This list contains tribes or other groups of people named in the
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
of minor notability, about whom either nothing or very little is known, aside from any family connections.
A
Accaba, descendants of
For the descendants of "Accaba" (1 Esdras 5:30,
Revised Version
The Revised Version (RV) or English Revised Version (ERV) of the Bible is a late-19th-century British revision of the King James Version. It was the first (and remains the only) officially authorised and recognised revision of the King James Vers ...
Ahumai, according to 1 Chronicles 4:2, was the name of a clan within the
Tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...
. The name "Ahuman" appears only in this verse of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Septuagint
The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
read ''Acheimei'', ''Achimai'' or ''Achiman.'' The ''Encyclopaedia Biblica'' raises the possibility that the correct reading is "Ahiman" rather than "Ahumai."
Apharsachites
A company of the colonists whom the Assyrian king planted in Samaria ().
Apharsathchites
Apharsathchites, according to
Ezra
Ezra ( fl. fifth or fourth century BCE) is the main character of the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible, he was an important Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen'') in the early Second Temple period. In the Greek Septuagint, t ...
4:9, were among the groups of people who wrote a letter to the Persian emperor in opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The exact spelling "Apharsathchites" occurs only in Ezra 4:9. However, an alternate form of the same name, "Apharsachites," appears in Ezra 5:6 and 6:6. According to the ''Encyclopaedia Biblica'', the term seems to be "the title of certain officers under Darius," and it is "misunderstood" as referring to a tribe of people.
Apharsites
Another of the tribes removed to Samaria, or perhaps the same as the Apharsachites ().
Arkites
:''See also
Canaan (son of Ham)
Canaan ( – ''Kənáʿan'', in pausa – ''Kənā́ʿan''), according to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, was a son of Ham and grandson of Noah, as well as the father of the Canaanites.
Etymology
The English term ''Canaan'' (pron ...
''
Arkites, also Archites were descendants of
Canaan
CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
Canaan
CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
Arqa
Arqa (; ) is a Lebanese village near Miniara in Akkar Governorate, Lebanon, 22 km northeast of Tripoli, near the coast.
The town was a notable city-state during the Iron Age. The city of ''Irqata'' sent 10,000 soldiers to the coalition a ...
, a city in the north of what is now
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
Arvadites
:''See also
Canaan (son of Ham)
Canaan ( – ''Kənáʿan'', in pausa – ''Kənā́ʿan''), according to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, was a son of Ham and grandson of Noah, as well as the father of the Canaanites.
Etymology
The English term ''Canaan'' (pron ...
''
Arvadites were descendants of
Canaan
CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
.
Asshurites
The Asshurites (also called Ashurites or Asshurim) are a group of people who, according to Genesis 25:3, descended from Dedan, the son of
Jokshan
Jokshan (, ''yoqšān'') was, according to the Bible, a son of Abraham (Avraham) and his wife or concubine Keturah, whom he wed after the death of Sarah. Jokshan had five brothers: Zimran, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah; as well as two hal ...
, the son of
Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
. Their exact historical identity is unknown, but the name may refer to an Assyrian or Egyptian tribe, or it may be a generic term for peasants.
C
Chemarims
In the
King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...
of the Bible, people known as "Chemarims" (Hebrew ''kemarim'') are mentioned in Zephaniah 1:4 as people to be punished by God for their associations with idolatry. In most later translations the noun is treated as a common noun meaning "idolatrous priests" or something similar. The underlying Hebrew term also appears in 2 Kings 23:5 and Hosea 10:5, and its precise meaning is not known.
Cheran
Cheran is the name given to a Horite clan in Genesis 36:28 and 1 Chronicles 1:41. While the passage containing "Cheran" is written as though it were a genealogy of individuals, it expresses the relationship between various Horite clans as they understood by the writer of Genesis.
