This list contains tribes or other groups of people named in the Bible of minor notability, about whom either nothing or very little is known, aside from any family connections.
A
Accaba, descendants of
For the descendants of "Accaba" (1 Esdras 5:30,
Revised Version), see the entry for Hagab.
Agaba, descendants of
For the "Agaba" of 1 Esdras 5:30, see Hagab.
Ahumai
Ahumai, according to 1 Chronicles 4:2, was the name of a clan within the Tribe of Judah.
The name "Ahuman" appears only in this verse of the
Hebrew Bible, and manuscripts of the Greek
Septuagint read
Acheimei,
Achimai or
Achiman. The
Encyclopaedia Biblica raises the possibility that the correct reading is "Ahiman" rather than "Ahumai."
Apharsachites
A company of the colonists whom the Assyrian king planted in Samaria ().
Apharsathchites
Apharsathchites, according to Ezra , were among the groups of people who wrote a letter to the Persian emperor in opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The exact spelling "Apharsathchites" occurs only in Ezra 4:9.
However, an alternate form of the same name, "Apharsachites," appears in and 6:6.
According to the
Encyclopaedia Biblica, the term seems to be "the title of certain officers under Darius," and it is "misunderstood" as referring to a tribe of people.
Apharsites
Another of the tribes removed to Samaria, or perhaps the same as the Apharsachites ().
Arkites
- See also Canaan (son of Ham)
Arkites, also
Archites were descendants of Canaan, according to
17 and
15, and were also inhabitants of the land of
Canaan, according to
2. David's friend
Hushai was an Arkite (
32). The Arkites inhabited
Arqa, a city in the north of what is now
Lebanon
Arvadites
- See also Canaan (son of Ham)
Arvadites were descendants of Canaan, according to
18 and
16. They inhabited
Arwad, an island city that is now part of
Syria.
Asshurites
The
Asshurites (also called
Ashurites or
Asshurim) are a group of people who, according to Genesis 25:3, descended from Dedan, the son of
Jokshan, the son of
Abraham. Their exact historical identity is unknown, but the name may refer to an Assyrian or Egyptian tribe, or it may be a generic term for peasants.
C
Chemarims
In the King James Version of the Bible, people known as "Chemarims" (Hebrew
kemarim) are mentioned in Zephaniah 1:4 as people to be punished by God for their associations with idolatry. In most later translations the noun is treated as a common noun meaning "idolatrous priests" or something similar.
[ For a survey of biblical translations, see] The underlying Hebrew term also appears in 2 Kings 23:5 and Hosea 10:5, and its precise meaning is not known.
Cheran
Cheran is the name given to a Horite clan in Genesis 36:28 and 1 Chronicles 1:41.
While the passage containing "Cheran" is written as though it were a genealogy of individuals, it expresses the relationship between various Horite clans as they understood by the writer of Genesis.
D
Darkon, descendants of
In Ezra 2:56 and Nehemiah 7:58, which both reproduce versions of the same list, the
bene darkon ("sons" i.e. "descendants" of Darkon) appear as one of the groups of the "descendants of Solomon's servants" said to have returned from the Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem and Judah.
Dishon
Dishon is a Horite clan name that appears in the
Hebrew Bible in 1 Chronicles 1 and Genesis 36. The passages involved are about the relations between Horite clans, but they are written as though the subject matter was the genealogical relationships between individuals, one of them named "Dishon."
Dishon is described two times as the fifth son of Seir, but one time he is described as the son of Anah, who is in turn the son of Seir.
E
Eleadah
Eleadah,
Elead, or
Eladah is the name of a clan in the tribe of Ephraim, personified as an individual in 1 Chronicles 7:20.
The individual who appears in 7:20 is called "Eladah" or "Eleadah" depending on how one translates the Hebrew name, while an "Elead" appears in verse 21. This "Elead" may possibly be a repetition of the same name.
It is still uncertain exactly how the Chronicler intended for the names in verses 20 and 21 to relate to one another.
Elkoshites
The term
Elkoshite appears only in Nahum 1:1, where the prophet is called "Nahum the Elkoshite." It would seem to come from the name of a town named "Elkosh," but no such town has been positively identified.
Elmadam
Elmadam or
Elmodam is the name of a figure in the genealogy of Jesus according to Luke.
