What does חָרַם (ḥāram) mean in the Bible?
The Hebrew verb haram describes placing a person, community, property, animal, or object under an irrevocable ban or devoted status. What that status entails must be learned from each passage.
Hebrew · H2763
חָרַם
To seclude ; specifically (by a ban) to devote to religious uses (especially destruction); physical and reflexive, to be blunt as to the nose
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
חָרַםH2763
Pronunciationḥāram
What does חָרַם (ḥāram) mean in the Bible?
The Hebrew verb haram describes placing a person, community, property, animal, or object under an irrevocable ban or devoted status. What that status entails must be learned from each passage.
Reader summary
Full entry for חָרַם (H2763) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2763?
The BSB source-word alignment has 52 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (3), devoting them to destruction (3), He devoted to destruction (3), and devote them to destruction (2), and devote to destruction (2).
Where does חָרַם (ḥāram) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 22:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Joshua (14), Deuteronomy (8), 1 Samuel (7), Jeremiah (4).
What This Word Actually Means
The Hebrew verb haram describes placing a person, community, property, animal, or object under an irrevocable ban or devoted status. What that status entails must be learned from each passage. Leviticus 27 concerns property devoted as most holy and removed from ordinary sale or redemption. Ezra 10 uses the verb for forfeited property and exclusion from the returned community.
Warfare texts can include the killing of whole populations and animals, including children and infants, and those deaths must be named rather than softened into a merely spiritual idea. The word does not by itself resolve the moral and theological difficulty of those texts. Their ancient covenant, land, judgment, and narrative settings require close canonical interpretation, and they do not grant a modern church, nation, army, or leader authority to identify a people as devoted to destruction.
Faithful teaching rejects genocide, ethnic cleansing, religious violence, child harm, coerced surrender of property, and abusive shunning while bringing honest questions before God with humility and grief.
How the Bible Uses It
Haram marks an irrevocable ban or devoted status whose outcome varies by context, from property made unavailable for ordinary use to forfeiture, exclusion, destruction of goods, and the killing of people and animals in ancient warfare narratives.
- Lev.27.28
Nothing that a man sets apart to the Lord from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.
Devoted persons, animals, or inherited fields cannot be sold or redeemed because the devoted thing is most holy to the Lord.
- Deut.7.2
And when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.
Israel is commanded in its ancient land context to devote defeated nations to complete destruction without treaty or mercy.
- Josh.6.18
But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it.
Israel must keep away from devoted things lest taking them bring destruction upon the camp itself.
- 1Sam.15.3
Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
Saul receives a command that explicitly includes killing men, women, children, infants, and livestock in the attack on Amalek.
- 1Sam.15.9
Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to devote them to destruction, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.
Saul and the troops spare the king and valuable animals while destroying what they regard as despised and weak.
- Ezra.10.8
Whoever failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, according to the counsel of the leaders and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.
A returned exile who refuses the assembly summons faces forfeiture of property and exclusion from the community.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It. . .3×Leviticus 27:28, Deuteronomy 7:2, Deuteronomy 20:17
devoting them to destruction3×2 Kings 19:11, 1 Chronicles 4:41, Isaiah 37:11
He devoted to destruction3×Joshua 10:28, Joshua 10:37, Joshua 10:40
and devote them to destruction2×Jeremiah 50:21, Daniel 11:44
and devote to destruction2×1 Samuel 15:3, 1 Samuel 15:18
