2563. chomer
Lexical Summary
chomer: Clay, mortar, heap, mire, cement

Original Word: חֹמֶר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: chomer
Pronunciation: kho'-mer
Phonetic Spelling: (kho'mer)
KJV: clay, heap, homer, mire, motion
Word Origin: [from H2560 (חָמַר - To boil up)]

1. (properly) a bubbling up, i.e. of water, a wave
2. of earth, mire or clay (cement)
3. also a heap
4. (hence) a chomer or dry measure

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
clay, heap, homer, mire, motion

From chamar; properly, a bubbling up, i.e. Of water, a wave; of earth, mire or clay (cement); also a heap; hence, a chomer or dry measure -- clay, heap, homer, mire, motion.

see HEBREW chamar

Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. חֹ֫מֶר noun masculine cement, mortar, clay; — ׳ח absolute Genesis 11:3 13t.; construct Isaiah 10:6 2t.; —

1 mortar, cement for holding building-stones (brick) together Genesis 11:3 (J), Exodus 1:14 (P; both "" לְבֵנִים); Nahum 3:14 ("" טיט).

2 clay:

a. as material of vessels Jeremiah 18:4,6, היצר ׳ח Isaiah 29:16, in simile of God's fashioning man Isaiah 45:9; Isaiah 64:7; Job 10:9; as material of human bodies ׳בָּתֵּי ח Job 4:19; compare Job 33:6; as material of bulwarks (disparagingly) Job 13:12; חותם ׳ח = seal-clay i.e. clay upon which seal is pressed.

b. = mire חוצות ׳ח Isaiah 10:6; ׳הֹרָנִי לַח Job 30:19 he hath cast me into the mire, i.e. deeply humiliated me (עָפָר and אֵפֶר in "" clause); as simile of commonness, abundance Job 27:16 ("" עָפָר).

II. חֹ֫מֶר noun [masculine] heap (compare 1. חֲמוֺר) — ׳ח construct מַיִם רַבִּים ׳ח Habakkuk 3:15 a heap of great waters ("" יָם) — but text dubious, see I. חמר; plural הֳמָרִים חֳמָרִים Exodus 8:10 (J), of dead frogs gathered in heaps.

III. חֹ֫מֶר noun masculine homer, a dry measure (perhaps from above √, but dubious; compare Assyrian amâru, surround, contain, II. R Exodus 36:19 a. b Strm4760, Imêru, a measure ZimBP 6 n) — ׳ח absolute Isaiah 5:10 5t. Ezekiel; construct Hosea 3:2 3t.; plural חֳמָרִיםNumbers 11:32; — ׳ח of barley Hosea 3:2; Ezekiel 45:13, compare שְׂעֹרִים ׳זֶרַע ח Leviticus 27:16 i.e. land on which a ׳ח of barley seed was sown (taxed at 50 shekels); ׳ח of wheat Ezekiel 45:13; in General ׳זֶרַע ח Isaiah 5:10; = 10 ephahs (or baths, see בַּת below בתת) Ezekiel 45:11 (3 t. in verse); Ezekiel 45:14 (twice in verse) (in Ezekiel 45:14 strike out Co); on actual size of ׳ח, = 393.9 litres, see HultschMetrol. 2nd ed. 448, 452f. See further II. בַּת and references, BenzArch 183 f NowArch. i, 203 f.

Topical Lexicon
Range and Context of Usage

חֹמֶר occurs about thirty-three times in the Old Testament and falls into two main spheres of meaning: (1) a physical substance—clay, mortar, mire, or a pile of earth; and (2) a unit of dry capacity (the “homer,” roughly ten ephahs or about six bushels). Whether describing pliable earth or large measures of grain, the word consistently conveys ideas of mass, weight, and moldability.

Clay in the Hands of the Potter

Job 10:9; 33:6; 38:14; Isaiah 29:16; 41:25; 64:8 all connect חֹמֶר with the creative sovereignty of God. “Please remember that You molded me like clay” (Job 10:9) underscores the creature–Creator distinction, while Isaiah 64:8 affirms both divine authority and covenant intimacy: “We are the clay, and You are our potter.”
• The imagery rebukes human arrogance: “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He did not make me’?” (Isaiah 29:16). The same picture later anchors Paul’s argument in Romans 9:20–21 regarding God’s right to shape vessels for His purposes.
• Pastoral implication: preaching on these texts calls believers to humble submission and comfort; the God who shapes also restores broken vessels.

