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H655 · Hebrew · Old Testament
אֹפֶן
Ophen
Noun, masculine
Wheel, Proper time/season

Definition

The Hebrew word ophen (H655) can refer to a wheel (as in a chariot wheel) or metaphorically to a proper occasion, the right season, or an apt time. It appears in Proverbs 25:11 in its figurative sense — the right word spoken at the right moment.

Usage & Theological Significance

The concept of ophen as "due season" or "proper time" reflects the Hebrew wisdom tradition's emphasis on discernment and divine timing. Just as a wheel turns with purpose and precision, so the wise person speaks and acts at the right moment. This concept is related to the Greek kairos — the appointed time — and to God's own sovereign timing in redemptive history.

Key Bible Verses

Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver — the word in its right time.
Ezekiel 1:16 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel.
1 Kings 7:33 The structure of the wheels was like the structure of a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
Isaiah 28:27 Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin.

Related Words

External Resources

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