[Luke 3:28] Where the Greek has
Elmadam, the
Peshitta has Elmodad. The
Encyclopaedia Biblica (1899) suggests that the original Semitic name is Elmatham, a form of the name Elnathan.
Eshban
Eshban is a name found in a genealogy in Genesis and Chronicles.
[Genesis 36:26 and 1 Chronicles 1:41] In both genealogies, Eshban is identified as the son of Dishon, the son of Anah, the son of Zibeon, the son of Seir the Horite. The name refers to a Horite clan.
G
Gammadim
Gammadim (KJV
Gammadims) are a group or class of people mentioned only in Ezekiel 27:11, in a passage which lists them, along with various other groups of people, as defenders of Tyre. Some Hebrew manuscripts spell the name as
Gammarim, while the Septuagint and other ancient Greek versions interpret it in a wide variety of ways.
Some interpreters have taken it to refer to
Cimmerians or
Capadocians.
The Gammadim are listed alongside Arvadites in Ezekiel, just as the Zemarites (Hebrew Tsemarim) are listed alongside Avadites in Genesis 10:18. Because of this parallel between Zemarites and Gammadim, as well as the similarities in appearance of the two words as written in the consonantal Hebrew text, Thomas Kelly Cheyne believed that the current text of Ezekiel only has "Gammadims" as a result of a scribal error, and that Ezekiel 27:11 originally read "Zemarites."
Garmites
Garmite (Hebrew,
garmi) is a term that appears in passing only once in the
Masoretic Text of the
Hebrew Bible, in a genealogical passage which mentions a member of the Tribe of Judah referred to as "Keilah the Garmite".
[1 Chronicles 419] Where the Hebrew reads "the
garmi", various manuscripts of the Greek
Septuagint read "
atamei", "the
tarmi", or "the
garmei".
Thomas Kelly Cheyne wrote that the name "Keilah the Garmite" may have been a mistaken form of the originally intended "Keilah the Calebite."
Gatam
For the
clan name "Gatam," see
Gatam.
Gazzam
Gazzam is the family name of a group of
Nethinim in Ezra 2:48 and Nehemiah 7:51.
Both instances are in copies of a list which claims to contain the family names of people who returned from the Babylonian captivity to
Yehud Medinata.
girgashites">
Girgashites
Girgashites, or
Girgasites, were descendants of Canaan, according to
16 and
14, and they also were inhabitants of the land of
Canaan, according to
21,
1,
10,
11, and
8. At times, they are not listed along with the other Canaanite tribes inhabiting the Holy Land; according to some, such as
Rashi,
[Rashi on Ex. 33:2, 34:11.] this is because they left the Land of Israel before the Israelites returned from Egypt.
Gibbar
For the "sons of Gibbar" see Gibbar.
Ginnath
For the possible biblical clan-name Ginnath, see Ginath.
H
Haahashtari
See
Haahashtari
Habaiah, descendants of
For the priestly family in Ezra 2, see
Habaiah.
Hagab, descendants of
The descendants of Hagab, whose name means "grasshopper," are listed among the families of
Nethinim, or temple assistants, who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity in Ezra 2:46 and the parallel verse, Nehemiah 7:48.
[Cheyne and Black (1899), Encyclopaedia Biblica, entry for "Hagab."] The Greek
Septuagint manuscripts of Ezra and Nehemiah record the name as
Agab or
Gaba.
The name also appears in 1 Esdras 5:30, where the Revised Standard Version reads "Hagab" while the King James Version has "Agaba" and the Revised Version "Accaba."[ 1 Esdras 5:30, Revised Standard Version]
The Book of Acts has a prophet who shared a form of the same name: Agabus.[Acts 11:28, 21:10]
Hagabah, descendants of
See
Hagabah.
Hakupha, descendants of
The family
Hakupha (also
Acipha or
Achipha) is listed as a sub-group of the
Nethinim in Ezra 2:51, Nehemiah 7:53, and 1 Esdras 5:31.
In manuscripts of the Greek
Septuagint the name appears in the forms
Apheika,
Akoupha,
Akeipha, and
Acheiba. The name might mean "crooked."
Hamathites
- See also Canaan (son of Ham)
Hamathites were descendants of Canaan, according to
18 and
16. They inhabited the
Hama, located in what is now western
Syria and northern
Lebanon.
