Chelluh is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Chelluh was a man of Israel who lived during the period after the Babylonian exile, when a remnant of the people had returned to Jerusalem and Judah under the leadership of Ezra the priest and scribe. He is mentioned by name only once in all of Scripture, in the list of men recorded in Ezra 10 who had taken foreign wives from the peoples of the surrounding nations—a practice that violated the covenant God had made with Israel and that threatened to draw His people back into the idolatry from which He had just delivered them.
The setting of Chelluh’s appearance is a solemn assembly in Jerusalem. After Ezra learned that the returned exiles, including priests and Levites, had intermarried with the Canaanite, Ammonite, Moabite, Egyptian, and Amorite peoples, he tore his garment, fell on his knees, and confessed the sin of the nation before God. The people trembled at his words and entered into a covenant to put away their foreign wives and the children born to them, in order to turn back from their transgression. Chelluh is named among those who had committed this sin and who were therefore required to send their foreign wives away.
Scripture records nothing else about Chelluh—no genealogy, no tribe, no office, no later faithfulness or failure. He appears in Ezra 10:35 in a list alongside Benaiah and Bedeiah, one of a number of men whose names are preserved simply because they were counted among the offenders in this matter. What is said of him is that he had married a foreign wife and was among those who obeyed the decree to separate from them.
The Name
The name Chelluh (Hebrew *Kallu* or *Cheluh*) is rare and its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the Hebrew text. Some have suggested a connection to a root meaning “perfection” or “completion,” but this is uncertain and not well established. Because the name appears only once in Scripture and its etymology cannot be confidently determined, it is best to say plainly that the meaning of this name is not known with any certainty.
A Closing Thought
Chelluh’s story is brief and unflattering, yet it is a story of obedience after failure. He had sinned by marrying a foreign wife, but when confronted with God’s Word through Ezra, he did not harden his heart—he sent her away, at no small personal cost, because he feared the Lord more than he feared grief. His name, otherwise forgotten, stands as a witness that repentance is never wasted. God does not require a spotless past; He requires a humble present. Even a single verse can testify that a man turned back to God.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Ezra 10:35 — Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,