2738. charul
Lexical Summary
charul: Thistle, nettle

Original Word: חָרוּל
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: charuwl
Pronunciation: khar-ool'
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-rool')
KJV: nettle
NASB: nettles
Word Origin: [apparently, a passive participle of an unused root probably meaning to be prickly]

1. (properly) pointed, i.e. a bramble or other thorny weed

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
prickly, pointed

Or (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 Origin
of 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 fodder for horses; ᵑ7 Proverbs 24:31 gives חוּרְלָא) — absolute ׳ח Job 30:6; Zephaniah 2:9; plural חֲרֻלִים Proverbs 24:31; — as growing in devastated land, collective Zephaniah 2:9; in vineyard of slothful, plural ׳כִּסּוּ פניו ח Proverbs 24:31 ("" קִמְּשׂגִים); as sole shelter of certain outcast peoples Job 30:7 (שִׂיחִים).

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).
2. Social Marginalization: Job’s reference aligns the weed with human misery; those driven from community find shelter only where nettles thrive, underscoring the depth of their rejection.
3. Divine Judgment and Desolation: In Zephaniah, the weed is God’s chosen emblem for irreversible ruin. Once charul overtakes a site, cultivation must start from scratch—an apt image for the total loss awaiting unrepentant nations.

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.
• Compassion for the Outcast: Job’s imagery calls the church to serve those consigned to society’s “nettles,” offering shelter and restoration instead of disdain.
• Warning Against Complacency: Zephaniah’s prophecy reminds congregations that divine patience is not divine indifference. Persistent rebellion invites visible, tangible loss.

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 qimməśōnîm
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman'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
HEB: עָ֘לָ֤ה כֻלּ֨וֹ ׀ קִמְּשֹׂנִ֗ים כָּסּ֣וּ פָנָ֣יו
NAS: was covered with nettles, And its stone
KJV: with thorns, [and] nettles had covered
INT: overgrown completely nettles was covered surface

Zephaniah 2:9
HEB: כַּֽעֲמֹרָ֔ה מִמְשַׁ֥ק חָר֛וּל וּמִכְרֵה־ מֶ֥לַח
NAS: A place possessed by nettles and salt
KJV: [even] the breeding of nettles, and saltpits,
INT: Gomorrah the breeding nettles cistern and salt

3 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2738
3 Occurrences


ḥā·rūl — 2 Occ.
qim·mə·śō·nîm — 1 Occ.

2737
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