חֶבְרָה
𐤇𐤁𐤓𐤄
chebrâh
H2274 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
An association, group, or company organized around shared purposes, interests, or proximity. The term denotes a collection of individuals united together—whether for social, familial, cultic, or communal reasons—with an emphasis on their connectedness or structured community.
Semantic Range
company, association, fellowship, band, group, society
Root / Etymology
From the root ח-ב-ר (חבר), meaning 'to join, connect, associate.' חֶבְרָה is a feminine noun form, signifying a grouping that is joined or bound together, often with a sense of deliberate connection or fellowship.
Historical & Contextual Notes
חֶבְרָה appears rarely in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Job 34:8), and when it does, it refers to an organized group or company, often in the sense of a fellowship or band of people united by association. Related nouns from the same root—such as חֶבֶר (chever, 'company, association, band')—overlap in meaning but may differ in nuance or gender grammatical form. In biblical use, חֶבְרָה has a neutral, descriptive sense and is not intrinsically pejorative or laudatory; the other membership and purpose of the group defines the value (e.g., a fellowship of upright people, or a company of wrongdoers). Later translations sometimes use 'company,' 'band,' or even 'society,' but none fully capture the term’s nuance of covenantal or organized association. There is no direct distinction between ethnic or religious identity in the term; it is a sociological rather than a theological or national grouping. Over time, in post-biblical Hebrew, cognate forms retain the general sense of 'association' or 'society.' Note that the KJV and other English translations' use of 'company' may limit modern understanding, as it can refer generically to groups assembled for various purposes, lacking the nuance of connectedness implied by the Hebrew.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
feminine of חֶבֶר; association; company.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
חבר (ḥ-b-r) — join, connect, associate
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2249 | חָבוֹר | and in Chabor |
| H2250 | חַבּוּרָה | welt-mark |
| H2266 | חָבַר | let me bind together |
| H2267 | חֶבֶר | your alliances |
| H2268 | חֶבֶר | Association |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2274-01 |
לְ֭/חֶבְרָה | lecheverah | HR/Ncfsa |
in company | to an association | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2274-01 |
Job 34:8 | לְ֭/חֶבְרָה | lecheverah | HR/Ncfsa |
in company | to an association |