H2553 — חַמָּן (chammân)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2553
Original: חַמָּן
Transliteration: chammân
Pronunciation: kham-mawn
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: Lexicon root field is unpopulated; BDB/TWOT data in the local lexicon identifies the word as a sun-pillar term and aligns it with the solar stem seen in H2535 חַמָּה (chammâh, "sun/heat")
Occurrences: 8 tokens in 8 unique verses across 4 OT books
First Occurrence: Lev 26:30 — "And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

The local Strong's lexicon gives the basic sense: "a sun-pillar: idol, image." The fuller BDB entry in the same lexicon table sharpens that: H2553 is used only for an idolatrous cult object, always in plural forms, and always in anti-idolatry contexts. It is regularly paired with other forbidden worship fixtures such as high places, altars, Asherah poles/groves, and graven images.

Two lexical points matter for the canonical entry:

The KJV translates the word generically as images / idols, so the English surface form hides the word's more specific solar/cultic nuance.
Every biblical occurrence is hostile. H2553 is never neutral, decorative, or legitimate; it is always something to destroy, cut down, break, or refuse.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
your images	3	37.5%
the images	1	12.5%
and the images	1	12.5%
or the images	1	12.5%
and images	1	12.5%
the idols	1	12.5%

The KJV rendering is almost entirely the generic image(s) vocabulary. Only one verse uses idols. None of the English renderings preserve the more specific lexical idea of a sun-pillar / solar cult object.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 Chronicles	3	0.4
Ezekiel	2	0.2
Isaiah	2	0.2
Leviticus	1	0.1

The distribution is narrow and consistent. H2553 appears only in covenant-law warning, reform narrative, and prophetic anti-idolatry material. It is absent from wisdom literature, psalms, patriarchal narrative, and ordinary temple-service vocabulary. The word belongs to the idol-eradication register.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Covenant-Curse Target¶

The first occurrence places H2553 in the sanctions of covenant judgment: these cult objects are among the things YHWH Himself will destroy when Israel persists in rebellion. - Lev 26:30 — "I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images"

2. Royal Reform Object Removed from Judah¶

In Chronicles the word belongs to reform narratives where faithful kings dismantle illicit worship installations throughout the land. - 2 Chr 14:5 — Asa "took away... the high places and the images" - 2 Chr 34:4 — Josiah's men cut down "the images" above the Baal altars - 2 Chr 34:7 — after breaking altars and beating graven images to powder, Josiah "cut down all the idols"

3. Object of Repentance and Reorientation to YHWH¶

Isaiah uses H2553 in calls to stop looking at hand-made worship objects and to remove them as part of sin's purging. - Isa 17:8 — the repentant man will not respect what his fingers made, "either the groves, or the images" - Isa 27:9 — Jacob's sin is removed when "the groves and images shall not stand up"

4. Prophetic Judgment Against Local Shrine Worship¶

Ezekiel places H2553 in the full collapse of illicit worship sites: altars ruined, idols broken, and worshippers slain before the objects they served. - Ezek 6:4 — "your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken" - Ezek 6:6 — "your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished"

Across all eight verses, the semantic profile is stable: H2553 denotes a forbidden cult object associated with elevated or altar-centered worship and marked for destruction.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אֲשֵׁרָה (ʼăshêrâh)	H842	4x	paired with groves/Asherah objects in idol-purge lists
בָּמָה (bâmâh)	H1116	3x	linked with high places as part of illicit shrine vocabulary
גָּדַע (gâdaʻ)	H1438	3x	"cut down" is a standard action performed against H2553
גִּלּוּל (gillûwl)	H1544	3x	appears with the broader idol vocabulary of defiling cult objects
שָׁבַר (shâbar)	H7665	3x	"broken" marks the object's destruction in judgment/reform scenes
נָתַץ (nâthats)	H5422	2x	altars and associated cult fixtures are torn down together
פְּסִיל (pᵉciyl)	H6456	2x	paired with graven-image terminology in reform material
מַעֲשֶׂה (maʻăseh)	H4639	2x	Isaiah treats these as works made by human hands

The collocations show that H2553 is not free-floating image language. It lives inside a fixed destruction cluster: high places, altars, groves, graven images, breaking, cutting down, abolishing.

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2535 חַמָּה (chammâh) — "heat, sun"; the closest local lexical parallel to the solar element behind "sun-pillar"
H842 אֲשֵׁרָה (ʼăshêrâh) — grove/Asherah object, a frequent cult-object neighbor in the same verses
H1116 בָּמָה (bâmâh) — high place, the worship-site term most often paired with H2553

Synonyms / Nearby Terms¶

search_relationships.py does not return a curated synonym list for H2553 beyond its placement in the Cult Objects domain. The nearest neighboring idol terms from the local relationship and LXX-overlap data are:

H457 אֱלִיל (ʼĕlîyl) — worthless idol / thing of nought
H6091 עָצָב (ʻâtsâb) — idol, image
H6459 פֶּסֶל (peçel) — carved / graven image
H4541 מַסֵּכָה (maççêkâh) — molten / cast image
H1544 גִּלּוּל (gillûwl) — idol, often in defiling polemic

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H2553.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation / Overlap	Key Difference
צֶלֶם (tselem)	H6754	Shares the KJV surface translation "image(s)"	Broader image/resemblance word; only occasionally an idol term. H2553 is always a forbidden cult object.
עָצָב (ʻâtsâb)	H6091	Shares the LXX idol-image overlap through G1497	General idol/image term. H2553 is narrower and tied to the solar/cult-pillar idea.
גִּלּוּל (gillûwl)	H1544	Appears in the same verses and shares idol overlap through G1497	A contempt term for idols/log-like cult objects; H2553 names a specific cult-object subtype rather than the broader polemical category.
פֶּסֶל (peçel)	H6459	Overlaps in graven-image contexts and LXX idol mapping	Emphasizes the carved nature of the object. H2553 does not foreground carving but the illicit cult object itself.
מַסֵּכָה (maççêkâh)	H4541	Overlaps in idol/image vocabulary and LXX mapping	Emphasizes a cast/molten image. H2553 instead points to the sun-pillar type within the cult-object field.
אֱלִיל (ʼĕlîyl)	H457	Shares generic "idol" sense in the Greek bridge data	Emphasizes worthlessness/vanity. H2553 is more concrete and object-specific.
אֲשֵׁרָה (ʼăshêrâh)	H842	Frequent collocational partner	A distinct goddess/image/grove term. It is regularly listed beside H2553, not as the same object.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
εἴδωλον (eídōlon)	G1497	6	8.10	Primary Greek bridge; the standard idol/image term
θυσιαστήριον (thysiastērion)	G2379	5	5.51	Reflects the altar-context cluster surrounding the word
ὑψηλός (hupsēlos)	G5308	3	5.71	Tracks the high-place/elevated setting in associated passages
συντρίβω (syntribō)	G4937	3	5.68	Destruction verb corresponding to the breaking/shattering context

The primary bridge is clearly G1497 εἴδωλον. In Greek, H2553 is absorbed into the broader idol-image vocabulary rather than preserving a separate technical solar term.

Semantic Domains¶

[001002008001006] Cult Objects — search_relationships.py places H2553 in the same cult-object field as H434/H457 אֱלִיל, H842 אֲשֵׁרָה, H1544 גִּלּוּל, A4056 מַדְבַּח, and H4196 מִזְבֵּחַ.

That domain fits the raw usage exactly: H2553 never appears as abstract false worship in general, but as a concrete cult fixture embedded in shrine and idol-destruction lists.