Lexical Summary charul: Thistle, nettle Original Word: חָרוּל Strong's Exhaustive Concordance prickly, pointedOr (shortened) charul {khaw-rool'}; apparently, a passive participle of an unused root probably meaning to be prickly; properly, pointed, i.e. A bramble or other thorny weed: nettle. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originof uncertain derivation Definition (a kind of weed), perhaps chickpea NASB Translation nettles (3). Brown-Driver-Briggs חָרוּל noun [masculine] a kind of weed, perhaps chickpea (cicercula), see Löwp. 153 (Syriac ![]() Topical Lexicon Botanical Identity Charul denotes a hardy, thorn-like weed that thrives in neglected, uncultivated soil. Scholarly opinion favors a form of nettle or bramble common to the Levant—plants that spring up quickly after rain yet flourish most when farmland or towns lie dormant. Their shallow roots and stinging or prickly leaves discourage human contact, reinforcing the image of abandonment. Scriptural Usage Job 30:7 portrays society’s outcasts who “huddled beneath the nettles”, highlighting extreme destitution: life literally lived among razor-edged growth where no farmer would linger. Proverbs 24:31 finds charul carpeting the once-productive vineyard of a sluggard—visible proof that laziness invites decay. Zephaniah 2:9 escalates the metaphor to national scale: Moab and Ammon will become “a place overrun with weeds”, the very land itself testifying to covenant judgment. Symbolic Significance 1. Neglect of Stewardship: Charul never appears in well-tended fields; it symbolizes what happens when God-given responsibilities are disregarded (Proverbs 24:30–34). Historical Context Ancient Near Eastern farmers fought charul with regular plowing and grazing. An overgrown plot would advertise poverty or absentee ownership to every passerby. Prophets therefore wielded the term with stark realism; hearers knew the backbreaking labor required to reclaim land from such weeds. Ministry Applications • Personal Diligence: Charul challenges believers to daily vigilance. Spiritual disciplines neglected even briefly permit swift encroachment of sinful habits. Related Themes Thorns (qots) and thistles (dardar) share the motif of curse from Genesis 3:18, but charul accentuates the aftermath of human irresponsibility rather than the initial fall. Together they trace a theological arc: creation’s frustration under sin, the believer’s call to diligent cultivation, and the hope of ultimate renewal when “the desert shall blossom like the rose” (Isaiah 35:1). See Also Genesis 3:17-19; Isaiah 5:1-7; Hebrews 6:7-8. Forms and Transliterations חָר֛וּל חָר֣וּל חרול קִמְּשֹׂנִ֗ים קמשנים chaRul ḥā·rūl ḥārūl kimmesoNim qim·mə·śō·nîm qimməśōnîmLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 30:7 HEB: יִנְהָ֑קוּ תַּ֖חַת חָר֣וּל יְסֻפָּֽחוּ׃ NAS: out; Under the nettles they are gathered together. KJV: they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together. INT: cry Under the nettles are gathered Proverbs 24:31 Zephaniah 2:9 3 Occurrences |