Original Word: חֶפְרִי
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: Chephriy
Pronunciation: khef-REE
Phonetic Spelling: (khef-ree')
Definition: Chephri
Meaning: a Chephrite

Hepherites

Patronymically from Chepher; a Chephrite (collectively) or descendants of Chepher -- Hepherites.

see HEBREW Chepher

Word Origin
from Chepher
Definition
desc. of Hepher
NASB Translation
Hepherites (1).

חֶפְרִי adjective, of a people of I. חֵפֶר a; only with article as proper name collective ׳הַח Numbers 26:32.

Word Origin: Derived from חָפַר (H2658), meaning "to dig" or "to search."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: There are no direct Greek equivalents for the term "Chephri" as it is a specific proper noun referring to a group of people from a particular location. However, related concepts of inhabitants or people from a specific place can be found in Greek terms such as ἔθνος (G1484) for "nation" or "people" and πολίτης (G4177) for "citizen" or "inhabitant."

Usage: The term "Chephri" is used to denote a person from Chephirah, a city of the Gibeonites, mentioned in the context of the Israelite conquest of Canaan.

Context: • The term "Chephri" refers to an inhabitant of Chephirah, one of the four Hivite cities that made a treaty with Joshua and the Israelites, as recorded in the book of Joshua. Chephirah is mentioned in Joshua 9:17, where it is listed alongside Gibeon, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. The inhabitants of these cities, including the Chephrites, deceived Joshua into making a peace treaty with them by pretending to be from a distant land. As a result, they were spared from destruction but were made servants to the Israelites, specifically as woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and the altar of the LORD (Joshua 9:21-27).
• Chephirah is later mentioned in the context of the allotment of land to the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:26). The city is also noted in the post-exilic period, where descendants of the original inhabitants returned to the land after the Babylonian exile (Ezra 2:25; Nehemiah 7:29).
• The Chephrites, therefore, represent a group of people who, through cunning, secured a place within the Israelite community, albeit in a servile role. Their story is a testament to the complex interactions between the Israelites and the indigenous populations of Canaan during the conquest and settlement periods.

הַֽחֶפְרִֽי׃ החפרי׃ ha·ḥep̄·rî HachefRi haḥep̄rîInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts