← H4378 H4380 →

מִכְרֶה

𐤌𐤊𐤓𐤄

mikreh

H4379 noun

SILEX Entry

Root כרה to dig, excavate, mine

Definition

A place excavated or dug out, typically used as a salt pit, mine, or quarry. In biblical usage, refers most often to an artificially created pit or trench, especially for the extraction of salt or minerals. Can also denote a place of excavation generally, depending on context.

Semantic Range

excavated pit, salt pit, mine, quarry, ditch, trench

Root / Etymology

From the root כרה (karah), meaning 'to dig' or 'to excavate.' The noun מִכְרֶה (mikreh) is a formation that denotes the result or place of digging—thus, 'excavated place' or 'pit.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, מִכְרֶה is a rare term, attested in contexts referring to industrial or resource locations, notably salt pits or salt mines (e.g., Zephaniah 2:9). The term does not refer to a natural depression but rather to a human-made excavation, distinguishing it from other terms like בּוֹר (bor, 'cistern, pit') that can denote both natural and artificial depressions. In later Hebrew, the word comes to be associated with quarries or mines more broadly. The English 'pit' in many translations may underrepresent the industrial or resource-oriented nuance of the original Hebrew.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from כָּרָה; a pit (for salt); (salt-) pit.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

כרה (k-r-h) — to dig, excavate, mine

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3738 כָּרָה digger
H3739 כָּרָה you will purchase
H3740 כֵּרָה acquired portion
H3741 כָּרָה to dig

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4379-01 וּ/מִכְרֵה umikhereh HC/Ncmsc and salt pit and excavated pit of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4379-01 Zephaniah 2:9 וּ/מִכְרֵה umikhereh HC/Ncmsc and salt pit and excavated pit of
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