חָוָח
𐤇𐤅𐤇
châvâch
H2337 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A low-lying place, hollow, or depression in the earth, often depicted as a thicket or area filled with shrubs or prickly vegetation; also understood as a crevice or dell, a natural indentation in the landscape possibly dense with plant growth.
Semantic Range
hollow, depression in the earth, dell, thicket, overgrown place, crevice, natural indentation filled with shrubby or thorny vegetation
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root חוח (ḥ-w-ḥ), which refers to thorns, thorn-bushes, or prickly plants. The masculine noun חָוָח (châvâch) is likely a variant or related formation to חוֹחַ (ḥôach), with a semantic extension from the thorny plant itself to a place characterized by such growth, i.e., an overgrown hollow or thickets dominated by thornbushes. The morphological formation suggests a substantive describing a landscape feature tightly associated with the plant life typical to the region.
Historical & Contextual Notes
חָוָח occurs rarely in the Hebrew Bible (notably in passages such as 1 Samuel 13:6), and its precise meaning is difficult to ascertain, likely due to dialectal variation or an archaic sense. In early Israelite contexts, the term indicates a naturally occurring depression or hollow, often overgrown with shrubs or thorny plants, and used as a place of concealment or shelter (as when people hid from Philistine oppression). The word is related to but distinct from חֹר (ḥor, 'hole, cave') and חוֹחַ (ḥôach, 'thorn, thornbush'); while חוֹחַ points to the plant itself, חָוָח focuses on the environmental feature shaped by or full of such plants. English translations vary: 'thicket,' 'hollow,' or 'crevice'—each capturing part, but not all, of the term's nuance. In later periods, the semantic field appears to narrow, often only reflected in texts by descriptive translation rather than concrete usage, reflecting either environmental or lexical change.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
perhaps the same as חוֹחַ; a dell or crevice (as if pierced in the earth); thicket.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
חוח (ḥ-w-ḥ) — to be pierced, to have thorns, to grow thorny plants
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2337-01 |
וּ/בַֽ/חֲוָחִים֙ | uvachavachim | HC/Rd/Ncmpa |
and in thickets | and in the thorny hollows | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2337-01 |
1 Samuel 13:6 | וּ/בַֽ/חֲוָחִים֙ | uvachavachim | HC/Rd/Ncmpa |
and in thickets | and in the thorny hollows |