What does חָרָשׁ (ḥārāš) mean in the Bible?
A craftsperson works skillfully with a material to make or shape something. Exodus describes engravers, designers and other workers equipped for the tabernacle's work.
Hebrew · H2796
חָרָשׁ
A craftsperson works skillfully with a material to make or shape something. Exodus describes engravers, designers and other workers equipped for the tabernacle's work.
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חָרָשׁH2796
Pronunciationḥārāš
What does חָרָשׁ (ḥārāš) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for חָרָשׁ (H2796) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2796?
The BSB source-word alignment has 36 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include and carpenters (3), craftsmen (3), of a craftsman (3), the craftsmen (3), The craftsman (2).
Where does חָרָשׁ (ḥārāš) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 28:11. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (8), 1 Chronicles (5), 2 Kings (4), Jeremiah (4).
What This Word Actually Means
A craftsperson works skillfully with a material to make or shape something. Exodus describes engravers, designers and other workers equipped for the tabernacle's work. First Samuel reports that Israel lacked a blacksmith because the Philistines sought to prevent the Hebrews from making weapons. Isaiah describes a woodworker measuring and shaping an image, then exposes the folly of treating a manufactured object as a god.
The occupation itself therefore does not determine whether the work serves a good purpose. The material, commission and surrounding account matter. Readers can appreciate skill used in appointed service while recognizing that skilled hands can also fashion an idol. The word identifies a maker; the passage evaluates what that person makes and the conditions under which the work occurs.
How the Bible Uses It
Tabernacle workers, restricted blacksmithing and idol manufacture give skilled makers different settings. Skill is real throughout, while the work's purpose and the passage's evaluation vary.
- Exod.35.35
He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and as weavers—as artistic designers of every kind of craft.
The Lord equips workers for engraving, designing and weaving within the specified tabernacle work, alongside the ability to teach others.
- 1Sam.13.19
And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.”
The lack of a blacksmith is connected explicitly to Philistine control and their effort to prevent Hebrew weapons manufacture.
- Isa.44.13
The woodworker extends a measuring line; he marks it out with a stylus; he shapes it with chisels and outlines it with a compass. He fashions it in the likeness of man, like man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.
The woodworker measures and shapes an image, while the surrounding argument exposes its dependence upon an ordinary human maker.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itand carpenters3×1 Chronicles 14:1, 2 Chronicles 24:12, Ezra 3:7
craftsmen3×2 Kings 24:16, 1 Chronicles 4:14, Zechariah 1:20
of a craftsman3×Deuteronomy 27:15, Jeremiah 10:3, Jeremiah 10:9
the craftsmen3×2 Kings 24:14, 1 Chronicles 29:5, Jeremiah 29:2
The craftsman2×Isaiah 41:7, Isaiah 54:16
to the carpenters2×2 Kings 22:6, 2 Chronicles 34:11
a craftsman1×Hosea 8:6
an engraver1×Exodus 38:23
and stonemasons1×2 Samuel 5:11
and the craftsmen1×Jeremiah 24:1
as engravers1×Exodus 35:35
blacksmith1×1 Samuel 13:19
carpenters1×2 Samuel 5:11
craftsman1×Isaiah 40:20
cutter1×Exodus 28:11
for the craftsmen1×Isaiah 44:11
masons1×1 Chronicles 22:15
of craftsmen1×Hosea 13:2
skilled1×Ezekiel 21:31
stonemasons1×1 Chronicles 14:1
that a craftsman1×Isaiah 40:19
The blacksmith1×Isaiah 44:12
the carpenters1×2 Kings 12:11
the makers1×Isaiah 45:16
The woodworker1×Isaiah 44:13
workers1×2 Chronicles 24:12
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 28:11חָרַשׁ֮tocutterNoun - masculine singular constructExodus 35:35חָרָ֣שׁ׀toas engraversNoun - masculine singularExodus 38:23חָרָ֣שׁtoan engraverNoun - masculine singularDeuteronomy 27:15חָרָ֖שׁtoof a craftsmanNoun - masculine singular1 Samuel 13:19וְחָרָשׁ֙toblacksmithConjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular2 Samuel 5:11וְחָרָשֵׁ֣יtocarpentersConjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct2 Samuel 5:11וְחָֽרָשֵׁ֖יtoand stonemasonsConjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct2 Kings 12:11לְחָרָשֵׁ֤יtothe carpentersPreposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct2 Kings 22:6לֶחָ֣רָשִׁ֔יםtoto the carpentersPreposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine plural2 Kings 24:14הֶחָרָ֖שׁtothe craftsmenArticle | Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowExodus 28:11
