Hebrew word · H3395

יְרֹחָם

yerocham

Jeroham

From the root r-ḥ-m, 'to have compassion,' the same root as reḥem, 'womb.' The name probably means 'may he be shown compassion' or 'he is shown compassion,' with God understood as the one who shows it.

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.1.1;

son of: Elihu (H0453);

father of: Elkanah (H0511H)

§ Jeroham = "showing pity"

1) father of Elkanah and grandfather of Samuel of the house of Kohath

2) a Benjamite and the founder of a family of Benjamites

3) father or progenitor of Ibneiah and a Benjamite; maybe same as 2

4) a descendant of Aaron and a priest of the family of Immer; son of Pashur and father of Adaiah

5) another priest; maybe same as 4

6) a resident of Gedor and father of one of David's mighty warriors

7) a Danite whose son or descendant Azareel was head of the tribe in the time of David

8) father of Azariah one of the captains with Jehoiada in the time of Athaliah

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 12:7

Range of meaning

From the root r-ḥ-m, 'to have compassion,' the same root as reḥem, 'womb.' The name probably means 'may he be shown compassion' or 'he is shown compassion,' with God understood as the one who shows it.

Against the English

'Jeroham' transliterates the name accurately. Its meaning, a hope or claim that God has shown mercy, does not come through in English.

Used elsewhere in the period

The grandfather of Samuel's father Elkanah is named Jeroham (1 Sam 1:1; 1 Chr 6:27, 34). Benjaminites named Jeroham appear in 1 Chr 8:27 and 9:8, a priest in 9:12, a Danite official in 27:22, and a military commander's father in 2 Chr 23:1. The name was common across tribes.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 1:1 יְרֹחָ֧ם Jeroham

    Now there was a man named Elkanah who was from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

    Here: Elkanah's father. The name comes from the root for compassion: 'may he (God) have compassion' or 'he is shown compassion'.

1 Chronicles · 7

  1. 1 Chronicles 6:27 יְרֹחָ֥ם Jeroham

    Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son.

  2. 1 Chronicles 6:34 יְרֹחָ֔ם Jeroham

    the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,

  3. 1 Chronicles 8:27 יְרֹחָֽם׃ Jeroham

    Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham.

  4. 1 Chronicles 9:8 יְרֹחָ֔ם Jeroham

    Ibneiah son of Jeroham; Elah son of Uzzi, the son of Michri; Meshullam son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah;

  5. 1 Chronicles 9:12 יְרֹחָ֔ם Jeroham

    Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah; Maasai son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;

  6. 1 Chronicles 12:7 יְרֹחָ֖ם Jeroham

    and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor.

    Here: The father's name, probably meaning 'may he be shown mercy' or 'he is shown mercy.' Several different men in the Bible have this name. This Jeroham is known only from this verse.

  7. 1 Chronicles 27:22 יְרֹחָ֑ם Jeroham

    and over Dan was Azarel son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 23:1 יְרֹחָ֡ם Jeroham

    Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada strengthened himself and made a covenant with the commanders of hundreds—with Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 11:12 יְרֹחָ֤ם Jeroham

    and their associates who did the work at the temple—822 men; Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah;

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