H2719 — חֶרֶב (chereb)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2719
Original: חֶרֶב
Transliteration: chereb
Pronunciation: kheh'-reb
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: חָרַב (charab) — to be dry, desolate; by extension, destructive cutting
Occurrences: 372 unique verses (433 tokens) across 33 books
First Occurrence: Gen 3:24 — "he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword (chereb) which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From charab; drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or other sharp implement: axe, dagger, knife, mattock, sword, tool.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
sword (all forms: the/a/his/my/thy/etc.)	350	94.1%
swords / their swords	15	4.0%
dagger / a dagger	3	0.8%
knives / knife	3	0.8%
tool (thy tool)	1	0.3%
axes (with his axes)	1	0.3%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Nahum	3	6.4
Ezekiel	79	6.2
Amos	8	5.5
Jeremiah	62	4.5
Judges	23	3.7
Joshua	19	2.9
Micah	3	2.9
Lamentations	4	2.6
Haggai	1	2.6
Hosea	5	2.5
1 Samuel	19	2.3
2 Samuel	14	2.0
Zephaniah	1	1.9
Isaiah	18	1.4
Zechariah	3	1.4
Joel	1	1.4
1 Kings	9	1.1
2 Kings	8	1.1
2 Chronicles	9	1.1
Job	10	0.9
1 Chronicles	8	0.8
Leviticus	7	0.8
Deuteronomy	7	0.7
Psalms	18	0.7
Exodus	8	0.7
Numbers	9	0.7
Esther	1	0.6
Nehemiah	2	0.5
Genesis	6	0.4
Proverbs	4	0.4
Ezra	1	0.4
Daniel	1	0.3
Song of Solomon	1	—

Heavily concentrated in prophetic judgment literature: Ezekiel (79x, 6.2/100v) and Jeremiah (62x, 4.5/100v) together account for 38% of all occurrences. Historical conquest narratives (Joshua, Judges, Samuel) form the second major cluster. Absent from Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Obadiah, Jonah, Habakkuk, Malachi.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Judgment / Covenant Curse¶

The sword as God's instrument of punitive judgment, often in the triad chereb + ra'ab (famine) + deber (pestilence). - Lev 26:25 — "I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant" - Jer 14:12 — "I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence" - Eze 5:12 — "a third part of thee shall fall by the sword round about thee" - Eze 14:21 — "my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence"

2. Military Conquest and Warfare¶

The sword as the standard instrument of battlefield killing, especially the phrase "edge of the sword" (pi chereb, lit. "mouth of the sword"). - Jos 6:21 — "utterly destroyed all that was in the city... with the edge of the sword" - Jdg 4:16 — "all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword" - 1Sa 17:47 — "the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's" - 2Sa 2:26 — "Shall the sword devour for ever?"

3. God's Own Sword (Theophanic / Apocalyptic)¶

The sword wielded directly by God or his angel as a visible manifestation of divine power. - Gen 3:24 — "a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" - Deu 32:41 — "If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment" - Isa 27:1 — "the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan" - Isa 34:5-6 — "my sword shall be bathed in heaven... the sword of the LORD is filled with blood" - 1Ch 21:16 — "the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand"

4. Personal Weapon / Instrument¶

The sword as a physical object carried, drawn, girded, or used by individuals. - Jdg 3:16 — "Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges" - 1Sa 17:51 — "David... took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him" - 1Sa 31:4 — "Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith" - Neh 4:18 — "every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded"

5. Metaphorical — Speech, Harm, Treachery¶

The sword as a figure for destructive speech or hidden danger. - Psa 57:4 — "whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword" - Pro 5:4 — "her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword" - Pro 12:18 — "There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword" - Isa 49:2 — "he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword"

6. Eschatological Peace — Absence of the Sword¶

The cessation of sword violence as an image of the messianic age. - Isa 2:4 — "they shall beat their swords into plowshares" - Mic 4:3 — "they shall beat their swords into plowshares... nation shall not lift up a sword against nation" - Hos 2:18 — "I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth" - Lev 26:6 — "I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land"

7. Cutting Tool (Non-weapon)¶

Rare usage where chereb refers to a knife, chisel, or other implement. - Jos 5:2-3 — "Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel" - Exo 20:25 — "if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it" - 1Ki 18:28 — "cut themselves after their manner with knives"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
נָפַל (naphal)	H5307	63x	"fall by the sword" — the standard idiom for dying in battle/judgment
נָכָה (nakah)	H5221	49x	"smite with the edge of the sword" — active killing in conquest
רָעָב (ra'ab)	H7458	40x	"the sword, the famine" — judgment triad pair
נָתַן (nathan)	H5414	57x	"give to the sword" — deliver over to destruction
אֶרֶץ (erets)	H776	65x	"sword upon the land" — territorial judgment scope
יָד (yad)	H3027	47x	"sword in his hand" — wielding, also "edge (mouth) of the sword"
אִישׁ (iysh)	H376	44x	"every man his sword" — universal arming or individual combat
עִיר (iyr)	H5892	37x	"smite the city with the sword" — urban warfare/conquest
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	37x	"the king... by the sword" — royal judgment or assassination
עַם (am)	H5971	38x	"the people... by the sword" — collective national judgment

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2717 חָרַב (charab) — root verb: to be dry, desolate, waste; also to lay waste with the sword
H2720 חָרֵב (chareb) — adjective: dry, desolate
H2721 חֹרֶב (choreb) — noun: drought, heat, desolation

Synonyms¶

No discrete synonym list was returned by search_relationships.py for H2719.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H2719.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
שֶׁלַח (shelach)	H7973	"sword" (3x)	shelach = missile weapon, dart, spear — a projectile, not a blade
מַאֲכֶלֶת (ma'akeleth)	H3979	"knife" (1x)	ma'akeleth = eating knife, specifically the sacrificial knife (Gen 22:6)
מַחֲלָף (machalap)	H4252	"knives" (1x)	machalap = sacrificial knife used in temple service (Ezra 1:9)
רֶצַח (retsach)	H7524	"sword" (1x)	retsach = a crushing instrument, linked to murder (from ratsach)

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[001002008001017] Tools — Neighboring entries returned by search_relationships.py: אֹבֶן (H70), אָזֵן (H240), אֲנָךְ (H594), אֶרֶג (H708), אֵת (H853), אֵת (H854).
[001002008001020] Weapons — Neighboring entries returned by search_relationships.py: אַשְׁפָּה (H827), בַּחוּן (H971), דֶּבֶק (H1694), זֵק (H2131), חֲנִית (H2595), חֵץ (H2671).
[002003002006] Conflict — Neighboring entries returned by search_relationships.py: איב (H340), איב (H341), אנה (H578), אנה (H579), בוא (H935), גוד (H1464).

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ῥομφαία (rhomphaia) G4501	172	30.32	Primary — the large broadsword; dominant in LXX for chereb
μάχαιρα (machaira) G3162	150	29.51	Secondary — the short sword/knife; nearly as frequent
σπάω (spao) G4685	20	17.36	Verb "to draw" — translates "drew the sword" contexts
λιμός (limos) G3042	38	17.36	"Famine" — co-occurs in judgment-triad verses, not a translation
θάνατος (thanatos) G2288	27	9.48	"Death" — interpretive rendering in some LXX passages

The LXX translators split chereb between two distinct Greek words: rhomphaia (the large Thracian broadsword) and machaira (the short sword or dagger). This split carries into the NT, where rhomphaia becomes the apocalyptic sword from Christ's mouth (Revelation) while machaira is the everyday sword (Peter's sword, the Spirit's sword in Eph 6:17).