Hamulites
Hamulites were those who descended from Hamul son of
Pharez according to .
Harhur
Harhur is recorded in Ezra 2:51 and Nehemiah 7:53 as the collective name of a group of
Nethinim who returned to
Yehud Medinata after the Babylonian captivity.
The phrase used to describe this group is
b'nei harhur, literally "sons of Harhur," which can be interpreted either as "descendants of a Harhur" or "people from a Harhur."
Haruphites
Haruphite is a term applied to "Shephatiah the Haruphite" in 1 Chronicles 12:6 (or verse 5) in some Bibles. The form "Haruphite" is used in the Qere, or the form of the text as traditionally read out loud in synagogues. The Ketiv, the form of the text written in the main body of the
Masoretic Text but not traditionally read aloud in synagogues, calls Sephatiah a "Hariphite."
[ See the Masoretic Hebrew text of 1 Chronicles 12] The term "Hariphite" or "Haruphite" may refer to the same group of people called by the family name Hariph.
Hashum
Hashum is the name of a family or clan listed in Ezra 2:19 as returnees to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity. The Book of Ezra records that 233 members of this group returned to Jerusalem. The original pronunciation of the name is uncertain: it may have once been
Hashim.
Hatita
Hatita is the name given to a family or clan of porters in Ezra–Nehemiah's list of people who returned to
Yehud Medinata after the Babylonian captivity.
[Ezra 2:42, Nehemiah 7:45, 1 Esdras 5:28]
Hattil, descendants of
See
Hattil.
Hepherites
For information about the Hepherites mentioned in Numbers 26:32, see Hepher.
Horonites
In the Book of Nehemiah, one of
Nehemiah's enemies is called Sanballat the Horonite. Scholars have disagreed as to whether this identifies Sanballat as hailing from
Bethoron (in
Samaria) or from
Horonaim (in
Moab).
I
Ishbah
Ishbah is the name of a clan mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:17, to which the people of Eshtemoa belonged.
The passage describes relationships between clans and regions in terms of genealogical relationships, personifying them as if individual persons.
"Ishbah" is not described as having a named "mother" or "father" in the Hebrew
Masoretic Text, but the Greek
Septuagint Ishbah is described as the "son" of Jether.
Ishvites
See Ishvi.
Ithran
For the Horite clan named Ithran, see Ithran.
J
Jahmai
Jahmai is the name of a clan in the Tribe of Issachar, mentioned only in 1 Chronicles 7:2.
Jakim
Jakim is a Priestly division mentioned in 1 Chronicles 24:12. According to 1 Chronicles 24, in the time of
David a systematic plan was created, in which priests were divided into twenty-four courses, which were responsible on a rotating basis for carrying out duties related to the temple at Jerusalem. Jakim is listed as the twelfth of the priestly courses.
Janai
For the clan referred to as Janai or Jaanai, see Janai.
Japhlet
Japhlet is the name given to a clan in the Tribe of Asher.
The Japhlet of Asher should not be confused with the "Japhletites" referred to in Joshua 16:3.
Japhletites
The
Japhletites were a community referred to in located at the western point of the boundary of the land allocated to the tribe of Ephraim in the lots drawn by
Joshua and
Eleazar. The King James Version refers to "the coast of Japhleti". "This place is now unknown".
[ Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible on Joshua 16, accessed 13 August 2016]
L
Lahad
Lahad, only mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:2, is the name given for a clan within the Tribe of Judah.
Lehabim
Lehabim were a people descended from
Mizraim, according to
13,
11. Their exact identity is unknown, but the name may refer to Libyans.
See
Lubims,
Libu, and
Ancient Libya.
Lubims
The
Lubims in the Old Testament were the Libyans, an African nation under tribute to Egypt (; ). Their territory was apparently near Egypt. They were probably the Mizraite Lehabim.
M
Maacathites
The term
Maacathite,
Maachathite, or
Maachathi is used to refer to the people of
Maacah.
Magbish, descendants of
The
descendants literally,
of Magbish is the name given to a group of 156 people listed in Ezra 2:30 as returning from the Babylonian captivity with
Zerubbabel. This group is absent from the parallel list in Nehemiah 7.
