The noun choreph refers to the autumn season — specifically the late harvest period — as well as the cold of winter. In the agricultural calendar of ancient Israel, this word spans the harvest-gathering and the onset of the cold rains. Psalm 74:17 uses it alongside 'summer' as the two great seasons God established.
The regularity of seasons — summer and winter, seedtime and harvest — is embedded in God's covenant with Noah (Genesis 8:22) as the guarantee of earth's stability. This covenant with creation underlies Israel's agricultural festivals. When God promises the return of 'autumn rains' (yoreh) and 'spring rains' (malqosh) as signs of His favor (Joel 2:23), the seasonal rhythm becomes a covenant promise. The enemy's ability to disrupt the harvest (Amos 4:7) signals broken covenant, while the New Testament parable of seasons (Mark 4:26–29) draws on the same deep agricultural theology.