Original Word: חֶרְמֵשׁ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: chermesh
Pronunciation: kher-MAYSH
Phonetic Spelling: (kher-mashe')
KJV: sickle
NASB: sickle
Word Origin: [from H2763 (חָרַם - To ban)]

1. a sickle (as cutting)

sickle

From charam; a sickle (as cutting) -- sickle.

see HEBREW charam

Word Origin
from charam
Definition
a sickle
NASB Translation
sickle (2).

חֶרְמֵשׁ noun [masculine] sickle (on form see Ges^{§ 85} xii. 55) — Deuteronomy 16:9; Deuteronomy 23:26.

Agricultural Setting in Ancient Israel

חֶרְמֵשׁ appears within the Mosaic legislation that presupposes a subsistence economy built around grain. Wheat and barley were cut at the stalk with a curved blade rather than uprooted; this preserved the soil, allowed secondary growth, and facilitated later gleaning. The tool therefore stood at the intersection of stewardship of the land (Leviticus 25:23 – 24) and the people’s daily bread. Its design, sharpened on the inner edge, made it efficient for swift reaping, but also dangerous, requiring skill and rhythm—an image Scripture will later apply to divine judgment (compare Revelation 14:15 – 16).

Regulated Harvest and Covenant Rhythm (Deuteronomy 16:9)

“You are to count seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain,” commands Deuteronomy 16:9. The feast calendar hinges on the initial stroke of the חֶרְמֵשׁ. Firstfruits, Weeks, and ultimately Tabernacles mark Yahweh’s faithful provision, adding theological weight to an otherwise ordinary farm implement. The start of reaping is not left to personal convenience but to covenant timing, reminding the nation that the land is a divine gift (Deuteronomy 8:10 – 18). No Israelite could reap without simultaneously counting forward to worship in Jerusalem. Thus the blade that opened the harvest also opened the season of gratitude and generosity.

Boundaries of Neighborly Love (Deuteronomy 23:25)

“When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain,” Deuteronomy 23:25. Here the חֶרְמֵשׁ functions as a moral boundary marker. Handfuls taken to satisfy immediate hunger were legal; systematic harvesting with a tool was theft. The verse balances compassion for the traveler (or the poor, as in Ruth 2:2 – 3) with protection of private property. In a community under covenant, charity never becomes license, and ownership never excuses hardness of heart. The sickle is thus a symbol of proportionality: use it only on what God has entrusted to you.

Symbolic and Prophetic Overtones

Though the prophets often use a different Hebrew term (e.g., מַגָּל in Joel 3:13), the imagery is shared: “Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.” The physical act encoded in חֶרְמֵשׁ becomes a metaphor for decisive, inescapable judgment. Just as the reaper cannot stop the blade mid-swing, so the Lord’s day arrives irresistibly once appointed. The metaphor preserves two ideas already present in the Torah passages: timing and boundaries. Judgment waits until the “fullness” is reached (Genesis 15:16; Mark 4:29) and then cuts precisely at the line drawn by divine justice.

Christological and Eschatological Resonance

Jesus’ parables of harvest (Matthew 13:39; Mark 4:26 – 29) assume the sickle as the climactic tool. Revelation 14:14 – 20 brings the picture to completion, describing the Son of Man wielding “a sharp sickle.” The distant echo of חֶרְמֵשׁ reminds the reader that the covenant rhythms begun in Deuteronomy find their telos in Christ. The Feast of Weeks, initiated by the first stroke of the sickle, anticipated Pentecost when the Spirit harvested firstfruits of a redeemed humanity (Acts 2:1 – 4; James 1:18).

Practical Ministry Application

1. Sabbath Rhythms: Congregations can learn from Israel’s counting of weeks to pace their labor and worship. Planning a cycle of thanksgiving offerings or service projects tied to agricultural or fiscal “harvests” maintains the covenantal mindset.
2. Ethical Boundaries: In an age of digital abundance, the sickle’s prohibition in another’s field counsels restraint in the use of others’ intellectual or financial property, while still encouraging open-handed sharing for immediate need.
3. Evangelistic Urgency: The ripeness of grain does not last. Believers equipped with the gospel “sickle” should labor while it is day (John 9:4), confident that God alone sets the harvest window.
4. Pastoral Discernment: As the physical sickle distinguishes ripe from unripe, shepherds must discern readiness for spiritual commitments such as baptism or leadership, avoiding both premature cutting and negligent delay.

Summary Insight

חֶרְמֵשׁ is more than an iron tool; it is a theological pointer. In Israel’s fields it marked the start of praise, the limit of craving, and the promise of a greater harvest to come. In Scripture’s unfolding narrative it becomes an emblem of both mercy gathered and judgment rendered, inviting every generation to align its rhythms, ethics, and hopes with the Lord of the harvest.

וְחֶרְמֵשׁ֙ וחרמש חֶרְמֵשׁ֙ חרמש cherMesh ḥer·mêš ḥermêš vecherMesh wə·ḥer·mêš wəḥermêšInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts