Bible Word Study
חֶלְקִי
Chelqîy · a Chelkite or descendant of Chelek
חֶלְקִי
a Chelkite or descendant of Chelek
Definition
חֶלְקִי (Chelqîy) is a patronymic noun meaning 'a Chelkite,' designating a descendant of Chelek (חֵלֶק). It identifies a member of a specific clan within the Israelite tribe of Manasseh. The term appears exclusively in the context of a census listing the clans of Manasseh after the Exodus, specifically in Numbers 26:30. As a proper name, it has no other semantic senses or variations in meaning across biblical passages.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the entire Old Testament, in Numbers 26:30, within the second wilderness census. It functions solely as a clan identifier, listing the Chelkites as one of the familial divisions descended from Gilead within the tribe of Manasseh. There are no patterns of usage across different books or literary contexts.
Etymology
The word is derived patronymically from the proper name חֵלֶק (Cheleq, H2507), meaning 'portion' or 'smoothness.' The suffix -ִי (-îy) indicates 'belonging to' or 'descendant of,' thus forming 'of Chelek' or 'Chelkite.' It follows a standard Hebrew pattern for forming family or clan names from a patriarchal ancestor.
Semantic Range
In ancient Israelite society, clan names like Chelkite were crucial for establishing tribal lineage, inheritance rights, and social identity, especially concerning land allotments in Canaan. Being listed in the census of Numbers 26 tied the clan to the covenant community and its future territorial claims. This contrasts with modern individualistic identity, highlighting the collective, familial nature of Israel's organization. גִּלְעָדִי (Gilʻâdîy, H1569) — a descendant of Gilead, the broader familial group to which the Chelkites belonged.
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]