חָרַם
châram · H2763 · Hebrew · 52 occurrences
Meanings
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State in which an object is (partly or entirely) split into two parts ((someone with a) split, disfigured (ear, nose, or lip))
ExamplesLeviticus 21:18 ‘For no one who has an impairment shall approach: a man who is blind, or one who limps, or one who has a slit nose, or one with any conspicuous feature,
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to split into two parts
Causative action by which deities split a body of water into two parts
ExamplesIsaiah 11:15 And the LORD will utterly destroy The tongue of the Sea of Egypt; And He will wave His hand over the Euphrates River With His scorching wind; And He will strike it into seven streams And make people walk over in dry sandals.
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to devote oneself to God, to proscribe oneself
To devote oneself to God, setting oneself irrevocably apart for God by one's actions, which means condemning oneself to death
ExamplesJoshua 6:18 “But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things designated for destruction, so that you do not covet them and take some of the designated things, and turn the camp of Israel into something designated for destruction and bring disaster on it.
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to proscribe, to devote
Causative actions by which humans set someone or something irrevocably apart for a deity, as a result of which people and animals are to be put to death, cities are to be destroyed, and other objects are to be set apart for the service of that deity
ExamplesExodus 22:20 “He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the LORD alone, shall be utterly destroyed.
Leviticus 27:28 ‘Nevertheless, anything which someone sets apart to the LORD for destruction out of all that he has, of man or animal or of the field of his own property, shall not be sold nor redeemed. Anything set apart for destruction is most holy to the LORD.
Leviticus 27:29 ‘No one who may have been set apart among mankind shall be ransomed; he must be put to death.
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to proscribe, to kill, to exterminate, to destroy
Causative action by which humans set towns, people, animals, and objects irrevocably apart for the service of God by destroying the towns, putting the people and the animals to death, and by setting apart valuable objects for the service of God
ExamplesDeuteronomy 2:34 “So we captured all his cities at that time and utterly destroyed the men, women, and children of every city. We left no survivor.
Deuteronomy 3:6 “We utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city.
Deuteronomy 7:2 and when the LORD your God turns them over to you and you defeat them, you shall utterly destroy them. You shall not make a covenant with them nor be gracious to them.
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to destroy, to kill, to exterminate, to wipe out
Causative action by which humans wipe out (other) humans and objects from existence
Examples2 Kings 19:11 ‘Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved?
1 Chronicles 4:41 These people, recorded by name, came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and they attacked their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and utterly destroyed them to this day; and they lived in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.
2 Chronicles 20:23 For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, completely destroying them; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
How it’s used In 5 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
48 occurrences in 13 groups
- Not stated: he, she or it 11
- Not stated (infinitive) 9
- Not stated: you (more than one) 6
- Not stated: they 5
- Not stated: I 4
- Not stated: you (one person) 4
- Other words · 6 groups that occur once or twice (6) 6
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
40 occurrences in 18 groups
- הֶםthem 16
- הָher 6
- נֶפֶשׁsoul, life 4
- עִירcity, town 4
- כֹּלall, every, whole 3
- Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
17 occurrences in 13 groups
- כlike/as+ צָוָהto give orders 3
- לto/for+ פֶּהmouth 3
- Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12
What is done to itIt is the object
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- אָבָהto be willing 1
- שָׁמַעto hear, to listen, to obey 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 1 groups
- לto/for 3
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
In the other Testament 2 words
- ἀνάθεμα anáthema · G331 · curse, cursed, accursed
- ἀνάθεμα (anáthema, G331) ἀνάθεμα denotes something placed under religious ban or devoted to destruction (often in LXX rendering the חֵרֶם concept), directly translating חָרַם (châram, H2763)'s sense of consecration to destruction or setting apart as accursed/devoted.
- ἀναθεματίζω anathematízō · G332 · to curse
- Hebrew חָרַם denotes religious devotion to destruction (placing under the ban/ḥerem, often to God), whereas Greek ἀναθεματίζω emphasizes the verbal act of binding oneself or another under a curse/oath with threatened consequences; both involve irrevocable consecration with destructive force, but the Hebrew centers on dedicatory destruction while the Greek centers on declaratory curse-binding.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Impact002001001024
- The word denotes utterly destroying something through devastating force, as in Numbers 21:2's vow to utterly destroy the Canaanite cities.
- Dissociate002003002009
- The word denotes setting something apart or devoting it irrevocably, permanently separating it from ordinary use, as in Leviticus 27:28's reference to something set apart to the LORD for destruction.
- Non-Exist002002002006
- The word denotes bringing something to utter destruction, causing it to cease to exist, as in Leviticus 27:29's decree that a devoted person must be put to death.
