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חַמָּה

𐤇𐤌𐤄

chammâh

H2535 noun

SILEX Entry

Root חם to be hot, to heat, to warm

Definition

Radiant heat, especially intense or potentially harmful heat, most often referring to the heat produced by the sun. The term can also denote the sun itself as a source of heat, and by extension, is used poetically for personified sun or sunlight. In some contexts, it is associated with burning, parching, or even divine judgment through destructive heat.

Semantic Range

heat (especially sun-heat), the (burning) sun, intense sunlight, burning or parching heat, (poetic) personification of the sun or its rays, destructive heat

Root / Etymology

From the root חם (Ḥ-M), meaning 'to be hot, warm.' חַמָּה (chammâh) is a feminine noun form derived from this root, emphasizing the quality or entity characterized by heat.

Historical & Contextual Notes

חַמָּה appears primarily in poetic or elevated narrative passages, often in parallelism with שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh, 'sun'). While שֶׁמֶשׁ is the standard term for 'the sun' in everyday prose, חַמָּה conveys a more vivid or forceful sense of heat or sunlight, sometimes with connotations of overwhelming or destructive power. The personification of חַמָּה alongside celestial bodies (e.g., Job 30:28; Isaiah 24:23) can carry mythological, literary, or symbolic resonances, but in later Hebrew literature this sense diminishes, and the root remains primarily associated with heat. English translations often render the word as 'sun' or 'heat,' potentially overlooking its poetic vividness and distinctions from שֶׁמֶשׁ. In some post-biblical contexts, the word was further specialized, but this is not its primary biblical usage.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from חָם; heat; by implication, the sun; heat, sun.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חם (ḥ-m) — to be hot, to heat, to warm

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2525 חָם Ham
H2526 חָם Ham
H2529 חֶמְאָה in burning heat
H2534 חֵמָה in heat-of
H2545 חֲמוֹת her mother-in-law

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2535-02 הַֽ/חַמָּ֑ה hachamah HTd/Ncfsa of the sun the burning heat 3
H2535-01 חַמָּ֑ה chamah HNcfsa the sun radiant heat 1
H2535-04 מֵֽ/חַמָּת/וֹ mechamato HR/Ncfsc/Sp3ms from its heat from his burning-heat 1
H2535-03 כַּֽ/חַמָּ֔ה kachamah HRd/Ncfsa as the sun burning sun-heat 1

Occurrences in Scripture

6 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2535-02 Isaiah 24:23 הַֽ/חַמָּ֑ה hachamah HTd/Ncfsa the sun the burning heat
H2535-02 Isaiah 30:26 הַֽ/חַמָּ֔ה hachamah HTd/Ncfsa of the sun the burning heat
H2535-02 Isaiah 30:26 הַֽ/חַמָּה֙ hachamah-2 HTd/Ncfsa of the sun the burning heat
H2535-04 Psalms 19:7 מֵֽ/חַמָּת/וֹ mechamato HR/Ncfsc/Sp3ms from its heat from his burning-heat
H2535-01 Job 30:28 חַמָּ֑ה chamah HNcfsa the sun radiant heat
H2535-03 Song of Songs 6:10 כַּֽ/חַמָּ֔ה kachamah HRd/Ncfsa as the sun burning sun-heat
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