Lexical Summary
charab: To be dry, to be desolate, to lay waste, to destroy
Original Word: חָרַב
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: charab
Pronunciation: khaw-rab'
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-rab')
KJV: decay, (be) desolate, destroy(-er), (be) dry (up), slay, X surely, (lay, lie, make) waste
Word Origin: [a primitive root]
1. to parch (through drought) i.e. (by analogy,) to desolate, destroy, kill
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
decay, be desolate, destroyer, be dry up, slay, surely, lay, lie,
Or chareb {khaw-rabe'}; a primitive root; to parch (through drought) i.e. (by analogy,) to desolate, destroy, kill -- decay, (be) desolate, destroy(-er), (be) dry (up), slay, X surely, (lay, lie, make) waste.
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. [] (compare ) (Aramaic
be dry,
drought); —
Perfect3plural Genesis 8:13 (twice in verse), Isaiah 19:6; Imperfect3masculine singular Hosea 13:15 2t., Psalm 106:9; Imperative feminine singular Isaiah 44:27; — be dry, dried up:
Genesis 8:13b (J).
, be dried up, taken away; of waters of flood Genesis 8:13 a (P); of Nile Isaiah 19:5 ("" ), see same combination Job 14:11 ("" ); Isaiah 19:6 ("" ) Isaiah 44:27 ("" ); of Red Sea Psalm 106:9; figurative of Ephraim's freshness and vigour Hosea 13:15.
Perfect3plural Judges 16:7,8, of fresh bow-strings (of gut, see Bla).
Perfect Nahum 1:4, of 's drying up rivers ("" ), perhaps also Isaiah 11:15 (for ) see ; the Euphrates Jeremiah 51:36 ("" ); Imperfect Isaiah 50:2, subject , I dry up a sea ("" ); Isaiah 37:25 = 2 Kings 19:24, of king of Assyria drying up rivers of Egypt; Participle feminine singular Isaiah 51:10 of 's arm drying up (Red) Sea.
II. [] (Late Hebrew id.; Aramaic 👁 Image
be laid waste; Zinjirli adjective; Arabic 👁 Image
be in ruins, waste, depopulated; Assyrian —arâbu, be waste, DlPr 175, —uribtu, desert, LotzTP); —
Imperfect3feminine singular Jeremiah 26:9, Isaiah 34:10; 3masculine plural Ezekiel 6:6, Amos 7:9; Isaiah 60:12; 3feminine plural Ezekiel 6:6; Ezekiel 12:20; Imperative (so, not — Theile — see van d. H Hahn Köi. 244) Jeremiah 2:12; Infinitive absolute Isaiah 60:12; — be waste, desolate; of sanctuaries of Israel Amos 7:9 ("" ), of altars Ezekiel 6:6; of cities Jeremiah 26:9; Ezekiel 6:6; Ezekiel 12:20 ("" ); of nations Isaiah 34:10, Isaiah 60:12 ("" ); figurative, in address to the heavens Jeremiah 2:12 — ("" , ), be very desolate (at sins of Israel); others, be amazed, astounded (on relation of meanings see ).
Participle feminine Ezekiel 26:19 as adjective, desolate city, i.e. uninhabited, see context; Ezekiel 30:17 of desolate countries ("" ).
Perfect Ezekiel 19:17; 1singular Zephaniah 3:6; 3plural Isaiah 37:18; 2 Kings 19:17; Imperfect1singular Isaiah 42:15; Participle Judges 16:24; plural with suffix Isaiah 49:17; — lay waste, make desolate, human subject; nations and lands Isaiah 37:18 = 2 Kings 19:17; Isaiah 42:15, compare participle Isaiah 49:17 ("" ); add probably with We Amos 4:9 ( for the untranslateable ) I have devastated your gardens and vineyards; participle Judges 16:24 desolater of our country ("" ); object cities Ezekiel 19:7; streets Zephaniah 3:6 ("" ).
Perfect3feminine singular Ezekiel 26:2 she is laid waste, of a city; Participle Ezekiel 29:12 laid waste, of cities ("" ).
III. [] (Aramaic and rare) (compare Arabic 👁 Image
plunder, III. wage war with, VI. fight together, 👁 Image
war, battle; Syriac 👁 Image
smite, slay) —
Imperative masculine singular Jeremiah 50:21 attack (+ ); masculine plural Jeremiah 50:27 object , figurative of men of Babylon.
