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הוֹהָם

𐤄𐤅𐤄𐤌

Hoham

H1944 noun

SILEX Entry

Root uncertain uncertain; personal name

Definition

Personal name: Hoham, a Canaanite king of Hebron mentioned as one of the five Amorite kings opposing Joshua and the Israelites during their southern campaign. The word functions exclusively as a proper noun and does not carry a lexical meaning beyond its use as a personal name in the biblical record. Its etymology and any inherent meaning remain obscure.

Semantic Range

proper name; Canaanite/Amorite king; king of Hebron

Root / Etymology

The etymology of הוֹהָם (Hôwhâm) is uncertain. The name does not correspond clearly to any well-established Hebrew root, and linguistic parallels with names in related Semitic languages do not yield an obvious meaning. It is possibly a non-Hebrew (Canaanite/Amorite) name adapted into the Hebrew record. Root uncertain.

Historical & Contextual Notes

הוֹהָם (Hôwhâm) appears in Joshua 10:1–27 as the king of Hebron, listed among five Amorite kings allied against the advancing Israelite conquest under Joshua. The text identifies him with a specific pre-Israelite, Amorite population in the southern hill country (Hebron). The name is not attested elsewhere in the Tanakh and does not become a standard Israelite or Judahite personal name. English translations uniformly transliterate the name rather than translate it, reflecting the lack of a discernible meaning. Later traditions do not reinterpret this figure or name with new meanings. There is no association with the ethnonym Judahite or with subsequent Judean identity; the name remains historically and ethnically Canaanite/Amorite in context. Compared to biblical names constructed from known Hebrew roots or theophoric elements, הוֹהָם stands out for its opacity and absence from Israelite naming patterns. The KJV and most other English versions simply carry over the Hebrew as 'Hoham,' consistent with best practices for obscure foreign proper names. No evidence suggests any development or new use of the name in post-biblical Jewish literature.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

of uncertain derivation; Hoham, a Canaanitish king; Hoham.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.

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Root Family

uncertain (uncertain) — uncertain; personal name

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1085 בִּלְדַּד Bildad
H1095 בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר Belteshatsar
H1114 בִּלְשָׁן Bilshan
H1150 בִּנְעָא Bin'a
H116 אֱדַיִן and then

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1944-01 הוֹהָ֣ם hoham HNp Hoham Hoham 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1944-01 Joshua 10:3 הוֹהָ֣ם hoham HNp Hoham Hoham
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