and devoted to destruction2×Deuteronomy 2:34, Joshua 10:39
Devote to destruction2×Deuteronomy 13:15, Judges 21:11
[Israel] devoted1×Numbers 21:3
[Joshua] devoted to destruction1×Joshua 10:35
and devoted1×1 Samuel 15:20
and devoted [the city] to destruction1×Judges 1:17
and devoted it to destruction1×Joshua 10:1
but devoted1×1 Samuel 15:8
but they devoted to destruction1×1 Samuel 15:9
devote1×Jeremiah 51:3
Devote her to destruction1×Jeremiah 50:26
devoted them to destruction1×Joshua 11:21
devoted to destruction1×2 Chronicles 32:14
devoting [them] to destruction1×Joshua 11:11
devoting them1×2 Chronicles 20:23
disfigured1×Leviticus 21:18
He devoted them to destruction1×Joshua 11:12
he had devoted to destruction1×Joshua 8:26
he must be set apart for destruction1×Exodus 22:20
He will devote them to destruction1×Isaiah 34:2
set apart for destruction1×Leviticus 27:29
So I will devote them to destruction1×Jeremiah 25:9
so that they would be set apart for destruction1×Joshua 11:20
then you must devote them to complete destruction1×Deuteronomy 7:2
Then you will devote1×Micah 4:13
they devoted to destruction1×Joshua 6:21
to devote them to destruction1×1 Samuel 15:9
to devote to destruction1×1 Kings 9:21
utterly destroying1×Deuteronomy 3:6
We devoted them to destruction1×Deuteronomy 3:6
we devoted to destruction1×1 Samuel 15:15
we will devote1×Numbers 21:2
will devote to destruction1×Isaiah 11:15
would forfeit1×Ezra 10:8
you devoted to destruction1×Joshua 2:10
you must devote them to complete destruction1×Deuteronomy 20:17
you yourself be set apart for destruction1×Joshua 6:18
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 22:20יָֽחֳרָ֑םtohe must be set apart for destructionVerb - Hofal - Imperfect - third person masculine singularLeviticus 21:18חָרֻ֖םtodisfiguredVerb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singularLeviticus 27:28יַחֲרִם֩to. . .Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singularLeviticus 27:29יָחֳרַ֛םtoset apart for destructionVerb - Hofal - Imperfect - third person masculine singularNumbers 21:2וְהַֽחֲרַמְתִּ֖יtowe will devoteConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singularNumbers 21:3וַיַּחֲרֵ֥םto[Israel] devotedConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularDeuteronomy 2:34וַֽנַּחֲרֵם֙toand devoted to destructionConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - first person common pluralDeuteronomy 3:6וַנַּחֲרֵ֣םtoWe devoted them to destructionConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - first person common pluralDeuteronomy 3:6הַחֲרֵם֙toutterly destroyingVerb - Hifil - Infinitive absoluteDeuteronomy 7:2הַחֲרֵ֤םtothen you must devote them to complete destructionVerb - Hifil - Infinitive absolute
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowExodus 22:20
Aligned rows52
Books represented16
Exodus1Leviticus3Numbers2Deuteronomy8Joshua14Judges21 Samuel71 Kings12 Kings11 Chronicles12 Chronicles2Ezra1Isaiah3Jeremiah4Daniel1Micah1
Source forms
הֶחֱרִ֔ים2xhe·ḥĕ·rîmJoshua 8:26, Joshua 10:40
וַֽיַּחֲרִ֙ימוּ֙2xway·ya·ḥă·rî·mūJoshua 6:21, Joshua 10:39
הֶחֱרִ֑ים1xhe·ḥĕ·rîmJoshua 10:35
הֶחֱרִ֣ים1xhe·ḥĕ·rîmJoshua 11:12
הֶחֱרִ֥ים1xhe·ḥĕ·rîm1 Samuel 15:8
הֶחֱרִ֣ימוּ1xhe·ḥĕ·rî·mū2 Chronicles 32:14
הַחֲרִ֖ימוּ1xha·ḥă·rî·mūJeremiah 51:3
הֶחֱרִֽימוּ׃פ1xhe·ḥĕ·rî·mū1 Samuel 15:9
Parsing patterns
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular6xJoshua 8:26, Joshua 10:28, Joshua 10:35, Joshua 10:40
Verb - Hifil - Infinitive absolute4xDeuteronomy 3:6, Deuteronomy 7:2, Deuteronomy 20:17, Joshua 11:11
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural3xJoshua 6:21, Joshua 10:39, Judges 1:17
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct | third person masculine plural3x1 Kings 9:21, 2 Kings 19:11, Isaiah 37:11
Verb - Hofal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular3xExodus 22:20, Leviticus 27:29, Ezra 10:8
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular2xNumbers 21:2, Micah 4:13
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - first person common plural2xDeuteronomy 2:34, Deuteronomy 3:6
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular2xNumbers 21:3, Joshua 10:37
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Threats against a person or group, weapons access, child endangerment, or plans for violent action require immediate safeguarding and appropriate emergency or law-enforcement response.
