Lexical Summary kamar: To yearn, to be kindled, to grow warm, to be moved with compassion Original Word: כְּמַר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance be black, be kindled, yearn A primitive root; properly, to intertwine or contract, i.e. (by implication) to shrivel (as with heat); figuratively, to be deeply affected with passion (love or pity) -- be black, be kindled, yearn. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to grow warm and tender, to be or grow hot NASB Translation become as hot (1), deeply* (1), kindled (1), stirred (2). Brown-Driver-Briggs I. [כָּמַר] verb Niph`al grow warm and tender, be or grow hot (Late Hebrew id. Pi`el heat fruit in the ground, making it ripe, over-ripe, tender; Aramaic כְּמַר id., and more Generally make warm (one's flesh, or food); compare kemr, fermentation, etc., in modern Syria WetzstZPV xiv (1891), 6) — Niph`al Perfect3plural נִכְמְרוּ Genesis 43:30 2t., נִכְמָ֑רוּ Lamentations 5:10; — 1 grow warm and tender, figurative, subject רחמים; ׳רַחֲמָיו אֶלאָֿחִיונ Genesis 43:30 (J), so רַחֲמֶיהָ עַלבְּֿנָהּ ׳נ 1 Kings 3:26; (רַחֲמָ֑י We) נִחוּמָ֑י ׳יַחַד נ Hosea 11:8 ("" עָלַי לִבִּינֶהְמַּךְ). 2 be or grow hot, ׳עוֺרֵנוּ כְתַנּוּר נ׳מִמְּנֵי וגו Lamentations 5:10 our skin has become hot like a furnace, because of the famine. II. כמר (? √ of following; compare Syriac Topical Lexicon Meaning and Semantic Field כְּמַר portrays an inward heating or stirring that overflows in powerful emotion. The imagery moves from literal warmth (Lamentations 5:10) to figurative passion—compassion, yearning, or anguish (Genesis 43:30; 1 Kings 3:26; Hosea 11:8). Scripture therefore employs the term to describe both human feeling and the covenant heart of God. Distribution in Scripture 1. Genesis 43:30 records Joseph’s response to Benjamin: “Joseph hurried out because his heart was inflamed with emotion for his brother, and he wanted to weep”. Compassion and Familial Affection The first two occurrences link כְּמַר to family love. Joseph’s long-suppressed affection erupts when he sees his full brother; the mother before Solomon would rather lose her child than see him slain. Both scenes highlight self-sacrificial devotion, foreshadowing the New Testament call to “love one another deeply, from a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22). The intensity of כְּמַר underscores that true covenant love engages the whole inner person, not mere duty. Divine Pathos and Covenant Faithfulness Hosea 11:8 lifts the term from human relationship to divine self-revelation. When Israel’s rebellion deserves judgment, the LORD confesses that His “compassion is stirred.” The same Hebrew verb describes Joseph and the mother in 1 Kings, but here it resides in God. He remains just, yet His steadfast love burns within Him, securing the promise that “I will not carry out the full fury of My wrath” (Hosea 11:9). Thus כְּמַר contributes to the biblical portrayal of a God whose holiness and mercy coexist without contradiction. Suffering and National Crisis Lamentations 5:10 anchors כְּמַר in physical distress. Amid siege and starvation, the people’s skin blisters “as hot as an oven.” The same verb that depicts compassionate heat in other passages now communicates the searing cost of sin. The contrast is deliberate: when covenant loyalty cools, the heat of judgment replaces the warmth of love. Yet even here, later verses appeal to God’s enduring mercy, inviting the reader to hope that the compassion of Hosea 11 will triumph. Prophetic and Messianic Resonance The inner stirring of כְּמַר anticipates the Gospel accounts where Jesus “had compassion on them” (Matthew 14:14). While the Greek term differs, the conceptual link is unmistakable: the Messiah embodies divine mercy, moved to the depths of His being. The Old Testament nuance of heated yearning prepares the reader to understand the cross as the ultimate outpouring of God’s stirred heart toward His people. Pastoral and Devotional Implications • Believers are called to mirror Joseph’s and the mother’s fervent love, allowing the Spirit to “warm” the heart toward both family and fellow disciples. Summary כְּמַר intertwines the literal heat of suffering with the figurative warmth of compassionate love, culminating in the revelation of God’s own heart. It reminds the reader that the same Lord who must judge sin is passionately moved toward His people, and that such divine warmth calls forth a corresponding fervor in human relationships and ministry. Forms and Transliterations נִכְמְר֣וּ נִכְמְר֤וּ נִכְמְר֥וּ נִכְמָ֔רוּ נכמרו nichMaru nichmeRu niḵ·mā·rū niḵ·mə·rū niḵmārū niḵmərūLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 43:30 HEB: יוֹסֵ֗ף כִּֽי־ נִכְמְר֤וּ רַחֲמָיו֙ אֶל־ NAS: [out] for he was deeply stirred over KJV: for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: INT: Joseph for stirred was deeply over 1 Kings 3:26 Lamentations 5:10 Hosea 11:8 4 Occurrences |
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black, dark, usually gloomy, sad; 
, 
be sad).