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shebanq

רַהַט – drinking-trough

Semantic Fields: Containers   
Author(s): Bas ter Haar Romeny, Raymond de Hoop *
First published: 2026-03-31
Citation: Bas ter Haar Romeny, Raymond de Hoop, רַהַט – drinking-trough,
               Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2026 WORK IN PROGRESS

Introduction

Grammatical type: n.m.
Occurrences: 4x HB (3/0/1); 0x Sir; 0x Qum; 0x Inscr. (Total: 4).

  • Torah: Gen 30:38, 41; Exod 2:16;
  • Ketubim: Song 7:6.

1. Root and Comparative Material

A.1 In 1869 Nöldeke still defended the idea that Hebrew *רַהַט was a very old loan word from Aramaic: as the Hebrew equivalent of the Aramaic root rhṭ is רוץ, ‘to run’, occurrences of רהט in Hebrew must have been borrowed from Aramaic.1 This רהט, we may add, would then go back to Proto-Semitic rhẓ or rather rwẓ, just as Ugaritic r-ẓ,2 Akkadian râṣu,3 and Ethiopic roṣa.4 This position is still held by Wagner.5

In an 1897 article, however, Nöldeke appears to have changed his position: now he connects Hebrew רהט no longer with Syriac ܪܗܛ, ‘to run’,6 but with Syriac ܡܪ̈ܗܛܐ, ‘goods’, ‘resources’,7 and Arabic rahṭ,8 suggesting that this root means ‘sammeln’ (cf. Arabic rhṭ viii9). The implication is that in Syriac, two roots are coming together (i.e., one ending in ẓ and one in ṭ), as Schulthess pointed out indeed.10

The assumption of two different roots would also solve the problem that the obvious cognate for Hebrew רהט in Akkadian is rāṭu rather than râṣu. The former word rāṭu means ‘channel, runnel’, for irrigation, drainage, conducting liquids for drinking and libations, as well as for molten metals, while in transferred meanings, it can refer to the throat or (birth) canal; in a number of ‘other occurrences’, however, the word is used for a trough.11 Koehler & Baumgartner, while assuming that Hebrew רהט goes back to an Aramaic רהט which reflects Proto-Semitic rwẓ, do mention this rāṭu as a cognate, but fail to explain how this rwẓ would appear in Akkadian as rāṭu.12 Wagner, on the other hand, was consistent enough to suppress rāṭu altogether (though he refers to KBL for ‘gemeinsemitische Entsprechungen’). Other lexica follow the later Nöldeke and distinguish between two roots. Consequently, they do not present Hebrew רהט, when used in the sense of ‘drinking-trough’, as a borrowing from Aramaic, but connect it with Akkadian rāṭu and Arabic rhṭ.13

Though it is indeed easier to defend the distinction between two roots than the position of KBL, HAL, and Wagner, reality may be a bit more complicated. The problem is that the two roots cannot be distinguished completely: the Syriac verb ܪܗܛ may be used to refer to the running or flowing of water, precisely what it does in a channel. Should we speak of a contamination of senses? A good alternative is to assume the intermediate position also taken by Klein.14 The point of departure would then be a single root rwẓ, which became rhṭ in Aramaic, and developed different meanings, among which that of ‘a channel through which water is running’. The word rhṭ in this form and meaning was subsequently adopted in Akkadian,15 Hebrew, and, with loss of the h, Iraqi Arabic (rāṭ).16 The somewhat difficult connection with the Arabic root rhṭ could then be dropped. The only problem that remains is the fact that rhṭ is not attested in the meaning ‘channel’ in older Aramaic. It does occur, however, in Syriac and the Jewish Aramaic of the Targumim (see Ancient Versions), as well as in Mandaic (r(a)haṭa).17 The late Hebrew use of רהטים in LevR. 31:418 is dependent on Song 7:6 and Gen 30:38.19 The relation to the Old South Arabian word rhṭn remains uncertain.20

2. Formal Characteristics

A.1 רַהַט is a qatl-formation of *רהט < √rwẓ.21

3. Syntagmatics

A.1 רַהַט occurs as the direct object of:

  • מלא piel, ‘to fill’ (with direct object marker אֶת־), in Exod 2:16 (וַתְּמַלֶּאנָה, ‘they filled’).

A.2 רַהַט is used in a prep. construction with בְּ:

  • בָּרֳהָטִ֖ים in Gen 30:38, 41; Song 7:6.

