קִמּוֹשׂ (qim.mosh)
qim.mosh
nettle
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 qimmôś refers to stinging nettles or thorny weeds, plants that are prickly and generally considered useless in agricultural contexts. In the ancient Near East, these were common sights in abandoned fields and ruined lands, serving as natural indicators of neglect and decay. The word appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, both times carrying this imagery of desolation.
In Hosea 2:6, the prophet describes a future judgment where God will block the way with thorns and qimmôś, preventing the unfaithful from pursuing her lovers. Similarly, Isaiah 5:6 uses the term when describing a vineyard that is left untended, resulting in it becoming overgrown with these sharp plants. The word is closely related to qimmāšôn (H7063), which specifically denotes a thorn, reinforcing the connection between this vegetation and physical obstruction or pain.
Translators typically render qimmôś as "nettles" or "thistles," capturing the plant's ability to sting and its lack of value. Its presence in Scripture highlights a stark contrast between cultivated order and wild chaos; where God’s people are faithful, the land yields fruit, but where they stray, the ground produces only these harsh, useless weeds.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When we read about nettles taking over a field, it is easy to feel a sense of loss. These plants do not produce fruit; they only sting and obstruct. In the ancient world, seeing them meant that someone had stopped caring for the land. The biblical writers used this image to show what happens when we drift away from God. It is a picture of spiritual neglect, where our hearts become overgrown with habits and distractions that offer no nourishment.
Yet this imagery also highlights the value of attention. Just as a gardener clears weeds to let crops grow, God calls us to tend to our inner lives. The presence of nettles signals a need for restoration, not condemnation. It reminds us that our spiritual health requires regular care and that turning back to Him brings order out of chaos.
Even in times when we feel stuck or blocked by thorns, there is hope. The same God who allows the warning also provides the way back. We can trust that He desires to clear the path for us, replacing what is harsh with what is life-giving. This promise encourages us to keep seeking Him, knowing that our efforts to stay close to Him are never in vain.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- nettle[s]2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- קִמּוֹשׂ֙1×
- קִמּ֥וֹשׂ1×
Key Verses
-
Isaiah 34:13
Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.
This verse uses nettles to show how quickly human pride and fortresses decay into wild, unusable places when abandoned by God.
-
Hosea 9:6
For, behold, when they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them up. Memphis will bury them. Nettles will possess their pleasant things of silver. Thorns will be in their tents.
Here the word describes the futility of hoarding wealth during judgment, as even silver will be claimed by worthless stinging plants.