Lexical Summary zaham: To be indignant, to abhor, to express anger Original Word: זָהַם Strong's Exhaustive Concordance abhor A primitive root; to be rancid, i.e. (transitively) to loathe -- abhor. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to be foul, loathsome NASB Translation loathes (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [זָהַם] verb be foul, loathsome, but only Pi`el causat. (Late Hebrew id., be foul, Pi`el make foul; Aramaic זְהִים foul, Pi`el Perfect3feminine singular suffix 3 masculine singular וְזִהֲמַתּוּ חַיָּתוֺ לָ֑חֶם (consecutive) Job 33:20 his life maketh it, bread, loathsome to him ("" ונפשׁו מַאֲכַל תַּאֲוָה) (On suffix see Ges§ 131, 2, R. 4; Dr1Sam 21:14: according to Siegf the word is hopelessly corrupt.) Topical Lexicon Meaning and Nuance The verb depicts an intense revulsion that turns the very thought of food into disgust. It goes beyond simple loss of appetite; it conveys a visceral, almost nauseating recoil from something once desirable. Scripture uses this single occurrence to portray the depth of human distress when the Lord allows affliction to arrest a soul’s attention. Biblical Setting: Job 33:20 Elihu describes God’s merciful intervention in suffering: “so that his body finds food repulsive, and his soul loathes the choicest meal” (Job 33:20). Job’s affliction reaches the point where even life-sustaining bread becomes intolerable. Elihu does not attribute this to random misfortune but to divine chastening meant to “turn a man from wrongdoing” (Job 33:17). The loathing of food illustrates how the Almighty dismantles self-reliance, compelling the sufferer to seek deliverance beyond himself. Didactic Purpose in the Dialogue of Job 1. Exposure of human frailty: The strongest appetite is rendered powerless, underscoring that “man does not live by bread alone” (Deuteronomy 8:3). Theological Implications • Covenant discipline: As in Deuteronomy 28, covenant breakers experience curses that include physical decay and loss of appetite. Elihu frames the experience not as punitive destruction but corrective grace that spares from “the pit” (Job 33:24). Connections to Covenant Discipline Leviticus speaks of the land “vomiting out” its inhabitants for idolatry (Leviticus 18:25). The same root idea of repulsion underlines that God cannot abide unrepentant sin indefinitely. Job 33:20 shows the individualized version of that national principle: the body itself becomes the stage where divine displeasure is dramatized. Pastoral and Homiletical Applications • Diagnostic tool: Loss of spiritual appetite often signals underlying sin or misplaced trust. Ministries can use Job 33 to encourage self-examination when Scripture, prayer, or fellowship no longer appeal. Hope in Redemption Christ experienced the ultimate nausea of bearing sin’s curse (“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” Matthew 26:38). By His stripes the chastened sufferer is healed (Isaiah 53:5). The revulsion of Job 33:20 therefore stands as a signpost pointing to the cross, where sin’s bitterness was fully tasted so that redeemed hearts might once again “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8). Forms and Transliterations וְזִֽהֲמַ֣תּוּ וזהמתו vezihaMattu wə·zi·hă·mat·tū wəzihămattūLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 33:20 HEB: וְזִֽהֲמַ֣תּוּ חַיָּת֣וֹ לָ֑חֶם NAS: So that his life loathes bread, KJV: So that his life abhorreth bread, INT: loathes his life bread 1 Occurrence |
    |
make foul, fetid; Arabic 
stink, be greasy) —