Original Word: חָרָשׁ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: charash
Pronunciation: khaw-rawsh'
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-rawsh')
KJV: artificer, (+) carpenter, craftsman, engraver, maker, + mason, skilful, (+) smith, worker, workman, such as wrought
NASB: craftsmen, craftsman, carpenters, engraver, shapes, artisan, blacksmith
Word Origin: [from H2790 (חָרַשׁ - To be silent)]

1. a fabricator or any material

artificer, carpenter, craftsman, engraver, maker, mason, skilful, smith,

From charash; a fabricator or any material -- artificer, (+) carpenter, craftsman, engraver, maker, + mason, skilful, (+) smith, worker, workman, such as wrought.

see HEBREW charash

Word Origin
from charash
Definition
engraver, artificer
NASB Translation
artisan (1), blacksmith (1), carpenters (4), carpenters* (4), craftsman (7), craftsmen (10), engraver (2), jeweler* (1), manufacturers (1), masons (1), masons* (1), shapes (2), skilled (1), smith (1), stonemasons* (1), workers (1).

חָרָשׁ noun masculine^{Exodus 38:23} graver, artificer (Phoenician חרש) — absolute ׳ח (= *חַרָּשׁ) Exodus 35:35 14t.; construct חָרַשׁ Exodus 28:11 2t.; plural חָֽרָשִׁים Hosea 13:2 7t.; חֲרָשִׁים 1 Chronicles 4:14 (twice in verse); Nehemiah 11:35 (see below); construct חָֽרָשֵׁי 2 Samuel 5:11 6t.; —

1 graver, artificer:

a. worker in metal 1 Samuel 13:19; Hosea 8:6; Hosea 13:2; Deuteronomy 27:15; Jeremiah 10:9 ("" צֹרֵף), Isaiah 40:19 ("" id.), Isaiah 54:16; 1 Chronicles 29:5; בַּרְזֶל ׳ח Isaiah 44:12; 2Chronicles 24:12; perhaps also Isaiah 41:7 (+ צֹרֵף); apparently = hammer Zechariah 2:3 (symbolic).

b. worker in wood עֵץ ׳ח 2 Samuel 5:11 = 1 Chronicles 14:1 (עֵצִים), 2 Kings 12:12; 2 Kings 22:6 2Chronicles 34:11; Jeremiah 10:3; Isaiah 40:20; Isaiah 44:13 (see also 1 Chronicles 22:15 below); perhaps also Ezra 3:7; 2Chronicles 24:12 (both "" חצב).

c. worker in stone אֶבֶן קִיר ׳ח 2 Samuel 5:11 = 1 Chronicles 14:1 (omitted אבן); also of engraving on gems אבן ׳ח Exodus 28:11 (P; "" מִּתּוּחֵי חֹתָם); see also following

d. in General אֶבֶן וָעֵץ ׳ח 1 Chronicles 22:15; idol-maker צִירִים ׳ח Isaiah 45:16, compare Isaiah 44:11 (also Isaiah 44:12; Isaiah 44:13 above), 2 Kings 24:14,16; Jeremiah 24:1; Jeremiah 29:2 (all "" מַסְגֵּר), Exodus 35:35; Exodus 38:23 (both P; both "" חשֵׁב). In גֵּיא חֲרָשִׁים 1 Chronicles 4:14, ׳גֵּי הַחֲ Nehemiah 11:35 valley of (the) artificers, and חֲרָשִׁים artificers 1 Chronicles 4:14, ח has ֲ֯ exceptionally, see Ol^{§ 183 a} Kö^{ii, § 60. 5}; read חָֽרָשִׁים?

2 figurative מַשְׁחִית ׳ח Ezekiel 21:36 men skilled to destroy.

Overview of Usage

חָרָשׁ (Strong’s 2796) designates the artisan whose trained hands shape wood, stone, metal, or precious gems. Across roughly thirty-five occurrences the word appears in Torah, Former Prophets, Writings, and Latter Prophets, offering a cross-section of Israel’s worship, civic life, judgment, and hope. The context determines whether the craftsman’s skill becomes an instrument of holy service or a tool for idolatry and national ruin.

Artisans Appointed for Sacred Service

1. Tabernacle craftsmanship set the pattern. To fashion the priestly shoulder stones, Moses was told to employ “the work of an engraver” (Exodus 28:11). Likewise, “Bezaleel son of Uri” worked “as an engraver and designer and embroiderer” (Exodus 38:23). Through these men the Lord displayed that artistic excellence, when surrendered to His word, advances pure worship.
2. Temple building continued the theme. Hiram of Tyre sent “carpenters and stonemasons” to David (2 Samuel 5:11), and later Huram-abi came to Solomon, “a man endowed with skill, understanding, and knowledge to execute all kinds of work in bronze” (1 Kings 7:14; 2 Chronicles 2:13-14). The cumulative testimony is that God dignifies manual skill and weaves it into covenant history.

Nation Building and Royal Projects

Solomon’s extensive works called for tens of thousands of artisans (1 Kings 5:18; 2 Chronicles 26:15). Their labor supplied the economic backbone of the kingdom and mirrored the ordered wisdom that undergirded righteous rule (compare Proverbs 22:29). When kings feared the Lord, craftsmen prospered; when kings rebelled, their skill was misdirected.

The Craftsman and Idolatry

חָרָשׁ is often paired with molten or graven images:
• “Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman” (Deuteronomy 27:15).
• Isaiah exposes the futility: “The ironsmith works the iron…and becomes hungry; the carpenter stretches a line” (Isaiah 44:12-13). Both are “ashamed together” when the idol cannot speak (Isaiah 44:11).
• Jeremiah echoes, “Their idols are the work of skilled men” (Jeremiah 10:9).

