צִמְאָה (tsim.ah)
tsim.ah
parched
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun tsim’ah describes a state of parchedness or intense thirst. It appears only once in the Old Testament, in Jeremiah 2:25, where it conveys the physical and spiritual exhaustion of someone who has run out of resources. The word captures the dry, desperate condition of being deprived of water.
In its single biblical occurrence, Jeremiah uses tsim’ah to illustrate Israel’s futile pursuit of foreign gods. Just as a traveler becomes weak when their supply runs dry, the people are depicted as wasting their energy on unhelpful alliances. The term highlights the natural consequence of abandoning the source of life, leaving the individual in a state of depletion.
Translators typically render tsim’ah as "thirst" or "parched," emphasizing the tangible reality of need. This usage underscores a central theme in Jeremiah: turning away from God leads to a hollow existence where basic needs remain unmet. The word serves as a stark reminder of the dependency inherent in human life.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word tsimah paints a vivid picture of exhaustion. It describes the feeling of your throat going dry when you have pushed yourself too far without water. In Jeremiah 2:25, this physical thirst stands in for spiritual depletion. The people had chased after other gods and foreign alliances, thinking they would find satisfaction. Instead, they found themselves running on empty.
This image reminds us that we cannot sustain ourselves by chasing temporary things. When we move away from the source of life, we naturally run out of strength. It is a honest look at what happens when we ignore our true need for God. The text does not hide the cost of this choice; it shows the weariness that follows.
Yet, this awareness can lead us back to where we find rest. Recognizing our own limits is not a sign of failure but an invitation to return. We are designed to depend on God, just as a traveler depends on water in the desert. This truth offers hope because it points to a source that never runs dry.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- from/ thirst1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מִ/צִּמְאָ֑ה1×
Key Verses
-
Jeremiah 2:25
“Keep your feet from being bare, and your throat from thirst. But you said, ‘It is in vain. No, for I have loved strangers, and I will go after them.’
This verse uses physical thirst to illustrate the spiritual exhaustion Israel felt after chasing foreign alliances.