H2763 — חָרַם (châram)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2763
Original: חָרַם
Transliteration: châram
Pronunciation: khaw-ram'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Occurrences: 57 tokens in 48 unique verses across 16 books
First Occurrence: Exo 22:20 — "He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to seclude; specifically (by a ban) to devote to religious uses (especially destruction); physical and reflexive, to be blunt as to the nose:—make accursed, consecrate, (utterly) destroy, devote, forfeit, have a flat nose, utterly (slay, make away).

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Hiphil	~38	devote to destruction; utterly destroy; consecrate under ban
Hophal	4	be devoted (to destruction); be forfeited
Qal	1	be blunt/mutilated (flat-nosed, Lev 21:18)

The Hiphil dominates overwhelmingly. Hophal is the passive counterpart (Exo 22:20; Lev 27:29; Ezra 10:8). The single Qal (Lev 21:18) preserves an archaic homonymous sense ("split/slit") referring to a disqualifying facial blemish. The related noun חֵרֶם (H2764, "ban, devoted thing") is the most common cognate form in the data.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation (grouped)	Verses	%
utterly destroy / utterly destroyed / destroying utterly (forms)	~36	~75%
destroy (without "utterly")	3	6%
devote / be devoted	3	6%
accursed / make accursed	2	4%
consecrate	1	2%
forfeited	1	2%
slay (utterly) / make away	2	4%
have a flat nose (Qal homonym)	1	2%

The KJV translates the Hiphil overwhelmingly with "utterly destroy" — capturing the dual force of total annihilation combined with religious ban.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Joshua	14	2.1
Micah	1	1.0
1 Samuel	6	0.7
Deuteronomy	5	0.5
Ezra	1	0.4
Leviticus	3	0.3
Judges	2	0.3
Jeremiah	4	0.3
Daniel	1	0.3
Numbers	2	0.2
2 Chronicles	2	0.2
Isaiah	3	0.2
Exodus	1	0.1
1 Kings	1	0.1
2 Kings	1	0.1
1 Chronicles	1	0.1

Concentration is sharply skewed toward the conquest narrative: Joshua (14x, highest density) and Deuteronomy (5x) account for ~40% of all occurrences. 1 Samuel 15 (Saul and Amalek) is a secondary cluster (6x in one chapter). Prophetic use (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Daniel) extends the conquest-term to eschatological judgment on the nations.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Total Destruction of Devoted Peoples (Conquest / Holy War)¶

Deut 7:2 — "thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them"
Josh 6:21 — "they utterly destroyed all that was in the city"
Josh 10:40 — "Joshua smote all the country... utterly destroyed all that breathed"
1 Sam 15:3 — "Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have"

2. Devotion of Property to Yahweh (Non-Redeemable)¶

Lev 27:28 — "no devoted thing... shall be sold or redeemed"
Lev 27:29 — "None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed"
Num 18:14 — "Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine" (priestly portion)
Ezra 10:8 — property of non-compliant exiles "should be forfeited"

3. Judicial Sentence on Idolaters (Covenant Penalty)¶

Exo 22:20 — "He that sacrificeth unto any god... he shall be utterly destroyed"
Deut 13:15 — "destroying it utterly, and all that is therein" (apostate city)
Judg 21:11 — "ye shall utterly destroy every male"

4. Divine Judgment on the Nations (Prophetic)¶

Isa 34:2 — "the LORD... hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter"
Jer 25:9 — "I will... utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment"
Jer 50:21, 26; 51:3 — Babylon placed under the ban
Mic 4:13 — "I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD"
Dan 11:44 — "go forth with great fury... utterly to make away many"

5. Cosmic / Eschatological Ban¶

Isa 11:15 — "the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea"
Zec 14:11 (noun form) — "there shall be no more utter destruction"
Mal 4:6 — "lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (cherem)"

