Lexical Summary charer: Parched, scorched Original Word: חָרֵר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance parched place From charar; arid -- parched place. see HEBREW charar NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom charar Definition a parched place NASB Translation stony wastes (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [חָרֵר] noun [masculine] parched place (Arabic  , BdPal 196), only plural absolute חֲרֵרִים; במדבר ׳ח Jeremiah 17:6 ("" עֲרָבָה) figurative of life of godless. Topical Lexicon Meaning and ImageryThe term חָרֵר (Strong’s 2788) paints the picture of something scorched, dried out, and therefore lifeless. It evokes the visual of a barren, sun-blasted shrub eking out a harsh existence in an arid waste. By its very nature the word stands in stark contrast to ideas of freshness, fruitfulness, and blessing. It is a poetic way of describing spiritual and material desolation. Biblical Occurrence Jeremiah 17:6 furnishes the sole canonical use: “He will be like a bush in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in a salt land where no one lives.” (Berean Standard Bible) The prophet is contrasting two kinds of people: those who rely on human strength (verse 5) and those who trust the Lord (verse 7). The first group is compared to a חָרֵר, while the second is likened to “a tree planted by the waters.” The single appearance gives the word its entire biblical context, yet the result is a vivid theological lesson. Cultural and Historical Background In the semi-arid landscape of ancient Judah, sudden rain could temporarily carpet hillsides with green, yet most of the year the terrain remained dry and unforgiving. A withered desert shrub would have been a familiar sight to Jeremiah’s audience. The image immediately communicates helplessness in the face of relentless climate—an apt metaphor for reliance on fallible human systems in the face of divine judgment. Theological Significance 1. Human Self-Reliance Leads to Spiritual Drought. The surrounding oracle (Jeremiah 17:5-8) ties the word directly to misplaced trust: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind” (verse 5). The חָרֵר symbolizes the inevitable barrenness that follows idolatry of human strength. 2. Covenant Echoes. Jeremiah’s imagery echoes Deuteronomy 29:23, which warns that the land will become “a burning waste of salt and sulfur” if Israel breaks covenant. The prophet thus reminds his hearers of covenant curses by depicting them as a lone shrub in “a salt land.” 3. Contrast With Blessing. Immediately after invoking חָרֵר, Jeremiah contrasts it with the lush tree nourished by streams (verse 8). This deliberate antithesis intensifies the consequence of spiritual choices, paralleling Psalm 1:3-4, where the righteous are fruitful trees and the wicked are worthless chaff. 4. Eschatological Foretaste. The desolate shrub foreshadows the ultimate separation from God’s life-giving presence described in Revelation 22:15, where the unredeemed remain outside the city and its river of life. Practical Ministry Application • Diagnostic Imagery: Pastors and teachers can employ חָרֵר as a diagnostic image to help congregants evaluate their spiritual vitality. Are they flourishing like a riverside tree or shriveling in self-reliance? Related Biblical Themes • Wilderness Testing (Exodus 16; Matthew 4:1-11): The wilderness can expose whether trust rests on God or self. Summary חָרֵר stands as a single yet potent emblem of barren self-reliance. Jeremiah wields the image to confront Judah—and every subsequent reader—with the futility of trusting humanity over God. In ministry today, the word continues to warn against spiritual drought while pointing toward the well-watered life that springs from wholehearted trust in the Lord. Forms and Transliterations חֲרֵרִים֙ חררים chareRim ḥă·rê·rîm ḥărêrîmLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Jeremiah 17:6 HEB: ט֑וֹב וְשָׁכַ֤ן חֲרֵרִים֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר אֶ֥רֶץ NAS: But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, KJV: but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, INT: prosperity will live stony the wilderness A land 1 Occurrence |
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