Lexical Summary kehah: Dullness, dimness, faintness Original Word: כֵּהָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance healing Feminine of keheh; properly, a weakening; figuratively, alleviation, i.e. Cure -- healing. see HEBREW keheh NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom kahah Definition lessening, alleviation NASB Translation relief (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs כֵּהָה noun feminine (dimming), lessenging, alleviation; — לְשִׁבְרְךָ ׳אֵין כ of Nineveh Nahum 3:19 (read גֵּהָה, healing ?). Topical Lexicon Overview Kehah (Strong’s Hebrew 3545) appears only once in Scripture, in Nahum 3:19, where the Berean Standard Bible renders it “relief.” The prophet employs the word to declare that no easing or dulling of pain will come to Nineveh after God’s verdict. Though a solitary term, kehah captures the essence of an unmitigated wound and thus serves as a theological marker of irrevocable divine judgment. Old Testament Context Nahum prophesied against Assyria’s capital in the seventh century BC, following its brutal rise to power (2 Kings 17 – 19). Nahum 3 details Nineveh’s fall, culminating in the pronouncement: “There is no relief for your injury; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news of you clap their hands over you. For who has not experienced your endless cruelty?” (Nahum 3:19) Kehah underlines the totality of the city’s downfall. No balm, physician, or treaty could deaden the pain of the blow God had dealt (compare Jeremiah 46:11). Prophetic Significance 1. Finality of Judgment Kehah dismisses any hope of reprieve. Similar “incurable wound” imagery appears in Micah 1:9; Jeremiah 30:12 – 13; and Jeremiah 46:11. In each case, sin has advanced beyond human remedy, leaving only the Lord’s sovereign sentence. 2. Vindication of the Oppressed “All who hear…clap their hands” (Nahum 3:19). The disappearance of relief for Nineveh corresponds to relief for nations long afflicted by Assyrian cruelty. The word therefore functions as a double-edged declaration: pain remains for the oppressor, while the oppressed experience release. Theological Themes • Divine Justice – Kehah highlights God’s moral governance. When repentance is spurned, judgment becomes not merely possible but inevitable (Nahum 1:3). Ministry Application 1. Preaching Against Presumption Kehah warns cultures and individuals who trust military, financial, or ideological strength against God’s revealed will. While Nahum’s audience needed assurance of Assyria’s overthrow, modern believers find comfort in God’s commitment to righting wrongs and judging evil in His time (Romans 12:19). The absence of kehah for Nineveh underscores the urgency of the gospel. Where sin remains unaddressed, a wound festers; where Christ’s atonement is received, “by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Christological Outlook In Nahum the lack of relief culminates in death; in the gospel, Christ absorbs the wound Himself, offering the ultimate kehah—relief—to those who place their trust in Him (Matthew 11:28; 1 Peter 2:24). Thus the term’s negative force in Nahum magnifies the positive, redemptive relief found in the Messiah. Key Cross-References Micah 1:9; Jeremiah 30:12 – 13; Jeremiah 46:11; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 11:28; Romans 12:19; 1 Peter 2:24 Forms and Transliterations כֵּהָ֣ה כהה kê·hāh keHah kêhāhLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Nahum 3:19 HEB: אֵין־ כֵּהָ֣ה לְשִׁבְרֶ֔ךָ נַחְלָ֖ה NAS: There is no relief for your breakdown, KJV: [There is] no healing of thy bruise; INT: There relief your breakdown is incurable |
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