NAAM
salvation not only remained a secret hidden throughout
the ages before the life and death of Christ (Rom. 1625).
it remains so for unbelievers to this d a y ; and many
details connected with it, such as the problem of the
hardening of Israel, are hidden even from believers for
the most part (Roni. 1125) ; he who by the spirit of God
has become acquainted with them must exercise prudence
in communicating the gnosis thus gained; he must
impart it only to such ns are ' perfect ' ( I Cor. 2 6 8 ) , t o
those who from being tabes in Christ have grown u p
to be veritably spiritual men ( 3 1 ) , and instead of milk
can endure strong food (32 ; see GNOSIS).
Lightfoot 1 justly observes that the apostle has borrowed from
the terminology of the ancient mysteries not only the word
'mystery' ( p u r r r ~ p r o v ) but also 'perfect' (r&iac Col. 128),
'instructed' &urirrBar,'Phil. 4 12) 'sealed' (rr+pay&Bar Eph.
113); the references could be mhtiplied, and at least ;ne ex;
pression added to the list--'present you ai a pure virgin
( r a p a o n j r r a L +p& rap8Cvov iymjv)of ?Cor. 112. It does not
seem, however, to the present writer that in making use of these
figures Paul is deliberately uttering a paradox, i n so far as what
elsewhere W ~ called F a mystery was kept closely confined to a
narrow circle, whilst the Christian mysteries are freely imparted
to all. True, Paul had the desire to bring the gospel to all,
and that no one should be left outside in the darkness ; but for
the terrible chasm between his ideal and the reality he consoles
himself like Philo with the lofty feeling of belonging to a com-
munity, small, indeed, but possessed of unutterable secrets ; and
just as he is still a gnostic, though confessing the imperfection
and transitoriness of his gnosis as compared with that of the
corning age, so he is not without a real intention-to be explained
by the current tendencies of his time-of still maintaining 'the
N
NAAM (Pp!, ' pleasant ' ? NOOM [BLIP N&&M [A]),
a son of Caleb and brother of nhm+y--i.e., bans.
Jerahmeel ( D and y confounded), I Ch. 4 15f: I n I Ch.
4 19 we meet with Naham, and in Gen. 36 13 with Nahath ;
the three clan-names may have the same origin. See
N AAMAN i., end. T. K. C.
NAAMAH (nQqJ,'pleasant,' 67). I. Daughter
of Lamech, Gen. 4 2 2 (vocpu [AE], +pa [L] ; vuupu Jos. ;
Noema. cod. Am. Noemnu). See CAINITES,§ 9 #n. 4 ,
but observe that if ' Lamech ' is really a mutilated form
of ' Jerahmeel,' ' Naamah' is probably a clan-name (cp
NAAMAH ii. ).
2. An Ammonitess, mother of Rehoboam, I K. 1421 31
(pcaaxay [B], vaafia [A], vaava [L]. Nuamn; in 5 3 1
6"'omits clause), z Ch. 12 13 (vooppa [BA], vaapa [L] ;
Nuamn). It is questioned whether ' Ammonitess ' is not
d u e to a scribe's error ; Naamah may have been the true
name of the ' Shunammite ' ( I K. 13). See R EHOBOAM,
S HULAMMITE . T. K. C.
NAABIAE (71?222), a town in the lowland of Judah,
Josh. 1 5 4 1 (vwpav [B], v w p a [A], vopa [Id]). 6"
suggests Naaman, and this we might identify with
N(u)mBna or with NBmHna in the name-list of Thotmes
111. (nos. 83f:; RPi"),549), which Maspero and
Tomkins connect with Der Na'am5n and 'Arak Na'amBn
respectively. The place was certainly in SW. Pales-
tine, and near M AKKEDAH (4.v.). Warren ( P c F 2 4 0 3 )
thinks of Na'aneh, 5 ni. NE. of el-MughBr ; but the
resemblance of the names is slight. T. K . C.
NAAMAN ( ] Q X l J , 'pleasant,' 67, perhaps derived
from a divine name, see ADONIS : Gen. 46 2 1 voepav [ A ] , p o r p .
C U I , voepp. [ L I ; Nu. 2 6 4 0 [+.+I, v o e p a u a [ B I , v o e p a [AI,
-Y [FLI ; I Ch. 8 4, v o o p a [ B l , p a a p a v [AI, vapeL [LI ; v. 7,
voopa [BA], v a a p a v [L] ; the patronymic is Namite, 'pp!, but
Sam. '3~91:Nu. 26 40, voepav[e]r [Ba mg. inf. A F L ] ) . I. A Benja-
mite clan, ,son ' of Benjamin in Gen. 46 ZT [MT], hut of Bela b.
Benjamin in Nu. 2640 [441 I Ch. 84, and in Gen. 46 21 Q5 (see
JQZZ 11108). Possibly to be grouped with the name N AHAMANI
~.
(p.8.) ; cp N A A M .
2. ( N A N M A N [BA], NEEM. [L]), general of the king
1 S f . Paul's E j i s t k s to fhe Cor. and Philenz.P), 1882,
PP. 167.8
3251
NAARAH
idea of secrecy or reserve' in connection with his exposition of
the truths of the gospel.
T h e words, so free from paradox, of Clement of
Alexandria (Protuept.,§ IZO), on the true holy mysteries,
are conceived entirely in the spirit of Paul. T h e
mysteries are not themselves the last word, the thing
which permanently remains ; but it is only through
the mysteries, and through knowledge of them, that
entrance can be gained into the eternal light.
At a later date the sacraments of the Church, especi-
ally Baptism and the L o r d s Supper, came to be com-
5. Later. pared to the ancient mysteries, and, indeed,
the word mystery ultimately came to be
applied exclusively to these ; but not a trace of this is t o
be found in the NT. T h e apostle who in I Cor. 1 1 4 3
so eagerly and joyously affirmed that Christ had sent
him not t o baptize, hut t o preach the Gospel, certainly
did nothing to promote any tendency that may have
existed in his day to regard the sacramental acts of the
Church as in any way resembling certain ceremonies of
initiation observed in heathen mysteries ; with him acts
of worship are never mysteries.
See G. Wobbermin, Religionsgesch. Sfudien . . , eur Frags
der b'teirrflussung des Urchristenthunzs durch das antike
Mysferienwesen 1896; and for the mysteries in general, see
Rkville, La ReL'B Rome sous Zes .S&*&es, 1886, 5 7 ; Cheetham,
The Mysteries, Pagan and Chnsfian, 1897. A . J.
MYTILENE. In N T spelled MITYLENE(4.v.).
of Syria, miraculously healed by Elisha of his leprosy,
z K . 5 (see L EPROSY). W e hear of his successes as
leader of the Aramzan troops (v.I ) ; of his easily ruffled
temper (v. I I J ) ; of his deference to wise counsel even
when offered by subordinates ( v . r 3 J ) ; of his gratitude
to Elisha (vv.15 23) ; and of his new-born conviction
that there was no god worthy of the name in all the
world but Yahwe (v. 15). Being compelled officially to
visit the temple of R IMMON (p.v.), and there to prostrate
himself, he asks indulgence of Yahwe's prophet. His
private worship shall be reserved for Yahwe, and since
Yahwe is specially the god of Canaan, he begs that he
may take home two mules' burden of earth, that h e
may offer sacrifices to Yahwe on Canaanitish soil.
Elisha, with his ' G o in peace,' implicitly grants his
request, and, according to EV, he departed &m him
(Elisha) a little way' (v.19). This, however, is a poor
close of the section. T h e text is corrupt (cp Klo.),
and the right reading seems to be 'with a possession
of. Israelitish earth. ' That Naanian journeyed home
with his mules' burdens, the narrator certainly meant
to say.
The supposed word nil3 is reaily non-existent (on Gen. 35 16
487, see RACHHI.). 65" reproduces it as 8+paBa; @L as
~ a , 6 p a B a ; @A has in v. 19, x a i d r ~ h 8 r vdr' aGro6 dab ric
IrrfppqA. The latkr reading cannot be entirely right ; hut ' land
of arael' is a contribution to the probably true reading, which
we take to be !x,O@;Y?? n!??? hK3 p>:>. Klo., less probably,
' W , p ~ 133 p i n m p$;>, 'and he carried away from him about
a "cor" of (lit. out of) the earth of Israel.' It is not surprising
that &5L seeks to soften the shock to the reader of v . 18 by
r p o u ~ u v j r r m+a a i r $ ;y& rai ~ ~ p i rTt$) Be+ pov. T. K . C.
NAAMATHITE ('npg!), Job 211 etc. See ZOPHAR.
NAAMITE ('Pgg),Nu. 2640. See N AAMAN , I.
NAARAH (nV?, cp M AARATH in S. Judah or
NAARATH?N O O P ~[A]. NOEP. [Ll, & ~ A [B, A with d for
7-]),l and Helah, wives of Tekoa (cp also Coz), appar-
ently the names of two JudaJan clan-divisions ( I Ch. 4 5
J t ) . On the names of their ' children' (which in some
1 On the whole it is less likely that a o S a represents H EL A H
(q.".). @ B seems to have placed Naarah d ~ f o ~ Helah
e in .'7 5
(awSa IC. Boa8a) to agree with their order in v. 6f. ; at the end of
n. 6 B* seems to have read rw8ar.
3252
 NAARAH
cases have affinities with S. JudiEan names), see E THNAN ,
ZERETH. HAAIIASHTARI, and cp 'I'EKOA.
NAARAH (77?>),Josh. 167 R V , AV NAARATH
(q.7'. ).
NAARAI (W>, 79 ; rather WJ,' my lad ' [Nold.] ;
vaapac [BUI, voopa [A], v a p a ~[L]), one of David's ' thirty'([ Ch.
11j,), see P AARAI .
NAARAN ( ] V I )I ,Ch. f 2 8 . See N AAKATH , end.
NABRATE, RV N AARAH (7cT.U, L e . , ' t o Naarah.'
n'7;>!, a point on the boundary between EPHRAIM ably attached to the person of the sheikh; but since
[4.v., 111 and Manasseh; Josh.167 ( A I KWMAI
AYTWN [B], i . e . , O'nl-tl, interpreted like c'nJ3 [cp,
e.f., I Ch. 7281; N A A p A e A KAl A I K W M A I A Y T W N [AI,
A I K. by. K A l €IC A N A p A e A LL13 Y a P a t h and $ i g i r
[Pesh.]). Identified by Jer. and Eus. with the Nuornth
or 13oopa6' of their day ( = t h e Neara of Jos. A n t . xvii.
131 ; cp J ERICHO , 7 ) , a village within 5 m. of Jericho
(OS283111 4 2 2 1 ) , perhaps the Kh. el-'Aujeh, 6 m. N.
of Jericho in the plain. So Conder. PEF, Jan. 1877,
p. 27. GuCrin. however (Sam.l z o ~ f i ) .places it by the
' A i n Simieh in the W. el-'Aujeh, about 7 m. NW. of
Jericho, where there are ancient remains and con-
siderable traces of water-works. I n I C ~ 7.2 8 the name
appears as Naaran ( u a a p u a u [B], v a a p a u [A], u o a p a u [L],
Pesh. om.). C p Neub. Gdogr. 163.
NAASHON (IidnJ), Ex. 623 AV, RV N AHSHON .
NAASSON (NAACCUN [Ti. WH]), Mt. 1 4 Lk. 332
AV, RV NAHSHON (4.v.).
NAATHUS, one of the sons of ADDI (4.v.) in I Esd.
9 3 1 ( h A 8 O C [B], N A A e . ~ L]). The
[A], € A N A Or C i h i [?
name is perhaps a transposed form of Adna (Ezra 1031).
NABAL (522; NAB&),), ' a man in Maon, whose
business was in Carmel,' rich in sheep and goats, the
first husband of Abigail ( I S. 2 5 3 8 ) . ' As
*'
'
Story in his name is, so is he,' says Abigail, play-
s'26' ing upon his name, which might mean
' fool ' (N A ME S , § 67) or perhaps rather ' shamelessly
immoral ' (11 5 y h n OW, TJ. 25 ; cp B ELIAL , FOOL). T h e
nebiZi ( - h i ) , or ' shameless impropriety,' ascribed to
Nabal (v.25), consisted in his exclusion of David and
David's men, who had conferred benefits on Nabal,
from the traditionally binding hospitalities of the sheep-
shearing,$s if they were outlaws, men deprived of the
protection of their class, worse off even than ' sojourners.'
David on his side had claimed (not improbably) to be
Nabal's ' brother ' (v.6 . reading ? .,! with We., Dr.,
Bu. ; cp Vg., Klo.) ; both, in fact, it is possible, were
Calebites.'
The story of Nabal is graphically told ; but it is not
on that account to be accepted as literally true.
We receive gratefully the picture of the better side of a free-
hooter's life, and of the delicate, tactful character of a Hehrew
woman of the higher clzss. T h e 'son of Belial,' however, who
is so violent that his own people scarcely dare to speak t o him
and who holds a feast 'like the feast of a king,' a t which h i
drinks t o excess, while mischief (as h e must know) i s brewing
against him, and who hecomes 'like a stone' when he hears of
the danger which his wife has suimounted for him, till, ten days
after: a divine stroke falls upon him, and h e dies is n masterpiece
of Oriental romance, in which it is not impossible that there are
some features ultimately derived from primitive mythology (see
P 2).
This, hcwever, may be historical-that David obtained
the territory of a rich man of Maon (doubtless the chief
of the tribe kern] dwelling there) by marrying his wife,
and so himself became a powerful chief. See A BIGAIL ,
ISR.\EL, 14.
Thus the political meaning of the legend of Nabal is
' c p DAVII), $ r , 11. z ; ~ R J A T H - S E P H E R . I n the latter article
David's home is placed conlecturallyat Kirjath-sepher otherwise
called Beth-tur or FIth-el(?). I n I Ch. 245 Maou ("abal was
of Maon) is called the 'father of Beth-zur.'
3253
NABATBANS
snfficiently clcar. T o explain how David effected this
2. Origin fiiaster-stroke of policy, tradition (accord-
ing to U'i. GI2187 J),in producing a
Of legend'legend, borrowed from the famous myth of
the drnnken giant of the sky, whom the Greeks called
OKIONaiid the Hebrews KEstl. The chief or sheikh is
called Nabal ( ' fool '), which is a paraphrase of KSsil.
The tribe over which he ruled was probably, thinks
Winckler. called Habal=Abel, the brother of Kain ( i . e . ,
the Kenites). The theory is brilliant. W e may
do well to admit that some current folk-story was prob-
n h i l (513) and k c s i Z ( $ ~ are
~ ) hardly quite synonymous,
it is better to look for another explanation of ' Nabal.'
It is in accordance with analogy to suppose that ' Kabal '
has been (huniorously) substituted for ' Nadab ' which
occurs as a Calebite name in I Ch. 228 30, close to
' Abihail.' It is probable that Abigail i n the story of
Nabai should rather be Abihail, and that the tribes
(gentes) of Nadab and Abihail wcre united (hence
s Nabal ' - i . e . , Nadab--is called the husband of Abigail
-i.e., Abihail). And plausible as it is to explain 7151
in I S . 2 5 3 ( K r . ) as 'Calebite,' it is a little more proh-
able that ,153 is miswritten for ' m q x , and that in the
original story the passage ran thus, ' Now the name of
the man was Nadab, and he was chief (T@) of Abihail.'
For the convenience of the legend Abihail (Abigail) \\as
transferred, we must suppose, to the sheikhs w-ife. T h e
humour of Nabal's name now becomes still more mani-
fest. Not 'liberal' (Nadab) nor Abihail (popularly
explained, ' strong father? '), but Nabal ( ' reckless,
violent ').
W i t h regard t o the so-called gloss in I S. 25 3, it may he well
t o correct a misapprehension. T h e interpretation, 'and he was
a Calebite' +151 ~ 1 7 1 )is sometimes supported by a reference t o
z S . 3 8 ' A m I a Jbg's head,' which is thought t o allude t o
David; Calebite origin and to the violent, intractable character
of the Calebites (such a s Nabal). This is altogether a mistake,
and so also is the view that 9153 ~ l n is l a gloss to account for
the violence of Nabal b y his being of the dog tribe (cp e, udr [ b ]
d d p . ~ v v r r r d o ) ;see CALER,D OG. Both passages a r e corrupt :
I S. 25 3 is explained above, and in 2 S. 3 8 we should almost
certainlyread thus, nWVN D 3 n h 1Dn -ION '3lK l w ? , 'Am
I the captain of thine army ( 2 S. 24 2), who show sacred loving-
kindness ( 2 S. 9 3). T. K. C.
NABARIAS ( N A B A ~ [ E ~ I A C[BA]), I Esd. 9 4 4 t . A
corrupt name ; see H ASHBADANA (end).
NABATZANS ( NABATAIOI or -TEOI [AKV], ANA-
BATAI [K in 5251, -BATTAIOI [V in 5251, I Macc. ;
NABATAIOI, NABATHNOI [Jos.] ; Nabathitea AV,
Nabathaans R V ) , a well-known Arabian people,
friendly to Judas and Jonathan the Maccabees ( I Macc.
5 2 5 935). In I Macc. 5 2 5 the Nabatzeans are met with
in the desert, three days' journey beyond Jordan ; in
I Macc. 9 3 5 , not far from Medeba. in the N. of Moab.
In the time of Josephus ( A n t . i. 1 2 4 ; cp Jer. Qu. in Gen.
25) their settlements gave the name of Nabatene to the
borderland between Syria and Arabia from the Euphrates
to the Red Sea. The language of Josephus suggests,
and Jerome, apparently following him, directly affirms,
that the name is identical with that of the Ishinaelite
tribe of Nebaioth (see I SHMAEL , $ 4). This view has
been widely adopted, but is phonetically difficult,' the
name Nabatzean being properly spelt with f not t ( l a x )
in the inscriptions (Arabic it'abnt, A'ubit, etc. ).
The history of this remarkable people cannot with
certainty be carried back bej-ond 312 H.c., at \z hich date
Athenzus the general of Antigonus, and after him
Antigonus's son Demetrius, in vain attempted their
subjugation (cp SFLA). At that time they already occu-
pied the old country of the Edomites. How long they
had been there, \ve know not. W e may be certain.
however, that the beginning of their migration from their
1 [ W e can hardly say 'phoneticnlly inadmissible,,', the inter-
change of s and n being not unexampled (see Lag. Uhrrs. g r n.,
Huhl, Edomife?, 52. n. 6). T h e K'ohaiti or Kabaiati of the Ass.
inscriptions=nq> (Schr. l i c F IO+).]
3254
 NABOTH
earlier home in the wilderness synchronised with the first
Edomitish incursions into southern Judah, occasioned
by the humiliation of the Jews by Nebuchadrezzar. Its
closing stage is referred to by the Jewish prophet Malachi
(1I-s), who regards it as the just punishment of Edomitish
wickedness (the wickedness of occupying the soil of
Judah).' As a consequence of this change of abodes
the Nabatzeans became masters of the shores of the
Gulf of 'Akaba and the important harbour of Elath (cp
Agatharchides, Gees. Gr. Min. 1178).
