טְחֹר (te.chor)
te.chor
tumor
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 8 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Definition
Definition
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word techor, translated as tumor or swelling, appears in Scripture to describe severe physical affliction. In the Old Testament, it is often linked to divine judgment or the consequences of turning away from God, such as when the Philistines suffered under its weight after taking the Ark. This imagery reminds us that our bodies are not separate from our spiritual state; they reflect the reality of a fallen world where pain and disease exist.
Yet this word also carries a message of hope. The same God who allowed these afflictions provided a way for healing and restoration through repentance and offering. When we face illness or suffering, we do not stand alone. Scripture invites us to bring our brokenness before the Lord, trusting in His mercy even when the cause of our pain remains mysterious. It is an invitation to seek peace, not just physical cure.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 8 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- with the/ tumors1×
- with <the>/ tumors1×
- tumors/ your1×
- tumors/ their1×
- tumors of1×
- tumors1×
- and/ with <the>/ tumors1×
- [are] [the] tumors of1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- טְחֹרֵ֣י2×
- טְחֹרֵי/כֶ֜ם1×
- טְחֹרֵי/הֶֽם\׃1×
- טְחֹרִֽים\׃1×
- וּ/בַ/טְּחֹרִ֔ים1×
- בַּ/טְּחֹרִ֔ים1×
- בַּ/טְּחֹרִ֑ים1×
Key Verses
-
I Samuel 5:6
But Yahweh’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and he destroyed them and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders.
This verse shows the word describing a direct act of judgment against the Philistines for mishandling sacred objects.
-
I Samuel 6:4
Then they said, “What should the trespass offering be which we shall return to him?” They said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, for the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
Here the term is used in the context of making restitution, showing how physical suffering led to spiritual acknowledgment of God's power.
-
Deuteronomy 28:27
Yahweh will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with the tumors, with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed.
This occurrence places the word within a list of curses, highlighting its role as a symbol of covenant disobedience and unhealed affliction.