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.
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"]
▼ 1 more sense below
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"]
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…