The Nabataeans have already some tincture of foreign
civilisation when they first appear in history. Though
true Arabs (as the proper names on their inscriptions
show), they came under the influence of Aramzean
culture. Naturally, therefore, Syriac was the language
of their coins and inscriptions,2when the tribe grew into
a kingdom and profited by the decay of the Seleucids
to extend itself over the country E. of the Jordan. They
occupied HaurBn, and about 85 R. c. their king A RETAS
(p...) became lord of Damascus and C OELESYRIA ( q . ~ . ) .
Allies of the first Hasmonsans in their struggles against
the Greeks, they became the rivals of the JudEan dynasty
in the period of its splendour, and a chief element in the
disorders which invited the Roman intervention in Pales-
tine in 65-64 B.C. T h e Nabatzeans had to give up
Damascus ; but as ' allies' of the Romans they continued
to flourish throughout the first Christian century. Petra
their capital became a great commercial centre, which
was, however, reduced in the time of Trajan when he,
most unn-isely, broke up the Nabaman nationality (about
105 A.D.). See A RABIA , § 3, D AMASCUS , § 13, ISH-
MAEL, § 4.
For the inscriptions and coins of the Nabatieans see D e
Luynes, Rev. Numisnz., 1858 ; Levy, ZDMG 14 363 I:; D e
Vogue MdZ. ZArck. Or., 1868 ; Syrie Centrale 1866-77. and
Znscr. kidtiques, 1868-77 ; Euting, N d . Znschj. aus Ar&n
with excursus by Gutschmid on the Nabatzan kin s also Niild!
ZDMG 17 705J 25 122J, Sen& Sprachen, 31 ; &aier, Skizze,
2418. See also Niild. ' Nabataer' in Schenkel's BL, and F. H .
Vincent, ' Les Nabateens,' Reu. 6i6Ziquc,7 [18981 567.588.
W. R. S.-T. K. C.
NABOTH (n\& 'height,' § 74, but cp NEBAT;
N A 6 O y e A l [BAL], -e&[A* 1 K. 2 1 3 1 ; iVa6ufheus), the
owner of a ' field ' near Jezreel, or of a ' vineyard ' near
Ahab's palace ( ? i n Samaria), whose story and its sequel
are told in I K. 21 I JE 2 K. 921 25 J t Cp E LI J AH ,
5 3, and, on the criticism of the passages, K INGS , 8 8,
also A HAB , 5 2 , n. 3.
NABUCHODONOSOB ( N A B O ~ X O A O N O C O ~[BAL]),
I Esd. 1 4 0 = 2 Ch. 3 6 6 , N EBUCHADNEZZAR ; see NEBU-
CHADREZZAR.
NACHON, RV Nacon (IiX). According to 2 S. 66
it was at the threshing-floor of Nachon that Uzzah was
smitten for putting forth his hand to the ark.
The Gk. has voSaj3 [Bl oSap [Bbl vaxwv [AI, opva TOG I@u-
2j.
r a i o u [L], xeiGov [Jos. Ant. vii. 4 The translations of Aq.
(&s &wos ~ T O ~ ~ U )andS) Pesh. yield no sense, and involve a
questionable use of 11J] (cp Dr. ad Zoc.).
I t is evident that some proper name or closer desig-
nation of the ' threshing floor ' (cp, e.&, Gen. 50 IO) lies
at the bottom of the M T reading. T h e parallel passage
I Ch. 1 3 9 has CHIDON (ii'? ; x d G [A]> om. BK,x d w v ceivable, however, that P himself borrowed the names
[L]). which may be a corruption of 7121 ( ~ l ~ ~ ~ l J ~ / l For
cp We. TBS 168). @+'s identification is ' a n evident
correction intended to make the ark select its permanent
abode thus early ' ( H . P. Smith) ; but it may conceivably
rest upon an old tradition.
Nik&z, p;, recurs as the corruption of some place-
name in I s.26r3 (cp RV". ' t o a set place'). T h e
readings of BA (Prorpos PK K E e A a , a doublet ; cp We. )
1 [See Gratz, MGWJ, 1875~ pp. 6 0 f i ; Che. Propl. Zs.1194 ; on their fire-pans and offered ' strange fire,' and were
Zntr. Is 2 7 1 . Z A TW 1894 142 ; 3BL, 1898, p. 207 ; We.
Dic kZ. kropb.W, 2 1 3 3 ; ZJ& 147; Buhl, Edomiter, 7 9 ; and
es ecially Torrey, JBL, 1898, pp. 16fiI
See A RAMAIC LANGUAGE, $ 4.
3 fiJ? in I S. 23 23 ( R V w . 'to a set place'; B A L s k ~ ~ T O C ~ O V ) T r d . Exod. 96), and the genera! consent of critics, with, how-
occurs in a clause which @E omits and is an obvious gloss; cp
Wellhausen, Bu., SBOT. It may)come from 264.
3255
NADAB AND ABIHU
and of bL ( d a h aCroD cis umehay ; cp w. 36) show
how apparent the difficulty was to the translators. I t is
possible that ndkan, pi, is a corruption from mi'in,
pyp, based on 23256, and that the clause is an addition
(cp 46 with 36). H. P. Smith suggests in32 h, ' to the
point just before him.' S. A. C.
NACHOR (lin?,Josh. 242, NAXUP Lk. 3 3 4 ) , AV,
RV N AHOR .
NADAB (z??,according to most scholars, shortened
from JEHONADAB or N EDABIAH ; but the common
origin of all these forms seems to be the ethnic Nadabu
[see N O D A B ] ; Jehonadab and Nedabiah represent '373
'a Nadabite,' and similarly Abinadab and Amminadab
represent 03'13,Nadbam [Che.] ; NAAAB [BKFAL]).
I . Son of Aaron (Ex. 6 23, asap [B"], 24 I , 6dap [F], 28 I etc.),
see N A D A B A N D ABIHU, and note that Abihu, like Nadahiprob.
ably represents an ethnic (apiouS= Jerahmeel [Che.]).
2 Son of Jeroboam, king of Israel, slain by BAASHA(q.~.)
whilst besieging Gibbethon ( I K. 1420, om. BL, vnj3ar [AI; 1525
8 ,v a p d [el,vapar [Ba.b zru. 25 27 and B in 2% 311, vaj3a8 [A
w. 271). See C HRONOLOGY , 8 32 ; I SRAEL , 5 29.
3. A Jerahmeelite ( I Ch. 22830).
4. Son of Jeiel in a genealogy of BENJAMIN (q.v., g 9, ii. e),
I Ch. 8 3 0 (aSd [B], 936). See JQR 11 110.112, 8s IO$, also
KISH,N ER .
NADAB AND ABIHU (K4;1'38! 312;on the names
see above, and A BIHU ), the two eldest sons of Aaron,
T h e names occur in Ex. 2 4 1 , and, although the origin
of the passage to which this verse belongs has been
much disputed, we may with a fair measure of confi-
dence attribute it to the Yahwist. whose narrative,
if we assume the results of criticism, is to this effect.'
Whereas the Elohist makes the Israelites tremble at
the thought of approach to God, the Yahwist represents
Yahwk as bidding Moses take precautions against their
overweening confidence and rash curiosity. The people
are to be kept back under penalty of death from touch-
ing the mountain; but on the other hand the priests
are to sanctify themselves and ascend Sinai with Moses.
Accordingly Aaron, with Nadab and Abihu and seventy
elders of Israel, accompanies Moses, and, though left
behind by Moses when he receives the revelation of the
'ten words' as given in Ex.34, they see the God of
Israel and partake of a covenant meal.
Here we have, a5 marks of the Yahwist's style, the use of the
divine name the mention of Sinai instead of Horeh, the mention
of priests ad in Ex. 19 2 2 and the strong anthropomorphism of
the theophany. With thk the use of El6him in 249-11 is quite
consistent. It is the approach of mortal man to the deity thaf
the narrator desires toaccentuate. The mention of the 'elders
in 24 I may suggest an admixture of documents, for they have
not been mentioned in 19m-25, and they are generally regarded
as indicating the hand of the Elohist (Di. on Exod. 23 : Kue.
$ 8, 14; but see Ex. 3 16-18 in Bacon, 17, 283 ; Comp. Holzinger,
211).
After all, even if 1920-25 2 4 1 2 9 - 1 1 be from the
Yahwist, it is still possible to believe that the names
Nadab and Abihu have been interpolated by an editor
who was familiar with P (so Now. He6. A r c h . 299,
following Jiilicher and Kue.). In that case the names
must have been substituted for a bare mention of the
priests which is requisite after 19 22 24. I t is not incon-
' Nadab and Abihu ' from the Yahwist.
J ~ the
l ~ rest,
, the names Nadab and Abihu occur only
in P-viz. Ex. 6 2 3 281 Lev. 10 Nu. 3 2 4 26605-and in
I Ch. 6 3 [52?] 241 j t They represent an extinct clan
of the Aaronidze, for we are told that they died before
their father and left no issue. P (Lev. 10) character-
istically explains their death as a penalty for trans-
gressing the ritualistic regulations. On the day of
their entrance on the priestly office they laid incense
1 Clearly zru. ~ f and
: 9-11 are connected (Bu. Z A T W 11 233)
and had at first nothing to do with zru. 3-8, which hav;
been interposed from another sonrce. It seems scarcely less
certain that 24 9-11 are the sequel to 19 20-25 (Bacon, Tr$lc
ever, the notable exception of Knenen, sees in this latter passage
the characteristic style of the Yahwist.
3256
 NADABATH
themselves consumed by fire from Yahwe. The ex-
pression ' strange fire ' is enigmatical. Dillniann takes
d;u as equivalent to ~ Z N and , understands an offering
by fire which \'ahwe 'had not commanded,' and which
was not made according to rule. Their brethren were
warned against similar audacity in the rhythmical oracle :
In them that corne near me will I show my holiness,
And before all the people will I manifest my glory.
Their bodies were removed by Mishael and Elzaphan,
Aaron's cousins, and lamentation, in which, however,
the priests were forbidden to share, was made by the
people. W. E. A.
NADABATH, AV Nadabatha (NAhABAe [AI,r A -
BAAAN [HI. NABAhAe [VI. 032 [syr.]. LVi'aduba [l'g.];
JOS. Ant. xiii. 14, NAB&@& [SO Niese, etC., r A B A e A ,
Bee~Njb]), a place E. of Jordan mentioned in connection
with Medeba ( I Macc. 9y),from which the b'ne Janiri
were returning when they were surprised by Jonathan
(see JAMKRI, THE C HILDREN OF). Clermont-Ganneau
(JA, May-June, 1891, pp. 541-543)proposes to read
the name as )a/3aOd (cp axap, e",
Josh. 7 I , for Achan),
and to identify the town with Rabbath Ammon. which is
sometimes written papa0 in d (cp R ABBAH ). This is
ingenious. A direct road connected Rabbath Ammon
and Medeba, and we are told that the bride was ' the
daughter of one of the great princes of Canaan.' A
a great prince ' is more likely to have lived at Rabbath
Ammon than at NEBO (q.a.), with which some have
identified h'adabath. AV"'g. gives ' or, Medcba' (after
Jer.) ; but the bridal party was going, it seems, io
Medeba. W. H. €7.
NAGGE, RV Naggai ( N A r r A l , according to Dalm.
Gvumm. 143, n. 5 , for "33=";113, cp ?I$], NOGAH),
a name in the genealogy of Jesus (Lk. 325). See
GENEALOGIES ii., § 3.
NAHALLAL, rather, as RV, Nahalal, as if ' a
drinking place for flocks' (%?lJ, Josh. 1915, NABAAA
[Bl, NAAAWA [4]. A N A A w e [L] ; 213s. CEAAA [B],
A A M N A [AL]), or Nahalol (5+gJ, Judg. 1 3 0 , A W M A N A
[B], ENAMMAN [ A ; ?=EN AMMAN], A M M A N [L]),
a town in Zebulun, mentioned between Kattath and
Shiinron. I n Talm. J., Meg. 11,it is identified with
Mahlii-;.e., probably Ma'ZziZ, a village W. of Nazareth,
in which view Schwartz, van de Velde, and Guerin
concur; see, however, M ARALAH . A hint may be
gained from 9"at Judg. 130 (see above), which suggests
the regding Dimnah ' instead of ' Nahalal.' These two
place-names are in fact given together in Josh. 21 35. and
the probability is that each name represents a fragment
of Jerahnieel-i.e., h n m . became hi= h, and also
&-,= 3 3 ~ (see
1 DIMNAH). And the question is whether
Marnlah and Nahalal (both from Jerahmeel) do not
mean the same place. Double representation is not
infrequent in the lists of P and Ch. T. K. C.
NAHALIEL (\&ll, as if ' torrent-valley of God ' ;
MANAHA[R], y&NA[NA]HA[Ba.bvid.; theminthesetwo
forms representing the previous preposition'D], N A A A I H A
[A], N A X A I H A [L]), a station of the Israelites N. of
RAMoI'Ii, Nu. 2119. Conder ( f f c t h nnd Ai'oab, 1 4 1 8 )
and G. A. Smith ( H G 561 f.)identify it with the W i d y
Zeevkd Ai'[iin (famous for its hot springs) ; hut cp Oort,
Th. T , 1885, p. 247. Probably, however, Nahaliel is a
corruption of Jerahmeel (cp NAHALAL) ; the test should
run ' And from there to Beer-jerahmeel, and from Reer-
jernhmeel to Ramoth.' Ramoth was near ' t h e Pisgah,'
and both, according to the original story, seem to have
been in the Jerahnieelite highlands. See B EER ; NEBO,
MOUNT, § 2 ; ?VfOSES, 16 ; WANDERINGS.
According to Conder ( K e f Land Moa6, 1.c.) 'the valley in the
land of Rloah, over against Bethpeor,' in which Yahwk (1)) buried
Moses (Dt. 34 6) was probably Nahaliel, ' God's valley' !
T. K. C.
N m M (Dn> ; N A X E e [Bl, -XeM [*419 NAOyM [LIS
3257
NAHOR
a Judahite ( I Ch.419). See NAAM,NAHATH. A
connection with M ANAHATH may be suspected. See
also NAHUM,NEHEMIAH.
NAHAMANI ('3Dn3, I . T . : 6- 62),
. a leader in the great post-
exilic list (E ZRA ii., (I 8e, 9), Keh. 7 7 (uarpav[elr [BAL vaapp.
[XI, vaip. [Ll; cp R AAMIAH , end) II Ezra 2 2 omits (but
vcpavr) = I Esd. 5 8 ENENIUS, R v ' EYENEUS (fWuroS [EA],
pacarvaprvroq [Bab nip.], vcpavr [L] ; e~z?manius[Vg.]). cp
NAAMAS.
NAHARAI ('TI2 in 2 S., '?nJ in I Ch.), a Beerothite
(see B B E R o T I i i.), Joab's armourhearer, z s . 2 3 3 7 RV, AV
Naharil (ycXwpa [EA], apara [Ll), I Ch. 11 39 (vaxwp [EN],
vaapar L.41, voapai [Ll).
NAHASH, CITY OF (ls'c?l'?), I Ch. 412 EVmg.,
EV I R - NAHASH .
NAHASH (d?!, serpent,' § 68 ; NAAC [BKAL]).
I. An Ammonite king in the time of Saul ( I S. 111J;
cp 1212).
The present writer sees reason to think that, as in some other
passages ' Ammon ' is misread fsr ' Amalek,' and that ' Jabesh;
gilead' ihould he 'Beth-gilgal. 'Amalek' and ' Jerahmeel
are ultiniately the same name. 'Nahash' (see 2) was perhaps
the king of Kehohoth. The principal family of Rehohothites
bore the name Nahash or rather, as one should probably read,
Achish ; cp I S. 21 I I etc. I K. 2 3 9 3 , where nj, as often, is mis-
written for n[>]n[-,-i.e., Rehohoth. See SAUL, s I .
2. An Ammonite king, the father of H A N U N2, S.
102 I Ch. 192 (avas [B]). The statement that he had
' shown kindness ' to David has been much discussed.
The ' kindness ' cannot have been passed over in the
records, and yet where does the traditional text mention
it ? The conjectures offered by Thenius and others are
of no weight.
The text may contain some corruptions. '4mmon' should
probably be ' Amalek ' and ' Jerryho ' (v. 5 ) should be ' Jerah-
meel'-i.e. Carmel in Judnh. Achish king of Gath'-i.e.,
Nahash k&g of Rehohoth-is probably the king who 'showed
kindness ' to David. See further, SAUL, f I ; MAACAHi. ;
SHOBACH.
3. The father of Shobi of Rabbath Amnion, 2 S.
1727. T h e passage, however, is very corrupt (see
SHOBI).
4. The name of the first husband of David's mother
(Kohler), or of a second wife of David's father (Thenius),
or of an unknown person ( a Bethlehemite?) who was
Joab's father (We. ZIG('1, 57, n. I ) , 2 S. 1725. But
see ZERUIAH ; there is deep corruption of the text.
Others think that 'Nahash' is a corruption produced by
Nahash' in a. 27, and read 'Jesse' (see ABIGAIL),or, with
Wellhausen ( T B S z o r ; cp Gray, I'fPNgr), omit p n n3
~ as a
corruption of pnj p (2,. 27). This hardly goes far enough.
T. K. C.
NAHATH (nnJ, N A X E e [L]). b. R EUEL ( g . ~ . ) ,
I.
b. Esau ; Gen. 36 13 ( v a x o p [A], v a p 0 [DSi',E],17 v a p 0
[AD], vaxwp [E]), I Ch. 1 3 7 (vaxes [B], v a p 0 [A*].
tvuXe0 [Aa Probably the same as NAHAM [q.~.]
in1Ch.419(We. d e G e n t . 3 8 ) a n d N ~ ~ ~ ( g . v Naam,
.).
Nahath, and Naham are all represented as Jerahnieelites
(Che.).
2. An ancestor of Samuel ( I Ch. 6 26 [II], xaLva0 [BAI, vaae
[L]): cp J AHATH , TAHATH, TOHL',EPHKAIM, $ 12.
3. A Levite overseer (2 Ch. 31 13, pare [E ; see MAHATH, 21,
vare [A], vaae [L]).
NAHBI ('?!2; ~&B[fli[BF], -BA [AI, - B I A [LI.
,vA.w,mr [Vg.]), the Naphtalite spy (Nu. 1314t).
NAHOR(l%l~; N A X W P[BKADEL]), father ofTerah,
and grandfather of Abraham (Gen. 1122-25, P ; cp I Ch.
1 2 6 ) , also represented as T e r a h s son and Abraham's
brother (Gen. 11 26, P ; Josh. 242, redactional insertion).
By Milcah he had eight sons, and by Reumah four more
(Gen. 2 2 2 0 8 ) . Among the former aas BETHUEL (4.a.).
