Lexical Summary haregah: Slaughter, Killing Original Word: הֲרֵגָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance slaughter Feminine of hereg; slaughter -- slaughter. see HEBREW hereg NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfem. of hereg Definition a slaughter NASB Translation carnage (1), slaughter (4). Brown-Driver-Briggs הֲרֵגָה noun feminine slaughter; only absolute in following combinations, ׳גֵּיא ה Jeremiah 7:32; Jeremiah 19:6 new name for גֵּיא בֶןהִֿנֹּם; ׳יוֺם ה Jeremiah 12:3 of the wicked, i.e. day of judgment; ׳צאֹן ה Zechariah 11:4,7 i.e. Judah and Israel, slaughtered by their shepherds. Topical Lexicon Scope of the termThe noun refers to the decisive act of putting to death, whether by human agency or as the consequence of divine judgment. Across its five occurrences the vocabulary consistently conveys mass, intentional killing rather than incidental loss of life, linking the concept to judicial reckoning, covenantal curse, and prophetic warning. Occurrences and literary setting Jeremiah 7:32; Jeremiah 12:3; Jeremiah 19:6; Zechariah 11:4; Zechariah 11:7. In Jeremiah the word is tied to the infamous Valley of Ben Hinnom, renamed “the Valley of Slaughter.” The setting evokes the earlier abominations of child sacrifice (Jeremiah 7:31) and portrays coming judgment as an ironic reversal—those who shed innocent blood will see their own blood shed. In Zechariah the term forms part of a shepherding parable in which the prophet is commanded to pasture “the flock marked for slaughter,” exposing covenant-breaking leadership and the people’s refusal to heed the voice of true shepherding. Association with divine judgment In both Jeremiah proclamations the slaughter is God-ordained: “So beware! The days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.” (Jeremiah 7:32) The naming formula “Valley of Slaughter” stands as a prophetic sign, as place-names in Scripture often crystallize a theological verdict. Divine retribution is pictured not merely as military defeat but as a moral counter-weight to covenant violations, emphasizing the Lord’s uncompromising holiness. Covenantal and ethical dimensions Jeremiah 12:3 extends the theme from locale to calendar by invoking “the day of killing,” where the prophet pleads for justice against persecutors. The petition assumes a covenantal worldview: righteousness demands that the morally guilty be consigned to slaughter. The verse therefore reinforces the ethical inevitability of judgment. Shepherd symbolism in Zechariah The Zecharian oracle places the flock itself under the sentence of slaughter, highlighting two intertwined truths: 1. Leadership culpability—wicked shepherds enrich themselves while the flock perishes (Zechariah 11:5). The vocabulary of slaughter thus becomes a prophetic shorthand for the explosive consequences of breaching covenant love and unity. Historical background Jeremiah’s ministry straddles the final decades of Judah before the Babylonian exile. The predicted “Valley of Slaughter” came to partial fulfillment in the siege of Jerusalem, when famine, warfare, and burial scarcity converged. Zechariah ministered after the return from exile, yet he portrays a renewed threat of internal collapse culminating in judgment, showing that history apart from obedience gravitates back toward slaughter. Christological echo While the passages speak of catastrophic judgment, they also prepare the reader for the concept of a vicarious slaughter. Isaiah’s Servant is “led like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7), and the New Testament presents Jesus Christ as the Lamb who was slain, absorbing divine wrath so that people might escape the ultimate slaughter of final judgment (Revelation 5:6; 1 Peter 1:18–19). The Old Testament usage therefore sharpens the necessity and magnitude of Christ’s redemptive death. Ministry implications 1. Preaching: The term confronts modern audiences with the seriousness of sin. Proclaimers should not dilute the notion of slaughter but present it as the just consequence of rebellion, while simultaneously pointing to the Substitute who bore the sword. Summary Across its limited yet potent appearances, the word serves as a literary and theological marker of divine recompense for covenant breach. It underscores both the certainty of judgment and the urgency of repentance, ultimately pointing forward to the sacrificial death of the Shepherd who was willingly “slaughtered” to gather a redeemed flock. Forms and Transliterations הֲרֵגָֽה׃ הַֽהֲרֵגָ֔ה הַהֲרֵגָ֑ה הַהֲרֵגָֽה׃ ההרגה ההרגה׃ הרגה׃ ha·hă·rê·ḡāh hă·rê·ḡāh hahareGah hahărêḡāh hareGah hărêḡāhLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Jeremiah 7:32 HEB: אִם־ גֵּ֣יא הַהֲרֵגָ֑ה וְקָבְר֥וּ בְתֹ֖פֶת NAS: but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury KJV: but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury INT: but the valley of the Slaughter will bury Topheth Jeremiah 12:3 Jeremiah 19:6 Zechariah 11:4 Zechariah 11:7 5 Occurrences |
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