שַׁחֲרוּת
sha.cha.rut
dark hair
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analyzing H7839 (שַׁחֲרוּת): Dark Hair in Biblical Hebrew The Hebrew word *shacharut* appears only once in the biblical text, where it denotes dark hair. Based on its single occurrence, the word functions as a straightforward descriptive term for hair color, likely formed from a root referring to darkness or blackness. Its rarity in the biblical corpus suggests it was either a specialized or poetic descriptor rather than everyday vocabulary for describing hair. The minimal attestation—just one biblical instance—limits our ability to determine whether this word held particular cultural or symbolic significance in ancient Hebrew. It may have been used for specific literary purposes or contexts, but without additional occurrences or contextual evidence, we cannot establish broader patterns of meaning or usage. The word remains a hapax legomenon (a word appearing only once), which means its precise nuance and application remain somewhat opaque despite its transparent literal meaning of dark hair.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence across the text