6194. aremah
Lexical Summary
aremah: Heap, Pile

Original Word: עָרֵם
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: `arem
Pronunciation: ah-reh-MAH
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-rame')
KJV: heap (of corn), sheaf
NASB: heaps, heap, heap of grain, rubble, sacks of grain
Word Origin: [from H6192 (עָרַם - piled)]

1. a heap
2. specifically, a sheaf

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
heap of corn, sheaf

(Jer. 50:26) or (feminine) aremah {ar-ay-maw'}; from aram; a heap; specifically, a sheaf -- heap (of corn), sheaf.

see HEBREW aram

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from aram
Definition
a heap
NASB Translation
heap (2), heap of grain (1), heaps (5), rubble (1), sacks of grain (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
עֲרֵמָה noun feminine heap; — absolute ׳ע Ruth 3:7; construct עֲרֵמַת Haggai 2:16; Songs 7:3; plural עֲרֵמוֺת absolute Nehemiah 13:15 +, construct Nehemiah 3:34; absolute עֲרִמִים Jeremiah 50:26; — heap of rubbish (עָפָר) Nehemiah 3:34; ׳ע = ruin-heap Jeremiah 50:26; = grain-heap (of threshed grain, unthreshed, according to Wetzstl.c.), Haggai 2:16; Nehemiah 13:15; Ruth 3:7; חִטִּים ׳ע Cant 7:3; of grain and fruit 2 Chronicles 31:6 (twice in verse); 2Chronicles 31:7,8,9.

II. ערם (√ of following; compare Arabic strip flesh from bone (to eatit), strip leaves from trees (said of camels); bark of tree (stripped off)).

Topical Lexicon
Summary of Biblical Usage

The noun עָרֵם describes a heap or pile—usually of harvested produce, tithes, building debris, or spoils of war. In the eleven occurrences the word swings between two poles: abundant blessing and humiliating desolation. Its settings move from the threshing floor of Ruth to the reforms of Hezekiah, to the rubble of post-exilic Jerusalem, and finally to prophetic oracles of judgment. In every context the heap is a public testimony: of covenant faithfulness when full, and of covenant violation when reduced or destroyed.

Agricultural and Domestic Heaps

Ruth 3:7 shows the normal village use. After winnowing, “Boaz … went to lie down at the far end of the grain pile”. The heap is the tangible reward of honest labor, protected overnight from theft or moisture, and therefore a fitting backdrop for Ruth’s request for redemption. Likewise Song of Songs 7:2 turns the image into romantic poetry: “Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies”. Abundance and beauty blend, revealing that the covenant God who fills barns also blesses marriage and intimacy.

Heaps as Measures of Blessing in Hezekiah’s Revival

Tithing reform under King Hezekiah dominates five occurrences (2 Chronicles 31:6-9). The nation responds to the king’s call by bringing firstfruits of “cattle and sheep … and they laid them in large heaps” (2 Chronicles 31:6). Work began in the third month (the time of Pentecost and wheat harvest) and finished in the seventh (Feast of Tabernacles), marking the entire harvest cycle. Hezekiah’s astonished question, “Where did all these heaps come from?” draws Azariah’s reply, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, for the LORD has blessed His people” (2 Chronicles 31:10). The heaps stand as visible evidence that obedience releases divine provision.

Heaps of Rubble and Scorn during Reconstruction

In Nehemiah 4:2 Sanballat mocks Jerusalem’s builders: “Can they revive the stones from the heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”. Here the heap is the wreckage left by Babylon. The scoffer sees only hopeless debris; Nehemiah sees raw material for covenant restoration. The same word reappears when Nehemiah confronts Sabbath violations (Nehemiah 13:15). Merchandise heaped on beasts violates the rest God ordained. The lesson is clear: uncontrolled commerce turns legitimate abundance into spiritual threat.

Prophetic Heaps of Judgment

Jeremiah 50:26 orders Babylon’s destruction: “Break open her granaries; pile her up like heaps …”. The very symbol of plenty becomes the pyre of her demise. Haggai 2:16 speaks to post-exilic drought: “When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten”. Half-empty heaps expose prior neglect of the temple. The same sign that once celebrated obedience now exposes disobedience.

Theological Themes

1. Covenant Reciprocity

Full heaps honor the divine–human partnership (Deuteronomy 28:8). Empty or burning heaps confirm covenant sanctions (Leviticus 26:20).

2. Visible Accountability

Because heaps are public and measurable, they embody truth before God and neighbor. Tithes piled in the temple courts encouraged further generosity; rubble heaps in Jerusalem summoned collective resolve to rebuild.

3. Transition from Scarcity to Sufficiency

Scripture traces a narrative arc: ruined heaps (Nehemiah 4:2) → restored heaps (2 Chronicles 31) → eschatological fullness when “the threshing floors shall be full of grain” (Joel 2:24).

Ministry Significance

• Stewardship: Congregations that “honor the LORD with your wealth” will find, as under Hezekiah, that generosity multiplies resources.
• Worship Renewal: Physical spaces—storehouses, fellowship halls—can mirror spiritual vitality. Heaps of provision gathered for the needy or for missions declare God’s ongoing faithfulness.
• Social Witness: Nehemiah’s rebuke warns against turning blessing into exploitation. Sabbath rest, ethical business, and just distribution uphold the testimony of the heap.
• Hope amid Ruins: Builders today confront moral and cultural rubble. The God who empowered Nehemiah still revives “stones from the heaps.” Every rehabilitated life, family, or community becomes a living monument to redemption.