Mire, Mortar, and the Burden of Bondage

Exodus 1:14 introduces חֹמֶר as mortar in Pharaoh’s brickworks: “They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in mortar and brick.” Israel’s slavery is literally cemented in clay—an apt picture of sin’s bondage.
Nahum 3:14 and Isaiah 41:25 use the same substance in warfare motifs: besieged Nineveh is told, “work the clay,” while the conqueror God raises up “treads princes down as mortar.” Clay becomes an image of humanity crushed when it resists the Lord.
Psalm 40:2 offers the gospel counterpart: “He lifted me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay.” The very substance of oppression becomes the stage for deliverance.

Homer as a Measure of Provision and Accountability

• Agriculture: Leviticus 27:16 values land “at fifty shekels of silver per homer of barley seed.” Isaiah 5:10 laments covenant curses: “a homer of seed will yield only an ephah.” God regulates both abundance and scarcity.
• Military and civil supply: Numbers 11:32 records Israel gathering “no less than ten homers” of quail; Hosea 3:2 prices redemption at “a homer and a lethech of barley.” The measure therefore serves both generosity and judgment.
Ezekiel 45:11–14 standardizes the homer within millennial temple economics, signaling future righteousness in commerce. Ministry application: Scripture expects integrity in weights and measures as an expression of holiness.

Heaps and Piles: Pride Brought Low

Job 27:16 pictures the wicked stockpiling wealth “like piles of clay.” What is amassed in earth is destined to return to earth. The same root idea appears in Habakkuk 2, where Babylon’s conquests become a “taunt” piled up for burning. Clay heaped high illustrates empty self-reliance.

Theological Synthesis

1. Dependence: Clay reminds every person of fragile origins—“dust and ashes” shaped only by divine breath.
2. Sovereignty: God alone determines form and function; human protest is irrational.
3. Redemption: The Lord rescues from the mire and, in Christ, re-forms vessels for honor (2 Timothy 2:21).
4. Stewardship: Accurate homers in Levitical law prefigure the Kingdom ethic of honest weights (Proverbs 11:1) and faithful use of resources (Luke 16:10).

Ministry and Discipleship Uses

• Counseling: Job’s clay imagery helps sufferers accept weakness while trusting the Potter’s purpose.
• Worship: Psalm 40 invites testimony songs that celebrate rescue from the “miry clay.”
• Social ethics: Teaching on fair homers challenges economic injustice and affirms God’s concern for marketplace holiness.
• Evangelism: Exodus 1 and Psalm 40 together frame the gospel—bondage in brick pits answered by deliverance that sets feet upon the Rock.

Summary

Whether as soft earth molded by a craftsman or as a large basket of grain weighed on the scales, חֹמֶר continually draws the reader to God’s mastery over matter, history, and human hearts. The One who works clay, judges false measures, and redeems from the mire is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Forms and Transliterations
בְּחֹ֙מֶר֙ בַּחֹ֖מֶר בַחֹ֖מֶר בחמר הַחֹ֖מֶר הַחֹ֙מֶר֙ החמר וְ֝כַחֹ֗מֶר וְחֹ֥מֶר וחמר וכחמר חֲמ֖וֹר חֲמֹרָתָ֑יִם חֳמָרִ֑ים חֳמָרִ֑ם חֳמָרִ֣ם חֹ֑מֶר חֹ֔מֶר חֹ֖מֶר חֹ֗מֶר חֹ֝֗מֶר חֹ֣מֶר חֹ֤מֶר חֹֽמֶר׃ חמור חמר חמר׃ חמרים חמרם חמרתים כְּחֹ֣מֶר כְּחֹ֥מֶר כַחֹ֙מֶר֙ כַחֹ֣מֶר כחמר לַחֹ֑מֶר לַחֹֽמֶר׃ לחמר לחמר׃ מֵ֝חֹ֗מֶר מֵחֹ֖מֶר מֵחֹ֣מֶר מחמר ba·ḥō·mer ḇa·ḥō·mer baChomer baḥōmer ḇaḥōmer bə·ḥō·mer beChomer bəḥōmer chaChomer chaMor chamoraTayim chomaRim Chomer ha·ḥō·mer ḥă·mō·rā·ṯā·yim ḥă·mō·wr haChomer haḥōmer ḥămōrāṯāyim ḥămōwr ḥo·mā·rim ḥo·mā·rîm ḥō·mer ḥomārim ḥomārîm ḥōmer ḵa·ḥō·mer ḵaḥōmer kə·ḥō·mer keChomer kəḥōmer la·ḥō·mer laChomer laḥōmer mê·ḥō·mer meChomer mêḥōmer vaChomer vechaChomer veChomer wə·ḥō·mer wə·ḵa·ḥō·mer wəḥōmer wəḵaḥōmer
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Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 11:3
HEB: הָיָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם לַחֹֽמֶר׃
NAS: and they used tar for mortar.
KJV: and slime had they for morter.
INT: tar used mortar