D
Darkon, descendants of
In Ezra 2:56 and Nehemiah 7:58, which both reproduce versions of the same list, the ''bene darkon'' ("sons" i.e. "descendants" of Darkon) appear as one of the groups of the "descendants of Solomon's servants" said to have returned from the Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem and Judah.
Dishon
Dishon is a Horite clan name that appears in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Dishon is described two times as the fifth son of Seir, but one time he is described as the son of Anah, who is in turn the son of Seir.
E
Eleadah
Eleadah, Elead, or Eladah is the name of a clan in the tribe of Ephraim, personified as an individual in 1 Chronicles 7:20. The individual who appears in 7:20 is called "Eladah" or "Eleadah" depending on how one translates the Hebrew name, while an "Elead" appears in verse 21. This "Elead" may possibly be a repetition of the same name. It is still uncertain exactly how the Chronicler intended for the names in verses 20 and 21 to relate to one another.
Elkoshites
The term Elkoshite appears only in Nahum 1:1, where the prophet is called "Nahum the Elkoshite." It would seem to come from the name of a town named "Elkosh," but no such town has been positively identified.
Elmadam
Elmadam or Elmodam is the name of a figure in the genealogy of Jesus according to Luke. Where the Greek has ''Elmadam'', the
Peshitta
The Peshitta ( ''or'' ') is the standard Syriac edition of the Bible for Syriac Christian churches and traditions that follow the liturgies of the Syriac Rites.
The Peshitta is originally and traditionally written in the Classical Syriac d ...
has Elmodad. The ''Encyclopaedia Biblica'' (1899) suggests that the original Semitic name is Elmatham, a form of the name Elnathan.
Eshban
Eshban is a name found in a genealogy in Genesis and Chronicles. In both genealogies, Eshban is identified as the son of Dishon, the son of Anah, the son of Zibeon, the son of Seir the Horite. The name refers to a Horite clan.
G
Gammadim
Gammadim (
KJV
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...
Gammadims) are a group or class of people mentioned only in Ezekiel 27:11, in a passage which lists them, along with various other groups of people, as defenders of Tyre. Some Hebrew manuscripts spell the name as ''Gammarim'', while the Septuagint and other ancient Greek versions interpret it in a wide variety of ways. Some interpreters have taken it to refer to
Cimmerians
The Cimmerians were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe, part of whom subsequently migrated into W ...
or
Capadocians
Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir pro ...
.
The Gammadim are listed alongside Arvadites in Ezekiel, just as the Zemarites (Hebrew ''Tsemarim'') are listed alongside Avadites in Genesis 10:18. Because of this parallel between Zemarites and Gammadim, as well as the similarities in appearance of the two words as written in the consonantal Hebrew text,
Thomas Kelly Cheyne
Thomas Kelly Cheyne, (18 September 18411915) was an England, English Anglicanism#Anglican divines, divine and biblical criticism, biblical critic.
Biography
He was born in London and educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, Merchant Tay ...
believed that the current text of Ezekiel only has "Gammadims" as a result of a scribal error, and that Ezekiel 27:11 originally read "Zemarites."
Garmites
Garmite (Hebrew, ''garmi'') is a term that appears in passing only once in the
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...
referred to as "Keilah the Garmite". Where the Hebrew reads "the ''garmi''", various manuscripts of the Greek
Septuagint
The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
read "''atamei''", "the ''tarmi''", or "the ''garmei''".
Thomas Kelly Cheyne
Thomas Kelly Cheyne, (18 September 18411915) was an England, English Anglicanism#Anglican divines, divine and biblical criticism, biblical critic.
Biography
He was born in London and educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, Merchant Tay ...
wrote that the name "Keilah the Garmite" may have been a mistaken form of the originally intended "Keilah the Calebite."
Gatam
For the
Edom
Edom (; Edomite language, Edomite: ; , lit.: "red"; Akkadian language, Akkadian: , ; Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom that stretched across areas in the south of present-day Jordan and Israel. Edom and the Edomi ...