W e also hear of the ' God of Nahor ' (Gen. 31 53, E)
and the 'city of h'nhor' (Gen. 24 10, J). ' Nahor
must, therefore, have filled an extremely important
place in the old Hebrew traditional legends, and the
difficulty of accounting for the name is surprising.
'Once,' says Dillninnn, ' it must have been the name
1 But NAHARAI in AV of 1611 A.D.
3258
 NAHSHON
of a people of some importance’ ; but he grants that
the echoes of the name which some have found (e.g.
Maspero, StruggZe o f t h e Nations, 64) in the name of
the village of Haura in the district of Sarfij (SErfig), or
in that of Haditha en-Naura, to the S. of ‘Ana, are
scarcely probable. It is much more natural to con-
jecture that the name is that of an Aramrean deity
(Jensen, Z A , 1896, p. 300); but the true explanation
is probably to be sought in another direction. Compar-
ing the following clauses from Gen. 24 IO and 27 43 (both
J ) , ‘ H e arose and went to Aram-naharaim. t o the city
of Nahor.’ and ‘Arise, flee thou to Laban my brother,
to Haran,’ we may be inclined to suspect that (in
spite of the h in Naharaim). Naharaim. Nahor, and
Haran are connected, and the considerations offered
under G ALEED may lead us to the conclusion that
D-173, V ~ I ,and p n are all corruptions of p n . I n Gen.
24 IO. Gratz and Ball have already corrected ‘ city of
Nahor ’ into ‘ city of Haran ’; they have thus taken the
first step towards the emendation here proposed. C p
HAKAN. Whether all the phases of the tradition of
Haran and Nahor have thus been recovered is doubtful.
C p J ACOB , 3, and for a further inquiry Crit. Bib.
As a consistent mythologist, Winckler (GI 2 97) makes ‘ Nahor’
originally a form of the sun-god, adopting of course the plausible
view that Milcah means ‘queen (of heaven). T. K. C.
NAHSHON, or, in Ex.623 AV, NAASHON(IidnJ;
N A A [ C ] C ~ N [BKAFL]), b. Amminadab, brother-in-law
of Aaron, and (in Nu., Ch.) ‘prince’ of the tribe of
Judah; also (in Ch., Ruth, Mt.) ancestor of David
(Ex.623Nu.17 [YLIUUWY, B] 2 3 71217 lO141Ch.210f:
Ruth 420 Mt. 1 4 t ) . C p E LISHEBA , J OSHUA .
The name might mean ‘little serpent’ (%$ 68, 77). If how-
ever, a ‘serpent-clan’ is improbable, and if t h e affini;ies of
‘ Nahshon ’ a n d the names grouped with it are N. Arabian, it theOnprophecy
is a reasonable conjecture that Nahshon has arisen, partly by
corruption, partly by expansion, out of D$n (ifm),Husham
(Hushan), an Edomite name in Gen. 3634j: See N UN (end).
T. K. C .
NAHUM (Wl>, 6 2 ; NAOYM [BKAQ]), ‘rich in
comfort, comforter’ [is God]; c p DVl?, VPD and see
Stade, Gram., 5 227). T h e name occurs nowhere else
in O T (o>n], Neh. 77 IS a miswriting for om!, Ezra 22; c p
Neh. 1026); but is found in Phcenician inscriptions
(CIS1,no. 123 ; cp ’an1 in 9 3 5 ; c p A. Jeremias, Beitr.
ZUY Ass. u. sem. Sprachwissensch. 3 [1894], 91).
T h e heading of the book is twofold. T h e first part
is evidently late (note mniid, a n d see I SAIAH ii., 5 9) ; might very well look forward to the success of the revolting
it describes the reference of the prophecy,
1.
and is suggested by 2 8 [9] 37. T h e
second part will become identical in form with the
headings of Isaiah and Obadiah, a n d almost so with
that of Habakkuk in its original form (cp also Am. 1I),
if we regard the opening word sipher ( ~ B D ) , ‘ book,’ as
a late editorial addition. T h e concluding word, ‘the
Elkoshite,’ gives the name of the prophet’s home, which
lay, probably but not certainly, in the southern kingdom
(see ELKOSHITE).
Nahum is mentioned in Tob. 14 4 [t(] Sinaiticus ; but
only as the author of oracles on Nineveh, the fulfilment
2. Date of of which is yet to be expected. Of Nahum’s
prophecy life all that even the Vite Prophefarirm
can tell us IS that his prophetic message
against
Nineveh. was confirmed by the wonder of the fall of
Nineveh, and that h e was buried in his
native place-therefore not in Assyria (see E LKOSHITE).
These statements have no point of contact with history.
It is, however, a safe inference from the book itself that
the decline of Assyria had begun in the prophet’s lifetime.
T h e capture of No-amon (the Egyptian Thebes) was
already past (38f.)), and the capture of Nineveh by
Cyaxares and Nabopolassar was still future when the
prophecy was written. Thus we get both an upper
and a lower limit of date for the composition of the
work. W e have next to ask which capture of
Thebes is intended. T h e Egyptian Thebes was twice
3259
NAHUM
captured by ASUR-BANI-PAL ( Y . v . , I , 3). It is, how-
ever, only the second of these events (about 663 B . c . )
that was a real conquest and corresponds in its details
to the description in Nah. 3 8 8 ( c p the inscription on
the Rassam cylinder translated with parallels by Jensen,
KB 2 160-169; also Schr. K A TP). 4 5 0 8 ) . Wellhausen
(Kl. Proph.(3) 164) objects that the conquest of Thebes
could not be meant, as in that case to the question ’ Art
thou better than No-amon?’ Nineveh might with good
reason reply, ‘ Obviously, for No-amon itself fell before
me.’ I t is, however, as 38f. clearly shows, on ability
to resist an enemy, above all on natural strength of
position and resources, that the comparison rests, and
such a comparison is valid even if Thebes did fall before
the Assyrians. Still, should new monuments bring to
light a conquest of Thebes by some other power at a
more suitable date, a rather improbable supposition, this
would naturally be preferred. It is only if the prophecy
of Nahum had to be assigned a date as near as
possible to the conquest of Thebes by the Assyrians,
that Wellhausen’s objection would have to be allowed
some weight, as in that case the abstract and impersonal
nature of the comparison, and the absence of the taunt
‘ As thou hast done to her, so will others do to thee‘
would certainly he remarkable.
However, the fact that we know of only one imperial city and
one great fortress adapted for Nahum’s comparison by n o nieans
shuts us u p to one of these two alternatives,-(a)to fix t h e date of
his prophecy immediately after 663 (Schr. Kautzsch Wi.) and
(d), if we insist on giving it a later date, t b assume &o a ‘later
capture of Thehes (We.). On the contrary the catastrophe of
the year 663 might very well be referred to e& several decades
later, more particularly if the city ‘never recovered from it
(E. Mey. G A 354 118871).
the other hand, it is intrinsically probable that
belongs to a time moderately near the
actual fall of Nineveh, or a t least when the fall of
the Assyrian power might reasonably be hoped for.
Such a n occasion, indeed, Winckler’ thinks he has
found not long after 663 in the revolt of Samal-gum-
ukin of Babylon against his brother ASur-bHni-pal of
Assyria (see Ah-bani-pal’s account of it, KB 2 1 8 2 8 ;
c p also 31 1 9 4 8 ) , in which many of the vassals of
Assyria, amongst them ‘the West land‘ and thusperhaps
also Manasseh of Judah, took part.
The situation may very well have been for a short time quite
threatening for Abr-hRni-pal a n d a Judzan prophet-whether
his own king were involved id the struggle or not, matters not-
powers. In t h a t case, however, in the opinion of the present
writer t h e prophecy must have been directed rather aeainst the
reigniAg king in his own person than against the capital of his
kingdom. If Aiur-hRni-pal’stwin brother reallysucceeded, what
his success meant was the end of the Babylonian vice-regency
and his own mounting the throne in Nineveh : no one could in
such a case expect a real fall of Nineveh itself from its position as
ruler of the world. Moreover, Nahum’s description does not
read as if Nineveh’s own wbjects or a great confederacy were
marching against it ; on the contrary, t h e reference appears to he
to a single, unnamed, perhaps newly-risen nation, agamst which
Nineveh, like Thehes (3 9), could at first oppose the masses of
its own vassals (29 3 15 d-17).
Glad as we should be, then, to follow Winckler in
using the book of Nahum to impart life to the dreary
days of Manasseh, the intrinsic probabilities of the case
furnish n o support for his ingenious hypothesis. It was
probably only with the death of the powerful AHur-bHni-
pal (626) that Assyria showed any visible decline in
strength. It may have been shortly after this that
Nahum uttered his prophecy, which would thus fall
in the days preceding the first siege of Nineveh by
Cyaxares. Absolute certainty with regard to the date
is unattainable. Nor yet can we be sure whether Nahum
had any definite hostile force in view, whether Mede or
Scythian.
T h e date thus fixed can hardly be applied’ to the
1 A T Usfers. (1892), 7 2 4 ; G?1 (1899, IOI. [So too, hefore
Winckler, Prof. A. R. S. Kennedy, Good Words, Nov. 1891,
P. 743.1
3260
 NAHUM
whole of the book. In chap. 11-2 I 3 Bickell and Gunkel,
3. Date of following up a hint first given by G. Frohn-
rneyer (see Del. on Ps. 9 ) , have discovered
'IF2' an alphabetical acrostic1 The order, it is
true, has been dislocated ; it is seen most clearly down to
.
the letter ' (cp bu [v.I], 3 p [v.31, l Y i 3 [v.41, . . a'??
and N$?! [v. 51, ioy! and i n y [v.61, Xia and pi(!
[a. 7]) ; but no attempted restoration will lead to
adequately certain results. This much at least must
be conceded. however, to Bickell and Gunkel, that
there once was a complete alphabet, and for this at
least the whole of chap. 1 is required. Now, through-
out the whole of this chapter there is no reference to
Nineveh, aud the (better preserved) first part is rather
colourless and academic in tone. What it speaks of is
not a particular but a universal judgment, resting upon
the fundamental laws of the divine government (v.71:).
W e find here an approach, on the one hand, to the
manner of the didactic alphabetical songs of a later age,
and, on the other hand, to that of certain eschatological
and apocalyptic appendices by the insertion of which
the framers of the prophetic canon sought to adapt
other older prophetic books (especially those nearest to
Nahum-viz. Micah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah) to the tastes
of the readers of their own day. This section of Nahum,
therefore, we must, with Gunkel and Bickell, assign to
a late date ; Wellhailsen had already observed, on 1 7 ,
that ' the language of the Psalms here begins to make
its appearance.' The editor of Nahum in this case has
for once prefixed the more generalising supplement to
the ancient oracle, instead of (as was usually done)
making it an appendix ; the reason perhaps being that
Nahum's genuine prophecy had already been mutilated
a t the beginning. H e did not, however, make the
supplement himself; he found it among materials
already before him ; he himself attached no importance
to its alphabetical form, and in its closing portion he
obliterated this in the course of a revision which from
o. 12 onwards is clearly designed to form a transition
leadiug up to the special subject of the divine judgment.
W e cannot hope, therefore, that any attempt a t restora-
tion can be rewarded with full success.
T h e prophecy against Nineveh as we now have it
begins with 2 2 , immediately followed by v. 4 (cp We.).
4$:iz2ntf 24-11 (on the text of v.4 see S TEEL)
predicts vividly and picturesquely the
prophecy of assault upon Nineveh (which is named
in v. 9), the capture and sack of the
Nahum. city. Verses 12-14 contain an oracle
of Yahwb against the king of Assyria, who is likened
to a lion seeking its prey (in v. 14 read with Buhl and
Wellhausen niasc. suffixes of the 2nd pers.). 31-7
again prophesies war, desolation, and the deepest
humiliation for Xineveh (named in v. 7) as punishments
for its deeds of violence and treachery. Verses 8-11
(not necessarily the beginning of a new section) justify
the prophecy by reference to the similar fate of the
Egyptian Thebes (see N o ) ; ZIZ. 12-14, again, contain
very vivid touches drawn from incidents of the war,
especially the defence by the besieged ; vv. 156-17 picture
the melting away of the Ninevite forces by comparing
them with swarms of locusts vanishing as quickly as
they have come. Finally, zru. 18f: are addressed to the
king of Assyria after his power has fallen to ruin.
Thus the entire prophecy of Nahum admits of division
into three sections, each of which may perhaps have
originally been a separate prophecy :-Zz 4-11 212-143.
The last of these is possibly made up of several pieces.
Billerbeck (a?. Jeremias, as above) proposes to introduce
312-15a (2111) after 24 so as to bring together in one
1 Cp Z A T W , 1893, pp. 2 2 3 8 ; SWA W, Phil.-hisf. Classe,
1315, 1894; Gunkel, .SckdfJ u. Chaos (1895), 102. Further
attempts are made by Nowack, Kleine Profheten, 1897, and 0.
Happel, Der Psahn Nahum, 1900. See also G. B. Gray
Exjos.. Sept. 1898 ; Cheyne, i6. Oct. 1898 (who contribute fresd
suggestions) ; W. R. Arnold, ZATW, 1901,pp. zn5-265.
3261
NAHUM
place the descriptions of mar and siege u-ith the effect
of enriching them ; but this is surely quite unnecessary.
All the pieces in questiou, by their similarity of spirit,
as well as by the richness of fancy aud power of
5. Possible poetical representation which they exhibit
restoration in common, declare themselves as a \vhole
to be the work of a single writer who in
of text. 1I is designated as Nahum of El!+h or
Elkeshg (see ELKOSHITE, 6). In details we are left un-
certain as to what re;rlly ought to be assigned to the
author, by many corruptions of the text. The un-
usual difliculty of the book arises from the same cause,
i n part at least. The corruption is of ancient date, for
d gives but little he1p.l Valuable contributions towards
a restoration have recently beeri made by Huh1 (%AT W
5179 i'J [1885]). and still more by Wellhausen (KZ.
P~oph.:~J) ; on chap. 1, compare also Bickell and Gunkel
[see note, col. 3259; also, on chaps. 1 1 2 - 2 1 4 and
chaps. 2 3 , Ruben's articles cited at end of article].
Much, however, still remains to be done.2 [Ruben has
also restored the text of chap. 3 ; but his results are
still unpublished. He has succeeded in emending the
impossible 7 ~ 1 of 0 3 17, as pointed out in SBO T o n Is.
33 18 ; Cp SCRIBE.]
It WRS indicated by the writer of the present article,
as far back as 1882,that in chaps. 2 and 3 there occur
occasional examples of the &mi or elegiac
6. verse-the halting verse with two members,
a shorter and a longer. Two such verses are found in
2 2 , one in v. 7, two in v. 9 ( a s restored), tu-o in v. 1 1 ,
with a supernumerary member, two in o. 13, two in
3 8 (as restored), four in v. J I f.,three in ZI. 14 q a , five
in ZI. 18f. (delete ~ 5 iny v. 19). Are we to suppose that
the 'elegiac' metre w-as still more prominent in the
original text, and that therefore the attempt to recover
this text must include the search for 'elegiac' verses
(cp New GVorZd, 1893,pp. 46&), textual criticism being
thus supplied at once with a standard and an instru-
ment? In some cases this question must be answered
affirmatively. Thus, 212 cannot possibly have had a
different metre from vv. 11 13 ; 3 9 I O 13 were of course
constructed on the same model as 3 8 I T TZ 74 15a and
still show unmistakable traces that this was the case ; the
same assumption is very natural for 2 8 and 210. To
apply this method further is tempting, but not free
from risk. If the description in 31-7 and in the (closely
related) threatening in 214 [13] w'ere originally written
in 'elegiac verse,' their present form shows that they
must have been greatly modified by an editor. This is
also the only portion of the prophecy against Ninereh
which contains the divine name (214 [13] 3 5 ) , and which
has a certain theological colouring, reminding one of
Ezekiel : elsewhere the prophet expresses simple human
indignation at Nineveh's violent deeds, and describes
war as if it were a natural phenomenon-a storm which
no one thinks of seeking to explain.
Besides the commentaries on the Minor Prophets and the
articles, etc., quoted above, see 0. Strauss, Nahurrri de Nino
Vaticbium 1853' A. B. Davidson Kahum
7. Literature. Habakkuk, k Z j j h a n i a h , 1896; billerbecc
and A. Jeremias, Der Untergang Ninevehs
u. die Weissagungsschrift des Nahum von Elkosch,' in Bcitr.
1 Cp Vollers, Das Dodrkajrofh. der A l a . I., Berlin, 1880;
Schuurmans Stekhoven, De akzandrijwche vertaliog wan het
Dodekujrofheton, Leiden, 1887.
2 In 28 the word siv, 'queen,' seems to have dropped out
before nn$>, although the text is not quite henled by its restora-
tion. [For nn$yn Paul Ruhen, Acad. March 7? 1896 (cp June
so), suggests 35ny3, 'the Lady' ; cp Ass. eteNri, fem. PteNitn
(see ATHALIAH);we must then suppose 2x3 to be a corruption
of some verb parallel to 3n$J, and insert 5iz as proposed
already.] In 2 9 restore (after @) 37311 ?'?'n, and then delete
3,n-D as (correctly) explanatory of nnni ; it may be presumed
further that after the second n a y a i i n ~has ' fallen out ; in
2 rq perhaps
~. we ought to read 321% for 3231 instead of the 3281
of @ assumed by f u h l and Well;.'; in 8 E, adopt Wellh.'~emenxa.:
tions, but also delete 35 2.20 0.13 as a gloss. [On 2 I cp Cheyne
on Is. 62 7 S60 T.I
3262
 NAIDUS
e. A s s . 3 [1898], pp. 87-188; P. Ruben, ‘An Oracle of Nahum,’
PSBA, 20 [18981, pp. 173-185 ; and/QR 11 [1S991, pp. 448-455.
A. R. S. Kennedy, art. ‘Nahum’ in Hastings’ D B 3 4 7 3 8 See
also Anios and HOSEA. end, and on some outstauding critical
problems, PKOPHECV and Cn?. Bib. K. B.
NAIDUS ( N A I A O C [B], NAEIAOC [A]), I Esd. 9 3 1 =
Ezra 1030. B ENAIAH , 8.
NAIL. I. TI:, yithM (?rduuahos,poriZZus), a peg,
pin, or nail driven into t h e wall (Ezek. 15 3, EV ‘pin ’ Is. 22 25)
or more esbecially a ‘ tent-pin’ driven into the eartd to fasten
the tent ( E x . 2 i 1 9 3518 3S31 Judg.4z1J Is.3320 542); see
TENT. Hence to drive a pin or fasten a nail can mean to give
a n y one a firm and stable abode (Is. 22 23), an image still fre-
quent a m o n g the Arabs (examples in Ges. Thes., s.v.). The
figure of a pin or nail is also applied to a prince (so e para-
phrases Is. 22 23 25) on whom the care and welfare of the state
depend (Zech. 104, (I 8 ~ 9see , C ORNER-STONE).
z * ~ L ? D D only
, in pf. niinm, masme+8ih Uer. 104), niippn,
mism&+ifh( z Ch. 3 9& pinDn, masmMm (Is. 41 7), n]mDn,,mis- life was a Sidonian. Whether Lk. himself devised the
7 r r F f i m ( I Ch. 22 3) (qhor ; cp Jn. 20 25) applied to nads of iron ; ‘ Nain’ story, is uncertain. W e do know, however,
niippn, n/&me?nifh, used metaphorically in Eccles. 1 2 II (see that he devised an introduction to the message to John
RV).
