Original Word: חָרַב
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: charab
Pronunciation: khaw-rab'
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-rab')
KJV: decay, (be) desolate, destroy(-er), (be) dry (up), slay, X surely, (lay, lie, make) waste
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to parch (through drought) i.e. (by analogy,) to desolate, destroy, kill

decay, be desolate, destroyer, be dry up, slay, surely, lay, lie,

Or chareb {khaw-rabe'}; a primitive root; to parch (through drought) i.e. (by analogy,) to desolate, destroy, kill -- decay, (be) desolate, destroy(-er), (be) dry (up), slay, X surely, (lay, lie, make) waste.

I. [חָרֵב] verb be dry, dried up (compare יָבֵשׁ) (Aramaic חֲרוֺב be dry, חוּרְבָּא drought); —

Qal Perfect3plural חָֽרְבוּ Genesis 8:13 (twice in verse), Isaiah 19:6; Imperfect3masculine singular יֶחֱרַב Hosea 13:15 2t., וַיֶּחֱרָ֑ב Psalm 106:9; Imperative feminine singular חֳרָ֑בִי Isaiah 44:27; — be dry, dried up:

1 of ground, be freed from waters of flood מְּנֵי חָאֲדָמָה ׳ח Genesis 8:13b (J).

2 of waters, be dried up, taken away; of waters of flood Genesis 8:13 a (P); of Nile וְנָהָר יֶחֱרַב וְיָבֵשׁ Isaiah 19:5 ("" וְנִשְּׁתוּמַֿיִם מֵהַיָּם), see same combination Job 14:11 ("" אָֽזְלו מַיִם מִנִּייָֿם); Isaiah 19:6 ("" דָּֽלֲלוּ) Isaiah 44:27 ("" הוֺבִישׁ); of Red Sea Psalm 106:9; figurative of Ephraim's freshness and vigour Hosea 13:15.

Pu`al Perfect3plural לֹא חֹרָ֑בוּ Judges 16:7,8, of fresh bow-strings (of gut, see Bla).

Hiph`il Perfect הֶחֱרִיב Nahum 1:4, of ׳י's drying up rivers ("" וַיַּבְּשֵׁהוּ), perhaps also Isaiah 11:15 (for ᵑ0 החרים) see ᵐ5 ᵑ6 ᵑ9 ᵑ7; וְהַחֲרַבְתִּ֫י the Euphrates Jeremiah 51:36 ("" הוֺבַשְׁתִּי); Imperfect אַחֲרִיב יָם Isaiah 50:2, subject ׳י, I dry up a sea ("" אָשִׂים נְהָרוֺת מִדְבָּר); אַחְרִב Isaiah 37:25 = אַחֲרִב 2 Kings 19:24, of king of Assyria drying up rivers of Egypt; Participle feminine singular הַמַּחֲרֶבֶת Isaiah 51:10 of ׳י's arm drying up (Red) Sea.

II. [חָרֵב] be waste, desolate (Late Hebrew חָרֵב id.; Aramaic חֲרוֺב be laid waste; Zinjirli חרב adjective; Arabic be in ruins, waste, depopulated; Assyrian —arâbu, be waste, Dl^{Pr 175}, —uribtu, desert, Lotz^TP); —

Qal Imperfect3feminine singular תֶּחֱרַ֔ב Jeremiah 26:9, תֶּחֱרָ֔ב Isaiah 34:10; 3masculine plural יֶחֶרְבוּ Ezekiel 6:6, יֶחֱרָ֑בוּ Amos 7:9; Isaiah 60:12; 3feminine plural תֶּחֱרַבְנָה Ezekiel 6:6; Ezekiel 12:20; Imperative חָרְבוּ (so, not חָֽרְבוּ — Theile — see van d. H Hahn Kö^{i. 244}) Jeremiah 2:12; Infinitive absolute חָרֹב Isaiah 60:12; — be waste, desolate; of sanctuaries of Israel Amos 7:9 ("" נָשַׁמּוּ), of altars Ezekiel 6:6; of cities Jeremiah 26:9; Ezekiel 6:6; Ezekiel 12:20 ("" שׁמם); of nations Isaiah 34:10, חָרֹב יֶחֱרָ֑בוּ Isaiah 60:12 ("" יאֹבֵדוּ); figurative, in address to the heavens חָרְבוּ מְאֹד Jeremiah 2:12 — ("" שֹׁמּוּ, וְשַׂעֲרוּ), be very desolate (at sins of Israel); others, be amazed, astounded (on relation of meanings see שׁמם).

Niph`al Participle feminine נֶחֱרֶבֶת Ezekiel 26:19 as adjective, desolate city, i.e. uninhabited, see context; נַחֲרָבוֺת Ezekiel 30:17 of desolate countries ("" נָשַׁמּוּ).

Hiph`il Perfect הֶחֱרִיב Ezekiel 19:17; 1singular הֶחֱרַבְתִּי Zephaniah 3:6; 3plural הֶחֱרִיבוּ Isaiah 37:18; 2 Kings 19:17; Imperfect1singular אַחֲרִיב Isaiah 42:15; Participle מַחֲרִיב Judges 16:24; plural with suffix מַחֲרִיבַיִךְ Isaiah 49:17; — lay waste, make desolate, human subject; nations and lands Isaiah 37:18 = 2 Kings 19:17; Isaiah 42:15, compare participle Isaiah 49:17 ("" מְהָֽרְסַיִךְ); add probably with We Amos 4:9 (הֶחֱרַבְתִּי for the untranslateable הַרְבּוֺת) I have devastated your gardens and vineyards; participle Judges 16:24 desolater of our country ("" הִרְבָּה אֶתחֲֿלָלֵנ֑וּ); object cities Ezekiel 19:7; streets Zephaniah 3:6 ("" נָשַׁמּוּ).

