Word Study for H7571 (רֶתַח) | Strong's Concordance

rethach /reh'-thakh/ Ask about this word

Meaninga boiling

Idioms & phrasesidiom (boil) well.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of rethach — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word rethach, represented by H7571, is an idiomatic term derived from the root for boiling. It appears only 1 time in 1 unique verse in the entire Bible. Its meaning is given as "a boiling," and it is used idiomatically to intensify the action of boiling, translated as to "(boil) well."

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

The single appearance of H7571 is in the prophetic book of Ezekiel, within a parable of God's judgment against Jerusalem. The prophet is commanded to use a boiling pot to symbolize the city under siege. The instruction is to "make it boil well" Ezekiel 24:5, emphasizing the intensity and severity of the coming affliction. In this context, the word moves beyond a simple cooking instruction to signify a thorough and fierce process of divine retribution.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words found in its only context help to clarify its meaning and purpose:

H7570 râthach (to boil): This is the primitive root from which H7571 is derived. It means simply "to boil." Beyond cooking, it can be used metaphorically to describe internal turmoil, as when Job says his "bowels boiled" Job 30:27, or to depict immense power, as when Leviathan "maketh the deep to boil like a pot" Job 41:31.
H1310 bâshal (to seethe): Used in the same verse, this word also means to cook by boiling. It is a common term for preparing food, as in the command to "Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle" Leviticus 8:31, and is also used figuratively, as when a harvest is "ripe" Joel 3:13.
H6106 ʻetsem (bone): This is the object being boiled in the parable of Ezekiel 24:5. The word for bone is often used to represent the very substance or self of a person, as in Ezekiel's vision of the dry "bones" being brought back to life Ezekiel 37:4.
H6629 tsôʼn (flock): The "choice of the flock" are the contents of the boiling pot in Ezekiel's parable. This term for a flock of sheep is often used figuratively for God's people Psalms 100:3.

Theological Significance

The theological significance of H7571 is tied directly to its singular, dramatic context in Ezekiel.

Symbol of Severe Judgment: The command to boil the contents "well" is not about culinary perfection but is a graphic depiction of the inescapable and intense nature of God's judgment on Jerusalem Ezekiel 24:5.
Intensification of Divine Action: As an idiom, H7571 amplifies the verb "to boil" H7570. This highlights the thoroughness of the purifying and consuming judgment that the inhabitants, represented by the choice flock H6629 and bones H6106, were about to face.
Parable of the Pot: The word functions within a powerful prophetic sign-act. The boiling pot symbolizes Jerusalem's fate, where the people will be subjected to a fiery trial within the confines of the city walls.

Summary

In summary, H7571 is a rare biblical word whose meaning is inseparable from its powerful, idiomatic use in the book of Ezekiel. Though appearing only once, it plays a crucial role in intensifying the imagery of a divine judgment that is both severe and thorough. Its usage demonstrates how a single, specific term can carry immense theological weight within its prophetic context, turning a mundane image of a boiling pot into a terrifying symbol of divine wrath.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a verb and a noun across 2 occurrences, inflected in 2 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

רַתַּח
רְתָחֶי

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

1 verse, all in Ezekiel — and none of the other 38 Old Testament books.

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.