🔼The name Archite: Summary
- Meaning
- Long
- Etymology
- From the verb ארך ('arak), to be long.
🔼The name Archite in the Bible
The Archites are mentioned just once in the Bible. They were a Canaanite tribe that lived close to Anathoth, Bethel and Luz, which were assigned to the tribe of Joseph (Joshua 16:2). The name Archite looks strikingly similar to how someone from the city of Erech (ארך) would be described, but Erech was a city in Babylon.
There's one famous Archite in the Bible. His name is Hushai the Archite, and he was a counselor and friend of king David (2 Samuel 15:37, 1 Chronicles 27:33), and he was instrumental in bringing the insurrection of Absalom to a grinding halt (2 Samuel 17:14).
🔼Etymology of the name Archite
A Hebrew audience would undoubtedly link the name Archite to the verb ארך ('arak), meaning to be long:
ארך
The verb ארך ('arak) means to be long or to prolong. Noun ארך ('orek) means length. Adjectives ארך ('arek) and ארך ('arok) mean long. Noun ארוכה ('aruka) refers to a lengthy period of healing or restoration.
The name Archite looks very much like an ethnonym; a word that describes where someone belongs. But in Hebrew, an ethnonym is an adjective. Hence it's not clear whether Hushai was someone from a place called Arach or Erech, or whether he was so tall that people named him Long Hushai.
🔼Archite meaning
For a meaning of the name Archite, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads The Long. Neither Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names nor BDB Theological Dictionary translates this name.