2844. chath

Lexical Summary

chath: Dread, terror, fear

Original Word: חַת
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: chath
Pronunciation: khath
Phonetic Spelling: (khath)
KJV: broken, dismayed, dread, fear
Word Origin: [from H2865 (חָתַת - dismayed)]

1. (concretely) crushed
2. (also) afraid
3. (abstractly) terror

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

broken, dismayed, dread, fear

From chathath; concretely, crushed; also afraid; abstractly, terror -- broken, dismayed, dread, fear.

see HEBREW chathath

Brown-Driver-Briggs

I. [חַת] noun masculine^{Genesis 9:2} terror, fear; — חָ֑ת Job 41:25, חִתְּכֶם Genesis 9:2; — with suffix as object Genitive, Genesis 9:2 terror of you ("" מוֺרַאֲכֶם); in description of crocodile with negative, הֶעָשׂוּ לִבְלִיחָֿ֑ת Job 41:25 one made for fearlessness.

II. [חַת] adjective shattered, dismayed — masculine plural חַתִּים: —

1 shattered ׳קֶשֶׁת גִּבֹּרִים ח 1 Samuel 2:4 (song; on plural חַתִּים see Dr); so figurative Ezekiel 32:30 according to ᵐ5 Manuscripts Co (חַתִּים for ᵑ0 חִתִּיתָם) broken in their might, of Sidonians in She'ôl.

2 dismayed Jeremiah 46:5 of Egyptians defeated by Nebuchadrezzar.

Topical Lexicon

Overview

חַת describes a sudden, overwhelming dread that seizes the heart and alters conduct. It is never a casual uneasiness; it is the visceral reaction that drives creatures to flight, warriors to collapse, and nations to capitulate before divine sovereignty.

Canonical Occurrences

• Genesis 9:2 – Immediately after the flood, God tells Noah, “The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature.” By assigning חַת to the animal kingdom, God establishes humanity’s new post-diluvian dominion and signals a reordered creation in which terror itself serves His covenant purposes.
• 1 Samuel 2:4 – Hannah sings, “The bows of the mighty are broken,” portraying terrified warriors who discover that strength is nothing before the LORD who “raises the poor from the dust” (verse 8). חַת punctures human self-reliance.
• Job 41:33 – Of Leviathan Scripture declares, “Nothing on earth is his equal—a creature devoid of fear.” Here חַת is notably absent from the monster, underscoring its untamable power and, by contrast, the unmatched majesty of the Creator who alone can subdue it.
• Isaiah 7:8 – In the Syro-Ephraimite crisis the prophet announces that within sixty-five years Ephraim will be “too shattered to be a people.” The dread soon to grip the northern kingdom guarantees the preservation of the Davidic line.
• Jeremiah 46:5 – Witnessing Egypt’s defeat at Carchemish, the prophet cries, “Why have I seen this? They are terrified; they retreat, their warriors are beaten back.” חַת exposes false security in idols and foreign alliances.

Contextual Nuances

1. Cosmic Reordering (Genesis) – Terror is woven into the fabric of post-flood ecology; it moderates violence by placing animals in instinctive retreat from humankind.
2. Covenant Justice (1 Samuel, Isaiah) – The term frames reversal texts in which the proud are humbled and the covenant promises to the lowly are safeguarded.
3. Creaturely Limitations (Job, Jeremiah) – Whether evoked by divine confrontation or by geopolitical upheaval, חַת unveils the smallness of creation apart from God’s sustaining hand.

Historical Background

In the ancient Near East dread was commonly linked to deities who guarded boundaries or accompanied royal conquest. The Old Testament transforms this concept: terror is not an impersonal fate but a tool wielded by the LORD to accomplish redemptive history—subduing nature, toppling kingdoms, and vindicating His remnant.

Theological Significance

• Divine Sovereignty – Each occurrence highlights the LORD as the ultimate source or governor of dread, reinforcing His unrivaled control over natural and political realms.
• Moral Reversal – חַת becomes an agent of poetic justice: prideful powers are unnerved while humble servants are exalted.
• Anticipation of Messianic Peace – The subjection of terror in creation and nations anticipates the Prince of Peace under whose reign “they will neither harm nor destroy” (Isaiah 11:9).

Ministry and Pastoral Application

1. Humbling the Self-Secure – Preaching can confront modern confidence in technology, wealth, or military might by recalling Egypt’s panic and the broken bows of Eli’s sons.
2. Comfort for the Oppressed – Believers facing intimidation may anchor hope in God’s pattern of turning terror against the oppressor.
3. Evangelistic Warning – The reality of divinely regulated dread urges repentance, pointing unbelievers to the refuge offered in Jesus Christ, who bore the ultimate terror of judgment on the cross so that those who trust Him “shall dwell secure and be at ease, without fear of harm” (Proverbs 1:33).

Biblical-Theological Trajectory

From Genesis to Jeremiah, חַת narrates a movement: terror introduced for human dominion, manifested in judgment, neutralized in the new creation. Revelation 21:8 concludes the storyline by consigning all cowardly dread, along with its sources, to the lake of fire, leaving the redeemed to worship in unshadowed glory.

Forms and Transliterations

וְחִתְּכֶם֙ וחתכם חַתִּ֑ים חַתִּים֮ חָֽת׃ חת׃ חתים יֵחַ֥ת יחת Chat chatTim ḥāṯ ḥat·tîm ḥattîm vechitteChem wə·ḥit·tə·ḵem wəḥittəḵem yê·ḥaṯ yeChat yêḥaṯ

Englishman's Concordance

Genesis 9:2
HEB: וּמוֹרַאֲכֶ֤ם וְחִתְּכֶם֙ יִֽהְיֶ֔ה עַ֚ל
NAS: The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every
KJV: And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast
INT: the fear and the terror become on

1 Samuel 2:4
HEB: קֶ֥שֶׁת גִּבֹּרִ֖ים חַתִּ֑ים וְנִכְשָׁלִ֖ים אָ֥זְרוּ
NAS: of the mighty are shattered, But the feeble
KJV: of the mighty men [are] broken, and they that stumbled
INT: the bows of the mighty are shattered the feeble gird

Job 41:33
HEB: הֶ֝עָשׂ֗וּ לִבְלִי־ חָֽת׃ אֵֽת־ כָּל־
NAS: him, One made without fear.
KJV: who is made without fear.
INT: made without fear that

Isaiah 7:8
HEB: וְחָמֵשׁ֙ שָׁנָ֔ה יֵחַ֥ת אֶפְרַ֖יִם מֵעָֽם׃
INT: and five years broken Ephraim A people

Jeremiah 46:5
HEB: רָאִ֗יתִי הֵ֣מָּה חַתִּים֮ נְסֹגִ֣ים אָחוֹר֒
NAS: have I seen [it]? They are terrified, They are drawing
KJV: Wherefore have I seen them dismayed [and] turned
INT: seen They are terrified are drawing back

5 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2844
5 Occurrences

ḥāṯ — 1 Occ.
ḥat·tîm — 2 Occ.
wə·ḥit·tə·ḵem — 1 Occ.
yê·ḥaṯ — 1 Occ.