Nethinim
Nethinim ( ''nəṯīnīm'', lit. "given ones", or "subjects"), or Nathinites or Nathineans, was the name given to the Solomon's Temple, Temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem. The term was applied originally in the Book of Joshua (where it is foun ...
in Ezra 2:48 and Nehemiah 7:51. Both instances are in copies of a list which claims to contain the family names of people who returned from the
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
to
Yehud Medinata
Yehud Medinata, also called Yehud Medinta ( ) or simply Yehud, was an autonomous province of the Achaemenid Empire. Located in Judea, the territory was distinctly Jews, Jewish, with the High Priest of Israel emerging as a central religious and ...
.
Girgashites
Girgashites are one of the tribes who had invaded the land of Canaan as mentioned in Gen. 15:21; Deut. 7:1; Josh. 3:10; Neh. 9:8. The Girgashites are also known as the fifth ethnic group that descended from Canaan (Gen. 10:16; i Chron. 1:14). Alth ...
Girgashites, or Girgasites, were descendants of
Canaan
CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
Canaan
CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi ().
Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...
, this is because they left the Land of Israel before the Israelites returned from Egypt.
The descendants of Hagab, whose name means "grasshopper," are listed among the families of
Nethinim
Nethinim ( ''nəṯīnīm'', lit. "given ones", or "subjects"), or Nathinites or Nathineans, was the name given to the Solomon's Temple, Temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem. The term was applied originally in the Book of Joshua (where it is foun ...
, or temple assistants, who returned to Jerusalem from the
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
in Ezra 2:46 and the parallel verse, Nehemiah 7:48.Cheyne and Black (1899), ''Encyclopaedia Biblica'', entry fo "Hagab." /ref> The Greek
Septuagint
The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
manuscripts of
Ezra
Ezra ( fl. fifth or fourth century BCE) is the main character of the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible, he was an important Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen'') in the early Second Temple period. In the Greek Septuagint, t ...
and
Nehemiah
Nehemiah (; ''Nəḥemyā'', "Yahweh, Yah comforts") is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period as the governor of Yehud Medinata, Persian Judea under Artaxer ...
record the name as ''Agab'' or ''Gaba.''
The name also appears in 1 Esdras 5:30, where the
Revised Standard Version
The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1952 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. This translation is a revision of the American St ...
reads "Hagab" while the
King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...
has "Agaba" and the
Revised Version
The Revised Version (RV) or English Revised Version (ERV) of the Bible is a late-19th-century British revision of the King James Version. It was the first (and remains the only) officially authorised and recognised revision of the King James Vers ...
"Accaba."
The
Book of Acts
The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire.
Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...
has a prophet who shared a form of the same name:
Agabus
Agabus (; ; ) was an early follower of Christianity from Syria mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as a prophet. He is traditionally remembered as one of the Seventy Disciples described in Luke .
Name
The name Agabus derived from the Aram ...
The family Hakupha (also Acipha or Achipha) is listed as a sub-group of the
Nethinim
Nethinim ( ''nəṯīnīm'', lit. "given ones", or "subjects"), or Nathinites or Nathineans, was the name given to the Solomon's Temple, Temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem. The term was applied originally in the Book of Joshua (where it is foun ...
in Ezra 2:51, Nehemiah 7:53, and 1 Esdras 5:31. In manuscripts of the Greek
Septuagint
The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
the name appears in the forms Apheika, Akoupha, Akeipha, and Acheiba. The name might mean "crooked."
Hamathites
:''See also
Canaan (son of Ham)
Canaan ( – ''Kənáʿan'', in pausa – ''Kənā́ʿan''), according to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, was a son of Ham and grandson of Noah, as well as the father of the Canaanites.
Etymology
The English term ''Canaan'' (pron ...
''
Hamathites were descendants of
Canaan
CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and northern
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
.
Hamulites
Hamulites were those who descended from Hamul son of Pharez according to .
