Hebrew word · H6710
צַחְצָחָה
betzachtzachot
scorched
Found only here. From the root ṣḥḥ, 'to be glaring, dazzling, bare': related words are ṣiḥēh ('parched,' Isa 5:13) and ṣĕḥîaḥ ('bare, sun-glared rock,' Ezek 24:7; 26:4). So: scorched, bare, sun-bleached ground.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
scorched region, parched land
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 58:11
- Range of meaning
Found only here. From the root ṣḥḥ, 'to be glaring, dazzling, bare': related words are ṣiḥēh ('parched,' Isa 5:13) and ṣĕḥîaḥ ('bare, sun-glared rock,' Ezek 24:7; 26:4). So: scorched, bare, sun-bleached ground.
- Against the English
BSB/NIV 'sun-scorched land,' ESV/NASB 'scorched places,' KJV 'drought,' WEB 'dry places.' All are reasonable. The doubled root gives an intensified picture: blinding, sun-baked waste.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Vulgate took the 'bright' sense and translated 'he will fill your soul with splendours' (splendoribus). The Greek Septuagint paraphrases the clause as 'you will be filled as your soul desires.'
Where it appears
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 58:11 בְּצַחְצָחוֹת֙ in arid regions
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Here: A word found only here. It comes from a root meaning 'glaring, bare, dried out': ground baked white under the sun. The filling happens in the places where nothing grows.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.