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חָמַס

𐤇𐤌𐤎

châmaç

H2554 verb

SILEX Entry

Root חמס to act violently, to wrong, to oppress, to treat unjustly

Definition

To act violently, to commit a wrongful or harmful act, especially through physical force or oppression. The verb denotes behaviors that involve inflicting harm, injustice, or exploitation upon others. It can carry the idea of mistreating, robbing, or oppressing, and sometimes extends to violent plundering or defrauding. The general sense is injurious action against a person or group, violating social or ethical norms.

Semantic Range

to do violence, to act oppressively, to injure or wrong, to plunder, to rob, to exploit, to violate (rights or persons), to inflict injustice

Root / Etymology

The word חָמַס (châmaṣ) comes from the root ח-מ-ס, which conveys the central idea of violence or wrong. Its verbal forms are primarily found in the qal stem, indicating the act of doing violence or wronging. While the noun form חָמָס refers to violence or wrongdoing, the verb emphasizes the active infliction of such harm. There is no clear connection to cognate languages outside Northwest Semitic; the precise origin of the root is within biblical Hebrew.

Historical & Contextual Notes

חָמַס occurs predominantly in poetic or prophetic literature, such as the Psalms and Prophets, usually describing acts of social injustice, exploitation, or ruthless violence against the weak. It often stands in parallelism with terms for robbery, oppression, and evil (e.g., גָּזֵל, שֹׁד). In the prophetic critique, it is a hallmark of societal collapse or divine judgment motifs (e.g., Amos, Jeremiah). The English term 'violence' can at times underrepresent the range of injury, exploitation, and abuse implied by the root. Its application is societal as much as individual—referring to communal breakdowns of justice as well as personal wrongs. The term is distinct from military violence (commonly called חָרַב or שָׁדַד), centering more on interpersonal or social misconduct. Over time, the noun form חָמָס became a byword for lawless behavior. Greek and later translations sometimes render it with terms for injustice (ἀδικία) or lawlessness (ἀνομία), and English versions from KJV onwards sometimes translated it anachronistically as 'wrong' or 'violence.' The verb is rare compared to the noun.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to be violent; by implication, to maltreat; make bare, shake off, violate, do violence, take away violently, wrong, imagine wrongfully.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חמס (ḥ-m-s) — violence, wrongdoing, oppression, injurious force

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2555 חָמָס violent wrongdoing
H8464 תַּחְמָס the violent night-bird

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2554-01 חָמְס֣וּ chamesu HVqp3cp have done violence to they acted violently 2
H2554-04 תַּחְמֹ֔סוּ tachemosu HVqj2mp do violence you (masc. pl.) do violence 2
H2554-02 חֹמֵ֣ס chomes HVqrmsa wrongs violent one 1
H2554-06 יַחְמֹ֣ס yachemos HVqi3ms He will violently remove he will act violently 1
H2554-05 וַ/יַּחְמֹ֤ס vayachemos HC/Vqw3ms and-he-has-violently-treated and he acted violently 1
H2554-03 נֶחְמְס֥וּ nechemesu HVNp3cp have been violated they were violently wronged 1

Occurrences in Scripture

8 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2554-03 Jeremiah 13:22 נֶחְמְס֥וּ nechemesu HVNp3cp have been violated they were violently wronged
H2554-04 Jeremiah 22:3 תַּחְמֹ֔סוּ tachemosu HVqj2mp do violence you (masc. pl.) do violence
H2554-01 Ezekiel 22:26 חָמְס֣וּ chamesu HVqp3cp have done violence to they acted violently
H2554-01 Zephaniah 3:4 חָמְס֖וּ chamesu HVqp3cp have done violence to they acted violently
H2554-02 Proverbs 8:36 חֹמֵ֣ס chomes HVqrmsa wrongs violent one
H2554-06 Job 15:33 יַחְמֹ֣ס yachemos HVqi3ms He will violently remove he will act violently
H2554-04 Job 21:27 תַּחְמֹֽסוּ tachemosu HVqi2mp you would wrong you (masc. pl.) do violence
H2554-05 Lamentations 2:6 וַ/יַּחְמֹ֤ס vayachemos HC/Vqw3ms and-he-has-violently-treated and he acted violently
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