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כָּמָר

𐤊𐤌𐤓

kâmâr

H3649 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Designates a priest associated with non-Israelite religious worship, specifically a priest serving deities or cults outside the Israelite/Yahwistic tradition. The term is found in the Hebrew Bible in contexts denoting those who conduct rituals or ceremonies for foreign or non-Yahwistic deities, set apart from the hereditary Israelite priesthood. Its usage underscores a religious functionary identified with cultic rites characteristic of neighboring peoples, especially those regarded as religious 'outsiders' in relation to Israelite orthodoxy. The term is always plural in biblical usage and denotes a specific group of religious officiants.

Semantic Range

non-Israelite priest, idolatrous priest, pagan cultic officiant, priest of Baal or other foreign deities, ritual officiant outside Yahwistic tradition

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root כמר, which appears to carry the core meaning of 'to be dark, to mourn, to be somber or gloomy.' The direct lexical derivation is debated, but the connection is often made with the sense of somberness or blackness, possibly referring to the distinctive dark garments of these priests or their association with rites of mourning and lamentation. Some propose an Akkadian cognate (kamāru, 'to heap up, cover') or links with Syriac (kamar, 'priest, monk') and Aramaic. The noun כָּמָר ('kâmâr') therefore is taken to mean 'priest' in a specifically non-Yahwist cultic context. Etymology uncertain but likely connected to a root denoting darkness or somberness, possibly referencing apparel or ritual.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, the term כְּמָרִים (plural of כָּמָר) occurs in 2 Kings 23:5 and Hosea 10:5, where it refers to priests engaged in worship at shrines or altars devoted to foreign deities within the Israelite territory, notably priests of Baal and those in syncretistic or non-Yahwistic worship. The word is distinguished from כֹּהֵן (kohen), the standard Hebrew term for a hereditary Israelite priest. The Septuagint, Vulgate, and other ancient translations variously render the term, often merely as 'priests,' sometimes with a negative connotation. In later periods, Syriac and Targumic Aramaic reflexes of the term denote Christian monks or priests, reflecting a semantic shift. English versions sometimes translate this as 'idolatrous priest' or 'pagan priest' but this may overly restrict the nuance: the term fundamentally denotes priests not recognized as legitimate in Israelite/Judahite Yahwistic worship. This concept of 'outsider' priesthood underlines cultic singularity and boundary-making in Israelite religious identity formation, especially in polemical passages critiquing syncretism or foreign religious influence.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from כָּמַר; properly, an ascetic (as if shrunk with self-maceration), i.e. an idolatrous priest (only in plural); Chemarims (idolatrous) priests.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

כמר (k-m-r) — to be dark, to mourn, to be somber

Root כמר to be dark, to mourn, to be somber
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3648 כָּמַר they were kindled
H3650 כִּמְרִיר intense darkenings of
H4364 מַכְמָר concealing net
H4365 מִכְמֶרֶת in his ensnaring-net

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H3649-01 הַ/כְּמָרִ֗ים hakemarim HTd/Ncmpa idolatrous priests the somber pagan priests the idolatrous priests 2
H3649-02 וּ/כְמָרָי/ו֙ ukhemarayv HC/Ncmpc/Sp3ms and its idolatrous priests and his foreign-cult priests and its idolatrous priests 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H3649-01 2 Kings 23:5 הַ/כְּמָרִ֗ים hakemarim HTd/Ncmpa idolatrous priests the somber pagan priests the idolatrous priests
H3649-02 Hosea 10:5 וּ/כְמָרָי/ו֙ ukhemarayv HC/Ncmpc/Sp3ms and its idolatrous priests and his foreign-cult priests and its idolatrous priests
H3649-01 Zephaniah 1:4 הַ/כְּמָרִ֖ים hakemarim HTd/Ncmpa of-the-Chemarim the somber pagan priests the somber pagan priests
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