Lexical Summary chomer: Clay, mortar, heap, mire, cement Original Word: חֹמֶר 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.” 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. 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. 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. Ministry and Discipleship Uses • Counseling: Job’s clay imagery helps sufferers accept weakness while trusting the Potter’s purpose. 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 wəḵaḥōmerLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman'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 Exodus 8:14 Exodus 8:14 Leviticus 27:16 Numbers 11:32 Judges 15:16 Judges 15:16 Job 4:19 Job 10:9 Job 13:12 Job 27:16 Job 30:19 Job 33:6 Job 38:14 Isaiah 5:10 Isaiah 10:6 Isaiah 29:16 Isaiah 41:25 Isaiah 45:9 Isaiah 64:8 Jeremiah 18:4 Jeremiah 18:6 Ezekiel 45:11 Ezekiel 45:11 33 Occurrences |
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