2437. Chirah
Lexical Summary
Chirah: Chirah

Original Word: חִירָה
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Chiyrah
Pronunciation: khee-RAH
Phonetic Spelling: (khee-raw')
KJV: Hirah
NASB: Hirah
Word Origin: [from H2357 (חָרַר - turn pale) in the sense of splendor]

1. Chirah, an Adullamite

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Hirah

From chavar in the sense of splendor; Chirah, an Adullamite -- Hirah.

see HEBREW chavar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from chavar
Definition
a friend of Judah
NASB Translation
Hirah (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
הִירָה proper name, masculine (√ חור but meaning dubious) an Adullamite, friend of Judah Genesis 38:1,12 (both J), ᵐ5 Ειρας.

חוּרָם see חִירָם below אַח, אחה above.

II. חור (√ of following; compare Arabic bend, turn, incline, of man be weak, Lane820c, hollow, depressed ground between hills).

Topical Lexicon
Biblical Occurrences

Hirah appears twice, both within the Judah narrative:
Genesis 38:1 – “About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite.”
Genesis 38:12 – “When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah to the sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.”

Geographical Context: Adullam

Adullam lay in the Shephelah between Judah’s hill country and the Philistine plain, a borderland that facilitated trade and cultural exchange but also spiritual compromise. Adullam’s later association with David’s cave (1 Samuel 22:1) underscores the site’s strategic value and its mixed populations of Israelites and Canaanites. Hirah, labeled “the Adullamite,” embodies this liminal setting, standing at the intersection of covenant Israel and surrounding peoples.

Narrative Role in the Judah–Tamar Account

1. Catalyst for Separation: Hirah is introduced the moment Judah “left his brothers.” His friendship marks Judah’s physical and emotional distancing from the covenant family, setting the stage for Judah’s marriage to the unnamed Canaanite daughter of Shua and the ensuing moral decline.
2. Companion in Commerce: Judah travels with Hirah to Timnah for shearing—an economic venture linked to festivity (see 1 Samuel 25:2–8). The presence of Hirah signals Judah’s integration into local business networks that ignored covenantal boundaries.
3. Silent Witness: Although never speaking, Hirah’s silent presence contrasts with Tamar’s bold actions and Judah’s eventual confession, magnifying the text’s focus on covenant faithfulness rather than mere social ties.

Theology and Character Insight

Friendship exerts formative power. Proverbs 13:20 observes, “He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Judah’s alliance with Hirah coincides with a season of moral dullness that nearly extinguishes the line through which Messiah would come. Hirah exemplifies how morally neutral or even respectable relationships can still draw believers into compromising environments when covenant convictions are weak.

Intertextual Connections

• Judah’s descent parallels the later monarchy’s compromises with neighboring nations (1 Kings 11:1–8).
• The contrast between Hirah and later faithful foreigners—such as Rahab (Joshua 2) and Ruth (Ruth 1)—highlights that Scripture does not condemn foreign relationships per se, but rather associations that erode covenant fidelity.
• Judah’s eventual repentance (Genesis 44:33–34) stands in stark relief against Hirah’s continuing silence, illustrating repentance as the decisive break from compromising alliances.

Practical Ministry Applications

1. Discern Friendships: Church leadership should teach believers to evaluate relationships not solely by cultural commonality but by shared submission to God’s covenant.
2. Guard Transitional Seasons: Judah’s vulnerability arose “about that time” when he left his brothers; life transitions often expose believers to untested influences.
3. Engage Culture Missionally, Not Assimilatively: Like Christ who dined with sinners (Luke 15:1–2) yet remained sinless (Hebrews 4:15), believers must interact with society without absorbing its ungodliness.
4. Provide Covenant Community: Judah’s departure from his brothers precedes his drift. Healthy congregations foster accountable friendships that counterbalance outside pressures.

Summary

Hirah, though mentioned only twice, functions as a narrative signpost marking Judah’s drift into moral compromise and eventual restoration. His presence urges readers to cultivate friendships and business partnerships that reinforce fidelity to God’s redemptive purposes.

Forms and Transliterations
וְחִירָ֛ה וחירה חִירָֽה׃ חירה׃ chiRah ḥî·rāh ḥîrāh vechiRah wə·ḥî·rāh wəḥîrāh
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 38:1
HEB: עֲדֻלָּמִ֖י וּשְׁמ֥וֹ חִירָֽה׃
NAS: Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
KJV: Adullamite, whose name [was] Hirah.
INT: Adullamite name was Hirah

Genesis 38:12
HEB: צֹאנוֹ֙ ה֗וּא וְחִירָ֛ה רֵעֵ֥הוּ הָעֲדֻלָּמִ֖י
NAS: he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
KJV: he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
INT: cattle he Hirah and his friend the Adullamite

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2437
2 Occurrences


ḥî·rāh — 1 Occ.
wə·ḥî·rāh — 1 Occ.

2436
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