H2742 — חֲרוּץ (charuwts)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2742
Original: חֲרוּץ (also חָרֻץ)
Transliteration: charuwts (charuts)
Pronunciation: khaw-roots
Part of Speech: Adjective / masculine noun
Root: חָרַץ (charats, H2782) — to point sharply, incise, decide
Occurrences: 19 tokens / 17 unique verses across 8 books
First Occurrence: Job 41:30 — "Sharp stones [are] under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Passive participle of H2782; properly, incised or (active) incisive; hence (as noun masculine or feminine) a trench (as dug), gold (as mined), a threshing-sledge (having sharp teeth); (figuratively) determination; also eager: — decision, diligent, (fine) gold, pointed things, sharp, threshing instrument, wall.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
of the diligent / diligent	5	29.4%
gold / fine gold	5	29.4%
threshing instrument(s)	2	11.8%
sharp / sharp pointed things	2	11.8%
of decision	1	5.9%
and the wall	1	5.9%
rather than	1	5.9%

Note: Several verses use H2742 in compound phrases (e.g., "than fine gold," "rather than choice gold") where the KJV tagline includes surrounding English words.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Proverbs	9	1.0
Isaiah	2	0.2
Joel	1	1.4
Amos	1	0.7
Zechariah	1	0.5
Daniel	1	0.3
Job	1	0.1
Psalms	1	0.0

Heavily concentrated in Proverbs (9 of 17 verses, 53%). Wisdom literature dominates the "diligent" and "gold" senses. Prophetic books use the "threshing instrument," "decision," and "wall/moat" senses. The word is absent from the Pentateuch, historical books, and the NT.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Diligence / Industriousness¶

The most frequent sense in Proverbs, where charuwts describes the character trait of sharp, determined effort — contrasted with the sluggard (atsel H6102) and the slack/deceitful (remiyyah H7423).

Pro 10:4 — "He becometh poor that dealeth [with] a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich."
Pro 12:24 — "The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute."
Pro 13:4 — "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and [hath] nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat."
Pro 21:5 — "The thoughts of the diligent [tend] only to plenteousness; but of every one [that is] hasty only to want."

2. Fine Gold / Precious Metal¶

Used as a noun for gold (as something cut/mined from the earth). Appears in value-comparison formulas where wisdom, instruction, or knowledge is declared more precious than charuwts.

Pro 3:14 — "For the merchandise of it [is] better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold."
Pro 8:19 — "My fruit [is] better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver."
Pro 16:16 — "How much better [is it] to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!"
Psa 68:13 — "Though ye have lien among the pots, [yet shall ye be as] the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold."
Zec 9:3 — "And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets."

3. Threshing Instrument / Sharp Agricultural Tool¶

Refers to the threshing sledge — a heavy board fitted with sharp stones or iron teeth dragged over grain. Both literal agricultural and figurative judgment imagery.

Isa 28:27 — "For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin."
Isa 41:15 — "Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat [them] small."
Amo 1:3 — "Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron."

4. Physical Sharpness¶

The base adjectival sense: something incised, pointed, or cutting.

Job 41:30 — "Sharp stones [are] under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire."

5. Decision / Determination¶

Abstract figurative sense from the root meaning "to cut" → "to decide." Used for the eschatological "valley of decision."

Joel 3:14 — "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD [is] near in the valley of decision."

6. Wall / Moat / Trench (Fortification)¶

Something cut or dug — a defensive trench or moat. Paired with rechob (open plaza/street) in Daniel's prophecy of Jerusalem's rebuilding.

Dan 9:25 — "the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."

In the Hebrew text, Dan 9:25 reads rechob wechârûts — "plaza and moat/trench." The KJV renders charuwts as "wall" here. The Hebrew parser confirms the word appears as a masculine noun absolute in this verse.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
כֶּסֶף (keseph)	H3701	6x (35%)	"gold and silver" — value comparisons in Proverbs and Zechariah
בָּחַר (bachar)	H977	3x (18%)	"to be chosen rather than" — wisdom-over-wealth formulas
דּוּשׁ (duwsh)	H1758	3x (18%)	"thresh with threshing instrument" — agricultural and judgment
טוֹב (towb)	H2896	3x (18%)	"better than gold" — superiority comparisons
רְמִיָּה (remiyyah)	H7423	3x (18%)	Antithetic contrast: "diligent" vs. "slack/deceitful"
בָּנָה (banah)	H1129	2x (12%)	Building context — Dan 9:25 and Proverbs
שׁוּב (shuwb)	H7725	2x (12%)	"shall be built again" — restoration context

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2782 חָרַץ (charats) — root verb: to point sharply, incise, decide, determine. See H2782-charats.md.
H2757 חֲרִיץ (chariyts) — threshing sledge; cutting instrument (from same root)
H2742 is the passive participle form of H2782, functioning as both adjective and noun.

Synonyms¶

H7626 שֵׁבֶט (shebet) — rod, staff (overlaps in instrument sense)
H4294 מַטֶּה (matteh) — rod, staff (threshing-related instrument)

Antonyms¶

H6102 עָצֵל (atsel) — sluggard, lazy (opposite of "diligent" sense)
H7423 רְמִיָּה (remiyyah) — slackness, deceit (opposite of "diligent" sense)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
זָהָב (zahab)	H2091	"gold" (96v vs. 5v)	zahab is the common, general term for gold; charuwts is a poetic/wisdom term for fine/choice gold, emphasizing its mined/refined quality
כֶּתֶם (kethem)	H3800	"gold" (2v vs. 5v)	kethem = something carved out, pure gold nuggets; charuwts = incised/mined gold
בֶּצֶר (betser)	H1220	"gold" (1v vs. 5v)	betser = gold ore, a clipping; charuwts = cut/refined gold
χρυσίον (chrysion)	G5553	gold (via LXX)	Greek diminutive of chrysos; used as the primary LXX rendering of charuwts in its gold sense

Semantic Domains¶

Metals — alongside H913 bediyl (tin), H1220 betser (gold ore), H1270 barzel (iron)
Fortifications — alongside H759 armown (palace/citadel), H1225 bitstsarown (stronghold), H1785 dayeq (siege-wall)
Diligent — alongside H2734 charah (be zealous), H3018 yegiya (toil), H5647 abad (labor)
Tools — alongside H240 azen (scales), H594 anak (plumb line)
Impact/Shape — sharp or cutting instruments and objects

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
χρυσίον (chrysion) G5553	6	5.31	Primary rendering for "gold" sense
ἀργύριον (argyrion) G694	5	4.71	"Silver" — appears in same verses as charuwts in comparison formulas
χείρ (cheir) G5495	3	1.59	"Hand" — from "hand of the diligent" collocations

The LXX translates the gold sense of charuwts with chrysion (a gold article/piece). The "diligent" sense is rendered variously, and the "threshing instrument" sense appears to use different Greek vocabulary across passages.