H2472 — חֲלוֹם (chălôwm)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2472
Original: חֲלוֹם
Transliteration: chălôwm
Pronunciation: khal-ome
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: חָלַם (chalam) H2492 — primitive root: to bind firmly; by figurative extension, to dream
Occurrences: 65 tokens in 54 unique verses, 14 books
First Occurrence: Gen 20:3 — "But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Or (shortened) חֲלֹם (chalom); from H2492 (chalam); a dream. Translated "dream" or "dreamer" throughout the KJV. The Aramaic cognate is H2493 (chelem), used in the Aramaic sections of Daniel.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
a dream / the dream / his dream / my dream / etc. (various articles + possessives)	40	74%
dreams / his dreams / your dreams / our dreams / false dreams	12	22%
dreamer / dreamers (concrete agent, via "dreamer of dreams")	2	4%

All renderings preserve the base meaning "dream." Variation is syntactic (determiner, possessive, plural) rather than semantic.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Genesis	26	1.7
Joel	1	1.4
Daniel	4	1.1
Ecclesiastes	2	0.9
Zechariah	1	0.5
Jeremiah	5	0.4
Judges	2	0.3
Deuteronomy	3	0.3
Job	3	0.3
1 Kings	2	0.2
1 Samuel	2	0.2
Numbers	1	0.1
Isaiah	1	0.1
Psalms	1	0.0

Patterns: Genesis dominates raw counts (26 of 54, ~48%), concentrated in the Joseph narrative (Gen 37, 40–42) and the dreams given to Abimelech, Jacob, and Laban. Secondary concentrations: Daniel (Hebrew portions), Jeremiah (prophetic critique of false dreams), Joel and Zechariah (eschatological/critique), Job and Ecclesiastes (wisdom reflections). Entirely absent from Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Proverbs, Song, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Malachi.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine revelation to patriarchs and kings¶

God speaks directly through a dream, usually warning or guiding. - Gen 20:3 — "God came to Abimelech in a dream by night" - Gen 31:24 — "God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night" - 1 Kings 3:5 — "the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night" - Num 12:6 — "I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream"

2. Symbolic prophetic dream requiring interpretation¶

The dream encodes a message through imagery; it must be told and interpreted. - Gen 37:5–10 — Joseph's sheaves and sun/moon/stars dreams - Gen 40:5–16 — butler and baker's dreams in prison - Gen 41:7, 15, 25, 32 — Pharaoh's twin dreams of cattle and ears - Dan 2:1–3 — Nebuchadnezzar's troubling dreams - Judg 7:13–15 — Midianite's barley-loaf dream foretelling Gideon's victory

3. Channel of genuine prophetic inspiration (in lists with other means)¶

Paired with visions, Urim, prophets as a legitimate mode of revelation. - Num 12:6 — dream contrasted with Moses' face-to-face speech - 1 Sam 28:6, 15 — "the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets" - Dan 1:17 — "Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams" - Joel 2:28 — "your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions"

4. False or deceptive dream (prophetic polemic)¶

Dreams invoked by false prophets; the word becomes a foil for true revelation. - Deut 13:1, 3, 5 — "a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams"; test and reject if he leads to other gods - Jer 23:27–28, 32 — "they that prophesy false dreams… let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully" - Jer 27:9; 29:8 — "hearken not… to your dreamers" - Zech 10:2 — "the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams"

5. Dream as metaphor for the transient and insubstantial¶

Wisdom literature uses dreams to figure emptiness, vanishing, or vanity. - Job 20:8 — "He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found" - Ps 73:20 — "As a dream when one awaketh" - Isa 29:7 — enemies of Ariel "shall be as a dream of a night vision" - Eccl 5:3, 7 — "a dream cometh through the multitude of business… in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities"

6. Night setting / paired with sleep and visions¶

Dream co-located with "night," "vision," "deep sleep." - Gen 20:3; 31:24; 40:5; 1 Kings 3:5 — "in a dream by night" - Job 7:14 — "thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions" - Job 33:15 — "In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אָמַר (ʼamar) — say	H559	24x (44%)	"he said… in a dream" / reporting dream speech
חָלַם (chalam) — dream (vb)	H2492	16x (30%)	cognate verb + noun: "dreamed a dream"
אֱלֹהִים (ʼelohim) — God	H430	14x (26%)	"God came… in a dream" as agent of revelation
הִנֵּה (hinneh) — behold	H2009	11x (20%)	marker of dream-vision content ("behold, seven kine…")
סָפַר (çaphar) — recount, tell	H5608	10x (19%)	"told his dream" — dreams are narrated to be interpreted
יְהֹוָה (Yhwh) — LORD	H3068	9x (17%)	LORD as speaker in / source of dream
נָבִיא (nabiʼ) — prophet	H5030	9x (17%)	dreamer paired or contrasted with prophet
בּוֹא (bôʼ) — come	H935	9x (17%)	"God came in a dream"
לַיִל (layil) — night	H3915	8x (15%)	"in a dream by night" formula
יוֹסֵף (Yoseph)	H3130	8x (15%)	Joseph narrative concentration
רָאָה (raʼah) — see	H7200	7x (13%)	"I saw in my dream"
דָּבָר (dabar) — word/matter	H1697	7x (13%)	the "thing/matter" communicated in the dream
פַּרְעֹה (Parʻoh) — Pharaoh	H6547	6x (11%)	Pharaoh's dreams in Gen 41

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2492 חָלַם (chalam) — cognate verb: "to dream" (the dreaming action); also "to be plump/strong/recover"
H2493 חֵלֶם (chelem) — Aramaic cognate noun: "dream," used 22× in the Aramaic portions of Daniel (2–7)

Synonyms¶

No synonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H2472.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H2472.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
חֵלֶם (chelem)	H2493	"dream," "the dream," "dreams"	Aramaic form, restricted to Dan 2–7; chalom is the Hebrew word elsewhere
חָלַם (chalam)	H2492	occasionally translated "dream" (as verb or substantive participle)	verbal — the action; chalom is the nominal product
ὄναρ (onar)	G3677	NT "dream" (6× in Matthew)	Greek NT: more restricted, mostly Matthean infancy narrative
ἐνυπνιάζομαι (enypniazomai)	G1797	"dream(er)"	Greek verb counterpart — action of dreaming
חָזוֹן (chazon) / חִזָּיוֹן (chizzayon)	H2377 / H2384	often paired as "vision"	vision is waking or night revelation by sight; chalom is specifically during sleep

Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
002004002015	Vision	`search_relationships.py` places chălôwm in the broader revelatory field of dream/vision, fitting its regular pairing with visions, prophets, and interpreted revelation.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
ἐνύπνιον (enypnion)	G1798	40	8.04	Primary LXX equivalent — "something seen in sleep"
ἐνυπνιάζομαι (enypniazomai)	G1797	13	8.19	Verbal/cognate translation ("to dream")
ὕπνος (hupnos)	G5258	12	7.12	"sleep" — used where idiom involves sleep itself
διηγέομαι (diegeomai)	G1334	8	6.19	"recount/tell" — rendering of the telling, not the dream
συγκρίνω (sygkrino)	G4793	4	7.57	"interpret/compare" — for dream-interpretation contexts
ὅρασις (horasis)	G3706	4	4.31	"vision" — overlap when dream parallels vision

The LXX bridge to ἐνύπνιον (enypnion) is strong and consistent; ὄναρ (onar, G3677) — the NT term for dream — is used in the NT but is not the primary LXX rendering.