Lexical Summary
cheder: Room, chamber, inner room
Original Word:חֶדֶר
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:cheder
Pronunciation:kheh'-der
Phonetic Spelling:(kheh'-der)
KJV: ((bed) inner)chamber, innermost(-ward) part, parlour, + south, X within
NASB:inner room, room, chambers, rooms, bedroom, innermost parts, chamber
Word Origin:[fromH2314 (חָדַר - surrounds)]
1. an apartment (usually literal)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
inner chamber, innermost part, parlor, south, within
Fromchadar; an apartment (usually literal) -- ((bed) inner)chamber, innermost(-ward) part, parlour, + south, X within.
see HEBREWchadar
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
chadarDefinitiona chamber, room
NASB Translationbedroom (3), bedroom* (5), chamber (1), chambers (4), inner chamber (1), inner room (5), innermost (1), innermost parts (3), inside* (1), room (5), rooms (4), south (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
1Chronicles 28:11 (Late Hebrew
id.; Phoenician , ; Sabean Mordt
ZMG, 1876, 24; Ethiopic
is not 'chamber,' but (from √
dwell)
dwelling-place, abode, tent.) — absolute
2 Samuel 13:10 11t.;
Genesis 43:20;
1 Kings 1:15;
Judges 15:1;
2 Samuel 13:10; construct
Songs 3:4;
Exodus 7:28 5t.; suffix
Joel 2:16; plural
Deuteronomy 32:25;
Proverbs 24:4; construct
Proverbs 7:27 8t.; suffix
Isaiah 26:20;
Songs 1:4;
1 Chronicles 28:11; —
room, chamber, usually private, as bedroom
Genesis 43:30 (J),
Judges 15:1;
Judges 16:9,12;
2 Samuel 13:10 (twice in verse);
1 Kings 1:15;
Songs 1:4;
Isaiah 26:20;
Judges 14:18 read probably
bridal-chamber for Sta
ZAW 1884, 253, compare
Joel 2:16 ("" of bride),
Songs 3:4 ("" ); of kings (of Egypt)
Psalm 105:30; specifically:
bed-chamberExodus 7:28 (J),
2 Samuel 4:7;
2 Kings 6:12;
Ecclesiastes 10:20; other combinations: —
Judges 3:24 =
cool chamber;
1 Chronicles 28:11inner chamber;
Ezekiel 8:12his chambers of imagery (strike out Hi Co Sgfrom);
a chamber within a chamber, i.e. an innermost chamber
1 Kings 20:30;
1 Kings 22:25 2Chronicles 18:24;
2 Kings 9:2; plural =
store-roomsProverbs 24:4; so
2 Kings 11:2 2Chronicles 22:11, i.e. room where beds were stored (Ke Th); metaphor
Proverbs 7:27 ("" );
Job 9:9chambers of south (where constellations are treasured up, see Di; Hoffm. thinks of proper name of star or constellation); compare
Job 37:9 a
chamber whence comes storm-wind (); i.e. inner parts of body, only figurative
Proverbs 18:8 =
Proverbs 26:22;
Proverbs 20:27,30; in
Deuteronomy 32:25 =
within, poetic for , ""
without.Topical Lexicon
Meaning and Range of Usageחֶדֶר (cheder) denotes an enclosed space set apart from public view—most often an inner room, bedroom, chamber, parlor, or storeroom. Although the word is architecturally concrete, Scripture consistently extends it into metaphors of secrecy, intimacy, and divine shelter.
Domestic and Personal Chambers
1. Family life is frequently pictured in the cheder. Rebekah tends Isaac in her tent-cheder (Genesis 24:67, implied). Joseph retreats to his cheder to weep privately over Benjamin (Genesis 43:30). Tamar serves Amnon in “the bedroom” before his sin (2 Samuel 13:10). These scenes underscore the chamber as a place where hidden joys and sorrows unfold—reminding believers that God witnesses the unseen events of the home.
Royal and Courtly Contexts
Kings maintained chedarim for counsel, sleep, and security. Eglon’s “cool roof chamber” (Judges 3:24) became the setting of judgment. Ahab’s anonymous courtier prophesied that Micaiah would “hide himself in an inner room” (1 Kings 22:25). The cheder of royalty, though guarded, cannot conceal the powerful from divine verdicts—a warning that earthly authority answers to the King of kings.
Temple and Palace Storehouses
In Solomon’s complex the term describes side-rooms that safeguarded treasures, instruments, and tithes (1 Kings 7:50;2 Kings 20:13). Later, Hezekiah’s unwisely displayed chedarim brought Isaiah’s rebuke (2 Kings 20:15). The cheder as a vault of riches speaks to stewardship: valuables and votive gifts belong to the Lord, not to human pride or political alliance.
Shelter and Protection
Isaiah 26:20 employs cheder to call God’s people to safety during judgment: “Go, My people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until wrath has passed.” The imagery recalls Israel’s Passover houses and foreshadows Christ, the ultimate refuge from wrath. In pastoral ministry, this verse assures saints of divine preservation amid tribulation.
