Dear Friends,

This week I would like to discuss one Hebrew root which bears a few very different meanings in Biblical Hebrew, and also learn some interesting words that are derived from it. The root is חמר, xmr, and we will be discussing four different groups of words that are built from this root: words connected to wine and fermentation, words connected with certain kinds of earth, words connected to the color red and words connected to donkeys.

Wine and Fermentation

The verb חָמַר, xamar, literally means to ferment or to boil. This refers naturally to the fermentation of wine, but also figuratively to other similar phenomena. For example, in Psalm 46, there is a beautiful description of how God, the creator, protects his believers both from the dangers of nature, as well as from the dangers of mortals:
For the Leader; [a Psalm] of the sons of Korah; upon Alamoth. A Song: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble: Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change, and though the mountains be moved into the heart of the seas: Though the waters thereof roar and foam, though the mountains shake at the swelling thereof. Selah: There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, the holiest dwelling-place of the Most High: God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, at the approach of morning: Nations were in tumult, kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.: The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our high tower. Selah: Come, behold the works of the LORD, who hath made desolations in the earth: He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariots in the fire: 'Let be, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.': The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our high tower. Sela
In v. 4, the verb which is translated here as “foam” is in fact יֶחְמְרוּ – yexemru – from the root xamar. In this description, the waters overflow, like wine fermenting, and flood the world, but this is no cause for fear for those who trust in God as their strength. Notice the beautiful imagery of the Psalm, poetically describing nature and warfare as being completely under God’s control.
 

An additional unusual use of this verb is to describe great distress. In two different instances in the Book of Lamentations (1:20 and 2:11), describing great distress in light of the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians, we find the expression מֵעַי חֳמַרְמָרוּ – me’ay xamarmaru – literally, my intestines have fermented. This is a figurative way of describing physical stress which is caused by emotional torment.

In addition to this verb, the noun חֶמֶר, xemer, is a poetic word for wine (the usual word is יַיִן, yayin). This is a clear parallel to the identical Arabic word which is the usual word used for wine in that language.

Different Kinds of Earth
There are two different words from the root חמר that describe different kinds of clay, which are often red, as we will soon discuss

חֵמָר, xemar
Xemar is bitumen or asphalt, and mentioned in a key story which appears in Exodus 2: when Pharaoh decrees that all boys who are born to the Hebrew slaves should be thrown into the Nile River, there is one mother who defies his order. This is Jochebed, the mother of Moses. She first hides him in the house, but when he is too big, she places him in an ark of bulrushes, which she coats with bitumen – חֵמָר – and pitch. She then places the ark by the banks of the Nile, and leaves her daughter to watch over the child. This is how Moses is found by the daughter of Pharaoh, by whom he is raised as her son, and given an education which properly prepares him for leading the people out of Egypt.
 

חֹמֶר, xomer
Xomer bears a slightly different meaning than xemar, and is used for cement, mortar, or clay. This is the name of the mortar that holds the bricks together when building the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) or when the Israelites are tortured as slaves building Egypt (Exodus 1).
 

The Color Red
As I mentioned, the types of earth connected with the root חמר are often reddish in color. This is probably the reason for the fact that there is a verb חמר which means “to be red”. This appears only once, in Job 16:16: פָּנַי חֳמַרְמְרוּ מִנִּי-בֶכִי, “my face is reddened from weeping”. Incidentally, in Arabic, the color red is called axmar – from this same root. We should notice also, that the wine is also of a reddish color, and perhaps this is connected to its name, חֶמֶר – xemer, which I mentioned earlier.

The Donkey
In Hebrew, the donkey, that is the he-ass, is called חֲמוֹר, xamor. An interesting derivation from this, is the name of an additional animal, the roebuck, which is called יַחְמוּר – yaxmur – from the same root. It is not clear whether the roebuck received this name because it reminded somewhat of a donkey, or whether it is rather because of its reddish color. You can judge for yourselves which explanation makes more sense.

From all this, we can learn that many different words can be derived from what looks like the same root. Sometimes there is in fact a connection between the words – even if only a slight one, like we saw with the clay that is red, the color red, and perhaps red wine. But other times, it seems that there different words that only appear to be from the same root, like the connection between clay and a donkey. When reading the Bible in Hebrew we need to keep this in mind and translate with caution. 

Have a great week!
The Biblical Hebrew Online Team