Bible Word Study
עֲדֻלָּמִי
ʻĂdullâmîy · an Adullamite or native of Adullam
עֲדֻלָּמִי
an Adullamite or native of Adullam
Definition
The term 'Adullamite' refers to a person from the ancient Canaanite city of Adullam. It is used exclusively in the Old Testament as a gentilic (patrial) noun to denote someone's origin from that specific location. In its biblical occurrences, it specifically identifies Hirah, a friend of Judah, as 'Hirah the Adullamite' (Genesis 38:1, 12, 20). The word carries no additional or varied meanings beyond this geographical designation.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only three times in the Old Testament, all within the narrative of Genesis 38. It consistently describes Judah's friend and associate, Hirah, specifying his origin from the town of Adullam. The usage is straightforward and serves a purely descriptive function to identify a character's background within the story of Judah and Tamar.
Etymology
The word is a patrial noun derived directly from the place name 'Adullam' (עֲדֻלָּם, H5725). Patrial nouns in Hebrew are formed to indicate origin or belonging to a specific location. 'Adullam' itself is thought to possibly mean 'retreat' or 'refuge,' which is fitting given its role as a cave stronghold for David (1 Samuel 22:1).
Semantic Range
In the ancient Near East, a person's identity was often closely tied to their city or region of origin. Labeling Hirah as 'the Adullamite' immediately provided the original audience with contextual information about his homeland. Adullam was a Canaanite city in the Shephelah (lowland) region, later incorporated into the territory of Judah (Joshua 15:35). This designation subtly places Hirah, and by extension Judah's interactions with him, within the context of Judah's relationships with the indigenous Canaanite populations. There are no direct synonyms, as this is a proper gentilic noun. Related terms would be other patrial designations, such as: יְהוּדִי (Yehudiy, H3064) — a Judean or Jew, from the tribe/kingdom of Judah. גִּבְעָתִי (Givʻathiy, H1390) — a Gibeathite, from the city of Gibeah.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]