Hebrew word · H2763

חָרַם

charum

to devote; destroy

The root means separating something off as forbidden to ordinary use because it now belongs to the deity. The verb (in its causative form, as here) means 'to put under the ban,' to consign something or someone irrevocably to God. The noun ḥerem is the thing so consigned. Two uses run side by side.

Appears 52 times in 48 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to ban, devote, destroy utterly, completely destroy, dedicate for destruction, exterminate

1a) (Hiphil)

1a1) to prohibit (for common use), ban

1a2) to consecrate, devote, dedicate for destruction

1a3) to exterminate, completely destroy

1b) (Hophal)

1b1) to be put under the ban, be devoted to destruction

1b2) to be devoted, be forfeited

1b3) to be completely destroyed

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Deuteronomy 7:2

Range of meaning

The root means separating something off as forbidden to ordinary use because it now belongs to the deity. The verb (in its causative form, as here) means 'to put under the ban,' to consign something or someone irrevocably to God. The noun ḥerem is the thing so consigned. Two uses run side by side. (1) In worship and law: Leviticus 27:28–29 calls a ḥerem 'most holy to the LORD.' It cannot be sold or redeemed, and a human under ḥerem 'shall surely be put to death.' (2) In war: a city or people put under ḥerem is killed, and its goods are either destroyed or handed to the sanctuary instead of being plundered (Joshua 6:17–19; 1 Samuel 15). Deuteronomy itself varies the details. Sihon's and Og's people are killed but their livestock is kept as plunder (Deuteronomy 2:34–35; 3:6–7). An Israelite town that turns to other gods is to be put under ḥerem completely, animals and all (Deuteronomy 13:12–18).

Against the English

KJV, WEB and NIV say 'utterly destroy' or 'destroy totally.' That is accurate about the outcome but says nothing of the religious act: these people are being given over to God, not killed for revenge, territory or loot. ESV and BSB ('devote them to complete destruction') and YLT ('utterly devote') keep both halves. NJPS ('doom them to destruction') stresses the irreversible sentence.

How it drifted

English has no word for 'consecrated by destruction.' 'Destroy' is entirely secular. Its nearest relatives, 'anathema' (the Greek word the Septuagint uses for ḥerem elsewhere) and 'ban,' later shifted to mean church excommunication. The Arabic cognates ḥarām ('forbidden') and ḥaram ('sacred precinct'), from which English gets 'harem,' preserve the old 'set apart, off-limits' sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Mesha Stele (Moab, c. 840 BC), line 17: King Mesha says he killed the 7,000 inhabitants of Nebo, 'for I had devoted it (hḥrmth) to Ashtar-Chemosh.' That is the same verb in the same war-and-worship sense, used by a neighbouring kingdom of Israel. Texts from Mari on the Euphrates (18th century BC) describe a related taboo on war plunder (asakkum). The Septuagint renders this verse ἀφανισμῷ ἀφανιεῖς, 'you shall obliterate with obliteration.'

From the study of Isaiah 11:15

Range of meaning

In the causative form used here: to put something under the 'cherem' or ban, meaning to hand it over entirely to the deity, outside ordinary human use. In war this usually meant destroying it (Deuteronomy 7:2; Joshua 6:17–21). In worship it could mean something permanently dedicated to the sanctuary (Leviticus 27:28). Isaiah uses it of whole nations given over to judgment (Isaiah 34:2, 5). A separate rare root spelled the same way may mean 'to split or slit' (compare Leviticus 21:18, 'charum', often taken as a split or flattened nose). Some lexicons record that root, and it may lie behind the supplied gloss 'divide'.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, ESV and NASB say 'utterly destroy'. BSB and YLT keep the holy-war colour with 'devote to destruction'. NIV says 'dry up', following the ancient versions. NLT says 'make a dry path'. 'Utterly destroy' loses the sacred-ban idea. 'Dry up' loses it too, but reflects a different text that may be the original.

How it drifted

In English, 'utterly destroy' sounds like ordinary destruction. The Hebrew word belongs to holy war: the thing is handed over to God's judgment. Applied to a sea, it treats the waters as a hostile power that God defeats.

