חָם
hot
Definition
The Hebrew word חָם (châm) primarily means 'hot' or 'warm,' describing physical temperature. In its two biblical occurrences, it refers to the warmth of bread (Joshua 9:12) and the heat of the air or earth (Job 37:17). The word conveys a literal sense of heat, not metaphorical intensity. In Joshua 9:12, it describes bread that was warm when the Gibeonites left home, now cold and moldy as evidence of their deception. In Job 37:17, it appears in Elihu's rhetorical question about how garments become hot when the earth is stilled by the south wind, illustrating God's power over natural phenomena.
Biblical Usage
חָם is used only twice in the Old Testament, both times as an adjective describing something physically warm. In Joshua 9:12, it modifies bread ('our bread was hot'), part of the Gibeonites' fabricated story to secure a treaty. In Job 37:17, it describes garments that become hot ('your garments hot') due to atmospheric conditions, within Elihu's speech about God's majesty in weather. The usage is straightforward and literal, appearing in narrative (Joshua) and poetic (Job) contexts without extended metaphorical application.
Etymology
Derived from the root חָמַם (chamam, H2552), meaning 'to be or become hot.' This root conveys physical heat, as in warming oneself (Isaiah 44:16) or the sun's heat (Jonah 4:8). חָם is the adjectival form, directly related to warmth. Cognate words include חֹם (chom, H2527) 'heat' and חַמָּה (chammah, H2535) 'sun.' The semantic field centers on temperature, without the moral connotations sometimes associated with heat in English.
Semantic Range
In ancient Israelite culture, the warmth of bread was a practical marker of freshness, as bread was baked daily. The detail in Joshua 9:12 relies on this understanding—bread cooling and molding quickly in a pre-refrigeration society was clear evidence of elapsed time. In Job 37:17, the reference to garments becoming hot reflects an agricultural society attuned to weather signs, where the south wind (a hot, dry wind from the desert) could noticeably raise temperatures. Both uses assume a tangible, experiential knowledge of heat in daily life.
חֹם (chom, H2527) — the noun 'heat' or 'warmth,' often of the sun or weather. חַמָּה (chammah, H2535) — 'sun' or 'heat,' specifically solar heat. שָׁרָב (sharav, H8273) — 'heat' or 'drought,' emphasizing parching, destructive heat.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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