4. Ancient Versions

a. Septuagint (LXX) and other Greek versions (αʹ, σʹ, θʹ):

  • βερατείμ (transcription of plural form with preposition): Song 7:6αʹ;
  • δεξαμενή, ‘trough’, ‘tank for storing water’:22 Exod 2:16LXX;
  • εἴλημα, ‘veil, covering, wrapper, coil’ (among other things):23 Song 7:6σʹ;
  • ληνός, ‘trough’:24 Gen 30:38LXX, 41LXX;
  • παραδρομή, ‘conduit’, ‘canal’:25 Song 7:6LXX.

b. Peshitta (Pesh):

  • ܪܗܛܐ (rāhṭā), ‘drinking trough’, in Song 7:6 ‘perh. rafters’:26 Gen 30:38, 41; Exod 2:16; Song 7:6;

c. Targumim (Tg: O/PsJ/N/Smr/K):

  • מורכי, ‘trough’:27 TgPsJNSmrA: Gen 30:38, 41; Exod 2:16 (also TgSmrJ);
  • מסטוף, ‘chisel’:28 Gen 30:38SmrJ;
  • מצפתה בפלטיה, ‘??’:29 Gen 30:41SmrJ;
  • ר(ה)טא, ‘(gutter of the watering) trough’:30 Gen 30:38O, 41O; Exod 2:16O; Song 7:6K.31

d. Vulgate (Vg):

  • canalis, ‘pipe’, ‘groove’, ‘channel’, etc.:32 Gen 30:38, 41; Exod 2:16; Song 7:6.

5. Lexical/Semantic Fields

A.1 רַהַט belongs to the semantic field of ‘containers’ within the domain of ‘shepherding’ in the domain ‘events’. In a figurative sense in Song 7:6 (→ 6.2), if not a homonyme רַהַט is assumed,33 the word belongs to the semantic field of ‘creatures’,

6. Exegesis

6.1 Literal Use

A.1 The word רַהַט is rendered in the texts of Genesis 30 and Exodus 2 in its literal sense ‘trough, drinking-trough, gutter’ for watering cattle.34 After Jacob had arranged with Laban that he could take all the spotted and striped animals from the flocks, he took fresh rods of poplar, almond, and plane, and peeled white streaks in them. Then in Gen 30:38 it says that he set the rods that he had peeled ‘in the troughs, in the watering-places, where the flocks came to drink (בָּרֳהָטִים בְּשִׁקֲתוֹת הַמָּיִם אֲשֶׁר תָּבֹאןָ הַצֹּאן לִשְׁתּוֹת) in front of the flocks’. As the animals bred when they came to drink, they did so in front of the striped rods, which resulted in young that were striped and spotted. For this reason v. 41 adds that Jacob put the rods ‘in the troughs’ only when the stronger animals were breeding. Important is the fact that at the first occurrence of the word, the synonym → שֹׁקֶת is added. If this arrangement goes back to the author, it could be taken as an indication that the word רהט was indeed an Aramaic loan word (→ 1), the meaning of which had to be explained. The use of this loan word would then add to the ‘Aramaic atmosphere’ of the description of Laban’s world (cf. Gen 25:20).

A.2 In Exod 2:16, the word is used for the drinking-troughs of the priest of Midian: though not an Aramaean, at least a foreigner. His daughters ‘came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock’ ( וַתָּבֹאנָה וַתִּדְלֶנָה וַתְּמַלֶּאנָה אֶת־הָרְהָטִים לְהַשְׁקוֹת צֹאן אֲבִיהֶן׃). This sentence suggests that the the troughs were found in the close vicinity of a well or cistern, from which the water for the flock was obtained. Since the word occurs in plural only, we should think of some kind of an installation, while the context of all instances would indicate a permanent arrangement.35 The same holds good for the synonyms → שֹׁקֶת (though singular in Gen 24:20) and מַשְׁאָב.36 The biblical text does not allow conclusions with regard to their exact form or the material they were made of. Dalman has seen troughs made from leather, which can be taken to the next well; but the usual arrangement, he concedes, is a trough dug out in the soil, cut out in the rocky bottom, or built from stones.37 He found them in round and rectangular shapes, but also in the form of a gutter, up to six meters in length. The latter form would allow more animals to drink at the same time.

6.2 Figurative Use

A.1 The use of רהט in Song 7:6 has puzzled interpreters from early times on: Aquila decided just to give a transcription. KBL and Reymond are among the few modern authorities which hold that this רהט is the same as that of Genesis and Exodus, a ‘drinking-trough’.38 Neither of them gives an interpretation of the whole phrase, but if one pays close attention to the structure of the passage Song 7:1-6, this rendering is not completely impossible. The poet gives a description of the graceful body of the lady, starting at the feet and moving upward to the head, ending with the ‘flowing hair’ that ‘is like purple’ (וְדַלַּת רֹאשֵׁךְ כָּאַרְגָּמָן). As no new part of the body is introduced, Gesenius, followed by others, proposes cincinni, ‘curls, locks’, suggesting an etymological link, as curls are flowing down from the head.39 The upward movement is not absolute, however, as in v.~5 the poet goes from eyes to nose. Therefore one could argue that in our verse, the poet goes back from the hair to the eyes, giving the ‘drinking-troughs’ as a parallel image to the ‘pools’ of v.~5.