N U N ( N A I N [Ti.WHI. some MSS NAEIN, NAEIM). however harmless in its intention, cannot be based on
a city - ,(note the
Y
‘ g a t e ’ -
and the ‘meat multitude
where Jesus restored to life a
of facts because it radically misunderstands the symbolic
GeoppKcal ye); man who was being carried out
to burial (Lk. i I I t \ . Accordinp. to
0~
Eusebius ( O S 2 8 5 4 1 ) it was ~ z - ( b u Jerome ; [14322]
says 2 ) R. m. S. of Tabor, near Endor. This may be
held to point to the hamlet now called Nain, which is
a t the base of the Neby Dahi (or Little Hermon), and
is a most miserable nook, though the associations of
the gospel-story enable one easily to forget this; the
situation, too, is charming-on one side the western
base of Little Hernion, on the other the broad expanse
of Esdraelon. But is the site correct? Though there
are rock-tombs near the modern Nain, this is not
enough to prove that there was ever a walled city on
this site. The Midrash (BY.ra6ba, 98, on Gen.
4915) does indeed mention a locality called Naim ; but
this may be identical with the land of Tin‘am (nyln)
mentioned just before. There is also a special reason
for doubting the accuracy of the traditional text. T h e
parallelism between the miracle of the raising of the
widow’s son of ‘ Nain ‘ and that of the widow’s son of
Z AREPHATH (q.”.) is so close (cp I K. 178-24) that one
is justified in suspecting that there has been a combina-
tion of the story of Elijah’s merciful miracle with the
similar one of Elisha ( z K. 418-37), and that Nain, or
Naim, should rather he Shunem ( u u v v p ; for a par-
allel see SALIM). Nain or Naim may be a scribe‘s
correction of the fragmentary vqp. H e knew that
Jesus had to pass by Esdraelon, and that there was a
locality called Naim in the old territory of Issachar
(see the Midrash above), and fixed its site not so very
far from the true scene of the narrative, for it is but a
short hour’s ride from Shunern to the modern Nain.’
Nestle (PhibL Sacva, 2 0 ) ingeniously, but less
plausibly, suggests that Nain might perhaps be trans-
literated pnj, and rendered ‘the awakened.’ It is
satisfactory that Nestle, too, recognises the doubtfulness
of the locality assigned in Lk.
It should be noticed in conclusion that if Tischendorfs
reading Y qj E& (AV ‘the day after ’) be accepted in v. I I
the evangelist did not know the distance between Capernau;
and Shunem. This will not at all impair the effect of his
narrative, for the combiuation of the Sermon in the Plain, the
Capernaum cure, and the still greater marvel of ‘ Nain ’ is the
finest possible preparation for the message in Lk. 7 22. We
may indeed save Lk.’s credit a s a geographer by adopting the
alternative reading ;Y 7; E& (RV, ‘5000 afterwards’) with
Treg., WH, and B. Weis;. Perhaps neither reading is correct,
a n d we should restore Ev ;E. (9 37).
It is true, Lk. states his object to be to produce an
2. Method orderly recital of the things most confidently
of Luke. received among Christians (Lk. 1I) ; but the
principle of this arrangement was not purely
historical : ideas had an overpowering influence on the
1 It is probably true t h a t the gospel narratives (and not in
their earliest form) influenced some of the place-names in
Palestine in the early Christian period.
3263
NAME
mind of the arranger. Jesus could not, he felt. be
inferior to Elijah and Elisha, and a miracle like those
of Zarephath and Shunem must necessarily have followed
the wonderful cure a t Capernaum. According to a
saying of Jesus current in some circles the Master had
remarked on the limitations of the beneficent activity
of Elijah and Elisha. I t is Lk. who transmits this
saying (Lk. 425-27), though he gives it a setting which
makes it seem unnecessarily and unintelligibly pro-
vocative. If we place this ‘saying in connection with
such a narrative as that of ‘ Nain,’ we shall no longer
find it unintelligible. Lk. is the Pauline evangelist,
and expounds by narratives the universality of the
grace of Jesus Christ. Not of the gracious Master
could it be said that the only leper healed by him was a
Syrian, or that the only widow’s son restored by him to
the Baptist (v.2 2 ) already recorded in Mt. 7 1 4 $ , which,
language of that grand Messianic utterance. It is
possible therefore that the beautiful ‘ Nain’-story (or
rather Shunem-story?) is in no sense traditional, but
the expression of the tender and deeply thoughtful
nature of Lk. T. K. C.
NAIOTH (nY; or ncl; [Driv.] ornil? [Kon.] Kt. ;
ni’;, Kr. ; [ N I A y A e [BL], N A y l C d e [AI, bh
[Pesh.. transposing ’ and 11, r A h B O y A e uos. Ant.
vi. 1 1 5 1 ; nunth [Jer. in OS3612]), usually supposed to
be the name of a place in Ramah, where David and
Samuel took refuge when Saul was pursuing David,
I S. 1 9 1 9 z z f . (dis), 201. Except in 1918 it is always
followed by a ? ~ ‘, in Ramah.’ and in this passage too
Wellhausen following 6 , would restore am+ I t is most
unlikely, however, that a place within a place would be
specified, especially in this Zafe narrative (cp S AMUEL ,
BOOKS O F , 4). Tg. Jon. explained the word ‘ school ’
(R?&N n.?), thus making n.11 an equivalent of alwn in
2 K. 2 2 1 4 (AV, following Tg., C OLLEGE [ q . ~ . ] ) . ‘ T h i s
view, however, though supported on grounds of his own
by Ewald (Hist.349f.), is philologically too fantastic to
be adopted (see Driver, TBS IZS), though it may safely
be added that no explanation of the word can be made
more probable.
Blainly the word is corrupt, and the best emendation of
813’12n v is perhaps SNQn?: nYJr. ‘Gibeah of Jerahmeel’
(cp Jos. yrAj3oua8). The ‘place intended is that mentioned in
I S. 10 5, where MT and ‘23 read n.&n ‘‘2 (EV ‘ t h e hill of
God’), but where we should (supported by several parallel
cases) certainly read D’>KQn?I I , ‘Gibeah of the Jerah-
meelites.’ What the Jerahmeelitrs have to do in thisconnection
is explained elsewhere (see S AU L # 2). Cp H. P. Smith,
ad lac., who, however, cannot throd any light on the word.
T. K. C.
NAME. * Kame ’ and ‘ names ’ are inseparable
departments of the same subject. T h e conception
1. Name= of name ’ ideally precedes the pro-
duction of names; the very first name
nature* that can be supposed to have been
given presupposes the conception of ‘ name.’ When
(the Hebrews said) the first man called the beasts and
birds by their names (Gen. 220) it was because, as
Milton (Paradire Lost, 8 3 5 2 J ) puts it, he ‘understood
their nature ‘-because the (Hebrew) names he gave
them were the natural and adequate expressions of their
innermost beings. And the wise man commonly known
as the Preacher assures us (Eccles. 6 I O U ) that ‘ what-
iver comes into being, long ago has its name been pro-
nounced.’ When, however, nothing had come into
sxistence, there could be no names, as indeed there
:odd be no name-giver. As the Babylonian creation-
:pic says :-
There was a time when, above, the heaven was not named,
Below, the earth bore no name.
3264
 NAME
W e can now consider the terms for ‘name.’ In
Hebrew, as in Assyrian. there are two synonyms. ( I )
y, zgker. is commonly rendered ’ remem-
2’ Terms* brance,’ but is certainly connected with the
Ass. zikduu, ‘ t o name,’ ‘mention’ (whence zikru,
* name ’ ) : (2)od, S2m, corresponds to the Ass. f u m 7 ~ .
For zZke+ we may quote Ex. 1714, ’ I will blot out
the natlze ( E V remembrance) of Amalek from under
heaven‘: Ps.3116, ‘ t o cut off their name (EV the
remembrance of them) from the earth ’ : Ex. 3 15, this
is my name for ever, and this is my title (EV my
memorial) unto all generations’ : Ps. 305 and 9 7 1 2 ,
o giye thanks to his holy name ’ (so RV ; AVmg. to the
memorial of his holiness ‘) ; Hos. 125 [6]. ‘ YahwP is his
name’ (EV ‘his memorial’). T h e same word z$ke;hev
may be used of the recital or solemn mention of God’s
titles to honour and gratitude in the cultus: hence a
psalmist says (Ps. 65 [6])-
I n (the world of) death there is no mention (EV remembrance)
of thee.
I n Sheol w i o will give thee thanks?
T h e other word ( G m )ie much the commoner. The
root-meaning is uncertain. nor is there any valid reason
for thinking that the primary meaning in usage is
‘ monument’ (as if from a to he high’ ?).
In 2 S. 8 13 the text is certainly, and in Gen. 114 most
probably,’ corrupt. In Is. 5513 we read that the new
3. OT
splendour of nature which will accompany
the deliverance of Israel ‘will be to
references. YahwP for a name, for an everlasting
sign that shall not be cut off.‘ Monument’ would
not he unsuitable here; but the familiar sense ‘renown ’
will do perfectly well (cp Dan. 9 15 EV, ’ thou hast gotten
thee renown’). InIs. 5 6 5 , ‘a memorial (see H A N D )
and a name better than sons and daughters,’ the word
* name ’ implies ideas more mystic and primitive than
would he suggested by the simpler word ‘ monument.’
The idea seems to be that God-fearing eunuchs will,
even in the world of death, enjoy the consciousness of
the honour still paid to them upon earth by the con-
gregation of worshippers in the temple. T h e popular
religion clung to the primitive veneration of ancestors
(cp I S. 2422 z S. 1818. with H. P. Smith’s notes), and
the prophetic writer appears to mean that no cnltus of
dead ancestors will give such satisfaction to those
ancestors as the honorific mention of the names of
pious proselytes in the community of Zion will give to
these proselytcs even in death. This niay seem to us
a strange idea; but the passage quoted above from
Ps.65 (cp 8811)may strike us as still stranger, if we
consider what it implies. Why should the great God,
Yahwe, be moved to pity by such a consideration as the
psalmist offers ? W e must not weaken the passage too
much. I t certainly contains the idea that worshippers
are needful to YahwP. because the divine life would lack
sonie touch of perfectness without the tribute of reverent
and grateful praise. This idea may he unphilosophical :
but it is profoundly religious. I n some form, the idea
of sacrifice is essential to a fervent religion, and to the
noblest psalmists true sacrifice is the recital of YahwA’s
gracious acts, each of which calls for the ascription to
Yahwe of a new title. Now, to primitive men the
name is the expression of the personality. Yahwe‘s
worshippers, therefore, from a primitive point of view.
enahle God’s personality to find that fuller expression
which it constantly needs.
The truth of the statement that the name is (ideally
at least) the manifestation of the personality, and con-
sequently niay even be prophetic of the fortunes of the
person named, will he clear if we look at a few of the
OT narratives : see, e.g., Gen. 35 10, ’ Thy name shall
no more be called Jacob, but Israel shall he thy name,’
and i6. 18, ‘ she called his name Ben-oni, but his father
1 Probably no one practised in textual criticism will fail t o
see that 135-nti.yii comei o u t of o*D& ~ V N V , a variant t o
’uli u ~ which
y precedes. ii=n.
105 3265
NAME
called him Benjamin.’ It is true, this intimate con-
nection between name and character or fortune is not
always prominent. Names are often given, according
to the narratives, for some apparently accidental reason ;
it is when the person named has some special dignity or
pre-eminence among the leaders of Israel that the name
has evidently a mystic significance. The prophets
make ereat use of the idea. Thus-
Is. 1z6, ‘afterward thou shalt be called T h e city of righteous-
ness the faithful city.
9 6 [si, ‘his nm
:e shall b e called Wonderful, counsellor (?),’
etc.
63 16.’ ‘thou. 0 Yahwk. a r t our father : our redeemer from
of bld is thy eame.’
Jer. 33 16, ‘this is [the name1 b y which she shall be called-
Yahwt- is our righteousness.’ 1
Ezek.4835, ‘ t h e name of the city from t h a t d a y shall be,
Yahwt is there.’
~ ~
Mt. 121, ‘ t h o u shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. 2
This connection of name and personality leads to a
singular use of bvopa in the N?‘. In Acts 1 1 5 and Rev.
34 11.3, d v 6 p n a has the sense of ‘persons’ (cp,
however, Nu. 120) ; Deissmann produces unexpected
parallels for this from the Egyptian papyri ( N e w Bibel-
studien. 24f:).
Before passing on to the great religious phrases, ‘ t h e
name of YahwP,’ ‘ t h e name of Jesus,‘ we must not
4. Idiom ,to omit to mention the idiom, ‘ to call the
name (of some one) over.’ For examples
mglL;on., see, first, z S. 1228, where Joab in his
message to David respecting Rabbath-
ammon says, ‘lest I take the city and my name be
called upon it.’ Here we see one of the most obvious
secular applications of a phrase which O T writers most
frequently employ in B religious context. Eastern
warriors were accustomed to change the name of a
couquered city. T h e citadel of the Jebusites, conquered
by David, became ‘ David’s burg ’ ; exactly similar
cases occur in the Assyrian inscriptions. Joah-that
daring MiSrite adventurer (see ZERWIAH)-threatens
David that he ail1 not allow Rabhah to go out of his
hands if he, not David, is the conqueror ; ‘ Joabs burg’
shall become its name.3
T h e other passages are 2 S. 62 Is. 41 Dt. 28 IO I K.
8 4 3 ( = 2 Ch.633). J e r . 7 1 0 3 1430 149 1516 2629 3234
3415 Am. 9 12 1s. 63 19 z Ch. 7 14 Dan. 9 18f. ; c p Ps.
4911[12].~ Of these, Is. 41, like 2 s . 1228, gives the
phrase a secular application. I n the depopulated
condition of Jerusalem, seven women will say to one
man, a Only let thy name be called over us’-Le., ‘let
us enjoy the benefits of having a husband for owner
and consequently for protector.’ In Am. 912 another
secular application is implied. Although it is Yahwk
who speaks, and a relation of Yahwi: which is described,
the form of expression is distinctly secular. ‘The
remnant of Edom’ has, a t least in one sense of the
words, no religious relation to Yahwk : it is as Yahwe‘s
property that his ’name‘ is said to have been called
over it (and over the other hostile nations) ; for the
sufferings involved for m o m in its anticipated subjuga-
tion by the Jews Yahwk, as here represented, has no
sympathy.
All the other passages, however, imply t h a t ownership in-
volves a n interest in the welfare of the persons or things owned.
T h e complaint of the Jewish conimunity in Is. 63 19 is, not that
they are owned b y Yahwt but that, although his property they
are treated by him as if <is ‘ name ’ had not been ‘ called ’over ’
them ; compare this with Yahwt’s statement in Jer. 2529, and
Daniel’s prayer in Dan. 9 18.
1 T h s name surely belongs t o Jerusalem, not to the ideal king,
as in the second form of t h e same prophecy (236). See /ew.
KeI. Lzye, 95.
2 W e may treat these words, p u t into the mouth of a n angel,
a s prophetic.
3 Joab is wise enough t o give David a chance of averting
from himself this dishonour. N o t improbably, however, Joab’s
reported mescage t o David (mw.26J) is due t o a n editorial desire
t o reconcile two different traditions of the capture of Rabhath-
ammon (if we assume t h a t to he the right reading ; see, how-
ever, R RHOBOTH).
4 C p Kautzscb, ZATWG 18f: (1886).
3266
 NAME
In Dt. 28 IO we read that all the other peoples will be
afraid to touch righteous Israel, because they will see,
by Israel’s prosperity, that YahwB‘s ‘ name’ must have
been ‘called over’ i t ; in v. 9 the parallel phrase is ‘ a
holy ( L e . , consecrated) people,’ and in Jer. 149 for
Israel to be the bearer of Yahwe’s name is synonymous
with having Yahwe in its midst, and gives a right (but
not an indefeasible right) to protection ; the same idea
is expressed in I K. 843, where (as in Jer. 7 IO, etc.) it is
the temple over which the divine ‘ n a m e ’ has been
called.
It is plausible to give a similar interpretation t o the phrase
descriptive of the ark in z S. 6 z , in spite of the difficulty caused
b y the position of l’ky (see Wellh. TBS, ad loc.). See also
Bar. 2 15 26 I Macc. 7 37, and, in the N T , Ja. 2 7 (on which see
C HRIS T IAN, 0 I, col. 75z), Acts 15 17 (=Am. 9 12).
There still remain two passages, Ps. 49 II [IS] and
Jer. 1516. Of the passage in Ps.49 there are several
renderings. That of Wellhausen in SBOT is, ‘even
should they have called whole countries their own,’ which
implies that 5y o t s q and 5y nw to? may have the
same meaning (so, too, Hupfeld). There is good
reason, however, for thinking that this is not what the
psalmist meant ; the text is more than probably corrupt.’
T h e passage in Jer. 15, if correctly transmitted, is
singularly beautiful as a record of prophetic experience.
Jeremiah says that not only externally but also internally
he has become entirely the possession of his God-‘ thy
word (=revelation) became to me a delight and the joy
of my heart, for thy name has been called upon me, 0
YahwP Sebaath.’ Probably, however, for *?;> ‘and ...
became,’ we should read ’?? ‘ a n d let ...
become,’
making it a prayer of Jeremiah (cp Cornill and Duhm
ad luc. ).
In this connection we may refer to the naming of a
son by the father. It is true that the name might be
given by the mother (Gen. 29 30 3518, I S. 4 z r ) , and
no doubt was given by her generally in the primzeval
period of matriarchy (cp K INSHIP , 4 ) ; but in the
period of monandrous ‘ baa1 ’-marriage (K INSHIP , 5 g
8 ) the priority of right belonged to the father
(Gen. 1615 1719 Ex. 222 2 S. 1 2 ~ I4s .~8 3 Hos. 1 4 8
Lk. 1 1 3 63), who could, if he chose, alter the name given
to the child by the mother (Gen. 3518). The Son, in
fact, should theoretically have been named by the father,
as a sign of lordship.
Another phrase which may be quoted here is ‘ a new
name.’ In Is. 622 it is said of Jerusalem that at its
6 , New Name. restoration it shall be called by a new
name ( z h j n@, dvopa K a i v b v ) , and, ac-
cording to Is. 6515, YahwP will call his servants by
another name (6,again, dvopu h-uivbv). Further, in
Rev. 2 17, we hear of a ‘ new name which no man knows
but he that receives it.’ It is doubtfnl whether this
means a new name for each believer, or the new name
of Christ (cp 31%1912). The former view is more
probable. When born into a new world, each believer
will need a new name, suggestive of his new character
and standing. W e may venture to compare the giving
of a new name to kings (as notably in Egypt) a t their
accession ; cp z K. 23 34 24 77. The new name in Rev.,
Z.C., is also said to be hidden from all but its bearer.