Harhur
Harhur is recorded in Ezra 2:51 and Nehemiah 7:53 as the collective name of a group of
Nethinim
Nethinim ( ''nəṯīnīm'', lit. "given ones", or "subjects"), or Nathinites or Nathineans, was the name given to the Solomon's Temple, Temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem. The term was applied originally in the Book of Joshua (where it is foun ...
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
. The phrase used to describe this group is ''b'nei harhur'', literally "sons of Harhur," which can be interpreted either as "descendants of person namedHarhur" or "people from place namedHarhur."
Haruphites
Haruphite is a term applied to "Shephatiah the Haruphite" in 1 Chronicles 12:6 (or verse 5) in some Bibles. The form "Haruphite" is used in the Qere, or the form of the text as traditionally read out loud in synagogues. The Ketiv, the form of the text written in the main body of the
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
but not traditionally read aloud in synagogues, calls Sephatiah a "Hariphite." The term "Hariphite" or "Haruphite" may refer to the same group of people called by the family name Hariph.
Hashum
Hashum is the name of a family or clan listed in Ezra 2:19 as returnees to Jerusalem from the
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
. The
Book of Ezra
The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible which formerly included the Book of Nehemiah in a single book, commonly distinguished in scholarship as Ezra–Nehemiah. The two became separated with the first printed Mikraot Gedolot, rabbinic bib ...
records that 233 members of this group returned to Jerusalem. The original pronunciation of the name is uncertain: it may have once been ''Hashim.''
Hatita
Hatita is the name given to a family or clan of porters in
Ezra–Nehemiah
Ezra–Nehemiah (, ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible found in the Ketuvim section, originally with the Hebrew title of Ezra (, ), called Esdras B (Ἔσδρας Βʹ) in the Septuagint. The book covers the period from the fall of Babylon in 539&nbs ...
's list of people who returned to
Yehud Medinata
Yehud Medinata, also called Yehud Medinta ( ) or simply Yehud, was an autonomous province of the Achaemenid Empire. Located in Judea, the territory was distinctly Jews, Jewish, with the High Priest of Israel emerging as a central religious and ...
after the
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
''For information about the Hepherites mentioned in Numbers 26:32, see Hepher.''
Horonites
In the
Book of Nehemiah
The Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible largely takes the form of a first-person memoir by Nehemiah, a Hebrew prophet and high official at the Persian court, concerning the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and the ...
, one of
Nehemiah
Nehemiah (; ''Nəḥemyā'', "Yahweh, Yah comforts") is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period as the governor of Yehud Medinata, Persian Judea under Artaxer ...
's enemies is called
Sanballat the Horonite
Sanballat the Horonite ( ''Sanḇallaṭ'') – or Sanballat I – was a Samaritan leader, official of the Achaemenid Empire, and contemporary of the Israelite leader Nehemiah who lived in the mid-to-late 5th century BC. He and his family are menti ...
. Scholars have disagreed as to whether this identifies Sanballat as hailing from Beth-horon (in
Samaria
Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...
Moab
Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...
).
I
Ishbah
Ishbah is the name of a clan mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:17, to which the people of Eshtemoa belonged. The passage describes relationships between clans and regions in terms of genealogical relationships, personifying them as if individual persons. "Ishbah" is not described as having a named "mother" or "father" in the Hebrew
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
, but the Greek
Septuagint
The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
Tribe of Issachar
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Issachar () was one of the twelve tribes of Israel and one of the ten lost tribes. In Jewish tradition, the descendants of Issachar were seen as being dominated by religious scholars and influential in ...
, mentioned only in 1 Chronicles 7:2.
Jakim
Jakim is a Priestly division mentioned in 1 Chronicles 24:12. According to 1 Chronicles 24, in the time of
David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
a systematic plan was created, in which priests were divided into twenty-four courses, which were responsible on a rotating basis for carrying out duties related to the temple at Jerusalem. Jakim is listed as the twelfth of the priestly courses.