6. Qal Homonym — Physical Mutilation¶

Lev 21:18 — "he that hath a flat nose" (disqualifying priestly blemish)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
כֹּל (kōl)	H3605	28x (58%)	"utterly destroyed ALL that..." — totality formula
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	18x (38%)	the ban is unto / commanded by the LORD
לֹא (lōʼ)	H3808	15x (31%)	negative commands against sparing / negated exceptions
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	14x (29%)	king(s) placed under the ban (Josh 10, 11)
נָכָה (nākāh)	H5221	13x (27%)	"smote... and utterly destroyed" — paired with striking
עִיר (ʻîyr)	H5892	11x (23%)	whole cities placed under the ban
חֶרֶב (chereb)	H2719	9x (19%)	"edge of the sword" — standard instrument
פֶּה (peh)	H6310	9x (19%)	"pî-chereb" — mouth/edge of the sword
לָכַד (lākad)	H3920	7x (15%)	capture-then-devote sequence

The signature phrase is smite with the edge of the sword + utterly destroy + all that breathed/was therein, tying the ban to comprehensive execution under divine warrant.

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2764 חֵרֶם (cherem) — the ban; a devoted thing; the status or object resulting from the verb. Dominant noun form (used throughout Lev 27; Josh 6–7; Mal 4:6).
H2765 חָרַם — Qal homonym: to slit, mutilate (flat nose).
H2766 חָרִם (Harim) — proper name (Ezra 2:32, 39; 10:21, 31).
H2767 חָרְמָה (Hormah) — place name (Num 21:3) from the same root: "devoted place."

Synonyms¶

בדל (H914) — returned by search_relationships.py.
נתן לַטֶּבַח — returned by search_relationships.py without a Strong's number in the output.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H2763.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
שָׁמַד (shāmad)	H8045	"destroy / utterly destroy"	General extermination; no cultic ban component.
אָבַד (ʼābad)	H6	"destroy / utterly"	To perish / be lost; passive/fate-oriented, not religiously devoted.
מָאַס (māʼas)	H3988	"utterly" (reject utterly)	To spurn/reject; attitude, not physical destruction.
יָרַשׁ (yārash)	H3423	"utterly" (dispossess utterly)	To dispossess/inherit; displacement, not annihilation-by-ban.
נָכָה (nākāh)	H5221	often paired	To strike/smite; the act of killing, while charam marks the devoted status.
מְאֹד (mᵉʼōd)	H3966	"utterly" (adverb)	Intensifier "very, exceedingly" — not a verb of destruction.

Charam is distinguished by its cultic character: the object is "set apart unto the LORD" by being wholly destroyed or given over; it cannot be redeemed, owned, or reused.

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002001001024] Impact — Neighboring entries returned by search_relationships.py: אֲבַעְבֻּעָה (H76), אָכְלָה (H402), ארר (H779), אשׁם (H816), בֶּדֶק (H919), בֹּהַק (H933).
[002003002009] Dissociate — Neighboring entries returned by search_relationships.py: אחז (H270), אַלְמֹון (H489), אַלְמָן (H488), אַלְמָנוּת (H491), בַּד (H905), בַּד (H906).
[002002002006] Non-Exist — Neighboring entries returned by search_relationships.py: אבד (A7), אבד (H6), אֹבֵד (H8), אַבְדָן (H12), אָבְדָן (H13), אֶבֶן (A69).

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
ἀναθεματίζω (anathematizō)	G332	12	8.83	Primary technical equivalent — "place under ban / anathematize."
ἀνάθεμα (anathema)	G331	5	7.36	Noun form, matches Hebrew noun cherem.
ἀνατίθημι (anatithēmi)	G394	3	7.95	"Set up / dedicate" — the positive "devote" sense.
τρόπος (tropos)	G5158	9	4.65	Contextual / collocational, not a direct gloss.
πατάσσω (patassō)	G3960	8	3.54	From collocation with nākāh "smite."
παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi)	G3860	5	3.74	"Hand over" — when charam = deliver up for destruction.
διασώζω (diasōzō)	G1295	3	4.95	Negated contexts ("did not save / spare").

The Greek ἀνάθεμα / ἀναθεματίζω word-group is the LXX's technical rendering and carries the charam concept into the NT (Rom 9:3; 1 Cor 16:22; Gal 1:8–9; Acts 23:14).