חֹרֶף
𐤇𐤓𐤐
chôreph
H2779 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
The autumn or early winter season; the period following harvest, marking the onset of the cold time of year in the Levant. Secondarily, by extension, may refer to the weather of winter or to 'autumn time' in general. In rare figurative contexts, denotes the arrival of maturity or ripeness (of age), or the coldness associated with the winter period.
Semantic Range
autumn, early winter, winter season, time of harvest, time of cold, season of ripeness, (figuratively) mature age
Root / Etymology
From the root חרף (ḥ-r-p), meaning primarily 'to pluck, gather, harvest', especially of fruit or crops. The noun חֹרֶף (ḥōref) emerges as a season name originally associated with the time of gathering or plucking crops, and later developed the broader sense of the autumn or winter season.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, חֹרֶף signals the shift from the agricultural bounty of summer to autumn and early winter—a time of harvest completion and onset of cold. The Israelite calendar placed חֹרֶף roughly from late fall through early winter (corresponding approximately with late October through January in the modern calendar). The term serves to distinguish this period from קַיִץ (qayitz, summer/dry-season) in biblical phenomenology. חֹרֶף is never used in biblical Hebrew as a reference to 'youth' in the modern English sense; rather, when it appears figuratively, it suggests the ripeness or maturity reached after a full season, or the coldness of age. Later rabbinic usage and medieval commentators clarify the agricultural basis of the term. Modern translations often render חֹרֶף as 'winter', but this can obscure its Hebraic dual sense as both a climactic and an agricultural season. Unlike Greek 'cheimon' (χειμών), which strictly means 'winter', חֹרֶף retains both temporal (seasonal) and agricultural nuances in Tanakh usage.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from חָרַף; properly, the crop gathered, i.e. (by implication) the autumn (and winter) season; figuratively, ripeness of age; cold, winter (-house), youth.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
חרף (ḥ-r-p) — to pluck, harvest, gather ripeness
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2741 | חֲרוּפִי | the Charuphite |
| H2756 | חָרִיף | Autumnal One |
| H2778 | חָרַף | in their taunting |
| H2780 | חָרֵף | Chareph |
| H2781 | חֶרְפָּה | in public disgrace |
Word Forms
5 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2779-02 |
הַ/חֹ֔רֶף | hachoref | HTd/Ncmsa |
of the winter | the harvest-season | 2 |
H2779-05 |
וָ/חֹ֛רֶף | vachoref | HC/Ncmsa |
and winter | and autumn harvest-season | 2 |
H2779-01 |
חָרְפִּ֑/י | charepi | HNcmsc/Sp1cs |
my youth | my harvest-season | 1 |
H2779-03 |
מֵ֭/חֹרֶף | mechoref | HR/Ncmsa |
because of winter | harvest-cold season | 1 |
H2779-04 |
וּ/בָ/חֹ֖רֶף | uvachoref | HC/Rd/Ncmsa |
and in winter | and in harvest-season | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
7 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2779-05 |
Genesis 8:22 | וָ/חֹ֛רֶף | vachoref | HC/Ncmsa |
and winter | and autumn harvest-season |
H2779-02 |
Jeremiah 36:22 | הַ/חֹ֔רֶף | hachoref | HTd/Ncmsa |
of the winter | the harvest-season |
H2779-02 |
Amos 3:15 | הַ/חֹ֖רֶף | hachoref | HTd/Ncmsa |
the winter | the harvest-season |
H2779-04 |
Zechariah 14:8 | וּ/בָ/חֹ֖רֶף | uvachoref | HC/Rd/Ncmsa |
and in winter | and in harvest-season |
H2779-05 |
Psalms 74:17 | וָ֝/חֹ֗רֶף | vachoref | HC/Ncmsa |
and winter | and autumn harvest-season |
H2779-03 |
Proverbs 20:4 | מֵ֭/חֹרֶף | mechoref | HR/Ncmsa |
because of winter | harvest-cold season |
H2779-01 |
Job 29:4 | חָרְפִּ֑/י | charepi | HNcmsc/Sp1cs |
my youth | my harvest-season |