קוּץ
to spend the harvest season
Definition
The verb קוּץ (qûwts) means 'to spend the harvest season' or 'to summer.' It specifically refers to the act of passing time during the summer months, which in the ancient Near East was the season for harvesting and gathering crops. In its single biblical occurrence in Isaiah 18:6, it describes birds and beasts dwelling or feeding among the plants during the summer. The word is a denominative verb derived from the noun for 'summer' (קַיִץ, qayits, H7019), indicating its meaning is tied directly to that season.
Biblical Usage
This verb is used only once in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 18:6. The context is a prophetic oracle concerning Cush (Ethiopia), where the imagery describes scavengers—birds of prey and wild beasts—'summering' upon the mountains and hills, feeding on the carcasses left after a divine judgment. The usage is poetic and metaphorical, emphasizing desolation and the natural cycle of consumption following destruction.
Etymology
קוּץ is a primitive root meaning 'to clip off,' but in biblical Hebrew, it is used exclusively as a denominative verb from the noun קַיִץ (qayits, H7019), meaning 'summer.' Thus, its meaning shifted from the physical act of cutting to the temporal act of spending the summer season. It is related to the concept of the harvest time in the agricultural calendar.
Semantic Range
Though used only once, this word contributes to the vivid prophetic imagery in Isaiah. It underscores themes of divine judgment and the ensuing desolation, where even the natural world participates in the consequences. Understanding this Hebrew term enriches the reading of Isaiah 18 by highlighting the seasonal and agricultural metaphors that would have been immediate to an ancient audience, emphasizing the totality and organic nature of God's judgment.
In ancient Israel, summer (קַיִץ) was not just a season but a critical time for harvesting grains and fruits, essential for survival. The verb 'to summer' would evoke images of activity, abundance, or, as in Isaiah 18:6, opportunistic feeding. The cultural understanding differs from a modern view of summer as a period of leisure; it was a time of intense agricultural labor and natural cycles of growth and decay.
קַיִץ (qayits, H7019) — the noun 'summer,' from which this verb is derived. חׇרְפָּה (choreph, H2778) — 'winter' or 'harvest time,' the other main season, often contrasted with summer. אָסַף (ʼacaph, H622) — 'to gather' or 'to harvest,' a more general term for the agricultural activity of the season.
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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