Hoph`al Perfect3feminine singular הָחֳרָ֑בָה Ezekiel 26:2 she is laid waste, of a city; Participle מָחֳרָבוֺת Ezekiel 29:12 laid waste, of cities ("" שׁמם).

III. [חָרַב] verb (Aramaic and rare) attack, smite down (compare Arabic plunder, III. wage war with, VI. fight together, war, battle; Syriac smite, slay) —

Qal Imperative masculine singular חֲרֹב Jeremiah 50:21 attack (+ וְהַחֲרֵם אַחֲרֵיהֶם); masculine plural חִרְבוּ Jeremiah 50:27 object כָּלמָּֿרֶיהָ, figurative of men of Babylon.

Niph`al Perfect3plural נֶחֶרְבוּ המלכים (see

Hoph`al) הָחֳרֵב 2 Kings 3:23 the kings have attacked one another, fought together ("" וַיַּכּוּ אִישׁ אֶתרֵֿעֵהוּ).

Hoph`al Infinitive absolute 2 Kings 3:23, see

Niph`al, but read perhaps הֵחָרֵב, compare Dr Leviticus 19:20, note.

[חֲרַב] verb be waste (see Biblical Hebrew II. חרב); —

Hoph`al Perfect הָחָרְבַ֑ת Ezra 4:15 city was laid waste.

Overview

The verb חָרַב (Strong’s 2717) traces a vivid line through approximately forty-two Old Testament verses, portraying land, cities, seas, altars, and even human hearts as “laid waste,” “dried up,” or “devastated.” Whether describing the drying of the post-diluvian earth, the judgment of covenant infidelity, or the promised return of fertility, the word consistently presents the LORD as sovereign over both blessing and barrenness.

Key Motifs in Scripture

1. Physical Drying After Judgment
• Genesis 8:13: “By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the waters had dried up from the earth…”. The first canonical use occurs in the context of global judgment followed by gracious renewal.
• Isaiah 19:5–6 pictures the Nile basin: “The waters from the sea will dry up, and the river will be parched and dry”. Egypt’s lifeline becomes a symbol of divine restraint on idolatrous powers.

2. Covenant Curses on the Promised Land

Deuteronomy 29:23 anticipates Israel’s future apostasy: the land would become “a burning waste of sulfur and salt.” Here charab communicates the reversal of Edenic fruitfulness promised in Deuteronomy 28. This vocabulary resurfaces in prophetic indictments (Jeremiah 26:9; Ezekiel 19:7), reminding the nation that moral decay invites agricultural and social desolation.

3. Military Devastation of Cities and Nations

2 Kings 19 (paralleling Isaiah 37) records Hezekiah’s prayer against Assyria: “The kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands” (2 Kings 19:17). Charab depicts political ruin brought by human armies yet understood as an instrument of the LORD’s purposes (Isaiah 37:26).

4. Environmental Miracles and Provision

While often negative, the root can highlight deliverance: Job 14:11 notes that “as waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away,” yet Job’s hope is in resurrection; conversely, Psalm 107:35 shows restorative reversal—“He turns a desert into pools of water”—implying the undoing of charab by divine grace.

5. Spiritual and Liturgical Dimensions

The prophets extend the image from soil to soul. Psalm 102:4 connects internal anguish to drought: “My heart is struck and withered like grass.” The altar itself can be “broken down” (1 Kings 19:10) when true worship collapses. Thus charab becomes a call to repentance and fresh devotion.

Historical and Redemptive Significance

• Flood to Patriarchs: Post-Flood drying (Genesis 8) signals a new creation theme later echoed in Exodus and the prophetic promise of rivers in the wilderness.
• Monarchy and Exile: From the Assyrian and Babylonian devastations to the threatened doom of Edom (Isaiah 34:9-10), charab marks pivotal moments when covenant failure meets divine justice.
• Post-Exilic Hope: Zechariah 7:14 laments that the land became “desolate.” Yet Haggai and Zechariah anticipate renewed fertility when the people return to covenant loyalty, preparing the stage for Messianic fulfillment.

Theological Insights

1. Sovereignty of God over Land and Nations: The same verb narrates both drying judgment and restorative rain, underscoring that creation responds to its Creator’s moral governance.
2. Moral Cause and Effect: Israel’s prophets use charab to reveal that ethical corruption produces ecological and societal collapse (Hosea 13:15).
3. Promise of Reversal: The pattern “desolation—repentance—restoration” foreshadows New Testament redemption, where the barren cross leads to the empty (i.e., deserted) tomb and new life (cf. Romans 4:17-19).

Ministry Applications

• Preaching: Charab offers a concrete picture when warning of sin’s consequences and assuring hearers of God’s power to renew what seems irreversibly wasted.
• Counseling and Discipleship: Believers experiencing “dry seasons” can trace in Scripture how the LORD turns scorched ground into springs, nurturing hope.
• Missions and Social Action: The biblical linkage between righteousness and land health encourages holistic ministry that pairs gospel proclamation with stewardship of creation.

Representative References

Genesis 8:13; Deuteronomy 29:23; 2 Kings 19:17; Job 14:11; Psalm 102:4; Isaiah 19:5; Isaiah 34:9-10; Jeremiah 26:9; Ezekiel 19:7; Hosea 13:15; Zechariah 7:14.

Summary

Charab serves as an inspired thermometer of covenant health: when hearts harden, land withers; when the LORD intervenes in mercy, dryness becomes abundance. The word stands as both warning and invitation—calling God’s people to shun the path of desolation and to seek the Refreshing Presence who alone can cause streams to flow in the desert.

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