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2763. charam I. [חָרַם] verb Hiph`il ban, devote, exterminate (MI17 החרמתה of devoting,…
I. [חָרַם] verb Hiph`il ban, devote, exterminate (MI17 החרמתה of devoting, dedicating a city to Chemosh, in clause with כי explaining massacre of all inhabitants; the altar-hearth of ׳י there was dragged before Chemosh; be prohibited, forbidden, unlawful, become sacred; II. make, pronounce sacred, inviolable; Ethiopic prohibit from common use, consecrate to God, esteem unlawful; Palmyrene חרם = consacrÈ VogNo 35; Nabataean id., Eutp. 28; Sabean מחרם sanctuary, temple, OsZMG 1865, 176. 252, חרמתן DHMZMG 1875, 594; Aramaic אַחֲרִים, and especially anathematize, excommunicate; see also WeSkizzen iii, 165, DrSm 100 ff., RSSemitic i. 140 (150)) — Hiph`il Perfect הֶהֱרִים Jos 8:26 Jos 8:5t.; הֶחֱרִם Jos 10:28; Jos 10:2masculine singular וְהַחֲרַמְתָּ֫ה 1Sa 15:18; 1Sa 15:1singular הֶחֱרַמְתִּי 1Sa 15:20; וְהַחֲרַמְתִּ֫י Num 21:2; Num 21:2feminine singular וְהַחֲרַמְתְּ(יׅ consecutive Mic 4:13 (so ᵑ7 ᵑ6 ᵑ9 ᵐ5 RV most; ᵑ01singular), see Ges§ 44, R. 4; plural הֶחֱרִימוּ 1Sa 15:9; 2Ch 32:14 etc.; (1Sa 15:3 read ᵐ5 והחרמתו We Dr); Imperfect יַחֲרִם Lev 27:28; וַיַּחֲרֵם Num 21:3; Jos 10:37; suffix וַיַּחֲרִימָהּ Jos 10:1; Jos 10:1plural וַנַּחֲרֵם Deu 2:34; Deu 3:6 etc.; Imperative הַחֲרֵם Deu 13:16; plural הַחֲרִימוּ Jer 51:3; suffix הַחֲרִימוּהָ Jer 50:26; Infinitive absolute הַחֲרֵם Deu 3:6 Deu 3:4t.; construct הַחֲרִים2Ch 20:23; Dan 11:44; suffix הַחֲרִימָם Jos 11:20 Jos 11:4t.; — ban, devote (especially religiously, followed by objects hostile to the theocracy [see especially Exo 22:19 Hoph`al]; this involved Generally their destruction; when a city was 'devoted' the inhabitants were put to death, the spoil being destroyed or not according to the gravity of the occasion [contrast Jos 6:17, Jos 6:21; 1Sa 15:3 with Deu 2:34f. Deu 3:6-7,], compare MI17 החרמתה כמש לעשתר to Ashtar-Chemosh I devoted it, i.e. the city Nebo); —
1 most often of devoting to destruction cities of Canaanites and other neighbours of Israel, exterminating inhabitants, and destroying or appropriating their possessions:
a. Israel and her leaders subject Num 21:2-3,(destruction according to vow), Jos 6:21 (compare ליהוה חֵרֶם Jos 6:17; all J); in Jos 6:18 read תַּחְמְדוּ (for תַּחֲרִימוּ ᵑ0, see Di VB); Jos 8:26 (ᵐ5, not ᵐ5L, omit verse), Jos 10:1 (JE), Deu 2:34; Deu 3:6 (twice in verse); Deu 7:2 (twice in verse) (commanded through Moses, compare for underlying thought Deu 7:4; Deu 7:5; Deu 7:6), Deu 20:17 (twice in verse) (commanded by ׳י), Jos 2:10; Jos 10:28, Jos 10:35, Jos 10:37, Jos 10:39, Jos 10:40 (divine command), Jos 11:11-12, Jos 11:20, Jos 11:21 (divine command Jos 11:12; Jos 11:20; all D), 1Sa 15:3, 1Sa 15:8, 1Sa 15:9 (twice in verse); 1Sa 15:15, 1Sa 15:18, 1Sa 15:20 (divine command 1Sa 15:3; 1Sa 15:18; 1Sa 15:20, compare 1Sa 15:11; 1Sa 15:22; 1Sa 15:23); quite secondary is simple exterminate 1Ki 9:21; 1Ch 4:41.
b. secondary meaning destroy, exterminate, also with other nations subject: — 2Ki 19:11 = Isa 37:11 2Ch 32:14; 2Ch 20:23; Jer 50:21, Jer 50:26 (both by divine command), Jer 51:3; Dan 11:44.
c. God as subject, figurative all nations and their armies Isa 34:2; the nations of Western Asia Jer 25:9; the tongue of the Egyptian sea (by drying it up) Isa 11:15 (but read perhaps החריב with ᵑ7 ᵑ9 ᵑ6 ᵐ5).
d. so also of devoting even Israelites: a city of Israel for worshipping other gods Deu 13:16; residents of Jabesh-Gilead for not joining in campaign against Benjamin Jdg 21:11.
2 devote to ׳י: for sacred uses ליהוה החרים the spoil of the nations Mic 4:13; private possessions, whether a man, animal, or field Lev 27:28 (P).
Hoph`al Imperfect יָחֳרַם Lev 27:29; Ezr 10:8; יָחֳרָ֑ם Exo 22:19; —
1 be put under the ban, devoted (to death), for worshipping other gods than ׳י Exo 22:19 (J E; earliest use of word in OT); for some other theocratic offence Lev 27:29 (P; see Di).
2 devoted, i.e. forfeited, to the temple treasures Ezr 10:8. — On חרם see especially Di (Kn) Lev 27:28; EwAntiq. 75. 78, Dr 1Sa 15:33.
II. [חָרַם] verb slit (nose, lip, ear, etc.), mutilate, especially face (Arabic perforate, pierce, slit the partition between the nostrils, or the lip, or the lobe of the ear) —
Qal Passive participle שָׂרוּעַ אוֺ חָרֻם אוֺ מִּסֵּחַ אוֺ עִוֵּר אִישׁ a man blind or lame or mutilated in the face (in nose, lip, ear, etc.), or too long in a limb Lev 21:18 (H), see Di (Kn).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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