Perfect3plural (see
) 2 Kings 3:23 the kings have attacked one another, fought together ("" ).
Infinitive absolute 2 Kings 3:23, see
, but read perhaps , compare Dr Leviticus 19:20, note.
[] (see Biblical Hebrew II. ); —
Perfect Ezra 4:15 city was laid waste.
Topical Lexicon
Overview The verb חָרַב (Strong’s 2717) traces a vivid line through approximately forty-two Old Testament verses, portraying land, cities, seas, altars, and even human hearts as “laid waste,” “dried up,” or “devastated.” Whether describing the drying of the post-diluvian earth, the judgment of covenant infidelity, or the promised return of fertility, the word consistently presents the LORD as sovereign over both blessing and barrenness.
Key Motifs in Scripture
1. Physical Drying After Judgment
• Genesis 8:13: “By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the waters had dried up from the earth…”. The first canonical use occurs in the context of global judgment followed by gracious renewal.
• Isaiah 19:5–6 pictures the Nile basin: “The waters from the sea will dry up, and the river will be parched and dry”. Egypt’s lifeline becomes a symbol of divine restraint on idolatrous powers.
2. Covenant Curses on the Promised Land
Deuteronomy 29:23 anticipates Israel’s future apostasy: the land would become “a burning waste of sulfur and salt.” Here charab communicates the reversal of Edenic fruitfulness promised in Deuteronomy 28. This vocabulary resurfaces in prophetic indictments (Jeremiah 26:9; Ezekiel 19:7), reminding the nation that moral decay invites agricultural and social desolation.
3. Military Devastation of Cities and Nations
2 Kings 19 (paralleling Isaiah 37) records Hezekiah’s prayer against Assyria: “The kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands” (2 Kings 19:17). Charab depicts political ruin brought by human armies yet understood as an instrument of the LORD’s purposes (Isaiah 37:26).
4. Environmental Miracles and Provision
While often negative, the root can highlight deliverance: Job 14:11 notes that “as waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away,” yet Job’s hope is in resurrection; conversely, Psalm 107:35 shows restorative reversal—“He turns a desert into pools of water”—implying the undoing of charab by divine grace.
5. Spiritual and Liturgical Dimensions
The prophets extend the image from soil to soul. Psalm 102:4 connects internal anguish to drought: “My heart is struck and withered like grass.” The altar itself can be “broken down” (1 Kings 19:10) when true worship collapses. Thus charab becomes a call to repentance and fresh devotion.
Historical and Redemptive Significance
• Flood to Patriarchs: Post-Flood drying (Genesis 8) signals a new creation theme later echoed in Exodus and the prophetic promise of rivers in the wilderness.
• Monarchy and Exile: From the Assyrian and Babylonian devastations to the threatened doom of Edom (Isaiah 34:9-10), charab marks pivotal moments when covenant failure meets divine justice.
• Post-Exilic Hope: Zechariah 7:14 laments that the land became “desolate.” Yet Haggai and Zechariah anticipate renewed fertility when the people return to covenant loyalty, preparing the stage for Messianic fulfillment.
Theological Insights
1. Sovereignty of God over Land and Nations: The same verb narrates both drying judgment and restorative rain, underscoring that creation responds to its Creator’s moral governance.
2. Moral Cause and Effect: Israel’s prophets use charab to reveal that ethical corruption produces ecological and societal collapse (Hosea 13:15).
3. Promise of Reversal: The pattern “desolation—repentance—restoration” foreshadows New Testament redemption, where the barren cross leads to the empty (i.e., deserted) tomb and new life (cf. Romans 4:17-19).
Ministry Applications
• Preaching: Charab offers a concrete picture when warning of sin’s consequences and assuring hearers of God’s power to renew what seems irreversibly wasted.
• Counseling and Discipleship: Believers experiencing “dry seasons” can trace in Scripture how the LORD turns scorched ground into springs, nurturing hope.
• Missions and Social Action: The biblical linkage between righteousness and land health encourages holistic ministry that pairs gospel proclamation with stewardship of creation.
Representative References
Genesis 8:13; Deuteronomy 29:23; 2 Kings 19:17; Job 14:11; Psalm 102:4; Isaiah 19:5; Isaiah 34:9-10; Jeremiah 26:9; Ezekiel 19:7; Hosea 13:15; Zechariah 7:14.