This reminds us of the feeling, so widespread among
savage tribes, of the danger of disclosing one’s name,
because this would enable an enemy by magic means to
work to one’s personality some deadly injury (cp Frazer,
GuZden Bough C2), 1 4 0 4 8 ).
W e now pass on to those great reiigious phrases ‘ the
1 T h e number of conflicting explanations is significant.
2 Kt. ~ i Kr.
? ] , with
N i p* ); reference to ?I. 256.
3 There is surely some mistake in the document. Either the
names given b y Necho and Nehuchadrezzar respectively, were
not those heregiven(cp the case of theson of Necho I., K A T I “ ,
166), or else the change of names was not due to these suzerains
of Judah but to the religious authorities. See M A TT A N IA H ,
SHALLUM.
3267
NAME
name of YahwP,’ ‘ the name of Jesus ’ (or, of the Christ).
6. Name of The ‘ n a m e ’ of a god is properly his
PahwL.. manifestation, and since one form of this
manifestation is the name (presumably a
revealed name) given to him in the cultus,- the ‘ name ’
of Israel’s god is Yahwe, as the name of Moab’s god is
Chemosh. Whatever the primitive meaning of the
Heb. E m and the Ass. fumu may have been, it was
not merely ‘ name ’ in our sense of the word, but some-
thing much fuller which would he applicable to all forms
of divine manifestation. ‘ Name,’ ‘ glory,’ ‘ face,’ are
parallel terms. The divinity in the so-called Mul’dk
or ‘Angel” of YahwP (cp A NGEL , 3 ) is sometimes
called the pinim ([ol-~o)‘ face,’ sometimes the kdbia!
(71x3) ‘glory,‘ sometimes the f i m (D@) or ‘ n a m e ’ of
Yahwe (Ex. 2321 33 14 18zzf. ; cp 32 34 and Is. 63 9).
T h e ark, too, is described as a dwelling-place of the
‘glory’ ( I S. ~ z z ) and
, of the ‘face’ (Nu. 1035, ?,i?~.
‘from thy face’), but not of the ‘name,’ of Yahwe.
The reason is that the ‘ n a m e ’ of YahwP came to be
specially connected with the cultus-Le., with the temple,
where the solemn invocation of Yahwi. took place. T h e
connection of the ‘ name ’ of Yahwe with the ikful’rikor
Angel was too primitive to be abandoned ; but the ark
of YahwB. not being as primitive i n conception as the
Angel, never succeeded in annexing the third of the
synonynioiis terms-viz. name.’ As time went on,
how-ever, this term, which was originally associated with
the cultus a t all sanctuaries (Ex. 2024), became more
and more closely attached to the temple (see I K. 8,629
93, Is. 187, Jer. 712). And how does YahwP continue
to make known his name? By answering the prayers
offered in (or, towards) the temple-i.e., by delivering
his people (Is. 526 641). Hence, in Ps. 201[2], ‘ T h e
name of the God of Jacob place thee in security ’ means,
‘ The God whom thou hast invoked answer thy prayers.’
Indeed, in all such passages ( e g . , Ps. 207[8] 445[6])
we may safely say that there is a tacit reference to the
invocation of God’s name in the sanctuary. Thus the
prayers of faithhl Israel are a substitute for the presence
of the ark in the Israelitish host, and by prayers are
meant invocations of Yahwe as the promise-keeping God
of Israel.2
Against one serious temptation t h e Israelitish thinkers a n d
writers were consistently proof; they never allow us to think
‘
that the N a m e of Yahwt ’ is a separate divine being from Yahwb.
Like the Mal’ak Yahwt (in whom, indeed, according t o Ex.
2321, Yahw&‘s name is), the N a m e of Yahwt is virtually
equivalent to Yahwe (note the parallelism in Ps. 20 I 121). Such
a phrase a s ‘Ashtoreth, the name of Baal’ (5 2 nu ninoy,
C I S 1, no. 3, 1. 18) has n o analogue in Hegrew writings.
Certainly in Is. 30 27 we find the startling expression ‘ t h e name
of Yahwb cometh’; hut the context shows that Yahwt himself is
meant, a n d in the 11 passage, 59 19, ‘ t h e name’ alternates with
‘the glory’ of Yahwb (cp Ex. 33 TEA).
I n Lev. 24 TI, Dt. 2858, we find np;.r used independently
(in Lev. 24 16, however, neshould be ’* ntj, s e e d Vg.).
,, Name T h e son of an Israelitish woman whose
=Yahwb. father was an Egyptian (so E V ; but ’??n
might mean a Musrite ; cp MIZRAIM, 26.
M OSES ) blasphemed the name and cursed ; therefore
( v . 23) he was stoned; so P. Another late writer
makes Moses exhort the Israelites to ‘ fear this glorious
and fearful name, Yahwe thy God.’ With this, G.
Hoffmann (Ueb. ein. Phon. Znschriften, 47f) compares
1 T h e use of the term jr\Q as a term for the temporary
manifestation of Yahwt a s adirector and agent has not yet been
explained. Great difficulties in expounding the biblical notices
consistently will he overcome if we suppose t h a t the term
originally employed was, not ?&, ‘messenger,’ b u t 7.)?,
king.’ The iuferiw divine beings, afterwards described, as
‘angels,’ were-if this is correct-originally designated Dv3>F,
‘kings.’ T h e objection t o calling them either ‘gods’ (n*&) or
‘kings’ (o.25~) naturally led to the abandonment of the former
term (&N), and the modification or transformation of the
latter (nqio).
2 C p Laga:de’s explanation of the name Y a h w t as ‘promis-
sorum stator.
3268
 NAME
a passage in the inscription of Eshmuu'azar (CZS 3 16f. )
which he reads n! i k p D~ (a title appended first to
nmwy, Astarte, and then to ~ U N Eshmun), , and renders
as ' supreme Person ' (nomen = numen). H e remarks
that the object of the phrase was to avoid seeming to
bind the entire divinity to the spot where the temple was,
and illustrates the form of the expression by Ps. 4 7 r o
926 on the one hand, and Ps. 7 1 8 93 922 on the other ;
in the latter passages, following Hitzig. he thinks (but
here perhaps few will follow him) that iv59 is to be
connected adjectivally with D@.
T h e exegesis of the N T passages in which the term
' name ' occurs is not always easy. W e have no right
8. NT usage. to presume that OT presuppositions b y
themselves are sufficient to account for
the expressions. Passages like Acts 19 17 ( ' the name
of the Lord Jesus was magnified ') cause no difficulty ;
but what is to be said of certain phrases in the same
chapter, ' they were baptized into the name of the Lord
Jesus ' (z. 5 ) . and ' to name over those who had the
evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus ' (u. 13)? Else-
vhere the use of the formula, ' t o be baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus ' (Pu?rd<~uBur eis 71) dvopu [or
Pv, or irrl ( T ; ) d v 6 p u ~ r lK I J ~ ~ O 'I~UOO),
U has been fully
treated from the point of view of the history of the rite
of baptism (col. 4 7 3 5 ) : but it still remains to consider
the possible meaning or meanings of the phrases. T h e
formula ' baptize in the name of Jesus ' (PUTT.CIS ~b
d v o p . I.) has no doubt an analogy in the phrase
' believe in the name of Jesus ' (T~UT&LV els T C ~ livopa
I.),which means to believe that Jesus is what Christian
teachers say that he is-ie., that he is the Christ, or in
the case of the Fourth Gospel (where, hoaever, the
phrase is not prominent, see F A I T H , § 3 ) that he is the
only-begotten Son of God ; and we have reason to think
that the expression of faith in the Lordship or Messiahship
of Jesus was the condition on which, in the earliest times,
the rite of baptism was administered. Baptism, there-
fore, might be simply the consummation of discipleship-
the outward and visible sign of the entering on a new life
characterised by self-purification, and the opening of
one's heart to the word of God ; and such it doubtless was
in the primitive Jerusalem community. Largely owing
to Paul, however, baptism became much more than this.
Paul's Hellenic converts needed mysteries, and such
mysteries he (and perhaps others before him) provided
for them by expanding the significance of Baptism and
the Supper of the Lord.' Necessarily ' i n the name'
( d s ~b bvopu) and the similar phrases now obtained a
mystic meaning. The gift of the Spirit was communi-
cated at baptism, no doubt on ethical conditions-at
least according to Paul-but not without the invocation
of the name of Jesus. It is difficult to feel sure that all
Paul's disciples followed him in this. W e find in Acts
316 4710 (as well as in Lk. 1017,cp also the late pas-
sage, Mk. 16 17) clear traces of a belief that wonderful
works would be performed by pronouncing the name of
Jesus ; and we must therefore regard it as one of the
possible meanings of the phrase before us, ' to be bap-
tized, pronouncing the wonderlworking name of Jesus.'
(Cp EXORCISTS.) W e assume that Paul can be ade-
quately known from the epistles most commonly as-
signed to him, and we fully grant that whatever mystic
effects the apostle may have ascribed to the name of
Christ were, in his mind, conditional on the presence
of a certain moral attitude in the baptized. W e also
maintain, of course, that the Jewish Christim Church,
which continued the OT tradition, was entirely free
even from a nioralised mysticism.
Two N T passages need special however brief reference. In
Mt. 28 19, w e find a formula of bkptism (& ~b 2".
705 IIarpir
1 The attitude of the writer of the Fourth Gospel is not quite
so obviously sacramentarian a6 has been supposed. He had
disengaged himself from the sacramental forms in about the same
degree, perhaps, as some of the psalmists have disengaged
themselves from the sacrificial forms of early Judaism.
3269
NAME
K.T.A.) which is admittedly late (see B APTISM, $ 3). Conybeare,
however, has shown (ZNTW, 1902) that an earlier text (re-
peatedly attested by Eusebius) gave pa&lnduars rraura vi Z B q &
74 b v 6 p a ~ pou,
i without the phrase which all critics admit to be
late. In Phil. 2 IO all beings of heaven, of earth, and under the
earth are hound, it is said, to show the same reverence to Jesus,
who has, hy the divine gift, ' t h e name ( r b &pa [NAB]) which
is above every name,' as Lord of all, and seated at God's right
hand, that they show to God himself (Is. 45 23); cp Eph. 12oX
T h e study of proper names (personal and local)
requires, how-ever, much more than a perception of the
9. Proper mystic significance attaching to names. It
may be questioned whether in the pre-exilic
names. period nearly as much thought was bestowed
on the naming of children as has been supposed. It is
far from the present writer's intention to adopt a con-
troversial attitude towards theories, many of which he
has himself till lately shared, and on the elaboration of
which treasures of scholarship have been lavished. He
must express his conviction, however, that the theories
referred to presuppose a view of the traditional Hebrew
text which is almost too optimistic. So far as he has been
able, he has based the explanations of names given by
himself in various articles on a critically emended text ;
but it is only in a part of them that' he has been able to
assume a well-grounded and far-reaching theory, which.
though it does not, of course, affect all O T names,
transforms our view of not a few of them. Without
meaning to say that all the new interpretations of names
advocated by the present writer come under this head,
he may presume to mention as deserving prolonged and
special consideration the theory referred to, viz., that
certain ethnics, in a variety of corrupt and distorted
forms, underlie a great many of the names commonly
explained either quite arbitrarily from other Semitic
languages, or as expressions of religious feeling. In
particular, names of the types ' Jehoiakim,' ' Obadiah.'
'Nethaneel,' have to be received with the greatest
caution. It is probable that in post-exilic times a
thorough revision and indeed transformation of ancient
names was effected. This can be shown most plausibly
in the name-lists of the Chronicler : but there are few
books which do not supply striking evidence of this
fact. It would be satisfactory to exhibit in orderly
arrangement all the names on which a methodical and
consistent textual criticism throws a perfectly new light.
By this means the old theory and the new would be
conveniently compared, and the unavoidable clash of
opinion would doubtless serve the interests of truth.
All that can be done, however, is to urge the reader to
study the etymological introductions to the articles in
this volume seriously and in connection, and not to
make up his mind hastily. Criticism of a new theory
is useless until the point of view which leads to it is
gained, and until the facts have been mastered, There
are numerous facts connected with proper names which
are as much hidden from adherents of the older theories,
as the facts connected with the older documents which
enter into our present OT books are hidden from
adherents of a conservative school of criticism. It may
be said in conclusion that geography is in some direc-
tions hardly less the gainer than history by the results
of the new criticisni. though chiefly by the more con-
sistent application of the ordinary principles of textual
correction. There is nothing surprising in this, for the
later editors knew comparatively little about the older
geography : and with regard to modern geographers.
even when they are in sympathy with modern criticisnl,
it does not follow that they superadd to the rare faculty
of catching and of making others catch the chief physical
aspects of a region. the equally rare faculty of seeing
what is possibly or probably the real form of a place-
name in an old document. Once more, the reader is
requested, in his own interest, to give a careful study
to the new details here put before him. 'The best way
to learn a new method is to watch the application on
an extended scale. Offhand criticism of details gives
little help. T. K. C .
3270
 NAMES NAMES

NAMES
CONTENTS 2
A. PERSONAL NAMES (551-86)
A . GENERAL ($5 1-23, 75-86)
I. HISTORY OF SUBJECT (5
I ). IV. S TRUCTURE OF N AMES ($5 PO- 6. Reduplications (8 58).
11. OBSCURITY ($8 2-12). c. Terminations ($5 75-78).
23s 75-79). d Abbreviations ($8 49.57).
Vowels (0 3) consonants ($4). e. Grammatical persons ($ 79).
Vowel-letters($5), Greek evidence(56). a ' I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ( 2 8 0 ) ; I ) .
hlenning obscure ($5 7). " Prepositional prefix(e ")' v. H ISTORY OF N AMES ($5 80-
Many names not really personal ($0 3. Sentence names (5 23). 86). .
8-12).
111. COMPARISON WITH OTHER .: hk4i
~ ',.*,
~ , " ~ ~ ~ c , : " , , ($5 VI. B ORROWED NAMES($5 81-86).
L ANGUAGES ($5 13-19). 44).

B. MEANING O F NAMES ($5 25-74)

I. R ELIGIOUS N AMES ($5 24-59). I.. Otlrer element (8s 26.39, 44-57). 11. NON-RELIGIOUSNAMES (5560-74).
a. Divine ekment (55 25, 40 fi), Various predicates ($5 26-38). Position in family (5s 61-64).
Yahwh El (5 25). Obscure (5 39). Relationship ($ 65).
Other divine names (5 40J). Abbreviated names ($0 49.57). Descriptive ($ MA).
Names of relationship ($0 44-48). Names of relationship (0s 44-48). Animal and plant names (5 6 8 J ) .
Divine name abbreviated (5s 49.57). C. Character of reZigiOus names ($ 59). Miscellaneous ($9 70-74). [T. N.]
B. PLACE NAMES (s87-107)
I. G ENERAL 11. S TRUCTURE 111. M EANINGS
Compared with personal names ($ 87). Abbreviations (8 92). Religious (9$ 94-98).
Obscurity ($5 88). Expansions (5 93). Non-religious ($$ gg-106).
Origin ($8 89-91). Plurals and duals ($ 107). [C.B. C.]
C. DIVINE NAMES3 ($5 108-124)
Significance of a name (S 108). Shaddai (5 117). Abir (8 121).
Yahwb (08 109-113). Elyan ($ 118). Rock (5 122).
Elahim (8 114J). Adonai (g 119). Sabaoth ($ 123).
El (8 116). Baal (5 120). Father ($ 124).
[E. K.]
A. PERSONAL NAMES. especially by G. B. Gray (Studies in U e k w Proper
Each of the many names of persons in the Bible
Names). who carefully and with marked success de-
must, of course, originally have had some special termines what kind of name - formation prevailed in
~.
the various periods. To a very large extent the present
1. Hist. of meaning. T o discover this meaning
writer agrees with his result. I t must be admitted,
investiga~on8.is of great importance, since much however, that very much still remains obscure, far more
light may thereby be thrown upon the
than was supposed by Gesenius,' for example, and even
manners and thought both of -the ancient Hebrews
by the sceptical Olshausen.2
and of the neighbouring peoples, not to mention
W e are here met by two great difficulties, the fact
the linguistic interest which attaches to such investi-
that the Hebrew language is but imperfectly known, and,
gations. In the more ancient parts of the OT itself
2. Difhculties. what is much more important, the fact
etymological explanations of names begin to occur (e.g.
that the traditional forms of the names
Gen. 4 I 5 29) ; but these artless attempts, it need scarcely
be said, have no more scientific value than the ety- are often untrustworthy. In the first place, we cannot
fail to perceive that the vocalisation of the less known
mologies of Plato. The niore systematic explanations
given by Philo are likewise, as a general rule, mere plays names is, in many cases, chosen arbitrarily. This is
sufficiently proved by the manifold inconsistencies in the
upon words, and are moreover based upon a very
treatment of analogous and even of identical names :
inadequate knowledge of the language. They neverthe-
3. Vocalisation. fgr instance, by the side of the correct
less exercised great influence during some fifteen cen-
form MichRy&hii3 (rn*yo ; 2 Ch. 132
turies, owing to the fact that they served as the principal
1 7 7 ) we often find MichgyEhii; by the side of 'Ader (111,
foundation of various Greek Onornastica and of the
Latin Onomasticon of Jerome ; similar works were I Ch. Sq), the pausal form of 'Eder, we find %d;r
likewise produced among the Syrians. Moreover, the (my, I Ch. 2 3 2 3 2430), and so forth. I t was impossible
explanations of proper names in the sixth and final to ascertain from tradition the exact pronunciation of
volume of the Complutensian Bible are, for the most names no longer in use, particularly of such as occur in
part, derived from Philo. It was not till later that the the ancient lists in Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah ;
subject began to be treated in a scientific manner accordingly, the scribes used to content themselves with
(especially after the appearance of the great works of the shortest possible vocalisation, as was first remarked
Hiller5 and of Simonis6), and thus many points have by Wellhausen (if the present writer be not mistaken).
been satisfactorily cleared up. Important contributions The LXX version often exhibits a different pronuncia-
have been made quite recently by various authors, tion, which, in some cases, is preferable
4.
to the Massoretic. Even the con-
1 The whole plan of the present work (see vol. i. p. ix [second sonants, however, are sometimes far less trustworthy
aragraph], p. xvi $ 5) rendered it necessary that the article
KAMES should be'one of the first written and forbade any snb-
sequent modification of its general structure. On the relation
than we might a t first suppose. It is enough to compare
of the article to the separate articles on individual names see 1 See theexplanationsofproper names in his monumental work,
(in addition to the passages in the preface referred to above) the Thesaurus.
below $ 5 87 107, note, and cp NAME, $ 4. 2 See his He&. Gramm. 6 9 8 This section, however, is
2 This'tadle of contents does not everywherefollow the actual remarkably instructive, in particular the introductory portion.
order of the article. It is to a certain extent a compressed 3 The names in this article are, as elsewhere, for practical con-
subject-index (arranged logically, not alphalxtically). venience generally spelled as in AV, unless there is strong reason
3 See the footnote to this heading in Zoco(col. 3320). for following RV or giving a new transliteration. Long vowels
4 See Lag. O S (1870), and ed. (1884). are often marked as long, shewm as short-mainly to avoid am-
5 Hiller, OS, Tub. 1706. higuity, the Hebrew being, as a rule, unvocalised. Absolute
6 Simonis, OS, Halle, 1741. consistency has not been aimed at.
3271 3272
 NAMES
the list of David's warriors in 2s. 23 with those in I Ch.