Mahavites
"Eliel the
Mahavite" (Hebrew
eliel hammahavim) is a figure who appears in some translations
[For example, the KJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, Holman, NET.] of the Bible at 1 Chronicles 11:46. However, due to the plural form of the word translated Mahavite, the
Encyclopaedia Biblica suggests that some mistake has occurred at some point in the history of the text, and that the translation "Eliel the Mahavite" "cannot be legitimately obtained from the present state of the text."
Malchielites
The
Malchielites were a group within the Tribe of Asher, who according to 1 Chronicles 7:31, were descended from
Asher's grandson
Malchiel.
Manahathites
Manahathites (King James Version spelling
Manahethites) were a group mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:52 and 54, in a genealogical passage concerning the descendants of
Caleb of the Tribe of Judah. Chronicles attributes half of the Manahathites to descent from Shobal and the rest to Salma, both of them being descendants of Caleb. Their name is related to the Manahath son of Shobal the Horite, who is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 1:40.
Maon
Maon, according to Judges 10:12, were a people who, along with the Sidonians and Amalek, oppressed the people of Israel. There is also a location known as Maon mentioned several times in the Bible, but the people by that name are mentioned nowhere but the passage in Judges.
Meunim
The term
Meunim (archaically spelled
Mehunim,
Mehunims) is used in Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah. In 2 Chronicles 26:7, the Meunim appear in a list of Philistine peoples conquered by king
Uzziah. In 1 Chronicles 4:40-41, people from the Tribe of Simeon are held to have exterminated "descendants of Ham" and Meunim living east of the Jordan. Finally, Ezra 2:50 and the parallel passage in Nehemiah 7:52 list Meunim among groups of Nethinim returning to
Yehud Medinata following the end of the Babylonian captivity.
Mezobaites
For the term Mesobaite or Mezobaite, see Jaasiel.
Mishraites
The
Mishraites, mentioned only in 1 Chronicles 2:53, where a clan said by
the Chronicler to have lived in Kirjath-jearim after the Babylonian captivity.
Mithnites
In 1 Chronicles 11:43, a man is referred as "Joshaphat the
Mithnite."
N
Naphtuhim
Naphtuhim were a people descended from
Mizraim, according to
13,
11.
Nephisim
The
sons of Nephisim (
Nephusim,
Nephishesim,
Nephushesim) were, according to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, one of the groups of
Nethinim. The Qere and Ketiv system for recording variants gives the forms "Nephisim" and "Nephusim" in Ezra 2:50, and "Nephishesim" and "Nephushesim" in Nehemiah 7:52. These forms appear in two forms of a list of people brought by Ezra from the exile in Babylonia to their homeland in Yehud Medinata.
Neziah
The
sons of Neziah, according to Ezra 2:54 and Nehemiah 7:56, a group of people who, among others, returned with Ezra from the Babylonian captivity.
P
Padon
The
descendants of Padon or
sons of Padon (Hebrew
bnei Padon) are a group who appear in two versions of the list of returnees to Judah according to the books of Ezra (2:44) and Nehemiah (7:47). In keeping with other Hebrew names of the form
bnei X, the
bnei Padon might be translated as
descendants of Padon,
sons of Padon, or
people of Padon. No further information about any person or group the name "Padon" appears in the Bible.
Paltites
One person called a
Paltite appears in the Bible "Helez the Paltite" (2 Samuel 23:26), one of David's Mighty Warriors. The name might either identify him as coming from the location
Beth Pelet (Hebrew for "House of Pelet"), or else might identify him as a member of the clan named Pelet, identified with Caleb in 1 Chronicles 2:47.
Parosh
The
descendants of Parosh or
sons of Parosh (Hebrew
bnei Parosh) are mentioned several times in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 2:3; 8:3; 10:25; Nehemiah 7:8). As with other Hebrew terms of the form
bnei X, the
bnei Parosh might be translated as
descendants of Parosh,
sons of Parosh, or
people of Parosh. A person by the name of Pedaiah, described as a "son of Parosh" appears in Nehemiah 3:25, is listed among those who helped rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. A mention of the name "Parosh (Hebrew פרעש, "flea"
)" also appears in Nehemiah 10:14.
Pelonites
Two individuals are identified by the term "Pelonite" in the
Hebrew Bible: Ahijah the Pelonite and Helez the Pelonite, both found in the Chronicles versions of the list of David's Mighty Warriors (1 Chronicles 11:27, 36; 27:10). The term "Pelonite" occurs only here, while Helez is identified in 2 Samuel 23:26 as a Paltite. Because of the earlier form "Paltite," which is likely related to
Beth Pelet and/or Pelet, most scholars believe that Pelonite is a scribal error, and that "
Paltites" is the original term.