Exodus 1:14
HEB: בַּעֲבֹדָ֣ה קָשָׁ֗ה בְּחֹ֙מֶר֙ וּבִלְבֵנִ֔ים וּבְכָל־
NAS: labor in mortar and bricks
KJV: bondage, in morter, and in brick,
INT: labor hard mortar and bricks all

Exodus 8:14
HEB: וַיִּצְבְּר֥וּ אֹתָ֖ם חֳמָרִ֣ם חֳמָרִ֑ם וַתִּבְאַ֖שׁ
NAS: So they piled them in heaps, and the land
KJV: And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land
INT: piled heaps heaps became

Exodus 8:14
HEB: אֹתָ֖ם חֳמָרִ֣ם חֳמָרִ֑ם וַתִּבְאַ֖שׁ הָאָֽרֶץ׃
INT: piled heaps heaps became and the land

Leviticus 27:16
HEB: זַרְע֑וֹ זֶ֚רַע חֹ֣מֶר שְׂעֹרִ֔ים בַּחֲמִשִּׁ֖ים
NAS: to the seed needed for it: a homer of barley
KJV: to the seed thereof: an homer of barley
INT: to the seed seed A homer of barley fifty

Numbers 11:32
HEB: אָסַ֖ף עֲשָׂרָ֣ה חֳמָרִ֑ים וַיִּשְׁטְח֤וּ לָהֶם֙
NAS: ten homers) and they spread
KJV: ten homers: and they spread
INT: gathered ten homers spread abroad

Judges 15:16
HEB: בִּלְחִ֣י הַחֲמ֔וֹר חֲמ֖וֹר חֲמֹרָתָ֑יִם בִּלְחִ֣י
INT: the jawbone of a donkey clay clay the jawbone

Judges 15:16
HEB: הַחֲמ֔וֹר חֲמ֖וֹר חֲמֹרָתָ֑יִם בִּלְחִ֣י הַחֲמ֔וֹר
INT: of a donkey clay clay the jawbone of a donkey

Job 4:19
HEB: שֹׁכְנֵ֬י בָֽתֵּי־ חֹ֗מֶר אֲשֶׁר־ בֶּעָפָ֥ר
NAS: in houses of clay, Whose
KJV: in houses of clay, whose foundation
INT: dwell houses of clay Whose the dust

Job 10:9
HEB: נָ֭א כִּי־ כַחֹ֣מֶר עֲשִׂיתָ֑נִי וְֽאֶל־
NAS: that You have made me as clay; And would You turn
KJV: I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring
INT: now as clay you have made into

Job 13:12
HEB: אֵ֑פֶר לְגַבֵּי־ חֹ֝֗מֶר גַּבֵּיכֶֽם׃
NAS: Your defenses are defenses of clay.
KJV: your bodies to bodies of clay.
INT: of ashes your defenses of clay are defenses

Job 27:16
HEB: כֶּעָפָ֣ר כָּ֑סֶף וְ֝כַחֹ֗מֶר יָכִ֥ין מַלְבּֽוּשׁ׃
NAS: garments as [plentiful as] the clay,
KJV: and prepare raiment as the clay;
INT: dust silver the clay and prepares garments

Job 30:19
HEB: הֹרָ֥נִי לַחֹ֑מֶר וָ֝אֶתְמַשֵּׁ֗ל כֶּעָפָ֥ר
NAS: He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like
KJV: He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like
INT: has cast the mire have become dust

Job 33:6
HEB: כְפִ֣יךָ לָאֵ֑ל מֵ֝חֹ֗מֶר קֹרַ֥צְתִּי גַם־
NAS: have been formed out of the clay.
KJV: stead: I also am formed out of the clay.
INT: wish to God of the clay have been formed too