Janai
''For the clan referred to as Janai or Jaanai, see Janai.''
Japhlet
Japhlet is the name given to a clan in the Tribe of Asher. The Japhlet of Asher should not be confused with the "Japhletites" referred to in Joshua 16:3.
Japhletites
The Japhletites were a community referred to in located at the western point of the boundary of the land allocated to the
tribe of Ephraim
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim (, ''ʾEp̄rayim,'' in Pausa, pausa: , ''ʾEp̄rāyim'') was one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The Tribe of Manasseh, together with Ephraim, formed the Tribe of Joseph. It is one of the Ten L ...
in the lots drawn by
Joshua
Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...
and
Eleazar
Eleazar (; ) or Elazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses.
Biblical narrative
Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from ...
. The
King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...
refers to "the coast of Japhleti". "This place is now unknown".
L
Lahad
Lahad, only mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:2, is the name given for a clan within the
Tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...
.
Lehabim
Lehabim were a people descended from
Mizraim
Mizraim (; cf. ) is the Hebrew and Aramaic name for the land of Egypt and its people.
Mizraim - king of Egypt
Linguistic analysis
'' Mizraim'' is the Hebrew cognate of a common Semitic source word for the land now known as Egypt. It is similar t ...
Libu
The Libu (; also transcribed Rebu, Libo, Lebu, Lbou, Libou) were an Ancient Libyan tribe of Berber origin, from which the name ''Libya'' derives.
Early history
Their tribal origin in Ancient Libya is first attested in Egyptian language texts ...
, and
Ancient Libya
During the Iron Age and Classical antiquity, ''Libya'' (from Greek :wikt:Λιβύη, Λιβύη: ''Libyē'', which came from Berber language, Berber: ''Libu'') referred to the area of North Africa directly west of the Nile, Nile river (Modern day ...
.
Lubims
The Lubims in the Old Testament were the Libyans, an African nation under tribute to Egypt (; ). Their territory was apparently near Egypt. They were probably the Mizraite Lehabim.
M
Maacathites
The term Maacathite, Maachathite, or Maachathi is used to refer to the people of
Maacah
Maacah (or Maakah; ''Maʿăḵā'', "crushed"; Maacha in the Codex Alexandrinus, Maachah in the KJV) is a non-gender-specific personal name used in the Bible to refer to a number of people.
*A child of Abraham's brother Nahor, son of Terah, Nacho ...
.
Magbish, descendants of
The descendants iterally, ''sons''of Magbish is the name given to a group of 156 people listed in Ezra 2:30 as returning from the
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
with
Zerubbabel
Zerubbabel ( from ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a governor of the Achaemenid Empire's province of Yehud Medinata and the grandson of Jeconiah, penultimate king of Judah. He is not documented in extra-biblical documents, and is considered ...
. This group is absent from the parallel list in Nehemiah 7.
Mahavites
"Eliel the Mahavite" (Hebrew ''eliel hammahavim'') is a figure who appears in some translations of the Bible at 1 Chronicles 11:46. However, due to the plural form of the word translated Mahavite, the ''Encyclopaedia Biblica'' suggests that some mistake has occurred at some point in the history of the text, and that the translation "Eliel the Mahavite" "cannot be legitimately obtained from the present state of the text."
Malchielites
The Malchielites were a group within the Tribe of Asher, who according to 1 Chronicles 7:31, were descended from
Asher
Asher ( ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis, was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Zilpah, and Jacob's eighth son overall. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher.
Name
The text of the Torah states that the name אָ� ...
King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...
spelling Manahethites) were a group mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:52 and 54, in a genealogical passage concerning the descendants of
Caleb
Caleb ( ; , Tiberian vocalization: , Modern Israeli Hebrew: ) is a figure who appears in the Hebrew Bible as a representative of the Tribe of Judah during the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land.
Following the Israelite conquest of Ca ...
of the
Tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...
