חָרוּץ
cha.ruts
sharp
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# חָרוּץ (Charuts): Sharp and Decisive The Hebrew word *charuts* denotes sharpness in both literal and figurative senses. According to the lexicon data, its primary definition is "sharp," which establishes its core meaning as describing something with a keen edge or point. This straightforward physical sense—applicable to blades, weapons, or cutting implements—forms the foundation for understanding how the term functions throughout biblical texts. With ten recorded occurrences in the Bible, *charuts* appears with sufficient frequency to suggest it held meaningful significance for Hebrew speakers, though not so frequently as to be among the most common terms. The word's limited but deliberate use indicates it was employed when precision and sharpness were conceptually important to the passage. This restraint in usage suggests the term may have carried particular weight when it did appear, potentially emphasizing intensity, clarity, or decisive action in whatever context it modified. Without access to the specific biblical passages where *charuts* appears, the full range of its metaphorical applications cannot be determined from the lexicon data alone. However, the pattern of biblical language suggests that "sharp" could extend beyond physical objects to describe sharp judgment, sharp responses, or sharp distinctions—uses common in ancient Near Eastern literature. The word's presence in the biblical corpus, though modest in frequency, indicates it served as a useful term for expressing qualities
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
10 total occurrences across the text
His undersides are like sharp potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
Proverbs 10:4He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand, but the hand of the diligent brings wealth.
Proverbs 12:24The hands of the diligent ones shall rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.
Proverbs 12:27The slothful man doesn’t roast his game, but the possessions of diligent men are prized.
Proverbs 13:4The soul of the sluggard desires, and has nothing, but the desire of the diligent shall be fully satisfied.
Proverbs 21:5The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit; and everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty.
Isaiah 28:27For the dill are not threshed with a sharp instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned over the cumin; but the dill is beaten out with a stick, and the cumin with a rod.
Isaiah 41:15Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth. You will thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and will make the hills like chaff.
Amos 1:3Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron;
Leviticus 22:22You shall not offer what is blind, is injured, is maimed, has a wart, is festering, or has a running sore to Yahweh, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to Yahweh.