H2472 H2472
chalom -- a dream; a nocturnal vision, often bearing prophetic or revelatory significance
The masculine noun chalom ('dream') denotes the experience of dreaming during sleep, ranging from ordinary nocturnal visions to divinely granted revelations. It appears 64 times, concentrated heavily in Genesis where dreams drive the plot: Joseph's sheaf and star dreams (Gen 37:5-10), the cupbearer's and baker's dreams (Gen 40), and Pharaoh's double dream of famine (Gen 41). BDB identifies two broad uses: ordinary dreams (Job 7:14; Ps 73:20; Eccl 5:2) and prophetic dreams as the 'lowest grade of prophecy.' Cross-lingual renderings converge neatly -- Spanish sueno, French songe, German Traum -- all capturing a single semantic core without subdivision.
Senses
1. dream, nocturnal vision — A dream experienced during sleep, encompassing both ordinary nocturnal visions and divinely sent revelatory dreams. The prophetic dream is a major narrative engine in Genesis, driving the Joseph cycle (Gen 37:5-20; 40:5-41:32) and the Abimelech and Laban episodes (Gen 20:3; 31:24). Spanish sueno, French songe, and German Traum all render it uniformly. The 64 occurrences across multiple grammatical forms (absolute, construct, suffixed) show no semantic differentiation -- the word is monosemous, with prophetic versus ordinary use determined by context rather than lexical distinction. 64×
AR["الْ-حُلْمِ", "الْحُلْمَ", "الْحُلْمُ", "حُلْم", "حُلْماً", "حُلْمًا", "حُلْمٌ", "حُلْمٍ", "حُلْمُ"]·ben["-স্বপ্ন", "একটি-স্বপ্ন", "স্বপ্ন", "স্বপ্নের"]·DE["[חלום]", "der-Traum", "ein-Traum", "einen-Traum"]·EN["a-dream", "dream", "dream-of", "the-dream"]·FR["le-songe", "songe", "songe-de", "un-songe"]·heb["ה-חלום", "חלום"]·HI["स्वप्न", "स्वप्न-था", "स्वप्न-है"]·ID["mimpi", "mimpi-itu"]·IT["[חלום]", "il-sogno", "sogno", "sogno-di", "un-sogno"]·jav["Supena", "impen", "impen-punika", "pangimpen", "supena", "supénan"]·KO["그-꾿이", "그-꿈이", "꾿을", "꿀을", "꿈은", "꿈을", "꿈이", "꿈이었다"]·PT["o-sonho", "sonho", "sonho-de", "um-sonho"]·RU["сна", "сон"]·ES["el-sueño", "sueño", "sueño-de", "un-sueño"]·SW["ndoto", "wa-ndoto"]·TR["-rüya", "-rüyanın", "Rüya", "düş", "rüya", "rüyayı"]·urd["خواب", "خواب-اس"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† חֲלוֹם n.m. Gn 37:10 dream;—ח׳ abs. Gn 37:5 +, cstr. Gn 20:3, חֲלֹם abs. Gn 20:6, cstr. 31:24; sf. חֲלוֹמִי Gn 40:9, 16, חֲלֹמִי Gn 41:17, 22, חֲלֹמוֹ Gn 40:5 + 5 times; pl. חֲלֹמוֹת Je 23:32 + 10 times etc., + 7 times sf.—dream 1. ordinary dream of sleep Jb 7:14; 20:8 ψ 73:20 Ec 5:2, 6 Is 29:7. 2. dreams with prophetic meaning, the lowest grade of prophecy (v. BrMP 6): a. dream of Abimelek Gn…