חוּפָם
𐤇𐤅𐤐𐤌
Chufam
H2349 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Chuphâm is a personal name designating a male descendent within an Israelite tribal genealogy. The name's primary lexical sense relates to an individual identified as a member of the tribe of Benjamin. Its usage is as a proper noun referring to a specific person: Chuphâm (sometimes also called Hupham). The semantic range of the word is limited to its function as a personal name without attestable common noun or verbal usage in the Hebrew Bible.
Semantic Range
personal name, a Benjamite clan ancestor; no attested non-nominal or figurative senses
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root חוף (ḥ-w-p), meaning 'cover, protect, shelter'. The name Chuphâm is formed with a likely nominalizing ending and may bear the sense 'protected one' or 'covered one'. However, as with many proper names, the exact nuance may be idiomatic or traditional, and not transparently connected to the root in usage. The root חוף more broadly conveys the notion of covering or sheltering.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Chuphâm appears only in genealogical lists (Numbers 26:39), where he is named as a son or descendant of Benjamin and is a progenitor of one of the clans of Benjamin. In 1 Chronicles 7:12, a closely connected clan is referred to by the name חוּפִּים (Chuppim), reflecting either a variant form or a related family group. In later Greek and English translations, the name is also rendered as Hupham or Huphamites. The meaning and usage of the name are confined to genealogical contexts; it does not function as a title, attribute, or common noun. English translations sometimes simply transliterate the name, while the etymological sense ('protection', 'covered') is not commonly reflected in translation traditions. The lexical range thus remains proper name only. The association with 'protection' is merely conjectured from the shared root with חוף, and there is no evidence that the figure of Chuphâm was understood in antiquity as embodying the concept of protection. The shift in variant spelling (Chuphâm/Hupham) likely reflects dialectical or textual transmission variations, not a semantic change.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from the same as חוֹף; protection; Chupham, an Israelite; Hupham.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
חוף (ḥ-w-p) — covering, sheltering, protecting
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2348 | חוֹף | shore of |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2349-01 |
לְ/חוּפָ֕ם | lechufam | HR/Np |
of Hupham | to Chuphâm | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2349-01 |
Numbers 26:39 | לְ/חוּפָ֕ם | lechufam | HR/Np |
of Hupham | to Chuphâm |