Used elsewhere in the period

Moabite king Mesha's inscription (9th century BC) uses the same root: he 'devoted' Nebo's population to his god Ashtar-Kemosh. That shows the 'ban' was a shared practice in the region, not unique to Israel. The Septuagint here has 'erēmōsei', 'will make desolate', and the Vulgate has 'desolabit', both closer to 'dry up/lay waste'.

From the study of Jeremiah 25:9

Range of meaning

To set something apart irrevocably for a deity, usually by destroying it. This is the 'ban' (ḥerem) of holy war, where a conquered city, its people and its goods were handed over wholly to God and could not be taken as spoil. More loosely it means to annihilate.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'utterly destroy' gives the result but loses the sacred dimension. BSB 'devote them to destruction' and YLT 'have devoted them' keep the idea of consecration to God.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 7:2; 20:16–17; Josh 6:17–21 (Jericho); 1 Sam 15. The Moabite Mesha Stele (9th century BC) uses the same root: Mesha boasts that he 'devoted' Nebo's population to his god Ashtar-Kemosh. The practice was shared across the region, not unique to Israel.

Similar words

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 22:20 יָֽחֳרָ֑ם he will be dedicated to destruction

    If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.

Leviticus · 3

  1. Leviticus 21:18 חָרֻ֖ם [having] a slit nose

    No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed;

  2. Leviticus 27:28 יַחֲרִם֩ he will dedicate to destruction

    Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.

    Here: The verb is in the causative active form with a man as subject: the owner himself does it, deliberately and by his own choice. In v. 29 the verb is passive ('is put under the ban'), which many read as a different situation.

  3. Leviticus 27:29 יָחֳרַ֛ם he will be dedicated to destruction

    No person set apart for destruction may be ransomed; he must surely be put to death.

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 21:2 וְהַֽחֲרַמְתִּ֖י and I will totally destroy

    So Israel made a vow to the LORD: “If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction.”

  2. Numbers 21:3 וַיַּחֲרֵ֥ם and it totally destroyed

    And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah.

Deuteronomy · 8

  1. Deuteronomy 2:34 וַֽנַּחֲרֵם֙ and we totally destroyed

    At that time we captured all his cities and devoted to destruction the people of every city, including women and children. We left no survivors.

  2. Deuteronomy 3:6 וַנַּחֲרֵ֣ם הַחֲרֵם֙ and we totally destroyed, we totally destroyed

    We devoted them to destruction, as we had done to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city.

  3. Deuteronomy 7:2 הַחֲרֵ֤ם תַּחֲרִים֙ certainly <to totally destroy>, you will totally destroy

    and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

    Here: This form of the verb is placed before its finite partner to intensify it: 'devoting you shall devote,' meaning thoroughly and without exception.

  4. Deuteronomy 13:15 הַחֲרֵ֨ם totally destroy

    you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock.

  5. Deuteronomy 20:17 הַחֲרֵ֣ם תַּחֲרִימֵ֗ם certainly <to totally destroy>, you will totally destroy them

    For you must devote them to complete destruction—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you,

Joshua · 14

  1. Joshua 2:10 הֶחֱרַמְתֶּ֖ם you totally destroyed

    For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites across the Jordan, whom you devoted to destruction.

    Here: "You put under the ban": the causative form of ḥāram. In war this meant handing a defeated enemy over wholly to the deity by killing the population and removing the spoil from ordinary human use. It is a religious act, not just a military one. Rahab, standing in a city about to receive the same treatment, names it exactly.

  2. Joshua 6:18 תַּחֲרִ֖ימוּ you should totally destroy

    But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it.

    Here: In the Hebrew text: 'lest you devote [it] and then take from it.' That is, they formally hand the city over to God and then take some of it back. The Greek translation read a different word here, 'covet' (see textual notes).

  3. Joshua 6:21 וַֽיַּחֲרִ֙ימוּ֙ and they totally destroyed

    With the edge of the sword they devoted to destruction everything in the city—man and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

    Here: "And they devoted." The causative form means "to put something under ḥerem": hand it over to God irrevocably, so that no human may keep, use or spare it. Here that handing over is done by killing. The verb form carries the story forward straight from the city's capture in v. 20.