Summary
Charab serves as an inspired thermometer of covenant health: when hearts harden, land withers; when the LORD intervenes in mercy, dryness becomes abundance. The word stands as both warning and invitation—calling God’s people to shun the path of desolation and to seek the Refreshing Presence who alone can cause streams to flow in the desert.
Forms and Transliterations
אַחֲרִ֣יב אַחֲרִ֤יב אחריב הֶֽחֱרִ֑יב הֶחֱרִ֑יב הֶחֱרִ֜יבוּ הֶחֱרַ֥בְתִּי הַמַּחֲרֶ֣בֶת הָחֳרֵ֤ב הָחֳרָֽבָה׃ החרב החרבה׃ החרבתי החריב החריבו המחרבת וְאַחְרִב֙ וְהַחֲרַבְתִּי֙ וְחָרְב֖וּ וְיֶחֱרַ֣ב וַֽיֶּחֱרָ֑ב וּמַחֲרִבַ֖יִךְ ואחרב והחרבתי וחרבו ויחרב ומחרביך חֲרֵבָ֔ה חֲרֹ֨ב חֳרָ֑בִי חִרְבוּ֙ חָֽרְב֖וּ חָֽרְב֥וּ חָרְב֥וּ חָרֹ֥ב חֹרָ֑בוּ חרב חרבה חרבו חרבי יֶחֱרַ֥ב יֶחֱרָ֑בוּ יֶחֱרָֽבוּ׃ יֶחֶרְב֨וּ יחרב יחרבו יחרבו׃ מַחֲרִ֣יב מָֽחֳרָבוֹת֙ מחרבות מחריב נֶֽחֶרְבוּ֙ נֶחֱרֶ֔בֶת נַחֲרָב֖וֹת נחרבו נחרבות נחרבת תֶּחֱרַ֔בְנָה תֶּחֱרַ֖ב תֶּחֱרָ֔ב תחרב תחרבנה ’a·ḥă·rîḇ ’aḥărîḇ achaRiv chareVah chareVu chaRo chirVu choRavi choRavu hā·ḥo·rā·ḇāh hā·ḥo·rêḇ ḥă·rê·ḇāh ḥā·rə·ḇū ḥă·rōḇ ḥā·rōḇ hāḥorāḇāh hāḥorêḇ ham·ma·ḥă·re·ḇeṯ hammachaRevet hammaḥăreḇeṯ ḥărêḇāh ḥārəḇū ḥărōḇ ḥārōḇ he·ḥĕ·raḇ·tî he·ḥĕ·rî·ḇū he·ḥĕ·rîḇ hecheRavti hecheRiv hecheRivu heḥĕraḇtî heḥĕrîḇ heḥĕrîḇū ḥir·ḇū ḥirḇū ḥo·rā·ḇî ḥō·rā·ḇū hochoRavah hochoRev ḥorāḇî ḥōrāḇū ma·ḥă·rîḇ mā·ḥo·rā·ḇō·wṯ machaRiv maḥărîḇ māḥorāḇōwṯ mochoraVot na·ḥă·rā·ḇō·wṯ nacharaVot naḥărāḇōwṯ ne·ḥĕ·re·ḇeṯ ne·ḥer·ḇū necheRevet necherVu neḥerḇū neḥĕreḇeṯ te·ḥĕ·raḇ te·ḥĕ·rāḇ te·ḥĕ·raḇ·nāh techeRav techeRavnah teḥĕraḇ teḥĕrāḇ teḥĕraḇnāh ū·ma·ḥă·ri·ḇa·yiḵ umachariVayich ūmaḥăriḇayiḵ vaiyecheRav veachRiv vechareVu vehacharavTi veyecheRav way·ye·ḥĕ·rāḇ wayyeḥĕrāḇ wə’aḥriḇ wə·’aḥ·riḇ wə·ha·ḥă·raḇ·tî wə·ḥā·rə·ḇū wə·ye·ḥĕ·raḇ wəhaḥăraḇtî wəḥārəḇū wəyeḥĕraḇ ye·ḥĕ·rā·ḇū ye·ḥĕ·raḇ ye·ḥer·ḇū yecheRav yecheRavu yecherVu yeḥĕraḇ yeḥĕrāḇū yeḥerḇū
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