If one considers the fact that by these רְהָטִים ‘a king is held captive’ (מֶלֶך אָסוּר בָּרְהָטִים), it is in fact difficult to think of any other part of the body than the eyes. The hair is not a good candidate, as a rather unromantic literal interpretation imposes itself too readily. Other parts of the head, such as the ears, eyebrows, or mouth, do not make sense either. It is true that Prov 6:25 warns us not to let the adulteress capture us with her eyelashes (בְּעַפְעַפֶּיהָ), but these should probably be seen as giving access to the capturing eye itself. skip

B.1 Other solutions are less attractive. Thus Gerleman suggests that the word refers to the beam of a loom (cf. Hebrew רהיט),40 and translate ‘die Fäden deines Haupts sind wie Königspurpur, an den Bäumen festgemacht.’ This is an inventive solution, but not a very likely one: hair is supposed to hang down from the head; it does not look like threads or textile stretched between the beams of a loom. Rudolph translates רהטים as ‘Lederstreifen’, but this solution is too complicated.41 Rudolph himself already admits that the poet is describing parts of the body, and not its ornaments. This forces him to explain this part of the verse as a gloss to account for the colour purple, of which he thinks that it must have been problematic to the reader.

7. Conclusions

A.1 רַהַט is probably a loan word from Aramaic and is a synonym of Hebrew →$ שֹׁקֶת and מַשְׁאָב. The word refers to the kind of drinking-troughs that were made near wells or cisterns in order to water livestock. On the basis of modern examples, we may assume that they were dug out in the soil, cut out in the rocky bottom, or built from stones. Since most of the cognates refer to some sort of a channel, a רַהַט may have been built in the form of a gutter, rather than in a round or square shape.

Bibliography

For the abbreviations see the List of Abbreviations.

Alexander 2003
Philip S. Alexander, The Targum of Canticles: Translated with a Critical Introduction, Apparatus, and Notes (ArmB, 17a), London: T&T Clark.
Conti Rossini 1931
Karolus Conti Rossini, Chrestomathia Arabica Meridionalis Epigraphica, Rome: Istituto per l’Oriente.
Gerleman 1965
Gillis Gerleman, Ruth -- Das Hohelied (BKAT, 18), Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag.
Leslau 2010
Wolf Leslau, Concise Dictionary of Geʿez, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Meisner 1902
Bruno Meissner, ‘Babylonische Lehnwörter im Neuarabischen’, OLZ 5:469-471.
Meyer 1969
Rudolf Meyer, Hebräische Grammatik, II: Formenlehre, Flexionstabellen, 3. Auflage, Berlin: de Gruyter.
Nöldeke 1869
Theodor Nöldeke, Untersuchungen zur Kritik des alten Testaments, Kiel: Schwers’sche Buchhandlung.
Nöldeke 1897
Theodor Nöldeke, ‘Einige Bemerkungen über die Sprache der alten Araber’, ZA 12:171-87.
Reymond 1958
Philippe Reymond, L’eau, sa vie, et sa signification dans l’Ancien Testament (SVT, 6) Leiden: Brill.
Rudolph 1962
Wilhelm Rudolph, Das Buch Ruth -- Das Hohe Lied -- Die Klagelieder (KAT, 17.1-3) Gütersloh: Mohn.
Schulthess 1900
Friedrich Schulthess, Homonyme Wurzeln im Syrischen: Ein Beitrag zur semitischen Lexicographie, Berlin: Reuther & Reichard.
Wagner 1966
Max Wagner, Die lexikalischen und grammatikalischen Aramaismen im alttestamentlichen Hebräisch (BZAW, 96), Berlin: de Gruyter.

Notes

This article is based on an unpublished paper by Bas ter Haar Romeny, originally written for the KLY-project. For the publication in Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database the paper was thoroughly reworked and expanded by Raymond de Hoop.