Job 38:14
HEB: תִּ֭תְהַפֵּךְ כְּחֹ֣מֶר חוֹתָ֑ם וְ֝יִֽתְיַצְּב֗וּ
NAS: It is changed like clay [under] the seal;
KJV: It is turned as clay [to] the seal;
INT: is changed clay the seal stand

Isaiah 5:10
HEB: אֶחָ֑ת וְזֶ֥רַע חֹ֖מֶר יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה אֵיפָֽה׃
NAS: bath [of wine], And a homer of seed
KJV: and the seed of an homer shall yield
INT: one of seed homer will yield an ephah

Isaiah 10:6
HEB: ק) מִרְמָ֖ס כְּחֹ֥מֶר חוּצֽוֹת׃
NAS: And to trample them down like mud in the streets.
KJV: and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
INT: appoint trample mud the streets

Isaiah 29:16
HEB: הַ֨פְכְּכֶ֔ם אִם־ כְּחֹ֥מֶר הַיֹּצֵ֖ר יֵֽחָשֵׁ֑ב
NAS: be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made
KJV: as the potter's clay: for shall the work
INT: down lo the clay shall the potter be considered

Isaiah 41:25
HEB: סְגָנִים֙ כְּמוֹ־ חֹ֔מֶר וּכְמ֥וֹ יוֹצֵ֖ר
NAS: upon rulers as [upon] mortar, Even as the potter
KJV: upon princes as [upon] morter, and as the potter
INT: rulers according to as mortar Even as the potter

Isaiah 45:9
HEB: אֲדָמָ֑ה הֲיֹאמַ֨ר חֹ֤מֶר לְיֹֽצְרוֹ֙ מַֽה־
NAS: of earth! Will the clay say
KJV: of the earth. Shall the clay say
INT: of earth say will the clay to the potter What

Isaiah 64:8
HEB: אָ֑תָּה אֲנַ֤חְנוּ הַחֹ֙מֶר֙ וְאַתָּ֣ה יֹצְרֵ֔נוּ
NAS: You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter;
KJV: thou [art] our father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter;
INT: you we are the clay and You our potter

Jeremiah 18:4
HEB: ה֥וּא עֹשֶׂ֛ה בַּחֹ֖מֶר בְּיַ֣ד הַיּוֹצֵ֑ר
NAS: that he was making of clay was spoiled
KJV: that he made of clay was marred
INT: he was making of clay the hand of the potter

Jeremiah 18:6
HEB: יְהוָ֑ה הִנֵּ֤ה כַחֹ֙מֶר֙ בְּיַ֣ד הַיּוֹצֵ֔ר
NAS: Behold, like the clay in the potter's
KJV: the LORD. Behold, as the clay [is] in the potter's
INT: the LORD Behold the clay hand the potter's

Ezekiel 45:11
HEB: לָשֵׂ֕את מַעְשַׂ֥ר הַחֹ֖מֶר הַבָּ֑ת וַעֲשִׂירִ֤ת
NAS: a tenth of a homer and the ephah
KJV: the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah
INT: will contain A tenth of a homer the bath A tenth

Ezekiel 45:11
HEB: הַבָּ֑ת וַעֲשִׂירִ֤ת הַחֹ֙מֶר֙ הָֽאֵיפָ֔ה אֶל־
NAS: a tenth of a homer; their standard
KJV: the tenth part of an homer: the measure
INT: the bath A tenth of a homer and the ephah shall be according

33 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2563
33 Occurrences


ba·ḥō·mer — 1 Occ.
bə·ḥō·mer — 1 Occ.
ḵa·ḥō·mer — 2 Occ.
ḥă·mō·wr — 1 Occ.
ḥă·mō·rā·ṯā·yim — 1 Occ.
ḥo·mā·rim — 3 Occ.
ḥō·mer — 9 Occ.
ha·ḥō·mer — 4 Occ.
kə·ḥō·mer — 3 Occ.
la·ḥō·mer — 2 Occ.
mê·ḥō·mer — 3 Occ.
ḇa·ḥō·mer — 1 Occ.
wə·ḵa·ḥō·mer — 1 Occ.
wə·ḥō·mer — 1 Occ.

2562
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