Bible Word Study
חֻשָׁתִי
Chushâthîy · a Chushathite or descendant of Chushah
חֻשָׁתִי
a Chushathite or descendant of Chushah
Definition
חֻשָׁתִי (Chushathite) refers to a person belonging to a clan or family group descended from Chushah, a man of Judah (1 Chronicles 4:4). It is used exclusively as a gentilic noun, identifying individuals by their ancestral lineage. In the biblical text, this term specifically identifies two of King David's mighty warriors: Sibbecai (2 Samuel 21:18, 1 Chronicles 20:4) and Mebunnai (2 Samuel 23:27, called Sibbecai in 1 Chronicles 11:29 and 27:11). The term does not denote a geographic location but a familial or clan affiliation.
Biblical Usage
This word appears five times in the Old Testament, all within the historical books of Samuel and Chronicles. It is used exclusively as an epithet or descriptor for two of David's warriors, Sibbecai and Mebunnai, within lists of military heroes (2 Samuel 21:18, 23:27; 1 Chronicles 11:29, 20:4, 27:11). The usage pattern shows it functioned as a hereditary title indicating clan membership, similar to modern surnames. It appears in both battle narratives and administrative lists.
Etymology
The word is a patronymic noun derived from the proper name חוּשָׁה (Chushah, H2364), meaning 'haste' or 'quick.' The suffix -ִי (-iy) indicates 'belonging to' or 'descended from.' Thus, חֻשָׁתִי literally means 'one of/from Chushah.' Chushah himself is listed as a son of Ezer, a descendant of Judah (1 Chronicles 4:1, 4). The formation follows a standard Hebrew pattern for creating gentilics from personal names.
Semantic Range
In ancient Israelite society, identity was deeply tied to tribe, clan, and family. A gentilic like 'Chushathite' served a function similar to a modern surname, immediately communicating a person's lineage and social connections. Being listed among David's mighty men with this clan designation brought honor to the entire Chushathite family. It highlights the importance of corporate identity and the way individual valor reflected on one's ancestral house within the covenant community. יְהוּדִי (Yehudiy, H3064) — a general term for a person from the tribe of Judah, whereas Chushathite specifies a sub-clan. בֶּן־ (ben-) — a common prefix meaning 'son of,' used for immediate patrilineal descent, whereas a gentilic like Chushathite implies broader clan affiliation.
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]