Hebrew word · H2795

חֵרֵשׁ

cheresh

deaf

'Deaf,' and by extension unable or unwilling to respond to speech (Ps 38:13–14, 'like a deaf man I do not hear'). It is a different word from ḥeres 'potsherd' and from ḥārāš 'craftsman.'

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

deaf

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 35:5

Range of meaning

'Deaf,' and by extension unable or unwilling to respond to speech (Ps 38:13–14, 'like a deaf man I do not hear'). It is a different word from ḥeres 'potsherd' and from ḥārāš 'craftsman.'

Against the English

Accurate. 'Ears of the deaf' sounds obvious in English. The Hebrew mirrors 'eyes of the blind' word for word, which makes the matching pair stand out.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 4:11: 'Who makes a person mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?' Lev 19:14 forbids cursing the deaf. In Isaiah: 29:18 ('in that day the deaf shall hear the words of a scroll'), 42:18, 43:8. The LXX translates with kōphos, a Greek word that can mean deaf, mute, or both.

From the study of Isaiah 29:18

Range of meaning

Ḥeresh: deaf, and sometimes deaf and unable to speak. ʿIvver: blind. Together they stand for the most helpless members of society, and in prophetic poetry for people who cannot perceive what God is doing.

Against the English

English 'deaf' and 'blind' are accurate. What they leave out is how charged the pair is inside Isaiah's book: there, deafness and blindness are a judgment God imposed (6:10; 29:9–10), not only a misfortune.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 4:11 ('Who makes him mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?'); Lev 19:14 (do not curse the deaf or trip the blind); Deut 28:28–29 (covenant curse: 'groping at noon as the blind grope in darkness'). In Isaiah: 29:9 ('blind yourselves and be blind'), 35:5, 42:7, 42:16, 42:18–19, 43:8. The Dead Sea Scrolls text 4Q521 lists 'opening the eyes of the blind' among the deeds of the coming age.

From the study of Isaiah 42:18

Range of meaning

Deaf. Sometimes the related verb means 'be silent,' and the condition can include not speaking (Ps 38:13–14: 'like a deaf man I do not hear, like a mute who does not open his mouth'). Used literally in law (Lev 19:14, 'do not curse the deaf'; Exod 4:11, 'who makes a person mute or deaf… is it not I, the LORD?'). Used figuratively in the prophets for people who will not take in God's word.

Against the English

'Deaf' is accurate. The thing to see is the figurative use, which the context makes plain. Verse 20 says these people have open ears.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Isaiah the word belongs to a set of linked passages. In 29:18 and 35:5 there is a promised future when 'the deaf will hear.' In 43:8 there is a courtroom scene: 'Bring out the people who are blind yet have eyes, deaf yet have ears.' The LXX renders it kōphos, a word that can mean either deaf or mute.

Similar words

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 4:11 חֵרֵ֔שׁ deaf

    And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

    Here: Someone who cannot hear. Deafness and muteness were often linked, and Lev 19:14 and Isa 35:5–6 pair this word with 'blind'.

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 19:14 חֵרֵ֔שׁ a deaf [person]

    You must not curse the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.

    Here: A deaf person: someone who cannot hear what is said about or to them, and so cannot answer, protest, or report it.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 38:13 כְ֭חֵרֵשׁ [am] like a deaf [person]

    But like a deaf man, I do not hear; and like a mute man, I do not open my mouth.

  2. Psalm 58:4 חֵ֝רֵ֗שׁ deaf

    Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,

    Here: 'Deaf', describing the cobra. The next words show that this deafness is willed: it is deaf because it plugs its ear.

Isaiah · 5

  1. Isaiah 29:18 הַחֵרְשִׁ֖ים the deaf [people]

    On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.

    Here: People who cannot hear. The word can also take in people who cannot speak, since the two often went together. With the article it means 'the deaf' as a group.

  2. Isaiah 35:5 חֵרְשִׁ֖ים deaf [people]

    Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

    Here: 'Deaf ones,' the matching group to the blind. Isaiah regularly pairs the two (29:18; 42:18; 43:8).

  3. Isaiah 42:18 הַחֵרְשִׁ֖ים O deaf [people]

    Listen, you deaf ones; look, you blind ones, that you may see!

    Here: "You deaf ones!" The article ('the') is how Hebrew marks direct address, like English 'O you deaf.' The people addressed are not physically deaf. Verse 19 names them: they are the LORD's own servant, Israel, who will not take in what God has said.

  4. Isaiah 42:19 וְחֵרֵ֖שׁ and deaf

    Who is blind but My servant, or deaf like the messenger I am sending? Who is blind like My covenant partner, or blind like the servant of the LORD?

    Here: 'And deaf.' It pairs with blind, as in v. 18. The servant neither sees nor hears.

  5. Isaiah 43:8 וְחֵרְשִׁ֖ים and deaf [people]

    Bring out a people who have eyes but are blind, and who have ears but are deaf.

    Here: Plural: 'and deaf people'. It pairs with 'blind', as it does all through Isaiah. In Hebrew, hearing includes heeding, so deafness here means failing to take in and respond to God's word.

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