Hebrew word · H3396

יְרַחְמְאֵל

yerachme'el

Jerahmeel

A name built from the verb raḥam ('to have compassion', related to reḥem, 'womb') and El ('God'): 'God shows compassion' or 'May God show compassion'. It was also the name of a clan group in the Negev, the dry south (1 Sam 27:10; 30:29), and of individuals in later times (Jer 36:26).

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man of the tribe of Judah living before Israel's Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.27.10;

son of: Hezron (H2696H);

brother of: Ram (H7410), Caleb (H3612H), Segub (H7687H) and Ashhur (H0806); married to Atarah (H5851);

father of: Ram (H7410H), Bunah (H0946), Oren (H0767), Ozem (H0684H), Ahijah (H0281J) and Onam (H0208H)

Also named: ye.rach.me.e.li (יְרַחְמְאֵלִי "Jerahmeelite" H3397)

§ Jerahmeel = "may God have pity"

1) the 1st son of Hezron, grandson of Pharez, and great grandson of Judah and the founder of the family of Jerahmeelites

2) officer sent by king Jehoiakim of Judah to arrest Baruch

3) a Merarite Levite the representative of the family of Kish, the son of Mahli

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 2:25

Range of meaning

A name built from the verb raḥam ('to have compassion', related to reḥem, 'womb') and El ('God'): 'God shows compassion' or 'May God show compassion'. It was also the name of a clan group in the Negev, the dry south (1 Sam 27:10; 30:29), and of individuals in later times (Jer 36:26).

Against the English

English versions simply transliterate it, which is correct. The meaning of the name is simply not visible to English readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 1 Samuel the 'Negev of the Jerahmeelites' is distinct from Judah's own Negev, and David sends spoil to their towns (1 Sam 30:29). Names using the same root appear in other Semitic inscriptions. A seal impression from about the 7th–6th century BC reads 'Jerahmeel, son of the king', probably the man named in Jer 36:26.

Similar words

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 7

  1. 1 Chronicles 2:9 יְרַחְמְאֵ֥ל Jerahmeel

    The sons who were born to Hezron: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.

  2. 1 Chronicles 2:25 יְרַחְמְאֵ֛ל Jerahmeel

    The sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron: Ram his firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah.

    Here: A personal name meaning 'God has compassion' or 'May God have compassion'. It is also the name of a known clan in the far south of Judah (1 Sam 27:10; 30:29).

  3. 1 Chronicles 2:26 לִֽירַחְמְאֵ֖ל to Jerahmeel

    Jerahmeel had another wife named Atarah, who was the mother of Onam.

  4. 1 Chronicles 2:27 יְרַחְמְאֵ֑ל Jerahmeel

    The sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel: Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.

  5. 1 Chronicles 2:33 יְרַחְמְאֵֽל׃ Jerahmeel

    The sons of Jonathan: Peleth and Zaza. These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.

  6. 1 Chronicles 2:42 יְרַחְמְאֵ֔ל Jerahmeel

    The sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel: Mesha his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph, and Mareshah his second son, who was the father of Hebron.

  7. 1 Chronicles 24:29 יְרַחְמְאֵֽל׃ Jerahmeel

    From Kish: Jerahmeel the son of Kish.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 36:26 יְרַחְמְאֵ֨ל Jerahmeel

    Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

    Here: First of the three men sent to make the arrest. The name means 'God has compassion' or 'May God have compassion'.

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