Hebrew word · H2760

חָרַךְ

yacharokh

to roast

This verb occurs only here in biblical Hebrew. The closest evidence is Aramaic, where the same root means 'to singe, scorch'. In Daniel 3:27 the hair of the three young men 'was not singed' by the furnace. Later Jewish Hebrew and Aramaic also use it for scorching or roasting.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) (Qal) to set in motion, start

2) (CLBL) to roast

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 Proverbs 12:27

Range of meaning

This verb occurs only here in biblical Hebrew. The closest evidence is Aramaic, where the same root means 'to singe, scorch'. In Daniel 3:27 the hair of the three young men 'was not singed' by the furnace. Later Jewish Hebrew and Aramaic also use it for scorching or roasting. Other proposals, all based on comparison with related languages, include 'to catch/net', 'to start up, rouse (game)', and 'to keep'. BDB lists 'roast' with a question mark, and HALOT records the uncertainty.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, WEB, YLT, ESV, NIV and NASB all say 'roast'. NLT expands it to 'don't even cook the game they catch'. None of them tell readers that the word is a one-off and that its meaning is partly a reconstruction.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 3:27 (Aramaic, 'singed'); later Jewish Aramaic and Hebrew ('singe, roast'). The Septuagint has 'will not obtain' (ouk epiteuxetai) and the Vulgate 'will not find' (non inveniet). This suggests the early translators either did not know the 'roast' sense or chose to smooth it.

Where it appears

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 12:27 יַחֲרֹ֣ךְ he roasts

    A lazy man does not roast his game, but a diligent man prizes his possession.

    Here: This verb appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. 'Roast' comes from the related Aramaic word for 'singe' (Daniel 3:27). The imperfect form describes what habitually happens: the slack man never gets his catch as far as the fire. Ancient translators read it as 'obtain' or 'catch' instead (see debates).

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