11 and 27, referring also t o the Greek text ; many of
the names are quite different, and some are perhaps in
no case handed down correctly.
Instead of p& (2 S.2328) we find ?$y in I Ch. 1129,
whilst @Bin2 S. appears to read E M o v 1(See ZALMON).Instead
of liisg (2 S. 23 31), which is omitted in 6 (unless it appears
at the end of the list as ya&+rqh u/6c [B], cp yaae aj3Lqh [BNALI
of I Ch.), we find 5 ~ 3 in 3 I~ Ch. 11 32 ; it has been conjectured
that the original form was $ ~ 3 ' 1but ~ , this cannot he regarded as
absolutely certain (cp ABIALBON). In 2 S. 3 3 David's second
son is called 3 ~ 5 3 ,which is, no doubt, a corruption due to the
following word $I,:& (see D ANIEL, 4), just as in Gen. 46 IO
Ex. 6 15 $ ~ > y to he a corruption of 5 ~ 1 (Nu.
seems ~ 3 26 12 :
I Ch. 4 24 ;cp also Nu. 26 5), through the influence of the following
pi (cp NEIIUEL,I); hut the Aahovm of &3 (AL and in recognised hy the Massoretes.
z S, 13) and the of I Ch. 3 I , which take the place of 3 ~ 5 3 ,
are likewise open to suspicion (for a suggestion as to the true
reading, see D ANIEL, 4).
I n the much later list also of those who returned from
the Exile, twice cited by the Chronicler from the memoirs
of Nehemiah (Ezra 2 = Neh. 7 ; c p I Esd. 5), we may
observe slight divergences. Even the list of Saul's
family in I Ch. 9 3 5 8 differs in several points from that
given in 8 3 3 j ? of the same hook. T h e carelessness
with which the Chronicler treated the lists of names is
shown by the fact that on more than one occasion h e
quotes the same piece twice ; especially in regard to our
knowledge of the proper names the inaccuracy of this
compiler is much to he deplored. Even in the documents
from which he copied, however, some of the names may
have been already grievously distorted. Hence in the
case of names which occur only once in Chronicles, Ezra,
or Nehemiah, the greatest possible caution is necessary.
We have still more reason to regret that the books of
Samuel contain so many corrnpt readings, which, even
with the help of 6 ,can be emended only in p a r t ;
the proper names in particular. which were many and
invariably genuine, have suffered much in consequence.
We may note, for example, that the same man is called a>i,~n Aith the cognate languages we frequently obtain nothing
(KY./7111~n)in 2, S. 24 16, n v y (KY.~ I ~ T N in)71. 18, ; I : > ~ NIn 7111. better than an interpretation which is barely possible.
zo (61s) 2 2 23, whilst In Chronicles he always appears as Ornan
( p y ~ ) ,in 65 always as Opva (once Opvav [accus.] in I Ch. 2121)~ used the verb y i i in the Arabic sense ' to rise,' ' to be
and in Josephus, it would seem, as 'Opovic (Niese, Opovvac or
Opovac). What was his real name? (For a plausible con-
jecture see ARAUNAH.)
Even in books of which the text is, in general, much
better preserved, however, the forms of the proper names
cannot always be trusted.
When we find 11, in Gen. 46 13 corresponding to xi@, in Nu.
26 24 (>,u*in I Ch. 7 I , Kt.), the mistake can be easily corrected,
the more so as the Sam. text and 6 likewise read i*w* in
this passage (cp JASHUB, I). But the list in Gen. 46, as com-
pared with Nu. 26, presents some other variations which prove
the existence of early corruptions in one at least of these texts.
Hence we have no guarantee that names which occur only once
in the Pentateuch, not to mention the Book of Joshua, are cor-
rectly written.
It must he remembered, furthermore, that in all
~. Vowel probability many proper names which now were originally names of countries or places, for both in
contain vowel letters were written defectively
letters. in the more ancient documents (see W RIT-
ING, § Is).
We cannot, therefore, feel at all sure that in every instance the
vowel-letterswere inserted as correctly as in the case of the well-
known i,ii(instead of the more ancient ), on which see D AVID,
Dooo, DODAI,DODAVAH).The sovereign who is called y@-n
(Mesha)2 in z K. 3 4 appears as ~ V in D the inscription set up
by himself; his name in 65 is M o u a (but Josephus has M[e]ruac)
[BAL], i.c., yoin, and this would seem to be the correct form.
The name of the king of Tyre in I K. 5 24 3 2 [IO 181 is oil,n,
but elsewhere, in Samuel and Kings, nTn, with which I Ch. 14 I ,
Kt. agrees : in the latter passage the Kr. is H O r Z r n (oiln), and
elsewhere, in Chronicles, this form is invariably used. The
1 In citing Oriental words from 65 aspirates and accents are
here omitted, since they were introduced i n t o the text at a time
when the real pronunciation could no longer be ascertained.
2 Another MEshn'(@,g, I Ch. 242) whose name, for some un-
known reason, is written with d, while that of the Moabite king
has a, is called Maprua(c) in @MA by a confusion with the
Mareshah who comes later in the same verses.
3273
NAMES
Tyrian tradition followed by Josephus (c. A). 1 1 7 8 21) has
E L P W ~ orO FIpopor,
, and so we should read in Herd. 758 (cp
5 104), instead of Iipopoe. Hence it follows that oi1.n is the
only correct form, and that niin can be nothing hut a
blunder. Such being the case, what reason have we for
believing that the names of less celebrated persons, such as
Bini (33, punni ( 3 ~ 1 , *333), or Binnu.i (.r>z), are always cor-
rectly vocalised, especially as the Bani of 2 S. 2336 seems to
become Mibhar (ynm) in I Ch. 1138? (for an explanation see
M IBHAR , HAGRI).
On the other hand, there may be many cases in which
the Massoretes failed to mark the long vowels because
6. Greek the names in question had been handed down
. without vowel letters. It is of less
veralons' importance that in certain names the Greek
texts exhibit a 'somewhat older pronunciation than that
Thus the Greek forms often preserve the vowel a,particularly
in unaccented closed syllables, where the Massoretic form has i,
in accordance with the latest phonetic development of Hehrew ;
for example, Maprap-i.e., MaryHm or rather Maryam ( o ; y , the
only form known to the Syrians and the Arabs)-is, of course,
more primitive than Miryim. Cp also MadaBiac, MarnzBiac
with Mattithyah (nqnnn), r d a a 8 with Gil'id (ips:), etc. Simj-
larly the a in Apeh, raj3sp is more primitive than the e ( 7 ) in
has
(si?),
Hehel Geher (12:) : but in the majority of such form.. 6
the later pronunciation with e.
From all this we may conclude that in the case of
obscure names we have no right to assume the traditional
punctuation to be correct, and must always make allow-
ance for considerable changes.
Since, moreover, our knowledge of the Hebrew
language, as has been remarked above, is very im-
., Meanings perfect, and since we cannot hope to dis-
cover the particular circumstances hy
obscure. which this or that name was first sug-
gested, it follows that even when the form of a name is
fairly certain its meaning is often unintelligihle. This
applies even to such names as Judah (niin,), Aaron
( ' i i ?RCch2.b
~), ( i ~ i ) , (nn), etc.' By a comparison
Ruth
I t is. for example, conceivable that the Hebrews once
prominent,' and that hence the name Beriah ( n y n ) was
formed ; but this is very far from being certain. T h e
reader must therefore bear in mind that many of the
explanations given below are merely tentative, even
where doubt is not positively expressed. Furthermore,
many names which at first seem to admit of a n easy
explanation prove, on closer inspection, to h e either
very obscure or transmitted to us in a doubtful form.
I n general, it may h e said, compound names are more
easily explained than simple ones (cp § 88).
Among the persons mentioned in the O T we find a
considerable number of eponyms-i.e., representatives of
8. Eponyms. families and tribes. I t is certain, or at
least highly probable, that some of these
ancient and in modern nations there has been a wide-
spread tendency to assume that n people, a tribe, a
family, or a country must derive its name from some
individual. I n Gen.10 the genealogy of Noah's de-
scendants includes even plurals such as I.udim (c,ii$)
and Pathriisim (p~imn~), as well as countries and cities,
such as Egypt (~?,iyn) and Zidon ( i l l y ) . Here the
fictitious character of the list plainly shows itself.
Similarly ' t h e Jebusite.' ' the Arvadite' ( i . e . , native of
Aradus), and others w-ha appear in the same chapter,
are to be understood, in accordance with the genuine
Hebrew usage, as collective terms for the tribes, or
rather inhabitants, of the places in question. In like
9. Gentilicia. manner we are to explain the gextilicia
( i . e . , adiectives derived from ~. proper
names) with the ending i , which are enumerated among
the posterity of Jacob in Nu. 2 6 1 5 8 Perhaps even
1 To suppose that here a y has been dropped is contrary to the
laws of the language.
3274
 NAMES
Levi {*j$) and Naphtsli (*h) may belong to the same
class.
The name Mushi (+in) which occurs, together with Mersri
(,im) and Mahli (,$no), in the pedigree of the Levites, is rightly
regarded by Wellhausen as a derivation from Moses (?do);
*d,a is that part of the priestly tribe which claimed descent from
Moses himself (cp MOSES, $ 2). That in the later system the
name occupies a different place, and that the vowel has been
slightly changed, is not to he wondered at. The expression ‘the
sons of half the tribe of Manasseh’ (ngj>n ‘yn ~ 3 1 I;Ch. 5 23) Ierformed by the said Levites according to the post-
may serve as a warning against explainingsuch ‘fathers’ literally,
for no one of course, can have imagined that nwjn p ) ~ w*sn
was an individual.
Among the descendants of Jacob there are also, it
would seem, several names of places ; Hezron ( p r n ) . a
Place grandson of Judah, represents the place
bearing this name in the Judzeau territory
(Josh. 15 q)-the word signifies ‘ enclosure ’
(which is the original sense of the English ’ town ’ ) from
the same root as Hazor ( T i m , see HAZOR).and some
other Semitic names of places, for instance, the well-
known Hatra in the Mesopotamian desert.
I n I Ch.2 names of places such as Hebran (fiy>,q) and
Tappuah (nrsn) are cited as persons ; Hebron (jilln) appears
also as a grandson of Levi (Exod. 6 IS), since Hebron was a
Levitical city. The Manassite Shechem (mt; Nu. 2631 ;
Josh. 17 z, cp I Ch. 7 rg) and the non-Israelite ShEch4m (P3V ;
Gen. 33 18 ; Josh. 24 32 ; Judg. 9&), alike represent the city of
Shechem. Shimran (fiynd), a son of Issachar (Gen. 46 13), is
probably to he pronounced ShamErau (fimw),and stands for the
city of Samaria; that this place derives its name from a man
called Shemer in^ ; I K. 16 24) is very unlikely. The Josephite
tribes, it must be remembered, were in part settled on the
ancient territory of Issachar (and Asher), cp Josh. 17 11.1 The
other capital of the northern kingdom, Tirzah (ann), is repre-
sented by a daughter of the Manassite Zelophehad (,n&s
Nu. 26 33, and elsewhere). Many similar instances might b6
adduced. It is even possible that the Judaan Ethnan ( p ~ ;
I Ch. 4 7) may stand for the Judaean city Yithnan, EV Ithnan
([in-; Josh. 15 23). In t h e case of some names mentioned in the
earlier parts of Chronicles we cannot determine whether they
were intended, at least by the original narrator, to re resent
places or persons ; ‘sons of So-and-so ’ may very welf mean
‘inhabitants of such-and-such a place.’
Most of the family names and tribal names which
occur in the O T are formed exactly like the names of
Among the Arabs there are very
ll. Tribe manypersons.
names which are borne by tribes and
names’ individuals alike, and often the name is such
as properly applies to a n individual only. I n a large
number of cases ‘ the sons of So-and-so’ are really
descendants of the man in question, though they some-
times include adopted members. I n other cases, a
whole tribe takes the name of a famous chief or of his
family, and the old tribal name gradually falls out of
use. Such processes may be observed in Arabia even
a t the present day. Other causes also may operate in
producing these changes. At all events we are justified
in treating the names of real or supposed ancestors as
individual names, unless their appearance indicates the
contrary.
A considerable number of names in the OT must be
regarded as fictitious. Not to mention the names in
12. Fictitious. the lists of mythical patriarchs down to
Abraham, who are perhaps, in some
cases, of non-Hebrew origin, we meet with various
names which were invented in order to fill u p the gaps
in genealogies and the like. Such names appear in the
middle books of the Pentateuch and are particulariy
numerous in Chronicles. T h e so-called Priestly Code
-which gives not only the exact measurements of Noah’s
ark and of the scarcely less fabulous Tabernacle, but
also impossible statistics as to the numbers of the
Israelite tribes-mentions many representatives or chiefs
of the tribes, and there is every reason to suspect that
some of these personages had no existence. Their
names are indeed generally formed in the same manner
as the names of real men ; but they sometimes exhibit
certain peculiarities ; it is, for example, only here that
1 See, however, ASHER($3).
3275
NAMES
N e find names compounded with Shaddai ( I d ; see
SHADDAI) and Snr ( a s ; see Z U R , NAMES WITH).
The main object of the compiler of Chronicles is to
clarify the Levites, and especially the families of temple-
iingers a n d door-keepers, and thus, in treating of the
.inies of David and Hezekiah, he mentions many
Levites, whose names rest upon no better documentary
:vidence than the descriptions of the religious services,
:xilic ritual. Names coined by prophets or poets (such
LS the author of Job) belong, of course, to a different
:ategory.
T h e present article includes those OT names which
xere in use among the nations bordering on lsrael-
13. Cognate names formed according to ordinary
dialects. Hebrew analogy. On the other hand,
the names of Assyrians, Babylonians,
Egyptians, and Persians are excluded (see ASSYKIA, 8
2 2 , EGYPT, 5 40).
At the present day we are acquainted with very many
?ersonal names that were current among other Semitic
T h e Arabic names known to us
14. Iprabic. peoples.
are particularly abundant ; these include
the great majority of the names found in the Nabateun
nscriptions (of which the Sinaitic inscriptions are a sub-
Iivision), and also a large proportion of the PaZmyrenr
names. Many Arabic and Aramaic names have been
preserved in the Greek inscriptions of Syria and of the
neighbouring countries.’ 4 s t o the pronunciation of
most Arabic names we are accurately informed, thanks
to the industry of Mohammedan scholars. But this
knowledge unfortunately throws very little light upon
Hebrew proper names, owing to the fact that the nonien-
clature of the Arabs differed widely from that of the
To the latter the phmzician
15. Phaenician. Israelites.
I S much more nearly akin. The Phoe-
nician inscriptions contain many proper names ; since,
however. vowel letters are very rarely used, the exact
pronunciation cannot be ascertained, nor is much in-
formation to be derived from the transcriptions which
x c u r in Greek and Latin documents. These transcrip-
tions, moreover, vary considerably. T h e Phoenicians,
particularly in Africa, appear to have had a somewhat
indistinct pronunciation and a fondness for dull vowels,
5 0 that the sounds are reproduced by Greeks and Romans
in a n uncertain manner.
Thus the Punic name nn (Heb. ]RE, Mattin) figures in the
Latin inscriptions of Africa as Metfhunus, Metfun, Motthun,
Mutum, Myithum; Jos. c. A). 1 2 1 has M ~ T T V Y;OPolybiusix.
F
22 4, Mdsrovor : Livy 25-27, MufLines; and perhaps we may add
the M a m j v of Herod. 798.
It must likewise be remembered that of the Phoenician
language extremely little is known. With respect to
A r n i n n i c names we possess very much
16. fuller information : a considerable num-
ber may be found in inscriptions and literary works, and
the pronunciation is, for the most part, fairly certain.
The names in the Sabean inscriptions agree to some
extent, it is true, with the Arabic (in the narrower sense),
or at least are formed according to Arabic analogy ; but
many of them have an antiquecharacter,
l,. Sabaan. unknown in classical Arabic, and these
latter names exhibit many features which appear also
in Hebrew nomenclature. T h e Sabaean pronuncia-
tion, however, is but very imperfectly known, and even
those who are really acquainted with the inscriptions
(which is far from being the case with the present writer)
understand still less of the language than students of the
Phoenician monuments understand of Phoenician. T h e
18. Abyssinian, formation of Abyminian propernames,
as they are coined even in our own
time, offers very instructive analogies to the Hebrew
(see below, $5 2 1 , 22).
The fact that it has been found necessary to exclude
1 Such names will here he cited in the genitive case, whenever
the nominative is uncertain.
3276
 NAMES
Assyrio-Babylonian and Egyptian names from this
19. Other article, doubtless constitutes a serious
defect, for, quite apart from general
languages. analogies, it is not impossible that the
two ancient centres of civilisation, Babylonia and Egypt,
exercised a direct influence on the mode of coining names
among the neighbouring Semitic peoples. T h e present
writer, however, is not in a position to verify the state-
nients of Assyriologists and Egyptologists, still less to
throw fresh light upon such matters. Furthermore, it
would seem that the proper names of the Assyrians and
the Babylonians sometimes differed essentially from
those of the Hebrews. It may be noted, in particular,
that there was a liking for very long names. The
names of the non-Semitic Egyptians probably diverged
still more from the Hebrew type. In consequence of
some attention devoted to (;reek proper names-a study
which the work of Fick2 has now greatly facilitated
-it has been thought permissible to cite a few illustra-
tions froni this department. Some surprising analogies
will here be found, in spite of the great dissimilarity of
the tw-o races.
Very many Hebrew names are formed by composition
from two or more indeuendent words. W e will first
20. Composite consider these compounds from the
point of view of their form, before
’ their treating of their signification. Such
‘Om. -
names- accordine t z the Massoretic
vocalisation, undergo various contractions, which must
be based, to a large extent, upon sound tradition, or a t
least upon correct analogy ; but some of the details are
~ n c e r t a i n . ~A compound name may consist of (a)two
substantives, the second being in the genitive (I .of.),
or else it may form (6) a coniplete sentence (12 2 8 ) .
a. To the class of compounds consisting of two
nouns, in the nominative and the genitive respectively,
belong such names a s Jedid-iah ( n ~ i . ) , beloved of
Yahwt,’ Mattithiah (inmnn), ’ gift of Yahwe, Esh-baa1
( 5 y l y ) , a man of I h a l , ’ Obadiah ( i ~ m y ) ‘, servant of
Yahwe,’ etc. In niany proper names the first part ends
21’z:zc- This is mostly to be regarded as
:iei’sufix of the first pers. sing.,4 but
sometimes as a mere appendage of the
construct state-a formation of which w‘e occasionally
find examples elsewhere, and a survival, it would seem,
of some old case-ending. A few of these instances are
open to question, in consequence of the general unccr-
tainty of the vowels.
