Original Word: חֲבַרְבֻּרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: chabarburah
Pronunciation: khab-ar-boo-RAW
Phonetic Spelling: (khab-ar-boo-raw')
KJV: spot
NASB: spots
Word Origin: [by reduplication from H2266 (חָבַר - joined)]

1. a streak (like a line), as on the tiger

spot

By reduplication from chabar; a streak (like a line), as on the tiger -- spot.

see HEBREW chabar

Word Origin
from chabar
Definition
stripe, mark
NASB Translation
spots (1).

[חֲבַרְבֻּרָה] noun feminine stripe, mark, only plural suffix חֲבַרְבֻּרֹתָיו Jeremiah 13:23 of stripes on a panther (tiger? compare נָמֵר; — "" עוֺרוֺ of a Cushite).

Original Context

The word occurs in Jeremiah 13:23, where the prophet asks, “Can an Ethiopian change his skin, or a leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil”. Spoken to Judah during King Jehoiakim’s reign, the oracle confronts a nation hardened by idolatry and injustice. The imagery of permanent spots underscores the depth of Judah’s moral stain and the futility of self-reformation apart from divine intervention.

Literary Setting in Jeremiah

Chapter 13 contains enacted parables—the ruined waistband and the wine jars—illustrating Judah’s pride and impending exile. The question about the leopard’s spots concludes this section, driving home the message that habitual sin has become an intrinsic feature of the people, impossible to erase by human effort (Jeremiah 13:1-27). The verse thus pivots from symbolic action to direct moral diagnosis.

Imagery and Symbolism

1. Permanence: The leopard’s unchangeable markings picture the entrenched nature of Judah’s rebellion.
2. Visibility: Spots are outward, recognizable defects; so sin, though sometimes rationalized, is exposed before the holy God (Psalm 90:8).
3. Contrast: The Ethiopian’s skin color and the leopard’s coat are natural and unalterable. Likewise, a sinful heart remains unchanged unless subjected to the supernatural work of God (Ezekiel 36:26).

Historical Background

Leopards roamed the Judean wilderness, swift and fierce predators familiar to ancient hearers (Habakkuk 1:8). Their distinctive rosettes made them an apt symbol for irremovable identity. Jeremiah pairs this image with the Ethiopian (Cushite), whose melanin-rich skin further stresses an obvious, God-given characteristic beyond human control.

Theological Significance

• Total inability: The verse illustrates humanity’s incapacity to achieve moral transformation unaided (Romans 8:7-8).
• Necessity of grace: Only the Lord can cleanse what is innately defiled (Isaiah 1:18; Titus 3:5).
• Covenant warning: Judah’s condition validates the covenant curses for persistent disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).
• Prophetic hope: By exposing the problem, Jeremiah prepares the way for promises of a new covenant inscribed on the heart (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Related Biblical Themes

Spotlessness required for sacrifice – Leviticus 22:19-20

Christ, the Lamb “without blemish or spot” – 1 Peter 1:19

Believers called to be “without spot or wrinkle” – Ephesians 5:27

False teachers as “spots and blemishes” – 2 Peter 2:13

New creation reality – “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Connection to the New Testament

Jeremiah’s indictment anticipates the gospel’s solution. What human hands cannot cleanse, the blood of Jesus removes (Hebrews 9:14). The permanence of the leopard’s spots magnifies the miracle of regeneration, wherein God effects an inner change comparable to giving a leopard a new coat.

Ministry Application

• Evangelism: The verse exposes self-righteousness and drives the sinner to seek divine mercy.
• Discipleship: It warns against habitual sin by revealing its hardening power (Hebrews 3:13).
• Counseling: Hope is offered not in behavior modification but in the Spirit’s transformative work (Galatians 5:16-24).
• Preaching: Use the imagery to contrast human impotence with Christ’s cleansing efficacy.

Homiletical Considerations

An outline might proceed:

1. The Question Asked – Jeremiah 13:23a
2. The Implication Drawn – Jeremiah 13:23b
3. The Grace Promised – Jeremiah 31:33; 1 John 1:7

Illustrations include the indelible nature of tattoos or permanent stains versus the power of bleach, pointing to the superior cleansing of Christ’s atonement.

Conclusion

חֲבַרְבֻּרָה appears only once, yet its spotted leopard lingers throughout redemptive history as an enduring metaphor of sin’s stubborn stain and the necessity of God’s sovereign cleansing.

חֲבַרְבֻּרֹתָ֑יו חברברתיו chavarburoTav ḥă·ḇar·bu·rō·ṯāw ḥăḇarburōṯāwInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts