Hebrew word · H980

בַּחֻרִים

bachurim

Bahurim

A place name, possibly related to baḥur 'young man' ('[place of] young men'), though the meaning of the name is uncertain. A Benjaminite village east of Jerusalem, past the Mount of Olives, on the road to the Jordan and Jericho.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Bahurim = "young men's village"

a town in Benjamin between Jerusalem and Jericho beyond the Mount of Olives on the way to Jericho

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 2 Samuel 19:16

Range of meaning

A place name, possibly related to baḥur 'young man' ('[place of] young men'), though the meaning of the name is uncertain. A Benjaminite village east of Jerusalem, past the Mount of Olives, on the road to the Jordan and Jericho.

Against the English

All versions transliterate it. Modern readers simply do not know what happened there earlier in the story.

Used elsewhere in the period

Within Samuel, Bahurim is where Paltiel turned back weeping after Michal was taken from him (2 Sam 3:16). It is also where Shimei cursed the fleeing David (16:5) and where David's messengers hid in a well (17:18). Its exact site is debated; Ras et-Tamim, near the Mount of Olives, is often suggested.

From the study of 2 Samuel 16:5

Range of meaning

A place name, probably meaning 'young men'. It was a village in Benjamin east of Jerusalem, usually placed near Ras et-Tmim on the eastern slope of Mount Scopus or the Mount of Olives. The exact site is not certain.

Against the English

Transliterated in all versions.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Samuel 3:16: Paltiel follows Michal weeping as far as Bahurim. 2 Samuel 17:18: Jonathan and Ahimaaz hide in a well there. 1 Kings 2:8: Shimei is 'the Benjaminite from Bahurim'.

Similar words

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 4

  1. 2 Samuel 3:16 בַּֽחֻרִ֑ים Bahurim

    Her husband followed her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back.” So he returned home.

  2. 2 Samuel 16:5 בַּֽחוּרִ֑ים Bahurim

    As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses.

    Here: A Benjaminite village just east of Jerusalem, on the road over the Mount of Olives down toward the Jordan. This is Saul's tribal territory, so a hostile welcome there makes sense.

  3. 2 Samuel 17:18 בְּבַחוּרִ֗ים in Bahurim

    But a young man did see them and told Absalom. So the two left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it.

  4. 2 Samuel 19:16 מִבַּֽחוּרִ֑ים [was] from Bahurim

    Then Shimei son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David,

    Here: His home village, just east of Jerusalem on the road down to the Jordan. It is the very place where he cursed David as the king fled (16:5), so naming it reminds the reader of that scene.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 2:8 מִבַּחֻרִים֒ from Bahurim

    Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’

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