Perida
The
descendants of Perida are listed as one group of Solomon's servants in Nehemiah 7:57. The name appears as
Peruda in Ezra 2:55.
Pochereth
The
descendants of Pochereth of Zebaaim are listed as one group of Solomon's servants in Ezra 2:57 and Nehemiah 7:59.
Punites
The
Punites, according to Numbers 26:23, were a clan descended from
Puah, in the Tribe of Issachar.
R
Reaiah
Reaiah is a name which occurs several times in the
Hebrew Bible. In 1 Chronicles 4:2, in a passage which uses the format of genealogy as a way of expressing the relations between clans,
a Reaiah is described as the "son of Shobal", and is associated with Zorathite clans of the Tribe of Judah.
In a nearby passage, another Reaiah is listed as a "son" of Joel, who is placed in a genealogy of the Tribe of Reuben, but whose relationship to Reuben is not clearly specified (1 Chronicles 5:5, the King James Version spells the name Reaia here).
Later, in Ezra-Nehemiah, a group known as the "sons of Reaiah" appear in two versions of a list of clans of the Nethinim (Ezra 2:47, Nehemiah 7:50).
S
Sardites
According to Numbers 26:26, the
Sardites were a clan within the tribe of Zebulun, named after Zebulun's son Sered.
Senaah
The
sons of Senaah (Hebrew
bnei Senaah or
bnei ha-Senaah) are a group who appear in Ezra and Nehemiah, in two versions of a list of returnees from the Babylonian captivity. According to Ezra 2:35 there were 3,630 members of this group; Nehemiah 7:38 gives the figure 3,930. Nehemiah 3:3, in a listing of various groups involved in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, has them working on its Fish Gate.
Shaalbonites
The term
Shaalbonite is mentioned in passing in two biblical passages, both of which list an "Eliahba the Shaalbonite" as one of David's Mighty Warriors (2 Samuel 23:32, 1 Chronicles 11:33). See Shaalbim.
Shalmai, descendants of
In the lists of clans in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7, the "descendants of Shalmai" (literally, "sons of Shalmai") are listed as one of the groups who returned from the Babylonian captivity to Judah (Ezra 2:46, Nehemiah 7:48).
Sinites
Sinites were a people descended from Canaan, son of Ham, according to
17 and
15. Most authorities however consider the identity of Sinites uncertain, but that they are possibly a people from the northern part of Lebanon where there are various localities with similar names, such as
Sinna,
Sinum or
Sini, and
Syn.
Medieval biblical exegete
Saadia Gaon identified the Sinites with the indigenous peoples of Tripoli, in Lebanon.
Solomon's servants
A group called
the descendants of Solomon's servants appears in Ezra and Nehemiah.
[A full list of the biblical references: Ezra 2:55, 58; Nehemiah 7:57, 60; 11:3.] They appear in Ezra 2 (55-58) in a list of returnees from the Babylonian captivity to
Yehud Medinata. They are listed after the
Nethinim and before a list of returnees who could not prove their genealogical origins. A copy of the same list, with some minor differences, can be found in Nehemiah 7:57-60. In both lists, a total number of 392 people is given, including both the descendants of Solomon's servants and the Nethinim. Nehemiah 11:3 lists them as one of the five classes of persons living in Yehud Medinata: "Israel, the priests, the Levites, the Nethinim, and the descendants of Solomon's servants."
Many scholars have noted a large number of non-Hebrew names both in the lists for Nethinim and "descendants of Solomon's servants,"[Haran, Menaḥem. “The Gibeonites, the Nethinim and the Sons of Solomon's Servants.” Vetus Testamentum, vol. 11, no. 2, 1961, pp. 159–169. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1516253.]
Z
Zemarites
- See also Canaan (son of Ham)
Zemarites were descendants of Canaan, according to
18 and
16. The Zemarites are thought to have inhabited Sumur, a city near the coast of present-day Syria, although biblical exegete
Saadia Gaon held that they formerly inhabited the Syrian town of
Homs.
See also
-
List of biblical names
-
List of minor biblical figures
-
Avvites (of Philistia)