Aligned rows36
Books represented13
Exodus3Deuteronomy11 Samuel12 Samuel22 Kings41 Chronicles52 Chronicles3Ezra1Isaiah8Jeremiah4Ezekiel1Hosea2Zechariah1
Source forms
חָרָ֖שׁ3xḥā·rāšDeuteronomy 27:15, Jeremiah 10:3, Jeremiah 10:9
וְחָרָשֵׁ֣י2xwə·ḥā·rā·šê2 Samuel 5:11, 1 Chronicles 14:1
חָרָ֣שׁ2xḥā·rāšExodus 38:23, Hosea 8:6
חָרָ֔שׁ2xḥā·rāšIsaiah 40:19, Isaiah 54:16
חָרָשֵׁ֖י2xḥā·rā·šêIsaiah 45:16, Ezekiel 21:31
לְחָרָשֵׁ֤י2xlə·ḥā·rā·šê2 Kings 12:11, 2 Chronicles 24:12
הֶחָרָ֖שׁ1xhe·ḥā·rāš2 Kings 24:14
הֶחָרָ֤שׁ1xhe·ḥā·rāšJeremiah 24:1
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular10xExodus 35:35, Exodus 38:23, Deuteronomy 27:15, Isaiah 40:19
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct5x2 Samuel 5:11, 1 Chronicles 14:1, 1 Chronicles 22:15
Noun - masculine plural4x1 Chronicles 4:14, 1 Chronicles 29:5, Hosea 13:2, Zechariah 1:20
Noun - masculine singular construct3xExodus 28:11, Isaiah 44:12, Isaiah 44:13
Article | Noun - masculine singular2x2 Kings 24:14, Jeremiah 24:1
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural2x2 Chronicles 24:12, Isaiah 44:11
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine singular2x2 Kings 24:16, Jeremiah 29:2
Noun - masculine plural construct2xIsaiah 45:16, Ezekiel 21:31
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Honor skilled workers without asking their craft alone to certify a project's morality.
- Consider purpose and accountability when applying these accounts to present artistic work.
Avoid claiming...
- The maker noun does not confer divine approval upon every skilled person's product.
- Isaiah's idol argument does not establish a ban upon all carved objects.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Skilled craftsman whose work requires both technical mastery and deliberate fabrication of durable material objects.
Source Gloss
a fabricator or any material
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Skilled craftsman whose work requires both technical mastery and deliberate fabrication of durable material objects.
a fabricator or any material BDB: graver Usage: artificer, ( ) carpenter, craftsman, engraver, maker, mason, skilful, ( ) smith, worker, workman, such as wrought.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
For the Preacher and Teacher
Isaiah's woodworker follows a recognizable sequence of measuring and shaping. That practical skill cannot turn the resulting image into the living God, and the surrounding discussion of wood used for fuel presses the difference between maker and made object. Exodus gives skill another setting, where workers carry out the tabernacle's assigned work and teach others.
First Samuel adds the political restriction of a necessary occupation. These accounts prevent a flat judgment that craftsmanship is always sacred or always suspect. The useful teaching question concerns the maker's task, purpose and dependence. Gifts and careful work can be honored without treating every finished object as an expression of divine approval, while criticism of manufactured worship need not become contempt for ordinary skilled labor.
Anchor passage
Isa.44.13
Doctrinal connections
- Exodus 35:33-35 connects practical ability with making and teaching appointed work.
- Exodus 35:35 names several crafts rather than one universally sacred occupation.
- First Samuel 13:19-20 exposes dependence created by restricted access to blacksmiths.
- Isaiah 44:11-13 emphasizes that makers of the images are human beings.
- Isaiah 44:14-17 compares wood used for ordinary fuel with wood worshiped as a god.
- Acts 17:29 rejects imagining the divine being as an image formed by human skill.
The attributed Hebrew record identifies a fabricator or skilled maker, with engraving among its expressions. Material and activity determine the English occupational label; the noun alone does not evaluate the product.
From Old to New Testament
Acts 17:29 speaks explicitly against imagining the divine being through an image produced by human art and imagination. That argument can be compared with Isaiah's manufactured idols, while Exodus' appointed skilled work remains a different commission rather than an exception invented from the noun.