These texts remind God’s people that giftedness, divorced from obedience, easily supplies the hardware of apostasy.

Exile: The Silence of the Workshops

When Nebuchadnezzar breached Jerusalem, he “carried away all the craftsmen and smiths” (2 Kings 24:14; 24:16; Jeremiah 24:1; 29:2). The deportation of artisans was strategic; no skilled laborers meant no weapons and no rebuilding. Spiritually the loss dramatized the nation’s broken covenant: their finest tools were seized because their hearts had first been taken captive by sin.

Restoration and Rebuilding

Upon return from exile, artisans again surface. Ezra sought “masons and carpenters” and purchased “cedar logs from Lebanon” (Ezra 3:7). Josiah’s earlier reforms had “paid out the money…to the carpenters and builders” for temple repairs (2 Chronicles 34:11-13). Each revival featured not only prophetic preaching but also hammer and chisel applied to the house of God—an illustration that genuine renewal addresses both heart and habitat.

Prophetic Vision: Four Craftsmen

Zechariah 1:20 records, “Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.” The vision follows four horns that scattered Judah; the craftsmen represent divinely raised agents who overthrow oppressive powers. Here the artisan motif expands: skillful, God-sent forces can dismantle evil structures just as surely as they can erect sanctuaries. The passage assures the remnant that the God who once gifted Bezalel still equips instruments for His redemptive plan.

Social and Economic Significance

In Israel’s agrarian society, craftsmen occupied a middle tier—neither land-owning elites nor subsistence farmers. Their presence in royal correspondence (2 Samuel 5:11), military technology (2 Chronicles 26:15), and urban planning (Nehemiah 11:35) displays an economy sensitive to both creativity and practical need. The biblical text never demeans manual labor; rather, it casts craftsmanship as a conduit for covenant blessing or curse.

Theological Implications

1. Creation Theology: The craftsman theme reflects the Creator who “formed” the heavens (Isaiah 45:18). Human artisans image God when their craft submits to His glory.
2. Wisdom Literature: Skill (חָכְמָה) and craftsmanship intersect (Exodus 35:31-35). Wisdom is not abstract but tangible, shaping tabernacle curtains and bronze pillars.
3. Holiness and Profanation: Tools meant for holiness can be repurposed for idols, demonstrating the moral neutrality of skill and the necessity of a heart aligned to God’s law.

Ministry Applications

• Encourage vocational stewardship. Congregations should affirm artists, engineers, and tradespeople as exercising God-given gifts.
• Guard against idol-making. Modern technology can become contemporary “molten images.” Discernment must accompany innovation.
• Participate in church building and maintenance as acts of worship, following the precedents in Exodus, Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah.
• Embrace exile lessons. Loss of skilled labor in judgment narratives warns churches not to presume upon gifted individuals; the Lord can remove or reassign them.

Foreshadowing Fulfillment in Christ and the Church

Jesus, raised in the household of Joseph the carpenter, dignified craftsmanship by His incarnation (Matthew 13:55). The New Testament then portrays believers as “God’s workmanship” (Ephesians 2:10), living stones in a spiritual temple (1 Peter 2:5). The ultimate חָרָשׁ is the Lord Himself, fashioning a redeemed people and, finally, the New Jerusalem—“the city was pure gold, clear as glass” (Revelation 21:18), the flawless project of the divine Artisan.

Key References

Exodus 28:11; 2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 7:14; 2 Chronicles 2:13-14; Deuteronomy 27:15; Isaiah 44:11-13; Jeremiah 10:9; 2 Kings 24:14; Zechariah 1:20.

הֶחָרָ֖שׁ הֶחָרָ֤שׁ החרש וְהֶחָרָ֤שׁ וְהֶחָרָ֥שׁ וְחָֽרָשֵׁ֖י וְחָרָשִׁ֔ים וְחָרָשִׁ֥ים וְחָרָשֵׁ֖י וְחָרָשֵׁ֣י וְחָרָשֵׁ֥י וְחָרָשׁ֙ וְלֶחָרָשִׁ֑ים והחרש וחרש וחרשי וחרשים ולחרשים חֲרָשִׁ֖ים חָרַ֤שׁ חָרַשׁ֮ חָרָ֔שׁ חָרָ֖שׁ חָרָ֣שׁ חָרָ֣שׁ ׀ חָרָ֤שׁ חָרָשִֽׁים׃ חָרָשִׁ֑ים חָרָשִׁ֖ים חָרָשֵׁ֖י חָרָשׁ֙ חרש חרשי חרשים חרשים׃ לְחָרָשֵׁ֤י לֶחָ֣רָשִׁ֔ים לֶחָֽרָשִׁים֙ לחרשי לחרשים chaRash charaShei charaShim ḥā·rā·šê ḥă·rā·šîm ḥā·rā·šîm ḥā·raš ḥā·rāš ḥāraš ḥārāš ḥārāšê ḥărāšîm ḥārāšîm he·ḥā·rāš hechaRash heḥārāš lə·ḥā·rā·šê le·ḥā·rā·šîm lecharaShei leCharaShim ləḥārāšê leḥārāšîm vechaRash vecharaShei vecharaShim vehechaRash velecharaShim wə·ḥā·rā·šê wə·ḥā·rā·šîm wə·ḥā·rāš wə·he·ḥā·rāš wə·le·ḥā·rā·šîm wəḥārāš wəḥārāšê wəḥārāšîm wəheḥārāš wəleḥārāšîmInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts