רָזָה

# H7329 (רָזָה): A Rare Hebrew Term for Starvation The Hebrew word *razah* denotes the condition of starvation or extreme hunger. Based on its lexical definition, the term describes a state of severe deprivation of food leading to physical wasting or emaciation. This is a specific and dire condition, distinct from ordinary hunger, referring to the physiological consequence of prolonged food scarcity. The rarity of this word in biblical text—appearing only twice in the entire Hebrew Bible—suggests it was reserved for particularly severe or dramatic circumstances. Rather than being part of everyday vocabulary for hunger, *razah* appears to have functioned as a marked term emphasizing the extremity and danger of starvation conditions. Its limited use indicates that biblical writers employed this word selectively to convey the gravity of famine or deprivation when depicting situations of critical hardship. The significance of *razah*'s scarcity lies in what it reveals about biblical linguistic choices: the Hebrew language had other terms available for hunger and want, yet *razah* occupied a distinct semantic space reserved for the most severe manifestations of food deprivation. This lexical specificity underscores how ancient Hebrew distinguished between degrees of hunger, with *razah* marking the threshold of life-threatening starvation.

AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.