. Chronicles attributes half of the Manahathites to descent from Shobal and the rest to Salma, both of them being descendants of Caleb. Their name is related to the Manahath son of Shobal the Horite, who is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 1:40.
Maon
Maon, according to Judges 10:12, were a people who, along with the Sidonians and Amalek, oppressed the people of Israel. There is also a location known as Maon mentioned several times in the Bible, but the people by that name are mentioned nowhere but the passage in Judges.
Meunim
The term Meunim (archaically spelled Mehunim, Mehunims) is used in Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah. In 2 Chronicles 26:7, the Meunim appear in a list of Philistine peoples conquered by king
Uzziah
Uzziah (; ''‘Uzzīyyāhū'', meaning "my strength is Yah"; ; ), also known as Azariah (; ''‘Azaryā''; ; ), was the tenth king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, and one of Amaziah's sons. () Uzziah was 16 when he became king of Judah and ...
. In 1 Chronicles 4:40-41, people from the Tribe of Simeon are held to have exterminated "descendants of Ham" and Meunim living east of the Jordan. Finally, Ezra 2:50 and the parallel passage in Nehemiah 7:52 list Meunim among groups of Nethinim returning to
Yehud Medinata
Yehud Medinata, also called Yehud Medinta ( ) or simply Yehud, was an autonomous province of the Achaemenid Empire. Located in Judea, the territory was distinctly Jews, Jewish, with the High Priest of Israel emerging as a central religious and ...
following the end of the
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
.
Mezobaites
''For the term Mesobaite or Mezobaite, see Jaasiel.''
Mishraites
The Mishraites, mentioned only in 1 Chronicles 2:53, where a clan said by the Chronicler to have lived in Kirjath-jearim after the
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
.
Mithnites
In 1 Chronicles 11:43, a man is referred as "Joshaphat the Mithnite."
N
Naphtuhim
Naphtuhim were a people descended from
Mizraim
Mizraim (; cf. ) is the Hebrew and Aramaic name for the land of Egypt and its people.
Mizraim - king of Egypt
Linguistic analysis
'' Mizraim'' is the Hebrew cognate of a common Semitic source word for the land now known as Egypt. It is similar t ...
The sons of Nephisim (Nephusim, Nephishesim, Nephushesim) were, according to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, one of the groups of
Nethinim
Nethinim ( ''nəṯīnīm'', lit. "given ones", or "subjects"), or Nathinites or Nathineans, was the name given to the Solomon's Temple, Temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem. The term was applied originally in the Book of Joshua (where it is foun ...
. The
Qere and Ketiv
Qere and Ketiv (from the Aramaic ''qere'' or ''q're'', , " hat isread"; ''ketiv'', or ''ketib'', ''kethib'', ''kethibh'', ''kethiv'', , " hat iswritten") refers to a system for marking differences between what is written in the consonantal text of ...
system for recording variants gives the forms "Nephisim" and "Nephusim" in Ezra 2:50, and "Nephishesim" and "Nephushesim" in Nehemiah 7:52. These forms appear in two forms of a list of people brought by Ezra from the exile in Babylonia to their homeland in Yehud Medinata.
Neziah
The sons of Neziah, according to Ezra 2:54 and Nehemiah 7:56, a group of people who, among others, returned with Ezra from the Babylonian captivity.
P
Padon
The descendants of Padon or sons of Padon (Hebrew ''bnei Padon'') are a group who appear in two versions of the list of returnees to Judah according to the books of Ezra (2:44) and Nehemiah (7:47). In keeping with other Hebrew names of the form ''bnei X'', the ''bnei Padon'' might be translated as ''descendants of Padon'', ''sons of Padon'', or ''people of Padon.'' No further information about any person or group the name "Padon" appears in the Bible.
Paltites
One person called a Paltite appears in the Bible "Helez the Paltite" (2 Samuel 23:26), one of
David's Mighty Warriors
David's Mighty Warriors (also known as David's Mighty Men or the Gibborim; ) are a group of 37 men in the Hebrew Bible who fought with King David and are identified in , part of the "supplementary information" added to the Second Book of Samuel ...
