שַׁ֫חַר
sha.char (H7837)
dawn
AI Word Study
# Shachar (שַׁחַר): The Hebrew Word for Dawn The Hebrew word *shachar* refers to dawn—the time of early morning when daylight first appears. With 24 occurrences across the biblical text, it represents a fundamental temporal marker in Hebrew literature, denoting that transitional moment between night and day rather than a sustained period of daylight. As a concrete, observable phenomenon, *shachar* carries practical significance in biblical narrative and poetry. Its relatively modest frequency of occurrence suggests it served a specific descriptive purpose rather than functioning as an everyday term for morning generally. The word appears consistently enough to indicate it was a recognized and meaningful concept in ancient Hebrew culture, likely tied to both the literal observation of natural cycles and the symbolic associations that dawn carries in literary contexts. Given its limited dataset provided here, *shachar* functions as a precise lexical term for a specific moment of transition in the day's cycle. Its presence in 24 biblical passages indicates sustained use across different literary contexts, making it a stable, purposeful vocabulary choice for describing early morning rather than a peripheral or archaic term.
AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.
When the morning came, then the angels hurried Lot, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”
Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day.
The man said, “Let me go, for the day breaks.” Jacob said, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.”
On the seventh day, they rose early at the dawning of the day, and marched around the city in the same way seven times. On this day only they marched around the city seven times.
But the men wouldn’t listen to him; so the man grabbed his concubine, and brought her out to them; and they had sex with her, and abused her all night until the morning. When the day began to dawn, they let her go.
They arose early; and about daybreak, Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” Saul arose, and they both went outside, he and Samuel, together.
So we did the work. Half of the people held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.
Let the stars of its twilight be dark. Let it look for light, but have none, neither let it see the eyelids of the morning,
“Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place,
to the/ choirmaster on the doe of the/ dawn a psalm of/ David
Wake up, my glory! Wake up, lute and harp! I will wake up the dawn.
If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Who is she who looks out as the morning, beautiful as the moon, clear as the sun, and awesome as an army with banners?
Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
How you have fallen from heaven, shining one, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low!
Therefore disaster will come on you. You won’t know when it dawns. Mischief will fall on you. You won’t be able to put it away. Desolation will come on you suddenly, which you don’t understand.
Then your light will break out as the morning, and your healing will appear quickly; then your righteousness shall go before you, and Yahweh’s glory will be your rear guard.
Let’s acknowledge Yahweh. Let’s press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.”
So Bethel will do to you because of your great wickedness. At daybreak the king of Israel will be destroyed.
A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn spreading on the mountains, a great and strong people; there has never been the like, neither will there be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.
For, behold, he who forms the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought; who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the high places of the earth: Yahweh, the God of Armies, is his name.”
But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered.