H2336 H2336
Thorn, brier, or bramble (a thorny plant); also a hook or ring used for capturing and restraining captives.
A word with two strikingly different referents united by a single physical property: something sharp that catches and holds. As a plant, it denotes thorns, briers, or brambles -- the classic biblical image of desolation and cursed ground. In Jehoash's cutting allegory, the thornbush presumes to negotiate with the cedar of Lebanon (2 Kgs 14:9). Song of Songs 2:2 offers an unforgettable compliment: 'As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.' Isaiah and Hosea use thorns as signs of divine judgment overgrowing abandoned places. The second sense -- a hook or ring for leading captives -- appears when the Assyrians capture Manasseh 'with hooks' (2 Chr 33:11) and in Job 41:2's challenge about catching Leviathan. The shared idea of something that pierces and grips connects both senses.
Senses
1. thorn, brier, bramble, thistle — A thorny plant -- brier, bramble, or thistle -- used in prophetic and wisdom imagery. Appears in Jehoash's parable where the thorn presumes to address the cedar (2 Kgs 14:9; 2 Chr 25:18), as a sign of desolation overtaking abandoned land (Hos 9:6; Isa 34:13), and in the memorable 'lily among thorns' of Song of Songs 2:2. Job 31:40 invokes thorns as the opposite of fruitful wheat. Proverbs 26:9 compares a fool's proverb to a thorn in a drunkard's hand. Spanish 'cardo/espina' and French cognates reflect the sharp, painful plant sense that makes this a powerful metaphor for judgment and neglect. 9×
AR["الشَّوكُ", "الشَّوْكَ", "الشَّوْكُ", "شَوكٌ", "شَوْكٌ", "هَ-حُوحِيم", "وَ-حَسَكٌ", "ٱلشَّوْكَ", "ٱلشَّوْكُ"]·ben["-কাঁটার", "ও-কাঁটায়ুক্ত-লতা", "কাঁটা", "কাঁটাগাছ", "কাঁটাগাছকে"]·DE["[החוח]", "[החוחים]", "[וחוח]", "[חוח]", "der-thistle"]·EN["a-thorn", "and-thistles", "the-thistle", "the-thornbush", "the-thorns", "thorns"]·FR["[החוח]", "[וחוח]", "le-thistle", "les-épines,", "épine"]·heb["ה-חוח", "ה-חוחים", "ו-חוח", "חוח"]·HI["और-झाड़ी", "काँटा", "काँटे-को", "काँटों-के", "कांटा", "हखोख"]·ID["Duri", "dan-duri", "duri", "duri-duri", "onak", "onak-itu", "semak-duri"]·IT["[החוח]", "[וחוח]", "[חוח]", "il-il-thorns", "il-thistle", "thorns", "un-thorn"]·jav["eri", "lan-suket-suket-eri", "suket-eri"]·KO["가시", "가시가", "가시나무가", "가시들-의", "그-가시나무", "그-가시나무가", "그-가시나무를", "그리고-가시가"]·PT["Espinho", "O-espinheiro", "e-cardos", "espinho", "o-espinheiro", "os-espinhos"]·RU["и-волчцы", "колючка", "терние", "терний", "терновник"]·ES["El-cardo", "Espina", "el-cardo", "espino", "espinos", "los-espinos", "y-cardos"]·SW["Mwiba-ule", "michongoma", "miiba", "mwiba", "mwiba-ule", "na-michongoma"]·TR["diken", "diken-o", "dikeni", "dikenlerin", "ve-cali"]·urd["اور-خاردار", "خاردار جھاڑیاں", "کانٹا", "کانٹوں-کے", "کانٹے", "کانٹے-دار-جھاڑی"]
2. hook, ring, fetter — A hook, ring, or fetter used for capturing and leading captives -- probably named by analogy with thorns that catch and hold fast. In 2 Chronicles 33:11, the Assyrians seize King Manasseh 'with hooks' (bachochim), a humiliating method of prisoner transport also depicted in Assyrian reliefs. Job 41:2 asks whether one can put a hook in Leviathan's nose. Spanish 'ganchos' (hooks) distinguishes this clearly from the botanical sense. The semantic bridge between thorn and hook lies in the shared property of piercing and gripping. 2×
AR["بِالْخُطَّافِ", "وَبِشَوْكَةٍ"]·ben["আঁকড়া-দিয়ে", "আর-কাঁটা-দিয়ে"]·DE["[בחחים]", "[ובחוח]"]·EN["and-with-a-hook", "with-hooks"]·FR["[בחחים]", "et-épine"]·heb["ב-ה-חחים", "ו-ב-חוח"]·HI["और-काँटे-से", "कांटों-में"]·ID["dan-dengan-duri", "dengan-kait"]·IT["[בחחים]", "e-in-e-con-a-hook"]·jav["kaliyan-pancing", "lan-kalayan-eri"]·KO["그리고-가시-로", "에-그-갈고리들로"]·PT["E-com-espinho", "com-ganchos"]·RU["и-крюком", "крюками"]·ES["con-ganchos", "y-con-gancho"]·SW["baּchochiym", "na-kwa-ndoana"]·TR["Menaşe'yi", "ve-dikeniyle"]·urd["اور-کانٹے-سے", "کانٹوں-سے"]
Related Senses
H2719 1. sword, weapon of war (410×)H4196 1. altar (place of sacrifice) (403×)H7393 1. chariot, chariotry (117×)H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H7198 1. bow (weapon) (72×)H7979 1. table (71×)H7782 1. ram's horn trumpet (69×)H4294 2. staff, rod, scepter (63×)H4043 1. shield, defensive weapon (60×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H0646 1. ephod (priestly garment) (49×)H8504 1. blue (violet-blue yarn/fabric) (49×)H2595 1. spear, lance (48×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2671 1. arrow, projectile weapon (46×)H4818 1. chariot, war-chariot (44×)H3658 1. lyre, harp (stringed instrument) (42×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† חוֹחַ n.m. 2 K 14:9 1. brier, bramble. 2. hook, ring, fetter;—ח׳ abs. Ho 9:6 + 8 times; pl. חֲוָחִים 1 S 13:6 (but v. infr.), חוֹחִים Ct 2:2; חֹחִים 2 Ch 33:11;— 1. a. brier, bramble 2 K 14:9(×2) = 2 Ch 25:18(×2) (allegory of Jehoash); coll., sign of desolation Ho 9:6 (‖ קִמּוֹשׁ), Is 34:13 (‖ קִמּוֹשׁ, סִירִים), Jb 31:40 (opp. חִטִּים); in sim. of fool’s parable ח׳ עָלָה בְּיַד־שִׁכּוֹר Pr…