צָמַק (tsa.maq)
tsa.maq
to shrivel
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb tsa.maq describes a process of shrinking or drying up until something becomes small and withered. In the entire Old Testament, it appears only once, in Hosea 9:14, where it is used to depict the physical wasting away of women’s breasts.
This rare usage grounds the word in a vivid image of biological decline. The text prays for God not to give children to these women, causing their wombs to miscarry and their breasts to dry up. This specific application highlights a severe loss of vitality and nurturing capacity, serving as a powerful metaphor for the end of national blessing.
Because the term is so scarce, its meaning is defined entirely by this context of desiccation and shrinkage. It does not refer to general thirst or simple dehydration, but to the final stage of withering where life-sustaining functions cease. The word captures the stark reality of a land and people stripped of their fruitfulness.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word tsa.maq paints a stark picture of life fading away, appearing only once in Scripture within Hosea’s lament for Israel. It describes a physical shrinking and drying up, specifically referencing the loss of nurturing capacity and vitality. This rare verb anchors our understanding of spiritual barrenness in tangible, human suffering, reminding us that sin can strip away the very sources of comfort and future hope.
Yet this harsh imagery serves as a sobering backdrop for God’s mercy. The prophet does not leave the people in this state of desiccation but points toward a restoration that only Yahweh can provide. When we feel our own spiritual resources running dry, this passage invites us to look beyond our fading strength to the One who sustains life. It is a reminder that true fruitfulness comes not from our own endurance, but from His faithful presence.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- [which] dry up1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- צֹמְקִֽים\׃1×
Key Verses
-
Hosea 9:14
Give them—Yahweh what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
This verse uses the word to describe the specific physical consequence of divine judgment on Israel's fertility, linking national sin to personal biological decline.