  4. Joshua 8:26 הֶחֱרִ֔ים he had totally destroyed

    Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai.

    Here: The key word of the verse. It means to place under ḥerem: to hand over to YHWH completely and irrevocably, which in war meant killing the population, so that nothing went into ordinary human use. At Ai the people were put under ḥerem, but the livestock and plunder were released to Israel (8:2, 27).

  5. Joshua 10:1 וַיַּחֲרִימָהּ֒ and he had totally destroyed it

    Now Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction—doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king—and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them.

  6. Joshua 10:28 הֶחֱרִ֣ם he totally destroyed

    On that day Joshua captured Makkedah and put it to the sword, along with its king. He devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. So he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

    Here: 'He put under the ḥerem.' The verb means to hand something over irrevocably to God, removing it from any human use. In war this meant killing the population. It is a sacral word, not just a word for wrecking things.

  7. Joshua 10:35 הֶחֱרִ֑ים he totally destroyed

    That day they captured Eglon and put it to the sword, and Joshua devoted to destruction everyone in the city, just as he had done to Lachish.

    Here: "He put under the ban." It means handing the population over irrevocably to God by destroying it. The subject is now singular, Joshua as commander, after the plural verbs earlier in the verse.

  8. Joshua 10:37 וַיַּחֲרֵ֣ם and he totally destroyed

    They captured it and put to the sword its king, all its villages, and all the people. Joshua left no survivors, just as he had done at Eglon; he devoted to destruction Hebron and everyone in it.

    Here: 'And he put it under the ḥērem': he handed the city and its people over irrevocably to God, which in war meant killing them and taking no plunder or captives. This is more than 'destroyed'. It is a religious act of giving something over to God.

  9. Joshua 10:39 וַֽיַּחֲרִ֙ימוּ֙ and they totally destroyed

    And they captured Debir, its king, and all its villages. They put them to the sword and devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. Joshua did to Debir and its king as he had done to Hebron and as he had done to Libnah and its king.

    Here: "And they devoted [them] to destruction." This is the key term of the verse. It means to hand something over to God completely, so that it is taken out of human use. For people in war, that meant killing them rather than enslaving them or taking them as spoil.

  10. Joshua 10:40 הֶחֱרִ֔ים he totally destroyed

    So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.

    Here: "He devoted to ḥerem." To hand something over to God irrevocably, so that it is removed from human use. In war that meant killing the people. It is a religious act and a military act at once.

  11. Joshua 11:11 הַֽחֲרֵ֔ם they totally destroyed [them]

    The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.

  12. Joshua 11:12 הֶחֱרִ֣ים he totally destroyed

    Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and put them to the sword. He devoted them to destruction, as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded.

    Here: 'He devoted (them)' — put them under ḥerem, the ban: handed over irrevocably to God, which for people in war meant they were killed and not kept as slaves or spared. Stands without an 'and', as a summary label for what the striking was.

  13. Joshua 11:20 הַֽחֲרִימָ֔ם to totally destroy them

    For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD had commanded Moses.

    Here: To put them under herem. They are handed over wholly to God and taken out of all human use, which in war meant destroying them. The verb form has no stated subject; translations add 'he,' 'Israel' or a passive.

  14. Joshua 11:21 הֶחֱרִימָ֥ם he totally destroyed them

    At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities.

    Here: 'He devoted them to the ban.' Under the ban (ḥērem), people and towns were handed over irrevocably to God and taken out of all human use. In war that meant killing them and leaving no plunder. The word picks up v. 20's 'so that they would be devoted to destruction.'

Judges · 2

  1. Judges 1:17 וַיַּחֲרִ֣ימוּ and they totally destroyed

    Then the men of Judah went with their brothers the Simeonites, attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and devoted the city to destruction. So it was called Hormah.

  2. Judges 21:11 תַּחֲרִֽימוּ׃ you will totally destroy

    This is what you are to do: Devote to destruction every male, as well as every female who has had relations with a man.”

    Here: "You shall put under the ban." The verb is held back to the end of the sentence, so the sentence builds to it. It turns the killing into ḥerem, a total destruction treated as a sacred act that hands the victims over to God.

