חֲשַׁשׁ (cha.shash)
cha.shash
chaff
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun cha.shash refers to the dry, worthless husks separated from grain during threshing. It describes the light, empty remnants that remain after the valuable kernel has been removed, serving as a stark contrast to substance and utility.
Though it appears in only two verses, its imagery is potent. In Isaiah 17:13, nations are compared to cha.shash driven by the wind, emphasizing their instability and lack of enduring power. The word captures the idea of something that looks like grain but holds no nourishment, destined to be scattered rather than stored.
Translators typically render it as "chaff" or "dry grass," preserving the agricultural metaphor. This usage highlights a common biblical theme: human strength and political alliances are fleeting and insubstantial when measured against divine permanence. The word itself carries no positive connotation, representing only what is discarded.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word cha.shash describes the dry, worthless husks left after grain is threshed. In ancient agriculture, this light debris was separated from the valuable kernel and scattered by the wind. It represents something that looks like substance but holds no nourishment or enduring value. When Scripture uses this image, it highlights the fleeting nature of human strength compared to divine permanence.
In Isaiah 33:11, this imagery warns that efforts without God’s law produce only emptiness. The verse suggests that trying to build lasting significance apart from spiritual truth results in what is easily blown away. This contrast invites us to examine where we place our trust. Are we investing in what endures, or in what will soon be discarded?
Understanding this word helps clarify the biblical call to seek stability in God alone. Human plans and alliances may seem substantial, but they often lack the weight of eternal truth. By focusing on what is rooted in divine wisdom, we find a foundation that remains when everything else fades.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- dry grass1×
- and/ dry grass1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- חֲשַׁ֖שׁ1×
- וַ/חֲשַׁ֤שׁ1×
Key Verses
-
Isaiah 33:11
You will conceive chaff. You will give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will devour you.
This verse uses the word to describe the empty results of human effort that lacks God's law, contrasting it with the consuming fire of divine judgment.