חָרִישׁ (cha.rish)
cha.rish
plowing
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The noun ḥārîš refers to the act of plowing or the specific season for it. In the Hebrew Bible, this word anchors agricultural life in concrete reality, marking the critical time when farmers break the ground to prepare for planting. It is not merely a technical term but a marker of rhythm and labor.
Its most notable appearance occurs in Genesis 45:6, where Joseph explains to his brothers that famine will last for seven years. He notes that five years have passed, and there are still five years of plowing and harvest ahead. This usage highlights the word’s connection to both the physical toil of breaking soil and the temporal passage of seasons.
The term appears only three times in Scripture, all within the narrative contexts of Genesis, Exodus, and Samuel. Its rarity suggests it was a common enough concept that writers did not need to repeat it often, yet its presence always grounds spiritual or historical events in the tangible cycles of rural life.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word ḥārîš points to the essential, often unseen work of preparing the ground. In ancient Israel, plowing was not just a chore but a vital rhythm of life, marking the transition from fallow rest to active growth. It reminds us that before any harvest can occur, there must be the deliberate and sometimes difficult labor of breaking up hard soil.
This concept offers a gentle perspective on our own seasons of waiting or preparation. Just as farmers trust the process of plowing even when no fruit is visible yet, we are invited to have patience with the hidden work God may be doing in our lives. The physical act of turning the earth becomes a quiet metaphor for spiritual readiness, suggesting that our current efforts, however mundane, contribute to a future hope.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- plowing/ his1×
- at <the>/ plowing time1×
- [will be] plowing1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- חָרִ֖ישׁ1×
- חֲרִישׁ/וֹ֙1×
- בֶּ/חָרִ֥ישׁ1×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 45:6
For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are yet five years, in which there will be no plowing and no harvest.
This verse anchors the word in a timeline of survival, showing how plowing represents the ongoing cycle of labor required to endure prolonged hardship.
-
Exodus 34:21
“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.
Here the term is paired with harvest to define the busiest agricultural seasons, emphasizing that even critical work must yield to the rhythm of Sabbath rest.
-
I Samuel 8:12
He will appoint them to him for captains of thousands and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest; and to make his instruments of war and the instruments of his chariots.
The text uses plowing as a concrete example of the conscripted labor that kings would impose, highlighting the word’s association with national service and duty.