1 Samuel · 7

  1. 1 Samuel 15:3 וְהַֽחֲרַמְתֶּם֙ and you will totally destroy

    Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

    Here: The technical sacred-war term (ḥērem): put something beyond human use by handing it over wholly to God, which in war means destroying it and taking no spoil. It is unexpectedly plural ('you all'), bringing in the army. That matters later, when 'Saul and the people' fail together (v. 9).

  2. 1 Samuel 15:8 הֶחֱרִ֥ים he totally destroyed

    He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, but devoted all the others to destruction with the sword.

  3. 1 Samuel 15:9 הַחֲרִימָ֑ם הֶחֱרִֽימוּ׃ פ to totally destroy them, they totally destroyed

    Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to devote them to destruction, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.

  4. 1 Samuel 15:15 הֶחֱרַֽמְנוּ׃ ס we totally destroyed

    Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but the rest we devoted to destruction.”

  5. 1 Samuel 15:18 וְהַחֲרַמְתָּ֞ה and you will totally destroy

    and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’

  6. 1 Samuel 15:20 הֶחֱרַֽמְתִּי׃ I totally destroyed

    “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the LORD gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 9:21 לְהַֽחֲרִימָ֑ם to totally destroy them

    their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 19:11 לְהַֽחֲרִימָ֑ם by totally destroying them

    Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:41 וַיַּחֲרִימֻם֙ and they totally destroyed them

    These who were noted by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. They attacked the Hamites in their dwellings as well as the Meunites who were there, devoting them to destruction even to this day. Then they settled in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:23 לְהַחֲרִ֣ים to totally destroy [them]

    The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had finished off the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

  2. 2 Chronicles 32:14 הֶחֱרִ֣ימוּ they totally destroyed

    Who among all the gods of these nations that my fathers devoted to destruction has been able to deliver his people from my hand? How then can your God deliver you from my hand?

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 10:8 יָחֳרַ֖ם it will be forfeited

    Whoever failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, according to the counsel of the leaders and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 11:15 וְהֶחֱרִ֣ים and he will divide

    The LORD will devote to destruction the gulf of the Sea of Egypt; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates. He will split it into seven streams for men to cross with dry sandals.

    Here: 'And he will put under the ban.' This is the language of holy war: something set apart wholly to Yahweh and taken out of ordinary use, usually by destruction. Here it is turned on a body of water, as if the sea were an enemy. The verb form looks forward to the future, so 'will devote', not YLT's 'hath devoted'. The ancient versions read 'dry up' (see textual notes).

  2. Isaiah 34:2 הֶחֱרִימָ֖ם he will totally destroy them

    The LORD is angry with all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will devote them to destruction; He will give them over to slaughter.

  3. Isaiah 37:11 לְהַחֲרִימָ֑ם by totally destroying them

    Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?

Jeremiah · 4

  1. Jeremiah 25:9 וְהַ֣חֲרַמְתִּ֔ים and I will totally destroy them

    behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.

    Here: 'And I will devote them to destruction': the language of the holy-war ban (ḥerem) Israel once applied to Canaanite cities, now turned on Judah and its neighbours.

  2. Jeremiah 50:21 וְהַחֲרֵ֤ם and totally destroy

    Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,” declares the LORD.

  3. Jeremiah 50:26 וְהַחֲרִימ֑וּהָ and totally destroy it

    Come against her from the farthest border. Break open her granaries; pile her up like mounds of grain. Devote her to destruction; leave her no survivors.

  4. Jeremiah 51:3 הַחֲרִ֖ימוּ totally destroy

    Do not let the archer bend his bow or put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; devote all her army to destruction!

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 11:44 וּֽלְהַחֲרִ֖ים and to totally destroy

    But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 4:13 וְהַחֲרַמְתִּ֤י and I will dedicate to destruction

    Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break to pieces many peoples. Then you will devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

    Here: 'And I (or: you) will put under the ban'. This means handing something over completely and for good to God, where no human can take it back as their own. Here it is applied to plunder, which goes to God rather than into Zion's pockets.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.