2535. chammah

Lexical Summary

chammah: Sun

Original Word: חַמָּה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: chammah
Pronunciation: kham-maw'
Phonetic Spelling: (kham-maw')
KJV: heat, sun
NASB: sun, heat
Word Origin: [from H2525 (חָם - hot)]

1. heat
2. (by implication) the sun

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

heat, sun

From cham; heat; by implication, the sun -- heat, sun.

see HEBREW cham

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from cham
Definition
heat, sun
NASB Translation
heat (1), sun (4).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

חַמָּה noun feminine heat, sun (poetry) — חַמָּה Isaiah 24:23 4t..; חַמָּתוֺ Psalm 19:7; —

1 heat of sun Psalm 19:7.

2 = sun Job 30:28; "" לְבָנָה moon Isaiah 24:23 = Isaiah 30:26 (twice in verse); Songs 6:10.

Topical Lexicon

Definition and Overview

Chammah depicts the blazing orb we call the sun, stressing both its benevolent warmth and its awe-inspiring brilliance. Scripture employs the term poetically to highlight God’s life-sustaining provision and His capacity for overwhelming judgment.

Occurrences and Context

• Job 30:28 – “I go about blackened but not by the sun,” a lament that even the life-giving chammah cannot relieve Job’s anguish.
• Psalm 19:6 – “It rises at one end of the heavens and runs its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.” Chammah proclaims the universal reach of God’s self-revelation.
• Song of Songs 6:10 – “Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as clear as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession?” The bride’s radiance is likened to chammah.
• Isaiah 24:23 – “The moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem.” The greatest natural light fades before divine glory.
• Isaiah 30:26 – “The light of the moon will be as bright as the light of the sun, and the daylight of the sun will be seven times brighter… on the day the LORD binds up the brokenness of His people.” A double mention of chammah forecasts eschatological healing and restoration.

Theological Themes

1. Universal Witness—Psalm 19:6 shows that, like the sun, God’s revelation reaches every corner of creation.
2. Human Frailty—Job’s suffering highlights mortal weakness against the backdrop of the constant sun.
3. Supremacy of Divine Glory—Isaiah 24:23 declares the Lord’s reign brighter than chammah itself.
4. Eschatological Healing—Isaiah 30:26 points to a future when God’s people experience superabundant light and wholeness.
5. Bridal Splendor—Song of Songs 6:10 frames marital imagery that anticipates Christ’s pure and radiant Church.

Cultural and Historical Insights

Ancient Near Eastern peoples deified the sun (e.g., Egyptian Ra, Akkadian Shamash). Scripture, by contrast, portrays chammah as a created servant of the one true God, thereby affirming monotheism while freely utilizing solar imagery for poetic and prophetic purposes.

Christological Foreshadowing and Eschatological Hope

Solar imagery converges in Jesus Christ, “the radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3). The intensified chammah of Isaiah 30:26 foreshadows the “Sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2) and anticipates the New Jerusalem where “the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (Revelation 21:23).

Practical Ministry Applications

• Evangelism—The sun’s universal reach urges believers to proclaim the gospel universally.
• Pastoral Care—Job 30:28 legitimizes honest lament without self-condemnation.
• Worship—Psalm 19 inspires hymns that celebrate God, not the sun, as the ultimate source of light.
• Eschatology—Isaiah 30:26 sustains hope in God’s final healing of creation.
• Discipleship and Marriage Counseling—Song of Songs 6:10 provides imagery for purity and covenant love.

See Also

Strong’s Hebrew 8121 שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh) – general term for the sun

Malachi 4:2; Revelation 21:23; Revelation 22:5 – complementary solar motifs

Forms and Transliterations

הַֽחַמָּ֑ה הַֽחַמָּ֔ה הַֽחַמָּה֙ החמה חַמָּ֑ה חמה כַּֽחַמָּ֔ה כחמה מֵֽחַמָּתוֹ׃ מחמתו chamMah ha·ḥam·māh hachamMah haḥammāh ḥam·māh ḥammāh ka·ḥam·māh kachamMah kaḥammāh mê·ḥam·mā·ṯōw mechammato mêḥammāṯōw

Englishman's Concordance

Job 30:28
HEB: הִ֭לַּכְתִּי בְּלֹ֣א חַמָּ֑ה קַ֖מְתִּי בַקָּהָ֣ל
KJV: mourning without the sun: I stood up,
INT: go without the sun stand the assembly

Psalm 19:6
HEB: וְאֵ֥ין נִ֝סְתָּ֗ר מֵֽחַמָּתוֹ׃
NAS: hidden from its heat.
KJV: of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
INT: and there hidden heat

Songs 6:10
HEB: כַלְּבָנָ֗ה בָּרָה֙ כַּֽחַמָּ֔ה אֲיֻמָּ֖ה כַּנִּדְגָּלֽוֹת׃
NAS: As pure as the sun, As awesome
KJV: clear as the sun, [and] terrible
INT: as the full pure as the sun awesome an army

Isaiah 24:23
HEB: הַלְּבָנָ֔ה וּבוֹשָׁ֖ה הַֽחַמָּ֑ה כִּֽי־ מָלַ֞ךְ
NAS: will be abashed and the sun ashamed,
KJV: shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed,
INT: the moon ashamed and the sun for will reign

Isaiah 30:26
HEB: הַלְּבָנָה֙ כְּא֣וֹר הַֽחַמָּ֔ה וְא֤וֹר הַֽחַמָּה֙
NAS: will be as the light of the sun, and the light
KJV: shall be as the light of the sun, and the light
INT: of the moon will be as the light of the sun and the light of the sun

Isaiah 30:26
HEB: הַֽחַמָּ֔ה וְא֤וֹר הַֽחַמָּה֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה שִׁבְעָתַ֔יִם
NAS: and the light of the sun will be seven times
KJV: and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,
INT: of the sun and the light of the sun become will be seven

6 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2535
6 Occurrences

ḥam·māh — 1 Occ.
ha·ḥam·māh — 3 Occ.
ka·ḥam·māh — 1 Occ.
mê·ḥam·mā·ṯōw — 1 Occ.