Hebrew word · H3187
יָחַשׂ
lehityaches
to enroll
A reflexive/passive verb, 'to be enrolled by genealogy, registered in a family record'. The related noun yaḥaś means 'genealogy' (Neh 7:5). The word is known only from later biblical Hebrew.
Appears 18 times in 18 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
(Hithpael) to reckon genealogically, enrol on a genealogy, enrol, be enrolled
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 1 Chronicles 7:40
- Range of meaning
A reflexive/passive verb, 'to be enrolled by genealogy, registered in a family record'. The related noun yaḥaś means 'genealogy' (Neh 7:5). The word is known only from later biblical Hebrew.
- Against the English
KJV 'throughout the genealogy', BSB 'recorded in their genealogies', WEB 'listed by genealogy'. All are adequate. What they lose is that this is an official administrative act, enrollment on a roll, rather than a family tree kept out of interest.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Twenty times or so, all in Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah (e.g. 1 Chr 5:1, 7, 17; 7:5, 7, 9; 9:1, 22; 2 Chr 31:16–19; Ezra 2:62; 8:1, 3; Neh 7:5, 64). In Ezra 2:62 and Neh 7:64, priests who could not find their enrollment were barred from the priesthood.
From the study of 1 Chronicles 5:1
- Range of meaning
To be registered or enrolled by genealogy, to be recorded in the official family lists. Related to the noun yachas, 'genealogical record' (Nehemiah 7:5). It is attested only in late biblical Hebrew.
- Against the English
KJV 'the genealogy is not to be reckoned'; ESV 'enrolled'; BSB 'reckoned'. All are fine. What English hides is how concrete the word is: an actual register that decided who belonged.
- Used elsewhere in the period
About twenty times in Chronicles (e.g. 1 Chronicles 5:7, 17; 7:5, 40; 9:1, 22), and in Ezra 2:62 and 8:1–3 and Nehemiah 7:5, 64. In Ezra 2:62, priests who could not find their genealogical registration were barred from the priesthood as unclean.
From the study of Nehemiah 7:64
- Range of meaning
A verb formed from the noun yaḥaś, 'genealogy, family register'. In the reflexive-passive form used here it means 'to be enrolled by genealogy, to have oneself registered by family line'. Apart from one possible related form, it appears only in Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, the books most concerned with lineage after the exile.
- Against the English
KJV 'those that were reckoned by genealogy' and YLT 'reckoning themselves by genealogy' are close and literal. Most modern versions fold it into 'family/genealogical records', which is clearer but loses the idea of a formal enrolment.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Nehemiah 7:5 says Nehemiah found 'the book of the genealogy (sēper hayyaḥaś)' of the first returnees, which is the source of the list in this chapter. In 1 Chronicles 5:1, 7, 17; 9:1, 22 and 2 Chronicles 31:16–19, being 'enrolled' decides who belongs to which tribe and which priests and Levites receive their share. Much later, Josephus says the priests kept careful genealogical archives, even after wars (Against Apion 1.30–36), and he traces his own priestly descent from 'the public registers' (Life 1–6).
Where it appears
1 Chronicles · 10
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1 Chronicles 4:33 וְהִתְיַחְשָׂ֖ם and recording genealogies they
and all their surrounding villages as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record:
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1 Chronicles 5:1 לְהִתְיַחֵ֖שׂ to have themselves enrolled
These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So he is not reckoned according to birthright.
Here: A late Hebrew word, found almost only in Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah. It means to be entered in an official genealogical register. The point: the genealogical record is not arranged by birthright, so Reuben is not listed in first place.
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1 Chronicles 5:7 בְּהִתְיַחֵ֖שׂ by genealogical enrolment
His relatives by their clans are recorded in their genealogy: Jeiel the chief, Zechariah,
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1 Chronicles 5:17 הִתְיַחְשׂ֔וּ they had themselves enrolled
All of them were recorded in the genealogies during the reigns of Jotham king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel.
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1 Chronicles 7:5 הִתְיַחְשָׂ֖ם recording genealogy they
Their kinsmen belonging to all the families of Issachar who were mighty men of valor totaled 87,000, as listed in their genealogies.
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1 Chronicles 7:7 וְהִתְיַחְשָׂ֗ם and recording genealogy they
The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, heads of their families—five in all. There were 22,034 mighty men of valor listed in their genealogies.
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1 Chronicles 7:9 וְהִתְיַחְשָׂ֣ם and recording genealogy they
Their genealogies were recorded according to the heads of their families—20,200 mighty men of valor.
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1 Chronicles 7:40 וְהִתְיַחְשָׂ֤ם and recording genealogy they
All these were the descendants of Asher—heads of their families, choice and mighty men of valor, and chiefs among the leaders. The number of men fit for battle, recorded in their genealogies, was 26,000.
Here: 'And their genealogical enrollment': the act of registering men by lineage on an official roll. The word belongs to later Hebrew (Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah) and to a world where your standing depended on being on the record.
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1 Chronicles 9:1 הִתְיַחְשׂ֔וּ they had themselves enrolled
So all Israel was recorded in the genealogies written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.
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1 Chronicles 9:22 הִתְיַחְשָׂ֔ם recording genealogy they
The number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their positions of trust.
2 Chronicles · 3
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2 Chronicles 12:15 לְהִתְיַחֵ֑שׂ for genealogical enrollment
Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer concerning the genealogies? There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days.
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2 Chronicles 31:16 הִתְיַחְשָׂ֣ם recording genealogy they
In addition, they distributed portions to the males registered by genealogy who were three years of age or older—to all who would enter the house of the LORD for their daily duties for service in the responsibilities of their divisions—
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2 Chronicles 31:19 הִתְיַחֵ֖שׂ [the] genealogical enrolment
As for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who lived on the farmlands around each of their cities or in any other city, men were designated by name to distribute a portion to every male among the priests and to every Levite listed by the genealogies.
Ezra · 3
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Ezra 2:62 הַמִּתְיַחְשִׂ֖ים the [ones who] had had themselves enrolled
These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
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Ezra 8:1 וְהִתְיַחְשָׂ֑ם and recording genealogy they
These are the family heads and genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
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Ezra 8:3 הִתְיַחֵ֥שׂ a genealogical list
of the descendants of Shecaniah; from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men;
Nehemiah · 2
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Nehemiah 7:5 לְהִתְיַחֵ֑שׂ to have themselves enrolled
Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. I found the genealogical register of those who had first returned, and I found the following written in it:
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Nehemiah 7:64 הַמִּתְיַחְשִׂ֖ים who had had themselves enrolled
These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
Here: 'Those enrolled by genealogy.' The word describes the people whose names appear in the family register. It explains what kind of 'writing' they were looking for: their entry among the registered families. Hence KJV's 'their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy.'
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.