If the form Abdi-el ($N71Jy) in I Ch. 5 15 (equivalent to
AbdGl [5~?13ylin Jer. 3626) be correct, it can mean only
‘servant of God,’ just as Znhdiel ( 5 ~ y 3 1 )in Neh. 1114 I Ch.,
2 i z (cp ZaflSLjA b ‘.\pa$, I Macc. 11 17) means ‘ gift of God.
Hannicl(5~93n)is ‘ favour of God,’ like the common Carthaginian
name +y3>n, Hannihal, ’Avvij3ac.5 So also Melchizedek ( ~ 2 h
pis) is prohalily ‘king of riqhteousness,’G and the name of the
angel Gabriel (5~*131),‘man of God.’
The use of this old termination i in names formed at a
late date may be due to an inlitation of antique names.
Archaic forms have an air of solemnity, for which reason
the same ending i is sometimes added to ordinary nouns
in the construct state by later poets. Similarly the zi
before the genitive in another common Punic name
5p3yrys Asi-uhal, AzzruhaZ, Hnsrlnr6nZ. ’AaFpodpas,
‘help of Baal,’ seems to occur in a few ancient biblical
names-e.e. , Samuel (i~:zJj), ‘ name of God.’ In some
names a preposition stands before the noun in the
construct-e.g., R5sedP-iah ( n , i j ~ l ) , ‘in the secret of
1 See ASSYRIA, $ 22, EGVPT, $ 40.
2 Die g?<ec/rischenPenonennamenP), Fritz Eechtel and Aug.
Fick, Ghtt. 1894.
3 Contraction? 50 violent as the Phmnicinn BomiZcav, Boncar
for nip5oi3, Gescon, Giscon for i 3 ~ 1 2 , Aodosfor, Aostar for
ninu i ~ ,have been quite unknown in Hebrew.
seem to
4 &r an alternative view see Ani, NAnlEs W I T H , 5 3.
5 iy>,jnn (CIS, 1661) appears doubtful on account of the
frequent Muithtwtdal without i.
6 See however, b r E I , C H I Z E V E K .
7 O n ‘the meaning of this and similar names see SHEM, NAMES
WITH.
3277
NAMES
Yahwh,’ BEzLl5el ($K+~J).‘in the shadow of God’; cp the
I’hoenici& i x i . 3 , ‘ in the hand of God.‘
22, Pre-
Such formations are common among the
p y z g l Abyssinians-e.g., BaZda Maiydmm.‘ b y
the hand of Mary,’ Baja25ta iWikdU, ‘ by
the prayer of Michael,’ etc. ; cp also the SabEan niipns.
‘ to the life of Athtar.’ Single nouns with prepositions
appear in Lie1 (hi), and LPm6el (Prov. 31 4, M T i ~ i o s ) ,
or Lemfiel ( i x i n ) ) , to God’ ( L e . , belonging to God),
as also in Bera ( y i l ) and Birsha (yth>), ‘w-ith (or, in)
evil,‘ and ‘with (or, in) wickedness,’ the names of the
legendary kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. Similar are
the foreign names Bishl2m (&x), ‘with peace’ (Ezra
47), and Ethbaal ($yxn~), ‘with Baal‘ ( I K . l 6 3 1 ) ,
unless the latter be equivalent to ’IBd$aXos (according
to the Tyrian tradition in Jos. c. Ap. 118.; Ant. viii. 132 ,
cp c. A$. 1 2 1 ; Ant. x. 111), which probably means
with him is Baal.’ On such Semitic names with pre-
positions see W Z K M , 6 3 1 4 8
6. The use of complete sentences as proper names
is common to all Semites. Among the natives of
23. Sentence central and northern Arabia, it is true,
such formations appear only as sporadic
names’ survivals, in nicknames (e.$. , Ta’abbata
Sarm[n], ‘ h e has mischief under his arm,’ Jii‘a kamEhu
‘ his lice are hungry ’), and in names consisting of a
single verbal form (e.$., Y a z i d , ‘ he augments ’). But
among the Syrians these names were freely coined, even
in Christian times ( e & , SZ.Ghd zikhe‘,‘the cross conquers,’
Kdmisho“, ‘Jesus is risen,’ Subh&i Zmiran, ‘praise to OUT
Lord ! ’ etc. )
Similar,are the Abyssinian TaKYfu6;rkZn, ‘the light has been
revealed, Mnrikhrinina E@’, our Redeemer is the Lord,
Mapah s~nzrri,‘ t h e angel has pleasure in her,’ Y&nra&anu
h-r&tstl may Christ have mercy o n us !’ etc., a n d the modern
Amhari; DPlwa7iz6ar& ‘victory is her throne’ (name of the wife
of Muhammed Graii, the enemy of the Christians) AZam ayahu,
‘ I have seen the, world ’ (name of a son of K i n g Theodore),
WandCmu naA I a m his brother ” c p also such cases as
Tawridach, ‘sh; is heautiful’ (name i f the wife of Theodore),
Adarash, ‘thou (fern.) hast enlightened,’ etc.
T o these correspond the Hebrew Hephzibah ( m ym),
‘ I have my pleasure in her’ ( 2 K. 211, cp Is. 6 2 4 ) ;
Azrikam (cp.iiy). ‘ my help has arisen ’ ; Col-hozeh
(mh-$3), ‘ he sees all ’ (?) ; Jiishab-hesed ( i ~ n JWV),
‘ kindness is requited.’ Even the tribal name Issachar
( i j s w , )seems to belong to this class, since it cnn scarcely
be anything else than i3v w., ‘there is a reward,’ although
it must be admitted that the meaning appears somewhat
strange (see ISSACHAR, §§ 3, 6). In like manner Isaiah
expresses one of his fundamental ideas in the name which
he gives to his son, Shear-jashub (3rd’ itad), ‘ t h e
remnant shall be converted ’ ; another son he ventures
to call Maher-shalal-hash-baz (12 wn inn), plunder
has hastened. booty has sped.’2 Ezekiel forms the
name Oholi-bah (RV), h, ’ my tent is in her,’ cp
Lo-ruhiimah (ncm a i ) , ‘she has not found mercy,’ in
posea. Joshbekashah (nuipad.), in I Ch. 25424, seems
to be ynshib kdshnh, n d p x i i . , ‘ H e ( ; . e . , God) brings
back hard fate.’ Instead of HazzElelponi (RV). &5rn
(fern.), in I Ch. 4 3 , we should perhaps read Hnjlel-
p i n a i ( * i e i i s n ) or H&e&inai (&sn= ‘13 5rn hi&
panni), ‘ Do thou shadow my face ! ’ W e must of course
regard as a fiction the statement in I Ch. 2 5 4 , where
the sentence GiddAlti we R6mimti ‘Ezer [Y?H+H]
Mallethi H6thir hInh5zi’oth ( i m n .nhn i i y mnoiii , n h
nN,ino), ‘ I have made great (cp w. 29) and have helped
mightily (v. y), I have fulfilled (? v. 2 6 ) abundantly
(v.28) visions (v.30),’ is cut up in order to furnish names
for the five sons of Heman, one of the Levitical singers
(see HEMAN). T h e name of another Levite ShPnlir5.-
m6th (nmrpnw) appears also to have been borrowed
1 O n an intaglio-a term used in this article to i n d u d e in-
scriptions on seals, scarabs, and gems, such as those published
b y hl. A. Lrvy (Sicgelund Gemmen), d e Vogue (ZnfaiZrPs),a n d
Ganneau (Sceazrx et c a d e t s ) .
2 H e r e l??is probably to he taken as a perfect.
3 Here i i w p w - has been interpolated.
3278
 ~AMES
from some poem, which contained the words ‘ My name
( L e . the name of God) is exalted (lit. exalted things),’
or else, if we pronounce ShEmS ( * a t ) ,‘ the heavens on
high.’
The above-mentioned names have, for the most part,
24. Theophorous a religious meaning, implied or ex-
names : their pressed. Much more numerous are
c-- the names which consist of sentences
iuru.
explicitly mentioning the Deity. I n
such sentences the predicate is sometimes a verb, some-
times a noun. The verb may stand in the perfect or
the imperfect, rarely in the imperative ; of this last we
have an instance in Hachaliah (n,$,n), which, as Th.
Bohme first pointed out, should be read not Hachalyah
(n;hn), but HakkElEyah (n:$n), ‘wait for YahwB! ’
Both in the verbal and in the nominal sentence the
subject may stand either at the beginning or at the end-
e.g., Elnathan ( m h ) , and Nathangl (hini), ‘ God has
given’ ; Jehoiar/b ( 3 ~ i n , ) ,‘ Yahwk contends,’ and Jerub-
baa1 ( $ y ~ i * ) ,‘ Baal contends’ ; Elimelech (75&N), ‘ m y
God is king,’ and Malchiel ( 5 ~ & ) , ‘ God is my king.’
The order of the words cannot, of course, vary in inter-
rogative sentences-e.$. , Michael (SNj’n), ‘ who is like
God 7 ’ Michaiah (inq,n), ‘ who is like Yahwk ? ’
In many cases, it should be noticed, we have no
means of deciding whether the predicate be a verb or a
noun, nor even whether the name before us be a sentence
or two nouns of which the second is in the genitive. I n
the absence of conclusive arguments to the contrary, it
is best to follow the vocalisation, without placing too
much confidence in it. As regards the sense it matters
nothing whether, for example, we pronounce Joezer
(iiyi3): ‘ YahwB is help,’ in accordance with tradition,
or JoazHr (ip.),YahwC has helped,’ after the analogy
of Eleazar ( T I ~ ~ N of ) , which the vowels are certain, since
the name was a very favourite one.
In Israelite names the Deity is most frequently called
Divine by the name peculiar to the God of Israel,
vu. Yahwk (>in.), which is invariably con-
psrt. tracted. At the beginning it appears as
Jeho- (in?)or Jo- (i,),at the end as y2hu or yah (in. or
2 3 ; EV always -iah or -jah). Often (see e.g., I SAIAH )
the same name has both forms.3 On ancient Israelite
intaglios we find vused also at the end-e.g., ivy (twice),
and 1,120 (once, while inq310, corresponding to n * i w
in the OT, occurs once also), i w y (once), and i . 3 ~
(once). The pronunciation was probably yau or yZu,
the contraction being similar to that in i-?:, dbhiu, ’his
father,’ instead of ‘a’??, which also occurs ; the phonetic
difference must have been very slight. I n like manner
we should perhaps read AhiyyHu (i*nn=AhiyyBhu. in;~m),
instead of Ahio (imfr), in I Ch. 8 14 31 9 37, as also in
2 S. 63f. ( = I Ch. 1 3 7 ) , where a proper name suits the
context better than ‘ his brethren’ ( i m ~ ) . Even an
Aramaic heathen of Egypt writes his nanie i w y , ’ YahwB
helps ’ (C1erm.-Gann., Et. d’Arch., 1896,$ 2 25). The
man was perhaps of Judean extraction ; the name of his
father *>it9 seems also to be Hebraic, cp 3i>w, 57.
The word El ($N), ‘God,’ is likewise very common in
proper names ; at the beginning it usually appears as
kli- (*$M), which can scarcely be translated otherwise than
‘ m y God.’4 Among the Phcenicians, Aramaeans, and
Sabaeans also 5~ was largely employed in the formation
of proper names. Names containing other appellations
of the Deity are much rarer, and will be noticed below in
their proper place.
1 Whether the name Sentiramis has the same etymology
cannot here he discussed. In any case the Hebrew name is not
borrowed from that of the divine queen.
2 These facts constitute a strong argument against the opinion
that the characteristic difference as to the order of the words
betwern th: nominal and the verbal clause in Arabic dates from
primitive times.
3 When both forms occur, only the form with in?will here be
mentioned.
4 For an alternative view see Ani, N A M E S WITH , 5 3
s to be incorrect.
3279
NAMES
Theophorous proper names often give clear expression
26. Their to the ideas of the Hebrews, and of the
msanings. Semites generally, as to the relation of man
to God. A comprehensive view of the
names in question will be found more instructive than a
lengthy exposition ; in the following lists, however, a
rigidly systematic order will not be observed.
In many names God appears as thegiverof the child.
a7. God the Elnathan, j n i i ~(which occurs also in
Egyptian Aramaic). Nethangel (!mini),
giver* Jehonathan (iniin.), Nethaniah (inmi, also
on an ancient Hebrew i&agL&), Mattaniah (rn.ina),
Mattithiah (inynn2, wrongly written nnnn. Mattattah
[RV] in Ezra1033). Cp the Nabataean (or Edomite)
p o p , Kouvhavos (Miller I ) ; the Flicenician in,sy>.
5y>in*, and other names containing in-, -la@&, S~inn,
$yxnn, the old Aramaic iniini, the Palmyrene piny, as
well as other Aramaic names containing I?,, Arabic and
Sabaean names containing ~ n ; i so also fMbwpos, Awul-
@cos, ‘ H ~ ~ ~ o T o s ,The same meaning belongs to Elza-
etc.
bad ( i x i h ) , Jehozabad (imn3), Zebadiah ( i n y n ) , Zabdiel
$NTU (Zapbr$X 6”Apaq); compare the Palmyrene 13113i,
$3131 (Za@@qAos, Polybius 5 79 ’os), etc. Perhaps we
may, with Gesenius, include in this category wNi*, wxin*;
cp the Arabic Aus, ‘ gift,’ and the Sabaean names OI&,
~NDIN, h o i x ~ . But the vocalisation of Josiah (7n;@d,)
seems to militate against this view.2
-
God gives of his own free wilt, or apportions (as a
gift)-Jehonadab (>7jin*), Nedahiah ( r n q 1 1 ) ; so also it
would appear, rapa.;lA(I’apdqXos) in Tobit, ‘God has
chosen out.’ But Pelaiah (ny.&, n,k), and in I Ch.
15 18 21 Eliphtleho (r&&, to be taken as an impera-
tive) probably have a different meaning.
God increases (the family)-Eliasaph (F,&), Josi-
phiah ( X-DDI,).
God opens (the womb)- Pethahiah (wnns), as Nestle
has rightly explained (Die Zsraelitischen Eigennamen,
168), in accordance with Gen. 30 zz ; cp the Sabaean
Sarnno. The ‘ opening’ or ‘ enlightenment ’ of the mind
is expressed in Pekahiah (wnga).
God is gracious-ElhiinHn, .in$ti (also on an ancient
28. Gracious. Hebrew intdglio), HSnanEEl, $ ~ i i n
(’AvdvvXos, Jos. Ant. xv. 24), Jeho-
h8nHn (]inin,), Hgnaniah, in’iin (on an intaglio nmn),
Hanniel ( S ~ q n ) . ~Cp the Phcenician 5y3in*, i&y>
(Buliahon, C I L 8 10785), S y ~ i n ( f f a n n i b a l ) , nip$nin
(Humilcar), 133n ; the Nabatrean in (”AvvqXos); the
Palmyrene i n ~ t h jnny. , So also Hasadiah (n,inn), in I
Ch. 3 20, and perhaps Rizia [RV] ( x w ) in I Ch. 7 39,
for KEsaya, n’yi.
God has mercy-Jtrahintel, 5xnni..
God blesses - Barachel ( 5 ~ 3 x 1 ) Berechiah, ~ in*3i>
(Bapaxlas), Jeberechiah, i n m ~ . Cp Koupdpamr
M a h l ~ o u’ I b o u ~ a i o s ,CZG, 5149 ; the Phoenician 7 1 > h ,
$p,l>(BaAcbuZ in Latin inscriptions, and so w e should
read the nanie in Cicero, Jkrr. 33989), 73in (on an in-
tuglio) ; the Palmyrene 7i35i3 (BwAij.dpaps).
God Zones -Jedidiah ( n ~ i , ) , perhaps also Eldad
(ih), Elidad (-11.5~). Cp the Sabaean $xiii, @r6+rhos,
Al+iAos, f 3 ~ 0 + l h v ~ oetc. s,
God he&-Eleazar (iryirr), AzarPEl (5tiiiy). Azariah
(in-,iy), Eliezer (,&N), Joezer ( i ~ y i , ) . Cp the Phoenician
i i y i a a ~ , iiy5yx (Bah4Cwpos, JOS. 6. A?. lrs), 5y3iiy
(AzrubaZ, etc. ), 5ymiiy ; the old Aramaic iiy5y3, iiylin,
h i y , hr~iy ; the Sinaitic iiynip, v h y , the Palmyrene
n h i (the three last names are Arabic). Adriel ( 5 ~ - i i y ) ,
in I S. 18 19, 2 S. 21 8, would be Aramaic ; but it is
1 By M Z e v is meant, in this article, the list of Semitic names
of the second century B . C . from Egypt, given by E. Miller in
the Revue Archiologiqwe for 1870, 1 0 9 8
2 It is hardly justifiable to explain Kushaiah, +mrp I C h.
15 17 (6 K w a i o v [A L] ; Krru. [el), for which 6 4 4 [29] h 3
G s h i (*s.p), from the Assyrian &iu, ‘ to give,’ a verb nnknowk
It would seem, in the other Semitic languages.
3 5~nin ~ ~ repeated several times. seems
in Jer. 32 7 - 9 ,though
3280
 NAMES
probably a mere mistake for Azriel ( $ N T ~ ) , or Azarei.1
(5Hiiy), as the LXX seems to indicate (BL,however, in
I S. eGpqX). T h e same meaning. it would appear, is
convcyed by Jesha' (yw?), Shim' (yiu). Sha' ( y v , cp nyrun)
in Isaiah (Yesha'yRhu in-yw). Hoshaiah (wydin, nyL"in),
S ~ y t p(on an intag&), Jehoshua (ytnn,), Jeshua (yiw),
Elishua (yrw\n), Elisha ( y v , $ ~ ); similarly Rehabiah,
n ' ~ m .'Ivideness ( i . e . help, cp y w ) through Yahwk.'
God is with man-Inimanuel, h i i n y , and perhaps
Ithiel,' $K,n.K (Neh. 117). Conversely Azaliah, W ~ Y K ,
'with YahwA' (?).
God conjeys den$ts-Gamaliel [EV], $ K h j , MEhE-
tabeel, ' x m * n n (Edoniite)fenz.
God is good, kind-'riibC@l, (altered purposely
by the scribes into 5 y p , TBbPal, which was intended
to signify ' not good '), TwPiljX (Tob. 1 I ) , Tobiah, 7;1'3ra.
God sustains-Semachiah (in,3oo), Ismachiah (in-3,m-),
NAMES
( m n h ) , and Hsbaiah (nxm), probably t3 be read
Cp the Talmudic $wino.
