🔼The name Zemarite: Summary
- Meaning
- Wooly
- Etymology
- From the noun צמר (semer), wool.
🔼The name Zemarite in the Bible
🔼Etymology of the name Zemarite
It's unclear where the name Zemarite comes from, although BDB Theological Dictionary seems to insinuate that it's a transliteration of the Assyrian name Simirra. NOBSE Study Bible Name List dares to make no suggestion. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names devotes no space to the name Zemarite but refers to the name Zemaraim (Joshua 18:22), and hunting for a meaning declares the existence of an unused root צמר that exists in Arabic as a verb meaning to cut off. Hence, says Jones, Zemaraim means Two Cuttings Off.
To a Hebrew audience, however, the name Zemarite looks very much like it was derived from unused and assumed root צמר (smr):
צמר
It's not clear what the unused verb צמר (samar) might have meant but noun צמר (semer) means wool and noun צמרת (sammeret) describes the top of a particularly wooly tree (or so it's assumed).
🔼Zemarite meaning
To a Hebrew audience, the Zemarites were the Wooly Boys.