Intimacy and Secrecy
Proverbs uses cheder to chart moral direction:
• “The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it” (Proverbs 22:14)—with the ensuing imagery of being trapped in her cheder (cf. 7:27).
• Conversely, “The secret counsel in a man’s heart is deep waters” (Proverbs 20:5). Cheder becomes the unseen core of motives, calling believers to cultivate purity in the inner life where only the Lord searches and knows (Proverbs 24:4;Psalm 139:15).
Prophetic Imagery and Eschatological Shadow
Amos declares that God “reveals His thoughts to mankind” yet “darkens dawn into darkness” and “treads on the heights of the earth” (Amos 4:13); He hears conspirators who plot “in their chambers” (Amos 3:10). Ezekiel’s vision of idolatry committed “in the inner chambers of the temple” (Ezekiel 8:12) anticipates judgment beginning at the house of God. These passages emphasize that divine omniscience penetrates every chamber; no sin is hidden, no prayer unheard.
Wisdom Literature and the Human Heart
Job laments bones knit together “in secret … curiously wrought in the depths of the earth” (Job 10:11–12).Psalm 139:15 echoes, “My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.” Here cheder shifts from architecture to anthropology: the womb is God’s sacred inner room where life originates, affirming the sanctity of unborn life.
Ministry and Devotional Application
• Prayer: Christ speaks of the ταμεῖον (Greek counterpart) inMatthew 6:6—“go into your inner room and shut your door.” The Hebrew precedent of cheder validates private prayer as essential to public faithfulness.
• Counseling: The cheder motif guides pastoral exhortation toward integrity. Leaders must guard both literal and metaphorical chambers—home, marriage bed, financial closets, and thought-life—for the sake of gospel witness.
• Suffering and Hope: Saints in distress are invited to “shut the door” with the widow of2 Kings 4:4, expecting miraculous provision when earthly resources fail.
Christological and Ecclesiological Insights
The bridegroom leads His bride “into his chambers” in Song of Songs 1:4, a love song that echoes the covenant’s ultimate consummation. Christ secures His church in the eternal cheder—the place He prepares (John 14:2–3). Until then, every gathered assembly forms a temporary cheder where believers experience foretastes of heavenly intimacy.
Key References
Genesis 43:30;Judges 3:24;2 Samuel 13:10;1 Kings 20:30;1 Kings 22:25;2 Kings 20:13–15;Isaiah 26:20;Ezekiel 8:12;Amos 3:10; Song of Songs 1:4;Matthew 6:6 (conceptual link).
Forms and Transliterations
בְּ֝חַדְרֵ֗י בְּחֶ֖דֶר בְּחַדְרֵ֣י בְּחָֽדֶר׃ בֶּחָ֑דֶר בַּחֲדַ֣ר בַּחֲדַ֥ר בַּחֶ֔דֶר בַחֲדָרֶ֔יךָ בחדר בחדר׃ בחדרי בחדריך הֶחָ֑דְרָה הֶחָֽדְרָה׃ הַ֭חֶדֶר הַחֶ֔דֶר הַחַ֔דְרָה הַחַ֖דְרָה החדר החדרה החדרה׃ וְחַדְרֵ֥י וַחֲדָרָ֥יו וּבְחַדְרֵי֙ וּבַחֲדַ֥ר וּמֵחֲדָרִ֖ים ובחדר ובחדרי וחדרי וחדריו ומחדרים חֲדָרִ֣ים חֲדָרָ֗יו חֶ֖דֶר חֶ֥דֶר חַדְרֵי־ חדר חדרי־ חדריו חדרים מֵֽחֶדְר֔וֹ מחדרו ḇa·ḥă·ḏā·re·ḵā ba·ḥă·ḏar ba·ḥe·ḏer bachaDar baCheder baḥăḏar ḇaḥăḏāreḵā baḥeḏer be·ḥā·ḏer bə·ḥā·ḏer bə·ḥaḏ·rê bə·ḥe·ḏer beChader bechadRei beCheder beḥāḏer bəḥāḏer bəḥaḏrê bəḥeḏer chadaRav chadaRim chadrei Cheder ḥă·ḏā·rāw ḥă·ḏā·rîm ha·ḥaḏ·rāh ha·ḥe·ḏer haChadrah hacheDer ḥaḏ·rê- ḥăḏārāw ḥăḏārîm ḥaḏrê- haḥaḏrāh haḥeḏer ḥe·ḏer he·ḥā·ḏə·rāh heChaderah ḥeḏer heḥāḏərāh mê·ḥeḏ·rōw mechedRo mêḥeḏrōw ū·ḇa·ḥă·ḏar ū·ḇə·ḥaḏ·rê ū·mê·ḥă·ḏā·rîm ūḇaḥăḏar ūḇəḥaḏrê umechadaRim ūmêḥăḏārîm uvachaDar uvechadRei vachadaRav vachadaReicha vechadRei wa·ḥă·ḏā·rāw waḥăḏārāw wə·ḥaḏ·rê wəḥaḏrê
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