Bible Word Study
כְּלוּב
Kᵉlûwb · Kelub, the name of two Israelites
כְּלוּב
Kelub, the name of two Israelites
Definition
Kelub (כְּלוּב) is a proper noun referring to two distinct individuals in the Old Testament. The first is Kelub, a man of Judah mentioned as the brother of Shuhah and the father of Mehir in the genealogical records of 1 Chronicles 4:11. The second is Kelub, an official who served under King David, specifically appointed as overseer of the royal fields and vineyards in 1 Chronicles 27:26. The name itself is identical to the common noun for a 'birdcage' or 'basket' (H3619), but in these contexts, it functions solely as a personal name.
Biblical Usage
The word is used exclusively as a proper name for two different Israelite men within the genealogical and administrative records of 1 Chronicles. It appears only twice in the Old Testament. In 1 Chronicles 4:11, it is used in a tribal genealogy of Judah. In 1 Chronicles 27:26, it identifies an official in David's kingdom bureaucracy, responsible for agricultural production. There is no narrative or descriptive usage beyond these simple identifications.
Etymology
The name Kelub (כְּלוּב) is derived from the identical common noun (H3619, kᵉlûb) meaning 'birdcage,' 'basket,' or 'container.' It is likely that the personal name was adopted from this object, perhaps symbolizing protection or enclosure. The root is uncertain but may be related to the idea of something that confines or holds.
Semantic Range
As a personal name, Kelub reflects the common Israelite practice of using words for everyday objects as names. The name's connection to a 'cage' or 'basket' might have carried a symbolic meaning of safety or provision for the family, though this is speculative. The mention in 1 Chronicles 27:26 highlights the organized, agrarian-based administration of David's kingdom, where officials were tasked with managing specific royal assets. There are no direct synonyms for this proper name. As a common noun, its base word is כְּלוּב (kᵉlûb, H3619) — meaning 'birdcage' or 'basket.'
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]