Lexical Summary chamam: To be warm, to heat, to become hot Original Word: חָמַם Strong's Exhaustive Concordance enflame self, get have heat, be wax hot, be, wax warm self, at A primitive root; to be hot (literally or figuratively) -- enflame self, get (have) heat, be (wax) hot, (be, wax) warm (self, at). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to be or become warm NASB Translation became warm (1), become heated (1), grew hot (1), heat (1), hot (6), inflame (1), keep warm (3), mated (2), warm (4), warmed (1), warms (3). Brown-Driver-Briggs [חָמַם] verb be or become warm (Late Hebrew id., Pi`el, make warm, Aramaic  , חֲמַם be warm; Arabic  become hot, of water; also heat, kindle fire in) — Qal Perfect חַם Psalm 39:4; Exodus 16:21; וְחַם consecutive 1 Kings 1:2; Ecclesiastes 4:11; חַמּוֺתִ֫י Isaiah 44:16; Imperfect יָחֹם Isaiah 44:16; וַיָּ֫חָם 2 Kings 4:34; Isaiah 44:15; also יִחַם 1 Kings 1:1; יֵחַם Deuteronomy 19:6; יֵחָ֑ם Ecclesiastes 4:11; 3feminine singular תֵּחַם Ezekiel 24:11; יֵחַמּוּ Hosea 7:7; וַיֶּחֱמוּ Genesis 30:39; וַיֵּחַמְנָה Genesis 30:38 (last seven forms could be also from יחם q. v.; but no decisive evidence that this v is used in Qal; they are placed under חמם by Thes Ew§ 193 a Ol§ 243 b; see also Köi. 365, 417 ff., who on account of יחם Pi`el Infinitive Genesis 30:41; Genesis 31:10, derives last two, needlessly, from יחם); Infinitive לַחְמָם Isaiah 47:14, compare Job 30:4 (where, however, ׳ל is from לֶחֶם Mich Di unless (Luzz Che) we read לְחַמֵּם Pi`el Infinitive in both); חֹם 1 Samuel 11:9; Haggai 1:6; Nehemiah 7:3; suffix חֻמּוֺ Job 6:17; חֻמָּם Jeremiah 51:39; — 1 literally, be or grow warm Exodus 16:21 (P; subject שֶׁמֶשׁ), compare 1 Samuel 11:9; Nehemiah 7:3 and Job 6:17 (suffix of impersonal subject); from fire Isaiah 44:15,16 (twice in verse); Isaiah 47:14 (compare above); natural heat 1 Kings 1:1,2(by personal contact), so 2 Kings 4:34; Ecclesiastes 4:11 (twice in verse), from clothing Haggai 1:6; of Jerusalem under figure of pot or caldron Ezekiel 24:11. 2 figurative, subject לִבִּי Psalm 39:4 ("" בַהֲגִיגִי תִבְעַראֵֿשׁ), compare Deuteronomy 19:6; of conspirators Hosea 7:7; Chaldeans Jeremiah 51:39. 3 of heat in conception (animals) Genesis 30:38,39 (compare יחם). Niph`al Participle נֵחָמִים באלים Isaiah 57:5 (Köi. 371), inflame oneself with, of idolatry. Pi`el Imperfect3feminine singular תְּחַמֵּם Job 39:14 keep eggs warm (of ostrich). Hithpa`el Imperfect יִתְחַמָּם warm oneself Job 31:20 מִגֵּז כְּבָשִׂים by means of fleece of sheep. Topical Lexicon Summary of Usage The verb חָמַם appears thirteen times and always revolves around the idea of becoming warm or hot. Contexts range from literal bodily warmth to metaphorical descriptions of inner passion, idolatrous zeal, or divine judgement. Physical Warmth and Care • Exodus 16:21 pictures the manna “melting” when “the sun grew hot,” an ordinary meteorological observation that underscores timely obedience to God’s provision. Life Restored Through Heat In 2 Kings 4:34 Elisha stretches himself upon the Shunammite’s dead son, “and the boy’s body grew warm.” The warming precedes and signals the coming resurrection. Physical heat becomes a token of renewed life, foreshadowing the greater resurrection power revealed in Jesus Christ (John 11:43-44). Domestic and Communal Fellowship Job highlights everyday acts of charity: “If his heart did not bless me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep” (Job 31:20). Simple warmth for the poor illustrates righteousness. Job 39:14 depicts the ostrich leaving her eggs “to warm in the dust,” reflecting God’s varied designs in nature. Isaiah 44:15-16 ridicules the folly of a man who burns half a tree for fuel—“Indeed, he warms himself and says, ‘Ah! I am warm’”—while fashioning the rest into an idol. Legitimate household warmth is contrasted with illegitimate worship. Metaphorical Heat: Inner Emotion Psalm 39:3: “My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, the fire burned.” The word captures spiritual agitation that finally erupts in prayer. Hosea 7:7 likens Israel to an oven: “All of them are hot like an oven; they consume their rulers.” Stormy political rebellion is pictured as overheating passion divorced from divine dependence. Idolatrous Passion and False Comforts Isaiah 57:5 rebukes those who “burn with lust among the oaks,” exposing how carnal heat fuels apostasy. The same root that speaks of hearth-fire now brands illicit religious zeal, illustrating the misdirection of God-given capacities. Divine Judgement Portrayed as Consuming Heat Isaiah 47:14 warns Babylon: “It is not a coal for warming, nor a fire to sit before.” The coming judgement will not comfort but consume. God alone decides whether fire warms or destroys, a sobering complement to earlier tender uses of the verb. Prophetic and Pastoral Applications 1. Compassion: Supplying warmth—food, clothing, shelter—remains a practical outworking of faith (James 2:15-16). Christological and Ministry Implications Christ’s ministry embodies righteous warmth: He feeds the hungry, restores life, and kindles true spiritual fire (Luke 12:49). The Church is called to radiate that same wholesome heat—warming the cold, restraining destructive passions, and announcing judgment that drives people to the only safe hearth, the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Forms and Transliterations הַנֵּֽחָמִים֙ הנחמים וְחַ֖ם וְחַ֣ם וְחַ֥ם וַיָּ֔חָם וַיָּ֖חָם וחם ויחם חַם־ חַמּוֹתִ֖י חם־ חמותי יִתְחַמָּֽם׃ יֵחַ֙מּוּ֙ יָחֹם֙ יחם יחמו יתחמם׃ לַחְמָ֔ם לחמם תְּחַמֵּֽם׃ תחמם׃ cham chammoTi ḥam- ḥam·mō·w·ṯî ḥammōwṯî han·nê·ḥā·mîm hannechaMim hannêḥāmîm lachMam laḥ·mām laḥmām tə·ḥam·mêm techamMem təḥammêm vaiYachom veCham way·yā·ḥām wayyāḥām wə·ḥam wəḥam yā·ḥōm yaChom yāḥōm yê·ḥam·mū yeChammu yêḥammū yiṯ·ḥam·mām yitchamMam yiṯḥammāmLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Exodus 16:21 HEB: כְּפִ֣י אָכְל֑וֹ וְחַ֥ם הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ וְנָמָֽס׃ NAS: but when the sun grew hot, it would melt. KJV: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. INT: much to his eating grew the sun melt 1 Kings 1:2 2 Kings 4:34 Job 31:20 Job 39:14 Psalm 39:3 Ecclesiastes 4:11 Isaiah 44:15 Isaiah 44:16 Isaiah 44:16 Isaiah 47:14 Isaiah 57:5 Hosea 7:7 13 Occurrences |
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