חֲרָסוּת

From the study of Jeremiah 19:2

Range of meaning

This is the only place it occurs. It is a name formed from ḥeres (H2789), 'earthenware, potsherd', so it means '(Gate of) Potsherds/Pottery'. A similar-looking word, ḥeres (H2775), means 'sun', and this led some older interpreters to read 'Sun Gate' or 'East Gate'.

Against the English

BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB: 'Potsherd Gate'. YLT: 'gate of the pottery'. WEB: 'gate Harsith', which transliterates the name without explaining it. KJV: 'east gate', which rests on the 'sun' derivation that most scholars now reject. NLT: 'Gate of Broken Pots'.

How it drifted

KJV's 'east gate' is a philological judgment, not drift over time. The translators followed the derivation from ḥeres, 'sun' (the sun rises in the east). Modern lexicons (BDB, HALOT) favour 'potsherd', because the name sits in a chapter that is all about pottery (Jer 18–19).

Used elsewhere in the period

Not found outside this verse. Jewish tradition commonly identified it with the 'Dung Gate' (Neh 2:13; 3:13–14; 12:31), which was at the southern end of the city near the Hinnom–Kidron junction. Many scholars accept that identification, but it is not certain. The Vulgate has portae fictilis, 'earthenware gate', which supports the pottery meaning.