Bible Word Study
חֲרֹדִי
Chărôdîy · a Charodite, or inhabitant of Charod
חֲרֹדִי
a Charodite, or inhabitant of Charod
Definition
The term חֲרֹדִי (Chărôdîy) is a gentilic noun meaning 'a Charodite,' referring to an inhabitant or native of a place called Charod. It is used exclusively in the Old Testament to identify Shammah, one of King David's mighty warriors, as 'Shammah the Harodite' in 2 Samuel 23:25. The name Charod itself is derived from a root meaning 'to tremble' or 'to be afraid,' possibly indicating a location associated with trembling, such as a place of fear or awe. This single biblical occurrence serves purely as a geographical and ethnic identifier for a member of David's elite military force.
Biblical Usage
This word appears only once in the Old Testament, in 2 Samuel 23:25, within the list of David's 'Thirty' mighty men. Its usage is strictly as a gentilic—a term denoting origin—to specify the hometown or region of the warrior Shammah. There are no other contexts or patterns of usage; it functions solely to provide geographical detail in this historical military roster.
Etymology
חֲרֹדִי is a patrial noun (indicating origin) formed from a derivative of the root חָרַד (H2729), meaning 'to tremble, be afraid, be in terror.' The place name Charod likely means 'place of trembling.' It is linguistically connected to the well-known location 'En-harod' (עֵין חֲרֹד, H5878), meaning 'spring of trembling,' mentioned in Judges 7:1 as the site where Gideon's army camped. Thus, a Charodite is literally 'one from the place of trembling.'
Semantic Range
In the cultural context of ancient Israel, a gentilic like 'Charodite' was a crucial identifier, linking an individual to a specific clan, town, or region. This was important for establishing identity, lineage, and social standing, especially within military or tribal lists. The association with a place named for 'trembling' might evoke the memory of Gideon's battle at En-harod (Judges 7), where God reduced Israel's army, creating a context of holy fear and dependence on God. For a warrior in David's army, this geographical name could carry connotations of God's power and the fear experienced by enemies. עֵין חֲרֹדִי (ʿÊyn Chărôdîy, H5878) — Refers specifically to an inhabitant of En-harod, the spring of trembling, a more precise location than the general Charod.
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]