חוֹחַ
cho.ach
thistle
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word חוֹחַ (cho.ach), with a Strong's number of H2336, refers to a type of plant known as the thistle. This word appears 12 times in the Bible, providing insights into its significance and cultural associations. Given its association with a prickly, weedy plant, it's likely that the thistle symbolizes something unpleasant, unwanted, or difficult to handle. The repeated use of this term across various biblical contexts suggests that it may signify a recurring problem or issue within the culture or communities referenced. It is worth noting that without deeper cultural and historical context, it is difficult to precisely grasp the significance of the thistle in biblical contexts. However, the fact that it appears 12 times, indicating its notable presence, highlights its importance within the cultural narrative of the time.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
12 total occurrences across the text
Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as his wife. Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle.
2 Chronicles 25:18Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as his wife. Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle.
2 Chronicles 33:11Therefore Yahweh brought on them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
Job 31:40let briers grow instead of wheat, and stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.
Job 41:2Can you put a rope into his nose, or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
Proverbs 26:9Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
Song of Solomon 2:2As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
Isaiah 34:13Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.
Hosea 9:6For, behold, they have gone away from destruction. Egypt will gather them up. Memphis will bury them. Nettles will possess their pleasant things of silver. Thorns will be in their tents.
1 Samuel 13:6When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were distressed), then the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in tombs, and in pits.
2 Kings 14:9Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife. Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle.
2 Kings 14:9Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife. Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle.