Lexical Summary chamas: To act violently, to wrong, to do violence Original Word: חָמַס Strong's Exhaustive Concordance make bare, shake off, violate, do violence, take away violently, wrongA primitive root; to be violent; by implication, to maltreat -- make bare, shake off, violate, do violence, take away violently, wrong, imagine wrongfully. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to treat violently or wrong NASB Translation do violence (1), done violence (2), drop off (1), exposed (1), injures (1), violently treated (1), wrong (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [חָמַס] verb treat violently, wrong (Late Hebrew id., act violently, treat violently; Aramaic חֲמַס (rare) violently seize; Arabic  is be hard, strict, rigorous) — Qal Perfect3plural חָֽמְסוּ Ezekiel 22:26; Zephaniah 3:4; Imperfect יַחְמֹס Job 15:33, וַיַּחְמֹס Lamentations 2:6; תַּחְמֹ֑סוּ Job 21:27; Jeremiah 22:3; Participle חֹמֵס Proverbs 8:36; — treat violently, wrong; — 1 of physical wrong: ׳תַּחְ Jeremiah 22:3 ("" תֹּנוּ) of wrong to widows and orphans; כַּגַּן שֻׂכּוֺ ׳וַיַּח Lamentations 2:6 and hath done violence to his pavilion as to a garden ("" שִׁחֵת מֹעֲדוֺ); so, figurative, of vine, wrong, i.e. fail to nourish, kill כַּגֶּפֶן ׳יַח בִּסְרוֺ Job 15:33. 2 of ethical wrong, object תּוֺרָה Zephaniah 3:4; Exodus 22:26 (both "" חִלֵּל קֹדֶשׁ); compare מְזִמּוֺת עָלֵי תַּחְמֹ֑סוּ Job 21:27 the devices (wherewith) ye do me violence. 3 both physical and ethical חֹטְאִי חֹמֵס נַפְשׁוֺ Proverbs 8:36. Niph`al Perfect3plural נֶחְמְסוּ Jeremiah 13:22 thy heels suffer violence ("" נִגְלוּ שׁוּלַיִךְ). Topical Lexicon Meaning and Scope חָמַס pictures the deliberate infliction of wrong—physical, social, spiritual, or legal. It describes the act of violating what God has ordered, whether by force (Jeremiah 22:3), by distortion of the law (Ezekiel 22:26; Zephaniah 3:4), or by treachery of the heart (Job 21:27). The term stands opposite to the covenant ideals of righteousness, peace, and justice. Canonical Distribution The verb occurs eight times and spans every major Old Testament division—Wisdom (Job, Proverbs), Prophets (Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Zephaniah), and Poetic-Lament. This broad spread underscores that violence and injustice are perennial threats to covenant faithfulness, whether within Israel’s worship, its courts, or its personal relationships. Wisdom Literature Perspective Job 15:33 uses agricultural imagery: “He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes”. Here חָמַס captures the violent, premature loss that befalls the wicked—his own wrongdoing boomerangs upon him. In Job 21:27 Job accuses his friends: “I know the schemes by which you would wrong me.” The verb exposes hidden cruelty masked by pious counsel. Proverbs 8:36 universalizes the verb: “He who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.” Rejecting divine wisdom is portrayed as self-inflicted violence, revealing חָמַס not merely as social injustice but as a suicidal spiritual posture. Prophetic Indictments of Social Injustice Jeremiah 22:3 issues a royal mandate: “Rescue the victim of robbery…Do not wrong or do violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.” חָמַס here targets rulers who misuse power. Jeremiah 13:22 flips the verb: Judah now experiences the violence she practiced, her humiliation mirroring her iniquity. Zephaniah 3:4 and Ezekiel 22:26 direct the charge at religious leaders: “Her priests…do violence to the law.” Spiritual shepherds warp Torah, eroding distinctions between clean and unclean. When priests wield חָמַס, the entire community drifts from holiness. Lamentations 2:6 laments the aftermath: the LORD “has laid waste His tabernacle like a garden.” Divine judgment mirrors Israel’s violence; worship structures collapse because covenant ethics were first violated. Historical Context Most prophetic occurrences cluster around the late seventh to early sixth centuries B.C.—the era of Josiah’s sons, the Babylonian rise, and Jerusalem’s fall. The verb therefore becomes part of the forensic vocabulary the prophets use to explain national catastrophe. Violence done to the vulnerable, to the law, and to worship precipitates the violence of exile. Theological Trajectory 1. Covenant Ethics: חָמַס assaults the fundamental covenant demand for justice and mercy (Micah 6:8). Ministry and Discipleship Applications • Preaching and Teaching: Contrast חָמַס with God’s justice to expose hidden forms of modern oppression—legal loopholes, religious manipulation, or neglect of the marginalized. Conclusion חָמַס confronts the human impulse to exploit, distort, and destroy. Across poetry, wisdom, and prophecy, the Spirit exposes violence as a direct affront to God’s character and purposes. By rooting ourselves in Christ—who neither committed violence nor reviled in return—believers are equipped to resist every form of חָמַס and to embody the peace and justice of the kingdom. Forms and Transliterations וַיַּחְמֹ֤ס ויחמס חָמְס֖וּ חָמְס֣וּ חֹמֵ֣ס חמס חמסו יַחְמֹ֣ס יחמס נֶחְמְס֥וּ נחמסו תַּחְמֹ֔סוּ תַּחְמֹֽסוּ׃ תחמסו תחמסו׃ chameSu choMes ḥā·mə·sū ḥāməsū ḥō·mês ḥōmês nechmeSu neḥ·mə·sū neḥməsū tachMosu taḥ·mō·sū taḥmōsū vaiyachMos way·yaḥ·mōs wayyaḥmōs yachMos yaḥ·mōs yaḥmōsLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 15:33 HEB: יַחְמֹ֣ס כַּגֶּ֣פֶן בִּסְר֑וֹ NAS: He will drop off his unripe grape KJV: He shall shake off his unripe grape INT: will drop the vine grape Job 21:27 Proverbs 8:36 Jeremiah 13:22 Jeremiah 22:3 Lamentations 2:6 Ezekiel 22:26 Zephaniah 3:4 8 Occurrences |
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