Lexical Summary
chamam: To be warm, to heat, to become hot
Original Word:חָמַם
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:chamam
Pronunciation:khaw-MAM
Phonetic Spelling:(khaw-mam')
KJV: enflame self, get (have) heat, be (wax) hot, (be, wax) warm (self, at)
NASB:hot, warm, keep warm, warms, mated, became warm, become heated
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to be hot (literally or figuratively)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
enflame self, get have heat, be wax hot, be, wax warm self, at
A primitive root; to be hot (literally or figuratively) -- enflame self, get (have) heat, be (wax) hot, (be, wax) warm (self, at).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto be or become warm
NASB Translationbecame warm (1), become heated (1), grew hot (1), heat (1), hot (6), inflame (1), keep warm (3), mated (2), warm (4), warmed (1), warms (3).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (Late Hebrew
id., Pi`el,
make warm, Aramaic
,
be warm; Arabic
become hot, of water; also
heat, kindle fire in) —
PerfectPsalm 39:4;Exodus 16:21; consecutive1 Kings 1:2;Ecclesiastes 4:11;Isaiah 44:16;ImperfectIsaiah 44:16;2 Kings 4:34;Isaiah 44:15; also1 Kings 1:1;Deuteronomy 19:6;Ecclesiastes 4:11; 3feminine singularEzekiel 24:11;Hosea 7:7;Genesis 30:39;Genesis 30:38 (last seven forms could be also from q. v.; but no decisive evidence that this v is used in Qal; they are placed under by Thes Ew§ 193 a Ol§ 243 b; see also Köi. 365, 417 ff., who on account of Pi`el InfinitiveGenesis 30:41;Genesis 31:10, derives last two, needlessly, from );InfinitiveIsaiah 47:14, compareJob 30:4 (where, however, is from Mich Di unless (Luzz Che) we read Pi`el Infinitive in both);1 Samuel 11:9;Haggai 1:6;Nehemiah 7:3; suffixJob 6:17;Jeremiah 51:39; —
literally,be orgrow warmExodus 16:21 (P; subject ), compare1 Samuel 11:9;Nehemiah 7:3 andJob 6:17 (suffix of impersonal subject); from fireIsaiah 44:15,16 (twice in verse);Isaiah 47:14 (compare above); natural heat1 Kings 1:1,2(by personal contact), so2 Kings 4:34;Ecclesiastes 4:11 (twice in verse), from clothingHaggai 1:6; of Jerusalem under figure of pot or caldronEzekiel 24:11.
figurative, subjectPsalm 39:4 ("" ), compareDeuteronomy 19:6; of conspiratorsHosea 7:7; ChaldeansJeremiah 51:39.
(animals)Genesis 30:38,39 (compare ).
ParticipleIsaiah 57:5 (Köi. 371),inflame oneself with, of idolatry.
Imperfect3feminine singularJob 39:14keep eggswarm (of ostrich).
Imperfectwarm oneselfJob 31:20by means of fleece of sheep.
Topical Lexicon
Summary of UsageThe verb חָמַם appears thirteen times and always revolves around the idea of becoming warm or hot. Contexts range from literal bodily warmth to metaphorical descriptions of inner passion, idolatrous zeal, or divine judgement.
Physical Warmth and Care
•Exodus 16:21 pictures the manna “melting” when “the sun grew hot,” an ordinary meteorological observation that underscores timely obedience to God’s provision.
•1 Kings 1:2 records the attendants’ search for Abishag “that the king may keep warm,” reminding readers that the strongest monarch still shares common human frailty.
•Ecclesiastes 4:11 praises partnership: “If two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?” The verse couches warmth as a gift of fellowship and mutual support, a principle echoed in Christian community life.
Life Restored Through Heat
In2 Kings 4:34 Elisha stretches himself upon the Shunammite’s dead son, “and the boy’s body grew warm.” The warming precedes and signals the coming resurrection. Physical heat becomes a token of renewed life, foreshadowing the greater resurrection power revealed in Jesus Christ (John 11:43-44).
Domestic and Communal Fellowship
Job highlights everyday acts of charity: “If his heart did not bless me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep” (Job 31:20). Simple warmth for the poor illustrates righteousness.
Job 39:14 depicts the ostrich leaving her eggs “to warm in the dust,” reflecting God’s varied designs in nature.
Isaiah 44:15-16 ridicules the folly of a man who burns half a tree for fuel—“Indeed, he warms himself and says, ‘Ah! I am warm’”—while fashioning the rest into an idol. Legitimate household warmth is contrasted with illegitimate worship.
Metaphorical Heat: Inner Emotion
Psalm 39:3: “My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, the fire burned.” The word captures spiritual agitation that finally erupts in prayer.
Hosea 7:7 likens Israel to an oven: “All of them are hot like an oven; they consume their rulers.” Stormy political rebellion is pictured as overheating passion divorced from divine dependence.
Idolatrous Passion and False Comforts
Isaiah 57:5 rebukes those who “burn with lust among the oaks,” exposing how carnal heat fuels apostasy. The same root that speaks of hearth-fire now brands illicit religious zeal, illustrating the misdirection of God-given capacities.
Divine Judgement Portrayed as Consuming Heat
Isaiah 47:14 warns Babylon: “It is not a coal for warming, nor a fire to sit before.” The coming judgement will not comfort but consume. God alone decides whether fire warms or destroys, a sobering complement to earlier tender uses of the verb.
Prophetic and Pastoral Applications
1. Compassion: Supplying warmth—food, clothing, shelter—remains a practical outworking of faith (James 2:15-16).
2. Vigilance: Spiritual fervor must align with truth lest it degenerate into idolatrous heat (Romans 10:2).
3. Hope: The warming of the Shunammite boy prefigures resurrection, encouraging believers to trust God’s life-giving power amid apparent death.
Christological and Ministry Implications
Christ’s ministry embodies righteous warmth: He feeds the hungry, restores life, and kindles true spiritual fire (Luke 12:49). The Church is called to radiate that same wholesome heat—warming the cold, restraining destructive passions, and announcing judgment that drives people to the only safe hearth, the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
Forms and Transliterations
הַנֵּֽחָמִים֙ הנחמים וְחַ֖ם וְחַ֣ם וְחַ֥ם וַיָּ֔חָם וַיָּ֖חָם וחם ויחם חַם־ חַמּוֹתִ֖י חם־ חמותי יִתְחַמָּֽם׃ יֵחַ֙מּוּ֙ יָחֹם֙ יחם יחמו יתחמם׃ לַחְמָ֔ם לחמם תְּחַמֵּֽם׃ תחמם׃ cham chammoTi ḥam- ḥam·mō·w·ṯî ḥammōwṯî han·nê·ḥā·mîm hannechaMim hannêḥāmîm lachMam laḥ·mām laḥmām tə·ḥam·mêm techamMem təḥammêm vaiYachom veCham way·yā·ḥām wayyāḥām wə·ḥam wəḥam yā·ḥōm yaChom yāḥōm yê·ḥam·mū yeChammu yêḥammū yiṯ·ḥam·mām yitchamMam yiṯḥammām
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