- War, genocide, abuse, displacement, and religious coercion may evoke trauma; give content notice, permit disengagement, and offer qualified pastoral and mental-health support without forced disclosure.
- Church discipline and property disputes require fair process, independent accountability, and applicable law rather than appeal to an ancient ban formula.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that a modern nation, ethnicity, religion, congregation, political opponent, or personal enemy has been designated for devoted destruction.
- Do not claim that concern for killed children or civilians proves rebellion against God, deficient faith, or hostility toward Scripture.
- Do not claim that every occurrence of haram entails execution or that sacred dedication, forfeiture, exclusion, and battlefield destruction are interchangeable.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Religious devotion through complete destruction; God's exclusive claim on warfare spoils and idolatrous peoples.
Source Gloss
to seclude ; specifically (by a ban) to devote to religious uses (especially destruction); physical and reflexive, to be blunt as to the nose
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Religious devotion through complete destruction; God's exclusive claim on warfare spoils and idolatrous peoples.
to seclude; specifically (by a ban) to devote to religious uses (especially destruction); physical and reflexive, to be blunt as to the nose BDB: ban Usage: make accursed, consecrate, (utterly) destroy, devote, forfeit, have a flat nose, utterly (slay, make away).
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups3Aligned forms25
Hiphilcausative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action21×
Perfect1Sam 15:8 · Josh 8:26 · Josh 10:28 · Josh 10:35 · Josh 10:40 · Josh 11:12 · 1Sam 15:9 · 2Chr 32:14 · 1Sam 15:15 · 1Sam 15:20 · Josh 2:1011×
Infinitive absoluteDeut 3:6 · Deut 7:2 · Deut 13:16 · Deut 20:17 · Josh 11:115×
ImperfectJosh 6:18 · Judg 21:11 · Deut 7:2 · Lev 27:284×
Sequential imperfectJer 51:31×
Hophalcausative passive — the subject is caused to perform the action3×
ImperfectExod 22:19 · Ezra 10:8 · Lev 27:293×
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense1×
Participle passiveLev 21:181×
Word Origins
חָרַם is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Haram names an irrevocable status, but context determines what follows. Leviticus 27 removes devoted property from ordinary exchange and calls it most holy; it should not be collapsed into a battlefield use. Joshua 6 warns Israel that taking devoted spoils can place Israel itself under judgment, so the language never makes Israel morally autonomous. Deuteronomy 7 and 1 Samuel 15 are much harder because the stated action includes destruction of peoples, and 1 Samuel explicitly names children and infants.
Faithful exposition must not hide these victims, enjoy the violence, accuse troubled readers of unbelief, or pretend a word study eliminates the moral difficulty. It must also refuse a direct transfer from ancient Israel's unique land and covenant setting to any contemporary nation, church, ethnicity, or political project. Ezra 10 shows another contextual outcome, property forfeiture and exclusion rather than execution, while still requiring care about family suffering and coercive application.
Christian reading proceeds canonically through Jesus, who commands enemy love and rejects advancing His kingdom by force. Communities should protect children and targeted groups, oppose antisemitism and every ethnic hatred, hear trauma survivors without pressure, and submit claims about judgment to the whole scriptural witness rather than using haram as a weapon.
Anchor passage
Lev.27.28
Doctrinal connections
- Devoted property becomes unavailable for ordinary exchange because it belongs wholly to the Lord.
- Israel's contact with devoted spoils can place Israel itself under covenant judgment.
- Ancient warfare commands remain morally grave texts that explicitly include vulnerable human lives.
- Obedience language never licenses modern readers to appoint themselves agents of sacred destruction.
- Ezra's forfeiture and exclusion show that contextual outcomes cannot be mechanically collapsed into killing.
- Jesus directs His people toward enemy love rather than coercive expansion of His kingdom.
Haram is a Hebrew verb whose stems and objects help express devoting, banning, forfeiting, or destroying. A related lexical form can refer to a physical condition, but that separate usage must not be imported into these covenant, property, and warfare contexts.
From Old to New Testament
The New Testament locates God's people across nations, commands love of enemies, forbids disciples from defending Jesus' mission by the sword, and entrusts final judgment to God. These connections block any transfer of ancient devoted-destruction commands into Christian violence.