charam · devote to destruction, disfigured

What it means

charam (חָרַם) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “devote to destruction, disfigured”.

Devote something completely to God so that no one may keep it; often it means destroy it. Another word written the same way means "with a disfigured face" (Leviticus 21:18).

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To give something wholly to YHWH, often by destroying it.
2. To have a damaged or marked face, so that the flaw shows.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To devote something or someone to YHWH totally, so that no one may keep it or ransom it; in war, that means destroying it. From the same root is חֵרֶם, what is devoted to destruction. BDB records another word of the same form, with a physical sense, which in Leviticus 21:18 is rendered “disfigured”.

• The command to devote the peoples of Canaan to destruction Deuteronomy 7:2Deuteronomy 20:17
• Cities devoted to destruction Joshua 6:21Deuteronomy 2:34
• Saul and Amalek 1 Samuel 15:31 Samuel 15:9
• What is completely devoted to YHWH Leviticus 27:28Leviticus 27:29
• Penalty for worshiping other gods; confiscated goods Exodus 22:20Ezra 10:8

Historical and cultural background

Leviticus 27:28-29 explains the rule: what is completely devoted “is most holy to YHWH” and is neither sold nor redeemed. At Jericho, taking anything of what was devoted brought ruin on the camp (Joshua 6:18).

How we translate it

Cherem and its verb are rendered “devote to destruction” in all its forms (“devoted to destruction” 17 times, “devote to destruction” 8, “devote them to destruction” 7), so that it can be seen that it is an act of giving over to YHWH and not just killing. When it is a field or goods in Leviticus 27 it reads “completely devotes”, and of a person, “devoted to destruction”. In Deuteronomy 7:2 and 20:17 the Hebrew infinitive that reinforces the verb is rendered “you shall devote them completely to destruction” or “you shall surely devote them to destruction”.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• devoted to destruction ×17
• devote to destruction ×8
• devote them to destruction ×7
• devoted them to destruction ×5
• devoted it to destruction ×3
• devoting them to destruction ×3
• you shall devote them completely to destruction ×2
• completely devotes ×1
• devote her to destruction ×1
• devoting it to destruction ×1
• others ×4

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Exodus×1
• Leviticus×3
• Numbers×2
• Deuteronomy×8
• Joshua×14
• Judges×2
• 1 Samuel×7
• 1 Kings×1
• 2 Kings×1
• 1 Chronicles×1
• 2 Chronicles×2
• Ezra×1
• Isaiah×3
• Jeremiah×4
• Daniel×1
• Micah×1

• Exodus 22:20

  Whoever sacrifices to gods, other than to YHWH alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

• Leviticus 21:18

  For no man who has a defect shall approach: a man who is blind, or lame, or disfigured, or deformed,

• Leviticus 27:28

  But nothing completely devoted that a man completely devotes to YHWH of all that he has, whether human being or beast or field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to YHWH.

• Leviticus 27:29

  No one devoted to destruction who is devoted to destruction from among human beings shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.

• Numbers 21:2

  And Israel vowed a vow to YHWH and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote to destruction their cities.”

• Numbers 21:3

  And YHWH listened to the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted to destruction them and their cities; and the name of the place was called Hormah.

• Deuteronomy 2:34

  We captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction every city: men, women, and little ones; we left no survivor.

• Deuteronomy 3:6

  We devoted them to destruction, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, devoting to destruction every city: men, women, and little ones.

• Deuteronomy 7:2

  and YHWH your Elohim delivers them before you and you strike them, you shall devote them completely to destruction. You shall not make a covenant with them or show them favor.

• Deuteronomy 13:15

  you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, devoting it to destruction, and all that is in it, and its livestock, with the edge of the sword.

• Deuteronomy 20:17

  but you shall surely devote them to destruction: the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as YHWH your Elohim has commanded you,

• Joshua 2:10

  For we have heard how YHWH dried up the water of the Sea of Reeds before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorite who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you devoted to destruction.

• Joshua 6:18

  But you, only keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, so that you do not devote them to destruction and then take from the things devoted to destruction and make the camp of Israel a thing devoted to destruction and bring ruin on it.

