חָרֵף
𐤇𐤓𐤐
Charef
H2780 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Personal name: Chârêph (חָרֵף), a proper noun designating an individual identified as an ancestor of a family group among those who returned to Yehud (Judea) from the Babylonian exile. The name itself is likely derived from a verbal root meaning 'to reproach' or 'to taunt,' but as a name, it functions simply as a designation for a specific Israelite or Judean figure. In post-exilic enumeration lists, it marks a family head or progenitor, without evidence that its lexical value ('reproachful') was intended as a descriptor in the personal name context.
Semantic Range
(proper name) Chârêph; (verbal root) to reproach, taunt, treat with contempt; (family/ancestral group designation) clan or descendant group named after Chârêph
Root / Etymology
From the root חָרַף (ḥāraph), meaning 'to reproach, taunt, scorn.' Chârêph is a proper noun formation — possibly adjectival — built from this root, but in the context of personal names the etymological meaning may not have been foregrounded.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Chârêph appears once in the Hebrew Bible (Nehemiah 7:24, where קַחַרֵף bĕnê-ḥārēph 'sons/descendants of Chareph' are listed among returnees from Babylon). In these post-exilic lists, the name denotes the founder or head of a family or clan. The context is genealogical and demographic, not descriptive. English Bibles sometimes render the name as "Hariph" due to a variation in vocalization and consonantal tradition (compare Ezra 2:18 — בְּנֵי חָרִף, 'sons of Hariph'), but these likely refer to the same clan or family, with minor textual/phonetic variation. No explicit information about the individual apart from the returnee list is known. The rendering 'Jew' in some translation traditions is anachronistic for this period — these lists refer to returnees to Yehud, and most would have been Judeans in the civic or geographic sense. There is no reason to think the name's lexical sense of 'reproach/scorn' has any intentional meaning in the actual naming context, as is often the case with biblical Hebrew personal names derived from common roots.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from חָרַף; reproachful; Chareph, an Israelite; Hareph.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
חרף (ḥ-r-p) — to reproach, to taunt, to scorn
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2741 | חֲרוּפִי | the Charuphite |
| H2756 | חָרִיף | Autumnal One |
| H2778 | חָרַף | in their taunting |
| H2779 | חֹרֶף | my harvest-season |
| H2781 | חֶרְפָּה | in public disgrace |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2780-01 |
חָרֵ֖ף | charef | HNp |
Hareph | Chareph | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2780-01 |
1 Chronicles 2:51 | חָרֵ֖ף | charef | HNp |
Hareph | Chareph |