חַרְשָׁא (char.sah)
char.sah
Harsha
N:N-M-PQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- N:N-M-P
Word Overview
חַרְשָׁא (ḥaršāʾ) is a proper name appearing only twice in the Hebrew Bible, in Ezra 2:52 and Nehemiah 7:54. It identifies the head of a family among the exiles who returned to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel. The name itself carries a literal meaning of "mute" or "silent," derived from the root for silence.
Its rarity makes it a precise marker of genealogical records rather than a theological term. By listing this specific household, the texts preserve the identity of ordinary families who rebuilt their community after the Babylonian exile. The name’s meaning may reflect a personal characteristic or simply serve as a distinctive identifier within the census lists.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The name Harsha appears in the detailed census lists of Ezra and Nehemiah, marking a specific family among those who returned from exile. While the word itself means 'silent' or 'mute,' its presence here is not about speechlessness but about identity. These records preserve the names of ordinary people who rebuilt their community after the Babylonian captivity.
Your faithfulness does not require a loud voice to be remembered by God. Just as Harsha’s name was carefully recorded, every individual in God’s people has value. This word reminds us that God sees and remembers each person, even those whose names appear only in quiet lists of history.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- Harsha2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- חַרְשָֽׁא\׃2×
Key Verses
-
Ezra 2:52
the children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,
This verse lists Harsha as a distinct family unit within the post-exilic community, showing how genealogies preserved individual identities.
-
Nehemiah 7:54
the children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,
The repetition of this name in Nehemiah confirms the accuracy and importance of maintaining records for those who returned to Jerusalem.