. The name might either identify him as coming from the location Beth Pelet (Hebrew for "House of Pelet"), or else might identify him as a member of the clan named Pelet, identified with Caleb in 1 Chronicles 2:47.
Parosh
The descendants of Parosh or sons of Parosh (Hebrew ''bnei Parosh'') are mentioned several times in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 2:3; 8:3; 10:25; Nehemiah 7:8). As with other Hebrew terms of the form ''bnei X'', the ''bnei Parosh'' might be translated as ''descendants of Parosh'', ''sons of Parosh'', or ''people of Parosh.'' A person by the name of Pedaiah, described as a "son of Parosh" appears in Nehemiah 3:25, is listed among those who helped rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. A mention of the name "Parosh (Hebrew פרעש, "flea")" also appears in Nehemiah 10:14.
Pelonites
Two individuals are identified by the term "Pelonite" in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Chronicles versions of the list of
David's Mighty Warriors
David's Mighty Warriors (also known as David's Mighty Men or the Gibborim; ) are a group of 37 men in the Hebrew Bible who fought with King David and are identified in , part of the "supplementary information" added to the Second Book of Samuel ...
(1 Chronicles 11:27, 36; 27:10). The term "Pelonite" occurs only here, while Helez is identified in
2 Samuel
The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) that constitute a theological ...
23:26 as a Paltite. Because of the earlier form "Paltite," which is likely related to Beth Pelet and/or Pelet, most scholars believe that Pelonite is a scribal error, and that " Paltite" is the original term.
Perida
The descendants of Perida are listed as one group of
Solomon's servants
This list contains tribes or other groups of people named in the Bible of minor notability, about whom either nothing or very little is known, aside from any family connections.
A Accaba, descendants of
For the descendants of "Accaba" (1 Esd ...
in Nehemiah 7:57. The name appears as Peruda in Ezra 2:55.
Pochereth
The descendants of Pochereth of Zebaaim are listed as one group of
Solomon's servants
This list contains tribes or other groups of people named in the Bible of minor notability, about whom either nothing or very little is known, aside from any family connections.
A Accaba, descendants of
For the descendants of "Accaba" (1 Esd ...
in Ezra 2:57 and Nehemiah 7:59.
Punites
The Punites, according to Numbers 26:23, were a clan descended from Puah, in the
Tribe of Issachar
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Issachar () was one of the twelve tribes of Israel and one of the ten lost tribes. In Jewish tradition, the descendants of Issachar were seen as being dominated by religious scholars and influential in ...
.
R
Reaiah
Reaiah is a name which occurs several times in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...
.
In a nearby passage, another Reaiah is listed as a "son" of Joel, who is placed in a genealogy of the
Tribe of Reuben
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Reuben () was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Unlike the majority of the tribes, the land of Reuben, along with that of Tribe of Gad, Gad and half of Manasseh (tribal patriarch), Manasseh, was on ...
, but whose relationship to Reuben is not clearly specified (1 Chronicles 5:5, the King James Version spells the name Reaia here). He was the son of Micah and the Father of
Baal
Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...
.
Later, in Ezra-Nehemiah, a group known as the "sons of Reaiah" appear in two versions of a list of clans of the
Nethinim
Nethinim ( ''nəṯīnīm'', lit. "given ones", or "subjects"), or Nathinites or Nathineans, was the name given to the Solomon's Temple, Temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem. The term was applied originally in the Book of Joshua (where it is foun ...
(Ezra 2:47, Nehemiah 7:50).
S
Sardites
According to Numbers 26:26, the Sardites were a clan within the tribe of Zebulun, named after Zebulun's son Sered.
