חָרִישׁ
ploughing or its season
Definition
The Hebrew noun חָרִישׁ refers primarily to the agricultural activity of ploughing or tilling the soil, and by extension, to the specific season of the year when this work is performed. In Exodus 34:21, it denotes the 'ploughing time' or 'earing time' as a distinct agricultural season, during which work is to cease on the Sabbath. In a more metaphorical sense, the word can refer to the ploughed ground itself, as seen in 1 Samuel 8:12, where it is listed among the king's potential possessions. The word encapsulates both the action and its appointed time within the Israelite agricultural calendar.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only three times in the Old Testament, each highlighting a different facet of its meaning. In Genesis 45:6, it refers to the 'years of ploughing' or famine, using the agricultural season to mark time. Exodus 34:21 uses it to specify the 'ploughing time' as a period when Sabbath rest is still commanded. Finally, 1 Samuel 8:12 employs it in a list of royal prerogatives, where 'ploughmen' or 'ploughed ground' (depending on translation) becomes property of the king. It appears in narrative (Genesis, 1 Samuel) and legal (Exodus) contexts.
Etymology
Derived from the root verb חָרַשׁ (ḥāraš, H2790), which means 'to plough,' 'to engrave,' or 'to be silent.' The noun חָרִישׁ specifically comes from the agricultural sense of the root, focusing on the act of ploughing the ground. This connection highlights the word's concrete origin in the physical work of preparing soil for sowing.
Semantic Range
This word is theologically significant as it connects the covenant law with the rhythms of daily life and agriculture. In Exodus 34:21, God's command to rest on the Sabbath 'in ploughing time and in harvest' establishes that divine ordinance takes precedence over crucial economic and survival activities. It underscores that no season, no matter how urgent, is exempt from the sanctity of rest ordained by God. Understanding this term enriches the reading of 1 Samuel 8:12, where the king's claim to the 'ploughing' symbolizes his intrusion into the divinely ordained family inheritance and economic independence of Israel.
In ancient Israel, an agrarian society, 'ploughing time' was a critical, well-defined season following the early rains that softened the earth. It required intense, communal labor to prepare fields for sowing. The modern reader might see 'ploughing' as a single task, but for the Israelites, it represented a vital annual season essential for survival. The command in Exodus 34:21 would have been counter-cultural, demanding trust in God's provision by ceasing work at a peak time of agricultural pressure.
עֲבוֹדָה (ʿăḇôḏâ, H5656) — a broader term for labor or service, not specific to agriculture. אֲדָמָה (ʾăḏāmâ, H127) — refers to the ground or soil itself, not the action of tilling it.
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.
Full methodology & sources →