Hashem is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Hashem is named in 1 Chronicles 11:34 as “the Gizonite,” and he appears in the record of David’s mighty warriors—the elite fighting men who gathered to David and helped establish him as king over Israel. The chapter opens by describing those who came to David at Hebron, and then catalogs the leading warriors and the thirty chiefs who served alongside the famous “three.” Hashem is listed among these thirty, the inner circle of David’s most trusted and capable soldiers.
The text tells us very little about Hashem personally. We are not given his father’s name, his tribe, or any single deed he performed. He is identified only by the place-name attached to him, “the Gizonite,” which suggests he came from a town or clan called Gizah or something similar. What Scripture preserves is simply his name on the roll: “The sons of Hashem the Gizonite.” Notably, the wording indicates that Hashem’s sons are also mentioned here, suggesting that his household, and not only he himself, was counted among David’s supporters.
What Hashem did is implied rather than narrated. To be numbered among the thirty was to have proven oneself in battle, to have shown loyalty to David during the years of his rise, and to have been counted worthy of standing beside men like Benaiah and Asahel. He did not merely live in David’s era; he gave himself to David’s cause. The Bible does not record a single exploit of his, yet it records his name—and that is what Scripture chose to preserve of him.
The Name
The name Hashem is a Hebrew name, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the text or from standard Hebrew lexicons. Some readers have connected it to a Hebrew root suggesting “fatness” or “richness,” but this is not a well-established identification, and the name may instead be a shortened form or a variant of another name. Because the Scriptures give no interpretation of the name and the etymology is uncertain, it is best to say plainly that the meaning of Hashem is not known with confidence. What matters for the entry is not the meaning of his name but the fact that his name is written in the record of the faithful.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never have our deeds recorded in a book. Hashem’s entire legacy in Scripture is a single line—a name on a list. Yet that list was the roll of those who stood with David when it mattered. There is a quiet encouragement here: God does not require that our lives be famous to be remembered by Him. Faithfulness in obscurity is still faithfulness. Hashem served, fought, and gave his household to a cause greater than himself, and the Holy Spirit saw fit to keep his name. He is a reminder that heaven’s records are more complete than earth’s.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Chronicles 11:34 — The sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shage the Hararite,