Lexical Summary
choach: Thorn, thornbush
Original Word:חוֹחַ
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:chowach
Pronunciation:kho'-akh
Phonetic Spelling:(kho'-akh)
KJV: bramble, thistle, thorn
NASB:thorn bush, thorns, briars, hook, hooks, thickets, thistles
Word Origin:[from an unused root apparently meaning to pierce]
1. a thorn
2. by analogy, a ring for the nose
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
bramble, thistle, thorn
From an unused root apparently meaning to pierce; a thorn; by analogy, a ring for the nose -- bramble, thistle, thorn.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originof uncertain derivation
Definitionbriar, bramble, hook, ring, fetter
NASB Translationbriars (1), hook (1), hooks (1), thickets (1), thistles (1), thorn (1), thorn bush (4), thorns (2).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
2Kings 14:9 .
; — absoluteHosea 9:6 8t; plural1 Samuel 13:6 (but see below),Songs 2:2; 2Chronicles 33:11; —brier, bramble2 Kings 14:9 (twice in verse) = 2Chronicles 25:18 (twice in verse) (allegory of Jehoash); collective, sign of desolationHosea 9:6 ("" ),Isaiah 34:13 ("" , ),Job 31:40 (opposed to ); in simile of fool's parableProverbs 26:9a brier cometh into the hand of a drunken man (De Now Str); ;Songs 2:2;briers =thickets as hiding-places1 Samuel 13:6 (but Ew We Drholes, compare1 Samuel 14:11; see below III.; "" , , , ; here ;1 Samuel 14:11 . ,hook orring, in jaw of crocodile withJob 40:26 ("" ); of captive 2Chronicles 33:11 (compare ).
Topical Lexicon
Botanical Imagery and Symbolismחוֹחַ pictures the low, tangled, thorn-laden bushes that crowd the arid hillsides of the Near East. Their prickly density makes them useful for hedging but useless for fruit or shade, a perfect emblem of barrenness, obstruction, and pain. The Old Testament writers draw on this plant to illustrate three dominant ideas: (1) a place of hiding or entanglement, (2) the fragility of human presumption before divine sovereignty, and (3) the desolation that befalls the unrepentant.
Occurrences in Historical Narratives
1 Samuel 13:6 records Israelite soldiers hiding “in caves, in thickets, among rocks” when Philistine pressure exposed their fear. The thorn-thickets underscore their confinement; rebellion against the Lord’s prior command (verses 8-13) yields the confinement of His people.
In the royal parable delivered by Jehoash of Israel to Amaziah of Judah (2 Kings 14:9; repeated in2 Chronicles 25:18) the “thistle in Lebanon” demands a marriage alliance with the majestic cedar. The fragile thorn mocks Amaziah’s pride, warning that overreaching ends in trampling. The image reminds every generation that human status must bow to divine ordering.
2 Chronicles 33:11 employs the term in a concrete way. Assyrian captors “put a hook in his nose” when they seized Manasseh. The iron ring is literally a “thorn,” turning botanical pain into an instrument of humiliation. Manasseh’s subsequent repentance (verses 12-13) shows that divine chastening, however severe, seeks restoration.
Wisdom and Poetic Usage
Job’s self-imprecation (Job 31:40) – “let briers grow instead of wheat” – treats thorns as the antithesis of cultivated blessing; unrighteousness deserves a harvest of futility.
Job 41:2 applies חוֹחַ to the hook intended for Leviathan’s jaw, highlighting human impotence before God’s fearsome creature.
Proverbs 26:9 compares “a thornbush in the hand of a drunkard” to “a proverb in the mouth of a fool.” Mishandled wisdom wounds rather than heals; truth must be soberly applied.
Song of Songs 2:2 contrasts covenant love with common humanity: “Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women.” The beloved’s purity rises above the scratchy mass of the ordinary, prefiguring the church’s beauty amid a hostile world.
Prophetic Warning and Judgment
Isaiah 34:13 announces that Edom’s fortresses “will be overgrown with thorns,” a vivid portrait of irreversible ruin. LikewiseHosea 9:6 foretells that “thorns will be in their tents” when Israel clings to idolatry. In both passages חוֹחַ marks the land as cursed, echoingGenesis 3:18 and reminding hearers that rebellion reactivates Eden’s sentence.
Metaphorical Extension: Restraint and Control
When the word denotes a hook (2 Chronicles 33:11;Job 41:2), it keeps its thorny essence: a sharp point that pierces flesh, subdues strength, and leads the captive at another’s will. The same root that pricks the ground can pierce the nose, showing that unchecked sin not only blocks progress but also enslaves.
Historical and Cultural Background
Ancient farmers routinely cleared thorns from fields to prevent fire and facilitate plowing. Shepherds interwove thorn branches to fence nightfolds. Soldiers sometimes used thickets for concealment, as at Michmash. The dual nature—protective hedge yet painful barrier—made thorn imagery readily accessible to prophet, sage, and psalmist.
Practical Ministry Insights
• Pride plants thistles that divine providence will trample (2 Kings 14:9).
• Hidden sin breeds fearful hiding among thickets (1 Samuel 13:6); confession brings liberty.
• Discipline, whether personal or national, may come in the form of a “hook,” but its purpose is repentance (2 Chronicles 33:12-13).
• A careless teacher wielding Scripture can injure like a drunkard with a thornbush (Proverbs 26:9); reverent handling of the Word is imperative.
• Genuine love, patterned after Christ, stands out as a lily among thorns (Song of Songs 2:2) and calls the church to holiness amid cultural hostility.
Redemptive Foreshadowings
Every appearance of חוֹחַ pulls the reader back to the ground that brought forth “thorns and thistles” after the fall. The curse culminates at Calvary, where a crown of thorns encircles the Redeemer’s brow, absorbing the sign of judgment so that creation may one day yield only blessing (Revelation 22:3). Thus the humble thornbush, scattered through Israel’s story, directs faith toward the One who turns barrenness into fruitfulness and bondage into freedom.
Forms and Transliterations
בַּחֹחִ֑ים בחחים הַח֜וֹחַ הַחֽוֹחַ׃ הַחוֹחִ֔ים החוח החוח׃ החוחים וָח֖וֹחַ וּ֝בְח֗וֹחַ וּבַֽחֲוָחִים֙ ובחוח ובחוחים וחוח ח֖וֹחַ ח֗וֹחַ ח֭וֹחַ חוח ba·ḥō·ḥîm bachoChim baḥōḥîm Choach ha·ḥō·w·aḥ ha·ḥō·w·ḥîm haChoach hachoChim haḥōwaḥ haḥōwḥîm ḥō·w·aḥ ḥōwaḥ ū·ḇa·ḥă·wā·ḥîm ū·ḇə·ḥō·w·aḥ ūḇaḥăwāḥîm ūḇəḥōwaḥ uvachavaChim uveChoach vaChoach wā·ḥō·w·aḥ wāḥōwaḥ
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