  1. Nöldeke 1869:20-21, n. 4; cf. Ges18, 1223: ‘stammerweiterte Wz. *RHṬ, entspr. he. רוץ.’ ↩

  2. DLU, 396: ‘correr, concurrir, competir’. ↩

  3. CAD R, 187f.: ‘to come, to come to help’. ↩

  4. Leslau 2010:62: ‘to run, run about’. ↩

  5. Wagner 1966: ## 280-81; also KBL, 876; HAL, 1113. ↩

  6. Sokoloff, SLB, 1440. ↩

  7. Sokoloff, SLB, 828-29. ↩

  8. Lane, vol. 1.3, 1169: ‘people, tribe’. ↩

  9. Lane, vol. 1.3, 1169: ‘to be collected together, congregated’. ↩

  10. Schulthess 1900:68-69; followed in LSyr, 716f. ↩

  11. CAD R, 219-20; cf. AHw, 963-64. ↩

  12. KBL, 876; HAL, 1113. ↩

  13. BDB, 923; HAWAT, 434; Zorell, 759. ↩

  14. CEDHL, 609. ↩

  15. Thus already Schulthess 1900:68-69. ↩

  16. Meissner 1902:470, ‘eine Rinne, die vom Schöpfgefässe nach dem Flusse hinführt’. ↩

  17. MD, 418f.: ‘stream, torrent, canal’. ↩

  18. Ed. Margulies, 718-19; cf.
    CantR. ad 7:6. ↩

  19. For the interpretation of this passage, see WTM, vol. 4, 430f., rather than Jastrow, DTT, 1454. ↩

  20. Conti Rossini 1931: 238, name of a shrine of the God ‘Aṯtar. ↩

  21. BL, 456, §61.k′; Meyer 1969:22-23. ↩

  22. GELS, 143; similarly LSJ, 378. ↩

  23. LSJ, 486. ↩

  24. GELS, 430. LSJ, 1045: ‘anything shaped like a tub or trough’, e.g., ‘winevat’ and ‘trough (for watering cattle)’, ‘watering-place’. ↩

  25. GELS, 526: ‘euphemism for female genitals (?)’. LSJ, 1309: ‘running beside’, hence ‘swarm, train’; ‘running by, traversing’; LEH1, 352; LEH2, 462; ‘corridor, gallery’. ↩

  26. Sokoloff, SLB, 1441. ↩

  27. Jastrow, DTT, 750; Sokoloff, DJPA, 296; Tal, DSA, 835. The spelling of the plural form in Sam. Aram. is מרכעיה or מרכאיה. ↩

  28. Tal, DSA, 582 ↩

  29. Tal, DSA, ?? CHECK ↩

  30. Jastrow, DTT, 1454; Levy, CWT, 2, 410: (pl.) ‘die Wasserrinnen zum Tränken des Viehs’. ↩

  31. TgK expands MT largely, however, has as an ‘anchor’ the word רַהַט, referring to Gen 30:38, 41: ובחסידותיה דיעקב דקליף ית חוטריא ברטיא׃, ‘and by the piety of Jacob, who peeled the rods in the trough’. In addition, see Alexander 2003:180, n. 28. ↩

  32. Lewis & Short, LD, 276. ↩

  33. Thus, e.g. HAL, 1113-14; HALOT, 1194, listing רַהַט ii for Song 7:6; in contrast to KBL, 876. ↩

  34. Gesenius, TPC, 1268; BDB, 923; GB, 747; HAWAT, 434; KBL, 876; Zorell, 759; HAL, 1113-14; HALOT, 1193 Ges18, 1223; DCH vii:425. ↩

  35. Reymond 1958:142-43. ↩

  36. For the latter word, cf. Dalman, AuS, vol. 6, 275. ↩

  37. Dalman, AuS, vol. 6, 269-70. ↩

  38. KBL, 876; Reymond 1958:143 ↩

  39. Gesenius, TPC, 1268, ‘cincinni, ut videtur, a defluendo dicti’; BDB, 923 (‘dub., lock of hair’); GB, 747 (‘unklar, gew.: Locken, Haupt, Vogelfalle.’); HAWAT, 434 (‘Herabwallung: Locke’); Zorell, 759 (‘cincinni capillorum [velut defluentes de capite]’); Ges18, 1223 (‘unbek.: [?] Haarflechten, Locken’); DCH vii:425 (רַ֫הַט II ‘lock [of hair]’). ↩

  40. Gerleman 1965:199-200; cf. HAL, 1114 (‘Deutung ungewiss. Vorschlage: a. Baume des Webstuhls’); DCH vii:425 (רַ֫הַט III ‘beam [of loom]’). ↩

  41. Rudolph 1962:169-70; cf. HAL, 1114 (‘Deutung ungewiss. Vorschlage: b. Lederstreifen’); DCH vii:425 (רַ֫הַט IV ‘leather strip’). ↩

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