חֵץ (chets)
chets
arrow
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 36 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun chets refers to an arrow, a weapon defined by its ability to pierce. Its root meaning centers on piercing or cutting through, which explains why it can also denote the wound itself in passages like Job 34:6. This concrete imagery allows the word to shift naturally from physical combat to spiritual metaphor.
Scripture frequently uses chets to describe divine judgment rather than human warfare. In Psalm 91:5, the psalmist speaks of fearing no terror by night or arrow by day, while Habakkuk 3:11 describes God’s arrows as lightning. This poetic usage extends to calamities such as famine in Ezekiel 5:16, portraying God’s discipline as precise and unavoidable strikes.
Translators sometimes render chets as shaft or staff when the context involves a spear, particularly in accounts of David’s exploits where the wooden part of the weapon is specified. This variation highlights how ancient Hebrew vocabulary relied on functional description rather than rigid technical categories. The word consistently conveys force and penetration across these different contexts.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word chets refers to an arrow, a weapon defined by its ability to pierce. Its root meaning centers on piercing or cutting through, which explains why it can also denote the wound itself in passages like Job 34:6. This concrete imagery allows the word to shift naturally from physical combat to spiritual metaphor.
Scripture frequently uses chets to describe divine judgment rather than human warfare. In Psalm 91:5, the psalmist speaks of fearing no terror by night or arrow by day, while Habakkuk 3:11 describes God’s arrows as lightning. This poetic usage extends to calamities such as famine in Ezekiel 5:16, portraying God’s discipline as precise and unavoidable strikes.
Translators sometimes render chets as shaft or staff when the context involves a spear, particularly in accounts of David’s exploits where the wooden part of the weapon is specified. This variation highlights how ancient Hebrew vocabulary relied on functional description rather than rigid technical categories. The word consistently conveys force and penetration across these different contexts.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 36 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- the/ arrows8×
- an arrow4×
- arrows3×
- with <the>/ arrows2×
- arrows/ your2×
- arrows/ my2×
- arrows/ its2×
- and/ arrows2×
- like/ arrows1×
- from/ an arrow1×
- for <the>/ arrow1×
- arrows of1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- חֵ֑ץ3×
- הַ/חִצִּ֖ים3×
- חִצָּי/ו֙2×
- וְ/חֵ֣ץ2×
- הַ֣/חִצִּ֔ים2×
- מֵ֝/חֵ֗ץ1×
- לַ/חֵֽץ\׃\ \ס1×
- לְ/חֵ֣ץ1×
- כְּ/חִצִּ֥ים1×
- חֵץ\־1×
- חֵ֡ץ1×
- חִצָּ֣/ם1×
Key Verses
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Psalms 91:5
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day,
This verse uses the imagery of a flying arrow to illustrate the specific dangers from which God provides protection, showing that divine care covers even sudden, precise threats.
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Job 6:4
For the arrows of the Almighty are within me. My spirit drinks up their poison. The terrors of God set themselves in array against me.
Here the word describes the Almighty's arrows as internal and poisonous, reflecting Job's experience of suffering that feels like a deep, spiritual wound rather than just physical pain.
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Psalms 127:4
As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of youth.
This metaphor compares children to arrows in the hand of a mighty man, suggesting that offspring are powerful tools for influence and legacy when placed by God.
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Proverbs 25:18
A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.
The proverb likens false testimony to a sharp arrow to emphasize how deceit can cause sudden, penetrating harm to a neighbor's reputation and trust.