Christological Reflection

Jesus, laid in a borrowed grave among the “stones from the heaps,” rose as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). In Him, the rubble of sin becomes the cornerstone of a new creation, and the ultimate heap of divine provision is not grain but grace “pressed down, shaken together, and running over” (Luke 6:38).

Key References

Ruth 3:7; 2 Chronicles 31:6-9; Nehemiah 4:2; Nehemiah 13:15; Song of Songs 7:2; Jeremiah 50:26; Haggai 2:16

Forms and Transliterations
הָעֲרֵמ֑וֹת הָעֲרֵמ֖וֹת הָעֲרֵמ֣וֹת הָעֲרֵמָ֑ה הָעֲרֵמֽוֹת׃ הערמה הערמות הערמות׃ מֵעֲרֵמ֥וֹת מערמות עֲרֵמ֥וֹת עֲרֵמִ֖ים עֲרֵמַ֣ת עֲרֵמֽוֹת׃ ערמות ערמות׃ ערמים ערמת ‘ă·rê·maṯ ‘ă·rê·mîm ‘ă·rê·mō·wṯ ‘ărêmaṯ ‘ărêmîm ‘ărêmōwṯ areMat areMim areMot hā‘ărêmāh hā‘ărêmōwṯ hā·‘ă·rê·māh hā·‘ă·rê·mō·wṯ haareMah haareMot mê‘ărêmōwṯ mê·‘ă·rê·mō·wṯ meareMot
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Englishman's Concordance
Ruth 3:7
HEB: לִשְׁכַּ֖ב בִּקְצֵ֣ה הָעֲרֵמָ֑ה וַתָּבֹ֣א בַלָּ֔ט
NAS: at the end of the heap of grain; and she came
KJV: at the end of the heap of corn: and she came
INT: to lie the end of the heap came secretly

2 Chronicles 31:6
HEB: הֵבִ֕יאוּ וַֽיִּתְּנ֖וּ עֲרֵמ֥וֹת עֲרֵמֽוֹת׃ ס
NAS: their God, and placed [them] in heaps.
INT: brought and placed heaps heaps

2 Chronicles 31:6
HEB: וַֽיִּתְּנ֖וּ עֲרֵמ֥וֹת עֲרֵמֽוֹת׃ ס
INT: and placed heaps heaps

2 Chronicles 31:7
HEB: הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֔י הֵחֵ֥לּוּ הָעֲרֵמ֖וֹת לְיִסּ֑וֹד וּבַחֹ֥דֶשׁ
NAS: to make the heaps, and finished
KJV: to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished
INT: the third began the heaps to make month

2 Chronicles 31:8
HEB: וַיִּרְא֖וּ אֶת־ הָעֲרֵמ֑וֹת וַֽיְבָרֲכוּ֙ אֶת־
NAS: and saw the heaps, they blessed
KJV: and saw the heaps, they blessed
INT: and the rulers and saw the heaps blessed the LORD

2 Chronicles 31:9
HEB: וְהַלְוִיִּ֖ם עַל־ הָעֲרֵמֽוֹת׃
NAS: and the Levites concerning the heaps.
KJV: and the Levites concerning the heaps.
INT: and the Levites concerning the heaps

Nehemiah 4:2
HEB: אֶת־ הָאֲבָנִ֛ים מֵעֲרֵמ֥וֹת הֶעָפָ֖ר וְהֵ֥מָּה
NAS: from the dusty rubble even the burned
KJV: the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish
INT: keep leave the stones rubble the dusty even

Nehemiah 13:15
HEB: בַּשַּׁבָּ֡ת וּמְבִיאִ֣ים הָעֲרֵמ֣וֹת וְֽעֹמְסִ֪ים עַל־
NAS: and bringing in sacks of grain and loading
KJV: and bringing in sheaves, and lading
INT: the sabbath and bringing sacks and loading on

Songs 7:2
HEB: הַמָּ֑זֶג בִּטְנֵךְ֙ עֲרֵמַ֣ת חִטִּ֔ים סוּגָ֖ה
NAS: Your belly is like a heap of wheat
KJV: thy belly [is like] an heap of wheat
INT: mixed your belly A heap of wheat Fenced

Jeremiah 50:26
HEB: סָלּ֥וּהָ כְמוֹ־ עֲרֵמִ֖ים וְהַחֲרִימ֑וּהָ אַל־
NAS: her up like heaps And utterly destroy
KJV: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly:
INT: Pile like heaps and utterly nothing

Haggai 2:16
HEB: בָּא֙ אֶל־ עֲרֵמַ֣ת עֶשְׂרִ֔ים וְהָיְתָ֖ה
NAS: [when] one came to a [grain] heap of twenty
KJV: Since those [days] were, when [one] came to an heap of twenty
INT: came about heap of twenty time

11 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 6194
11 Occurrences


‘ă·rê·maṯ — 2 Occ.
‘ă·rê·mîm — 1 Occ.
‘ă·rê·mō·wṯ — 2 Occ.
hā·‘ă·rê·māh — 1 Occ.
hā·‘ă·rê·mō·wṯ — 4 Occ.
mê·‘ă·rê·mō·wṯ — 1 Occ.

6193
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