Lexical Summary
cheres: Earthenware, potsherd, clay, pottery
Original Word:חֶרֶשׂ
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:cheres
Pronunciation:kheh'-res
Phonetic Spelling:(kheh'-res)
KJV: earth(-en), (pot-)sherd, + stone
NASB:earthenware, potsherd, earthen, earthen vessel, earthenware vessel, earthenware vessel the vessels, fragments
Word Origin:[a collateral form mediating betweenH2775 (חֶרֶס חַרסָה - Potsherd) andH2791 (חֶרֶשׁ - Deaf)]
1. a piece of pottery
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
earthen, potsherd, stone
A collateral form mediating betweencherec andcheresh; a piece of pottery -- earth(-en), (pot-)sherd, + stone.
see HEBREWcherec
see HEBREWcheresh
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom an unused word
Definitionearthenware, earthen vessel, sherd, potsherd
NASB Translationearthen (1), earthen vessel (1), earthenware (8), earthenware vessel (1), earthenware vessel the vessels (1), fragments (1), potsherd (2), potsherds (1), sherd (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
, P and late (Late Hebrew , Aramaic ) — absolute
Leviticus 6:21 9t.,
Numbers 5:17 4t.; plural construct
Isaiah 45:9; suffix
Ezekiel 23:34. —
earthenware:earthen vesselJeremiah 32:14; especially PLeviticus 6:21;Leviticus 11:33;Leviticus 14:5,50;Leviticus 15:12;Numbers 5:17; withoutProverbs 26:23; compareJeremiah 19:1;Lamentations 4:2 they are reckonedas earthen vessels, simile of sons of Zion;Isaiah 45:9a potsherd (perhaps =earthen vessel, seeProverbs 26:23 above)among earthen potsherds (of men, over against their potter); simile of drynessPsalm 22:16.
a fragment of earthenware, sherdIsaiah 30:14;Ezekiel 23:34;Job 2:8a sherd to scrape himself;Job 41:22sharpest potsherds, figurative of sharp scales on belly of crocodile.
see .
Topical Lexicon
Material Setting in Israel’s Daily Lifeחֶרֶשׂ designates the humble clay vessel or the fragment that remains when such a vessel is broken. Because virtually every household fashioned, used, and discarded earthenware, the word evokes the ordinary world of cooking, storage, and transport in the Ancient Near East. Clay jars were inexpensive, porous, and easily replaced; once cracked, they were shattered and swept away, leaving the small shards (Job 2:8). Their ubiquity made them the perfect vehicle for vivid theological illustration.
Ritual Purity and Sacrifice (Leviticus 6–15)
In the sacrificial system the earthen pot was simultaneously useful and expendable. After a sin offering was boiled, “the clay pot in which it was boiled must be broken” (Leviticus 6:28). The same requirement appears in regulations for clean and unclean food (Leviticus 11:33) and for cleansing from infectious disease (Leviticus 14:5, 50). Because clay readily absorbed what was placed in it, breaking the vessel protected Israel from ritual defilement. The rule reinforces holiness: sin cannot simply be rinsed away; it demands decisive destruction of the vessel that comes into contact with it.
Marriage, Jealousy, and the Earthen Jar (Numbers 5:17)
For the ordeal of jealousy the priest “shall take holy water in a clay jar.” The fragile container underscores the fragile state of a marriage under suspicion and becomes part of the enacted parable: if the wife is unfaithful, judgment will shatter the union just as a jar can shatter.
Human Frailty and Suffering
Job sits on the ash heap, scraping his sores with a potsherd (Job 2:8); Leviathan’s belly is likened to “jagged shards of pottery” (Job 41:30). David laments, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd” (Psalm 22:15). The word thereby becomes a metaphor for the brittle limits of human existence exposed to pain, disease, or overwhelming adversaries.
Wisdom’s Moral Mirror (Proverbs 26:23)
“Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.” The proverb contrasts a shiny veneer with the cheap container beneath. The illustration warns against eloquence masking corruption; what matters is not the outward luster but the substance of the heart.
Prophetic Acts and Oracles
Jeremiah 19 employs a purchased earthen flask as a visual sermon. After proclaiming Judah’s stubborn idolatry, the prophet smashes the jar in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom to declare irrevocable judgment: Jerusalem will be broken “beyond repair.” Isaiah sounds a similar note: the clay pot that dares to quarrel with its Maker (Isaiah 45:9) is rebuked, while the shattering of a vessel “so ruthlessly that no fragment will be found” (Isaiah 30:14) pictures national collapse. Ezekiel’s oracle against adulterous Samaria and Jerusalem culminates in the graphic image of gnawing on potsherds (Ezekiel 23:34), conveying the bitterness of divine wrath.
Conversely,Jeremiah 32:14 records that the title deeds for land were sealed “in a clay jar so they will last a long time,” portraying hope: even a fragile vessel can preserve an enduring promise when God’s word is at stake.
Theological Themes: Potter and Clay
חֶרֶשׂ inevitably evokes the potter-clay motif. Though the specific word focuses on the vessel, its presence highlights Yahweh’s sovereign right to shape, use, or destroy what He has formed. The earthen pot is accountable to the potter; to contest His purposes is folly (Isaiah 45:9). The image prepares the way for New Testament teaching: “We have this treasure in jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7), where human weakness displays divine power.
Archaeological Corroboration
Excavations across Israel have uncovered countless pottery fragments, confirming the biblical picture of everyday life. Storage jars bearing seal impressions, cooking pots, and water jugs parallel the vessels mentioned in Leviticus, Jeremiah, and Numbers, grounding the text in recognizable material culture.
Ministry Reflections
1. Holiness requires decisive rupture with defilement; some things must be broken and discarded.
2. Human beings, like clay pots, are fragile. This reality calls for humility and dependence on the Creator.
3. External polish cannot redeem an evil heart; integrity must go beyond the glaze.
4. Divine promises outlast fragile containers. The gospel treasure entrusted to “jars of clay” spreads precisely because power belongs to God, not the vessel.
Related Old Testament Imagery
• Potter (יֹצֵר) shaping the clay —Isaiah 29:16;Jeremiah 18:1-6
• Potsherd (חֶרֶשׂ) as symbol of ruin —Psalm 22:15;Isaiah 30:14
• Earthenware in purification rites —Leviticus 6:28;Numbers 5:17
The seventeen occurrences of חֶרֶשׂ weave together daily life, ritual precision, prophetic drama, and theological depth, reminding the reader that the Almighty both employs and transcends the ordinary to reveal His holiness, judgment, and redemptive purpose.
Forms and Transliterations
חֲרָשֶׂ֛יהָ חֶ֔רֶשׂ חֶ֖רֶשׂ חֶ֛רֶשׂ חַרְשֵׂ֣י חָ֑רֶשׂ חרש חרשי חרשיה כַּחֶ֨רֶשׂ ׀ כחרש charaSeiha Chares charSei Cheres ḥă·rā·śe·hā ḥā·reś ḥar·śê ḥărāśehā ḥāreś ḥarśê ḥe·reś ḥereś ka·ḥe·reś kaCheres kaḥereś
Links
Interlinear Greek •
Interlinear Hebrew •
Strong's Numbers •
Englishman's Greek Concordance •
Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •
Parallel Texts
