חַרְבוֹנָא
𐤇𐤓𐤁𐤅𐤍𐤀
Charevona
H2726 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Personal name: Harbona (or Charbona), one of the royal officials or courtiers (possibly a eunuch) serving in the court of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) of Persia, mentioned in the Book of Esther. The name designates an individual active within the Persian royal administration rather than conveying a lexical meaning in Hebrew itself. The word's semantic range is limited to its use as a proper name for this official.
Semantic Range
Harbona/Charbona (proper name); a court official or chamberlain in the Persian royal administration
Root / Etymology
Borrowed from Old Persian, with the etymology uncertain; likely a personal name reflecting Persian administrative or courtly titles, but not semantically transparent in Hebrew. The base root in Hebrew is not applicable, as it is a foreign name adopted into the biblical text.
Historical & Contextual Notes
חַרְבוֹנָא (Harbona/Charbona) appears only in the Book of Esther (Esther 1:10; 7:9), as one of the seven chamberlains or officials serving King Ahasuerus (Xerxes). The figure is notably present in the narrative where he suggests Haman's gallows be used for Haman's execution. The use of this name reflects the Persian milieu of the Esther narrative, and the inclusion of proper names of Persian origin illustrates the administrative and cultural context of the Persian court. Standard English translations sometimes render the name as 'Harbona,' but this does not add lexical meaning beyond identifying the individual. There is no evidence that the name was used to denote any ethnic or geographic identity; it strictly functions as a personal name in the biblical literature. The English translation tradition sometimes introduces the term 'eunuch' due to the role (סָרִיס) these court officials held, but the word itself does not mean 'eunuch.'
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
or חַרְבוֹנָה; of Persian origin; Charbona or Charbonah, a eunuch of Xerxes; Harbona, Harbonah.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
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uncertain (foreign origin) (uncertain) — personal name of foreign origin; no transparent Hebrew lexical meaning
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2726-02 |
חַ֠רְבוֹנָה | charevonah | HNp |
Harbonah | Harbona | 1 |
H2726-01 |
חַרְבוֹנָ֜א | charevona | HNp |
Harbona | Harbona | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2726-01 |
Esther 1:10 | חַרְבוֹנָ֜א | charevona | HNp |
Harbona | Harbona |
H2726-02 |
Esther 7:9 | חַ֠רְבוֹנָה | charevonah | HNp |
Harbonah | Harbona |