scorching" or "sultry," with a question mark (HALOT).
- Against the English
BSB/ESV/NIV/NASB "scorching"; KJV "vehement"; WEB "sultry"; YLT "cutting." Each choice reflects a different root theory. None is plainly wrong, and none is certain.
- Used elsewhere in the period
LXX: πνεύματι καύσωνος συγκαίοντι, "a burning-heat wind that scorches." Vulgate: vento calido et urente, "a hot and burning wind." Jewish tradition reads it from "silent": the Targum is usually given as a "still/quiet" east wind, and Rashi explains it as a wind so strong it silences all other winds.
Similar words
Where it appears
Jonah · 1
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Jonah 4:8 חֲרִישִׁ֔ית hot
As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint and wished to die, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
Here: This word appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, so its exact meaning is guessed from related words and ancient translations. Proposals include "scorching," "sultry/still," and "cutting." Whatever the nuance, it makes the east wind even more oppressive.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.