• Joshua 6:21

  And they devoted to destruction all that was in the city, from man to woman, from young man to old man, to ox, lamb, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

• Joshua 8:26

  Joshua did not draw back his hand that he had stretched out with the javelin until he had devoted to destruction all the inhabitants of Ai.

• Joshua 10:1

  And it came about, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and devoted it to destruction —as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king— and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,

• Joshua 10:28

  And Makkedah Joshua took on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king; he devoted to destruction them and every person who was in it; he left no survivor. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

• Joshua 10:35

  They took it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person who was in it he devoted to destruction on that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

• Joshua 10:37

  They took it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and all its cities and every person who was in it; he left no survivor, according to all that he had done to Eglon; and he devoted it to destruction and every person who was in it.

• Joshua 10:39

  He took it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person who was in it; he left no survivor. As he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and to its king, and as he had done to Libnah and to its king.

• Joshua 10:40

  So Joshua struck all the land: the hill country, the Negev, the Shephelah, and the slopes, and all their kings; he left no survivor, and he devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, had commanded.

• Joshua 11:11

  They struck every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction; there was not left anything that breathed; and Hazor he burned with fire.

• Joshua 11:12

  And all the cities of these kings and all their kings Joshua took, and he struck them with the edge of the sword; he devoted them to destruction, just as Moses the servant of YHWH had commanded.

• Joshua 11:20

  For it was from YHWH to make their heart obstinate to meet Israel in battle, in order that he might devote them to destruction, so that there would be no favor for them, but in order that he might destroy them, just as YHWH had commanded Moses.

• Joshua 11:21

  And Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and from all the hill country of Israel; with their cities Joshua devoted them to destruction.

• Judges 1:17

  Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanite who lived in Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So one called the name of the city Hormah.

• Judges 21:11

  And this is the thing that you shall do: every male and every woman who has known lying with a male you shall devote to destruction.”

• 1 Samuel 15:3

  Now go and strike Amalek, and devote to destruction all that he has; do not spare him, but put to death from man to woman, from child to nursing infant, from ox to lamb, from camel to donkey.’”

• 1 Samuel 15:8

  He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, and all the people he devoted to destruction with the edge of the sword.

• 1 Samuel 15:9

  But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the flock and the herd, the second-born and the lambs, and all that was good, and they were not willing to devote them to destruction; but all the property that was despised and worthless, that they devoted to destruction.

• 1 Samuel 15:15

  Saul said, “From the Amalekites they have brought them, for the people spared the best of the flock and the herd in order to sacrifice to YHWH your Elohim; and the rest we have devoted to destruction.”

• 1 Samuel 15:18

  And YHWH sent you on a journey and said, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinners, Amalek, and fight against him until you have consumed them.’

• 1 Samuel 15:20

  Saul said to Samuel, “Yes, I have listened to the voice of YHWH, and I went on the way on which YHWH sent me; and I have brought Agag king of Amalek, and Amalek I have devoted to destruction.

• 1 Kings 9:21

  their sons who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were not able to devote to destruction, Solomon raised them to be subject to forced labor until this day.

• 2 Kings 19:11

  Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, devoting them to destruction; and will you be delivered?

• 1 Chronicles 4:41

  And these, those written by name, came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and struck their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and devoted them to destruction to this day, and lived in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks there.

• 2 Chronicles 20:23

  The sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, to devote them to destruction and to destroy them; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped each to destroy his fellow.

• 2 Chronicles 32:14

  Who among all the gods of these nations that my fathers devoted to destruction was the one who was able to deliver his people from my hand, that your Elohim should be able to deliver you from my hand?

• Ezra 10:8

  and that everyone who did not come within three days, according to the counsel of the officials and the elders, all his goods would be devoted to destruction, and he himself would be separated from the assembly of the exiles.

• Isaiah 11:15

  And YHWH will devote to destruction the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and he will wave his hand over the River with the heat of his wind, and strike it into seven streams, and make people cross in sandals.

And 12 more times.