Senaah
The sons of Senaah (Hebrew ''bnei Senaah'' or ''bnei ha-Senaah'') are a group who appear in Ezra and Nehemiah, in two versions of a list of returnees from the
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
. According to Ezra 2:35 there were 3,630 members of this group; Nehemiah 7:38 gives the figure 3,930. Nehemiah 3:3, in a listing of various groups involved in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, has them working on its Fish Gate.
Shaalbonites
The term Shaalbonite is mentioned in passing in two biblical passages, both of which list an "Eliahba the Shaalbonite" as one of
David's Mighty Warriors
David's Mighty Warriors (also known as David's Mighty Men or the Gibborim; ) are a group of 37 men in the Hebrew Bible who fought with King David and are identified in , part of the "supplementary information" added to the Second Book of Samuel ...
(2 Samuel 23:32, 1 Chronicles 11:33). See Shaalbim.
Shalmai, descendants of
In the lists of clans in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7, the "descendants of Shalmai" (literally, "sons of Shalmai") are listed as one of the groups who returned from the Babylonian captivity to Judah (Ezra 2:46, Nehemiah 7:48).
Sinites
Sinites were a people descended from Canaan, son of Ham, according to Genesis 10:17 and 1 Chronicles 1:15. Most authorities however consider the identity of Sinites uncertain, but that they are possibly a people from the northern part of Lebanon where there are various localities with similar names, such as ''Sinna'', ''Sinum'' or ''Sini'', and ''Syn''. Medieval biblical exegete
Saadia Gaon
Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, Geonim, gaon, Jews, Jewish philosopher, and exegesis, exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate.
Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic ...
identified the Sinites with the indigenous peoples of Tripoli, in Lebanon.
Solomon's servants
A group called the descendants of Solomon's servants appears in Ezra and Nehemiah. They appear in Ezra 2 (55-58) in a list of returnees from the
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
to
Yehud Medinata
Yehud Medinata, also called Yehud Medinta ( ) or simply Yehud, was an autonomous province of the Achaemenid Empire. Located in Judea, the territory was distinctly Jews, Jewish, with the High Priest of Israel emerging as a central religious and ...
. They are listed after the
Nethinim
Nethinim ( ''nəṯīnīm'', lit. "given ones", or "subjects"), or Nathinites or Nathineans, was the name given to the Solomon's Temple, Temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem. The term was applied originally in the Book of Joshua (where it is foun ...
and before a list of returnees who could not prove their genealogical origins. A copy of the same list, with some minor differences, can be found in Nehemiah 7:57-60. In both lists, a total number of 392 people is given, including both the descendants of Solomon's servants and the Nethinim. Nehemiah 11:3 lists them as one of the five classes of persons living in Yehud Medinata: "Israel, the priests, the Levites, the Nethinim, and the descendants of Solomon's servants."
Many scholars have noted a large number of non-Hebrew names both in the lists for Nethinim and "descendants of Solomon's servants," and scholars have connected both groups to biblical traditions about non-Israelite (Canaanite, Gibeonite, and/or Hivite) people being forced into slavery by
Joshua
Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...
and
Solomon
Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
.
Z
Zemarites
:''See also
Canaan (son of Ham)
Canaan ( – ''Kənáʿan'', in pausa – ''Kənā́ʿan''), according to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, was a son of Ham and grandson of Noah, as well as the father of the Canaanites.
Etymology
The English term ''Canaan'' (pron ...
''
Zemarites were descendants of
Canaan
CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
, according to Genesis 10:18 and 1 Chronicles 1:16. The Zemarites are thought to have inhabited Sumur, a city near the coast of present-day Syria, although biblical exegete
Saadia Gaon
Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, Geonim, gaon, Jews, Jewish philosopher, and exegesis, exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate.
Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic ...
held that they formerly inhabited the Syrian town of
Homs
Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...
.
See also
*
List of biblical names
Names play a variety of roles in the Bible. They sometimes relate to the nominee's role in a Books of the Bible, biblical narrative, as in the case of Nabal, a foolish man whose name means "fool". Names in the Bible can represent human hopes, d ...