חֳרִי (cho.ri)
cho.ri
burning
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 5 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun cho.ri denotes a state of intense heat, specifically applied to the emotion of anger. It appears five times in the Old Testament, primarily within Lamentations and Isaiah, where it describes the visceral intensity of divine wrath or human fury. The word captures not just the feeling of being mad, but the physical sensation of burning up with rage.
Its root meaning relates to fire or heat, suggesting that anger is portrayed as a consuming force. In Lamentations 4:11, for instance, it describes the "heat" of God's anger that consumed Zion. This usage emphasizes the destructive power of uncontrolled emotion, whether human or divine, which leaves devastation in its wake.
Translators typically render cho.ri as "burning" or "heat," depending on the context. By linking anger to fire, the text underscores its dangerous and purifying potential. The word reminds readers that anger, when unchecked, can be as destructive as a wildfire, while also hinting at the possibility of refinement through trial.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word cho.ri paints anger not as a quiet mood, but as an intense heat that consumes. When Scripture uses this term, it often describes divine wrath or human fury that burns with destructive force. This imagery reminds us that unchecked anger leaves devastation in its wake, much like a wildfire sweeping through a landscape.
Yet this word also carries a deeper warning for our own hearts. We are invited to recognize the danger of letting rage take root within us. By acknowledging how hot and consuming anger can be, we open ourselves to God’s peace, which cools and restores what fury has broken.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 5 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- in/ [the] heat of3×
- with/ heat of1×
- by/ [the] heat of1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- בָּ/חֳרִי\־4×
- בָּֽ/חֳרִי1×
Key Verses
-
Lamentations 2:3
He has cut off all the horn of Israel in fierce anger. He has drawn back his right hand from before the enemy. He has burned up Jacob like a flaming fire, which devours all around.
This verse uses cho.ri to describe how God's anger burned Jacob like a flaming fire, highlighting the destructive power of divine wrath.
-
Exodus 11:8
All these servants of yours will come down to me, and bow down themselves to me, saying, “Get out, with all the people who follow you;” and after that I will go out.’” He went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
Here, Moses leaves Pharaoh in hot anger, showing that even righteous indignation can carry a fierce, burning intensity.
-
I Samuel 20:34
So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month; for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully.
Jonathan’s response to his father’s shame reveals how personal grief and betrayal can ignite a fierce, consuming anger.