God makes-El&sah ( n b y h ) , AsBhel ( h t b p ) , Asiel
31. lYIaker.($why), 'Aur?jX (Tobit II),Asaiah (n7by)
on an ancient Hebrew intaglio i w y ,
Jaasiel RV ( ~ K ~ Y J P ) ,MaasE-iah (wbyn). C p the
Phoenician Sy9$u ; BedFepyos, Akp$ir.
God nccompzishes-GEniariah ( q n q ~ s ) . C p B ~ o r h h ? ~ .
God creates-Bera-iah ( T K ~ x ) , I Ch. 821 (probably
apocryphal).
God buiZds-Bena-iah ( i n m ) , so also on an intaglio,
IbnP-iah (m?;). C p KBupuvos (Miller) ; the Kabatzan
5x13 ; the Aramaic ~ n n i= (K J J ~ I ) ; Behmuros.
God sets up, estabZishes-El-iakim ( ~ , p h ) ,Jeho-Skim
(o*p,jn.), mis-spelt o,fi.. Jokim in I Ch. 4 2 2 . Also
Jecam-iah ( m q y ) , the vocalisation of which can scarcely
be correct. C p the Sinaitic v'mpn ; the Sabzan $Knp*,
h p n . Furthermore rn'iin (Kt.)-Le., Conan-iah w i f i 3 7:-

(the forms KZnan-iah, ?n:I>?, Ktnaniah, wqy?, are less

the Phoenician o o y $ y ~ .ODY;DUK.
God hoZds fasf-Jehoahaz, inKr>*, Ahaziah, i n m ~ probable), Jeho-iachin ( p i n , ) , Jecon-iah ( ~ n m . ) in , Jer.
(the king who bears this name is called inxin- in z Ch. 2228 Con-iah ( ~ 1 3 ) .
21 17 25 q), Hezekiah, i n y n (the punctuation of the God determinesfafe-Gaddi-el (5~.qj).
form ?-p", which also occurs [see HEZEKIAH], can God drings back-El-iashib (Y&K). Cp the Pheni-
scarcely be correct), Ezekiel, h p i n ? . cian S y ~ w which
, name, as Geiger has remarked, should
God is strong, and sfrtngthens-Vzziel ( i ~ ' i y ) Azaziah
, be restored in 2 S. 238, the received text having 3 ~ 3
(inyly), Uzziah. 7n*iy (on an ancient Hebrew intagh, nzwx, 'IepouB.6, and the parallel passage I Ch. 11I I
iVy). Cp the Phenician j h y ( ' A t i p i X ~ o ~~)Y, J I Y , ~ y 3 v 3 ,which point to an original ~ Y J S * ,or more cor-
n i p h y , rymnvy, h w y (the two last are on intaglios), rectly 5 ~ 3 m *so, ~bL,IeupaaX. 2 S . ; IsuuepaaX, I Ch.
the Sabrean 7 y h ('EXPa(os) ; ~ E O K ~IIoucrb$wv, ~ T ~ S , (see JASHOBEAM).Shiiba-el ( k n d ) . Shebu-el ( \ ~ > 3 d ,
etc. The names Jaaziel ( ~ N * T Y >Jaaziah ), (wry),should $ K X $ ) , seems to mean ' 0 God. turn again ( i . e . .forgive),'
perhaps be added ; so also Amaziah ( ~ T Y D K ) . or, if we pronounce ShBbP-El ($g?t), ' God has forgiven.'
God is a refiTe-Mahseiah (RV) (p$ ) l n - So also ShRbiah ( n q d ) , I Ch. 810 (which is preferable to
[Ba.].
stead of Max-iah (rn%7ya),and Eliizai (WY$K)we should the reading Sachiah (T?$), cp Zapid, @ ZEPLU;
probrbly pronounce Mf'oziyyah ( w f y ~ )and El'6zi see SHACHIA).Whether the Sabzan h j i f i has the
(3py)K) respectively. C p Ab8vXos (Miller)'and numerous same meaning is uncertain.
Arabic names derived from i i y = Heb. iry ' t o take God places (?), rits on the fhrone(?)-Joshih-iah RV
refuge ' ; the Aramaic w r y ; z ? J Y l K h p , ' E p p i ~ 6 ~ g s . ( T J ~ V , I Ch. 435), of which Joshaviah (mgi,, I Ch.
Similarly f3EzalEE.l (hhj), ' in the shadvw of God,' and 1146) and Joshah (ncs'i?,I Ch. 434) are presumably cor-
Elizur ( y i s h ) , ' m y God is a rock.' ruptions. Also Jesimi-el, $ N p b + (pronounce JesirnS-El,
God deZii'vers - Elpalet (ab&), Elipelet ( a k h ) , $&ye;?),' I Ch. 436.
PaltiSl (!wid&);PPlatiah (in.ab). T h e God causes t o g m o (?)-Yashwahyah (~n??;), as we
30' same meaning it would seem belongs
"
to Melatiah (in&), and perhaps to Delaiah ( r n h ) ,
Y
should perhaps read instead of JEsh6hB-iah (@d;) in
'Yahwk has drawn out.' W e may include, with I Ch. 436.
certainty, the name of the Herodian (Paud$w-i.e., God knows-EI-iBda (&K, a name borne also by an
i!:?-the Palniyrene ~ N ' Y D(@aaaihXv, @auqhhv, fem. ) 32. Knower. Aramaean, in I K. 11 23), Jeho-iBda
cp (PaudpaXos (Miller), L e . , $ y ~ 9 . So also MeshEzabEEl (ymh,), Jeda-iah (n,yv), Jedia-el (>*y,i*).
(5~1pdn). Cp the old Aram. 3 7 ~ 9 7 3; the Phoenician Cp the Palmyrene 5 2 y ~('IeGdpvXos) ; the 5 a b r ~ a n
ySn'7y3, 5y3r5n ; ZwuiOeos. B E ~ U W T O S,
'Hpourjv. h y i - ; Oebyvwuros, Aibyvwuros.
God cornforts - Nehemiah, n-nni (on an intaglio God rememders 3---Jozachar (mi,),4 Zechariah ( q n v ; ) .
in-nni). Cp the Sabzan h i 3 i T ; 0~6pv7)uros,Aidpvvuros. S o
God heals-Repha@l (h~i), cp the Palmyrene h~i,ako, it would seem, HBshab-iah (qnqdn), and Hfishab-
'Pe+hXov, and the old Aramaic 5 ~ ~ 1 9w-hich , coincides ne-iah RV (;1.13un), further corrupted into Hashhad-
with the name of the city, IrpPEl EV ( $ ~ 9 i ? Josh. ), 1827 ; dZinah KV ( m . i ~ d n )and, ~ Hiishabnah ( n 1 3 ~ $ 7 ) for
, which
Rephaiah ( m y ) . Cp the Palniyrene h ~ h ~j ~i ,i should read Hashabni-jah (mth), ' God has taken
we
('Pc+apJXou), ~ g i 1 (= 1 ~ ~; the ih )
Phcenician ugm$yl. account of me. '
God redeems-Pedah-el, h n ~ (SK'ID s on an intag&; God we$zs-&aniah ( n y i ~ ) ,JAzan-iah ( i n q i ~ ' ) ,
@a8ar.6Xou),Pedaiah (vis),IphdE-iah RV (n*m,). C p Jtzan-iah (>7.11.). C p ~ N > I ' ,on a Phoenician intaglio.
the Phoenician NiabyZ. God sees-HkB-e1(5~~in,5 ~ 7 n a, native of Damascus),
God preserves-ShEmariah (qx~mtj). C p the Phoeni- Jahki-el (SK*;n,, of which Hki-el, $win, I Ch. 239
cian inv$y3, i ~ w i etc. , Nabataean S K ~ D( IN a r k -
~ ~; the and Jezn-el, hi*, I Ch. 123 Kt. or Jezi-el [ ' ~ K T ] Kr.
pvXfs) ; the late Greek Oeo$dXaKros. maybe corruptions), HkR-iah ( a m ) , JahzS-iah RV ( a m , ;
God Keeps i n safe@ (?)2-MEshelemiah (wnhb). Cp .- ..~ _ _
the Phcenician o'w\y3, ~5~1nw:" ('EuupucX?)pou). Zogoviac in @ ; since, however, the Punic o can scarcely corr,e.
God conceds ( i e . , presumably ' defends ')-ElzHphiin spond to the Hebrew o, we may conclude only that in this as in
(ps~), ZPphaniah (anq~s),, which occurs also on an some other names, the first part was regarded a s a verb i y the
Massoretes, hut a s a noun by the Greek translator, in accordance
infa&io. Cp the Phcenician 5yllpr (frequent both as with tho Punic form.
niasc. and fem. = Sophoniba3). So also El- iahba 1 This, it is true, may also mean Baal dwells.'
2 Variant 5,q.n.cp. T h e punctuation yaries also between d
1 T h e name cannot be sy?:N,' God has brought' (Aramaic), and t...
3 See Nestle, ?.c.,whorightlyrefers toGen. 3022. Themother
since in Nehemiah's time the older form 5H.n.n would have been isPrimarily the object of the verb.
4 Ginsb. l
:
?
,
.
2 Or perhaps 'requites.'
3 Mis-spelt Sojhmis6a. T h e vocalisation agrees with that of 6 Unless ' n may he d u e to dittography ; see HASHBADANA.

3281 3282
 NAMES
Jeziah, RV Izziah, ani>,Ezra 1025?).' Also h q ?!?;
(REfiiah), wty: (Irijah EV), z;i (Jeriah).
..
God henrs2-Eli-shZma (yn@*$v, which occurs also on
an intngfio, probably of ancient Hebrew origin, y n w h ;
33. Treats cp Sabxan ~ D D ~ N )Ishmael., !-NYo&, (cp
with man. Sabaean INYDD'D'), HoshRma (y?lyin) I Ch.
318 (for Tehoshama vowin?. or Toshama,
ynd>),Ishmaiah (i&&).C p the Phoenician ;nanip$n,
etc. ; the Sab;~anbpi.
God a n s w ~ r (properly,
.~ by an oracle, hence, ' H e
grants a petition ')--'AvaSh, unless connected with p n
(see Swete. 'AY.)Tobit 1 2 1 , Ana-iah (n31y). So also
Anan-iah (n*~>y),which should probably be pronounced
AnRni-jah (rimy), ' Yahwe has answered me.' C p the
Syr? 'Aminishd' 'Jesus has answered me.'
God speak.r (by an oracle)-har-iah (n9-m). Cp
the Talmudic 1n.in. m'nN ( =ininn) ; the Phcenician
~ $ 1 ~ 5 ~' Baal
1 , reveals.' Perhaps we may add the
Phcenician +Din,, i$Nin*, ]$in,, from the verb mn;
Be6977pos, Ar6+7pos, Be6+ppauros, B E ~ X ~ ~ U etc. S O S , Daniel (i~":,'q,
Possibly the name Kola-iah (7.9~) also refers to an
oracle.
God szeiears 0)-Eli-sheha (~~d'hi), Jehosheba (ylldin?)
(both feminine). I n JehoshabCath (nyzgin,) and the N T
name 'EX(e)ruapCr [BXA] (so in Ex. 6 23 [A'F] ; cp
EXeuuapsO, Ex. 623 [B]), the feminine ending appears,
which is quite contrary to rule ; the grammatical form
presents great difficulties.
God pwmises (?) - Noad - iah (-viyii), MBad - iah
(nqyie, Neh. 1217. for which v. 5 has Maad-iah,
n,iyn). C p the Phoenician i y q n a ~ .
God is the object of hope-EV Hachaliah (;r.$sn, see
Ybove J 23), RV El-ieho-Enai (&i,&~),
34. Object. kl-io-;7.nai ~ y i h ) .' towards Yahwe are
mine eyes turned.'
God is the object ofpraise-JChallel-El RV (h&*),
MahBlal-El RV ( h % n o ) , HBdav-iah (wiii7), Hodi-jah
(naiin), HodPvah (nnia, pronounce Hddfi-jah, miin,
wp).
God is the object of a request-ShEalti-el ( \ N * & N ~ ) .
God admits into his cunJidence-BesddS-iah (aqim).
God corner-Eli-Rthah (an&), I Ch.
36' 254 (=El-iRthah, nn+N, in 21. 27).
acts.
God passes by (?) 3-El-idah (niyh),
I Ch. 720, for which v. 21 has Elekd ( i y $ ~ ) Adiel , lvIana two ancient Hebrew intaglior) ; the
(5N*iy), Ada-iah (nqy), Jeho-addah RV (myin,), I Ch.
836 twice (for which 942 has Jarah, my', twice). Pos-
sibly Laadah (my\), I Ch. 421, may be for ; n y $ ~ .
God dwells (among his worshippers)-ShSchirn-iah
(1 n m d ) .
God lives-JC!+el (hv,., also in Palmyrene), Jehi-eli
(-$wn,), Hi-el ( h n , I K. 1634). probably to be read
Hay-El (!-N,n, BHA has 'Ax[E]L+, hut $wn occurs in
Sinaitic inscriptions). Cp 'n-wo1 (on an intaglio which
is probably Moabite), the Phcenician v'ia.
God meets (with his worshipper?)-Pagi-el ( h p ~ ) . Neariah (397y3) can scarcely have this meaning ; derivatives
God miitends"-Jeho-iRrib (1>i,iT*), probably also
Israel xi^^), Sera-iah (7;5~),~ and perhaps MEra-iah
(..in), ' Yahwe has withstood.'
God shuofse- Jeremiah (wni,, YirmpYihu). The
same meaning perhaps belongs to the Phoenician l h s y z
(a very fxvourite name, transliterated Bafsiffec, etc.,
B d u X ~ ~ in o s Josephus, e. Ap. 1 2 1 ) and ~ $ a i n w ~ .
God t/zwiders-Raam-iah (n-nyi), Neb. 7 7 , for which
Ezra 22 has RPtlaiah (w5yi).
God iz ,-Itd7 or, more probably, gladdens-Jahdi-el
(\NY,~%), Jehde-iah (rn,in., Yebed-yihu).
1 Possibly \N'V and a'?' may be connected with 311 ; cp
M,izzah Gen.361317=1 Ch.137.
2 Thht ib, jn'nzan'b, He 'hears' the mother's prayer for ason.
3 rn xX.346. I K . 19 I I .
4 SgeEi. 15;,-Ps. 248, etc.
5 n*,c, which occursonan intaglio, seems tohe quite different.
6 See Ps. 7 14 [13] 18 15 1141 Deut. 32 23 4zr etc. Originally,
these expressions had a litera[ sense, as in t h e case of Apollo.
7 Scarcely in the sense of &Sei' yaiov, said of Zeus.
3283
NAMES
God is mighty (?)-Jecholiah (m$?;),the vocalisation
of d ( ' I e x ~ h i a[AL]) can hardly be correct, as the
name so pronounced would signify 'Yahwe comes to
an e n d ' ; perhaps the genuine form was JCchallC-iah
(?a$?,), 'Yahwe destroys.' With Jecholiah we may
compare Jehacal ($XI*), Jer. 373=JBcal ( h v ) , Jer. 381.
The Sabxan $&, may be something altogether different.
God rises (like the sun)-ZCrah-iah (n*nir). Jezrah-iah
(n*nir*). C p the Sabrean $xni*. S o also ;1*ina may
perhaps mean ' Yahwe is the dawn.'
God is light-NEriah EV (13*11). C p Aro+bcts,
9 ~ ~ 6 8 (~i .0e .s, ' divinely bright '), etc.
God isjrel-Uri-jah (??*TN) ; perhaps &-el ($N?K.
Ezra 816), and Ar-Eli (~IN~H, Num. 2617) may he cor-
ruptions of Ori-e12 ($!*?!, $!??). C p l'inirc of Byblus,
written Urumifku in the cuneiform inscriptions (KBZgo);
the Palmyrene $1111 (Nolipp~hos) Bel is fire.'
God judges - Eli - shaphat (DD&N), Jehoshaphat
36. sovereign. adin in,), SbCphatiah (ramad). C p the
Phcenician ~ ~ & y 2%J~ODW., So also
which occurs likewise in Palmyrene),
and perhaps PSlal-iah (n%).
God is just-Jehozadak (pisin.), Zedekiah (rnapir,
SidkiyyRhu). C p the Sabxan p pi^; in the ancient
Aramaic name p p l r (CIS 2 7 3 ) , the letters p are not
quite certain.
God rules, is Ring3-I%-melech (?,$&N, which occurs
also in ancient Aramaic), Malchi-el ($whn, cp the
Palmyrene 5 ~ 3 $ ~Malchi-jah
). (whn). C p the Edomite
Kaushmalaka ( K B 220)~ L e . , Kou/.~dAa~os;SO also
' E h p d h a ~ o(Miller)
s~ ; the Phoenician l$n$yz i h y 1 ; the
Egyptian Aramaic +niDN. So also the Phoenician
iwonip5n.
God ispossessor-El-kanah (nip$r), Mikne-iah (rn31p).
C p 15rnpn on an intazZiu; the Bceotian B e 6 r a a u ~ o s(in
an inscription).
God. is Lord-Adoni-jah ( ~ f i BEaI-iah ~ ) , (n.$y>, I
Ch. 125). Cp the Phcenician $y111~, I ~ N I ~ W N . etc.
T h e form ZdnihaZ, though it occurs only in late times,
is important on account of the second i, which niust
be the suffix of the first person, ' my lord is Baal ' (or
Yahwk, as the case may be).
Thus man is regarded as the servant of God-AbdE-El
($NTXY, which occurs also in Edessene) ; Abdi-el ( $ N Y I ~ ) ,
Obadiah ( i n q l y , which occurs also on
3,.servant.
Massoretic pronunciation of this last name
is rn9i>b ('ilpe6ias in Jos. Ant. viii. 134); but d usually
has 'ApS(e)la(s)[BAL], though ' O p 6 ( ~ ) r o [BKAL] u also
occurs.
Among the Phcenicians, Aramaeans, and Arabs, names com-
pounded with 'A6d(i>y) are much commoner than among the
Hebrews ; a m o n g the Ahyssinians the synonymous term Gadra
is used instead. Names compounded with t h e corresponding
feminine term nnN occur frequentlyamong most Semitic peoples
hut are wholly wanting in Hebrew. In Greek, names com-
pounded with Goithoc appear only in Christian times. The name
from the root i y l are found in other Semitic names, but the
sense is always uncertain.
Man is likewise regarded as belonging' to God-LBEl
(St&), LCniuel ('xi&, I N v h see above, § 2 1 ) . Cp the
Palmyrene oca5 (Arubpuou)and the Phcenician ninayh
i f at least the reading A~aurdprou,in Jos. c. Ap. 118 be
correct.
At the same time God is the portion of man-Hilkiah
(rn~pin); a cost~ypossession-Magdi-el ( ' 7 ~ 3 ~ 1 ;~ )a deLight
-El-nZam ( p y i s ~ ;) health-Shelami-el ( k & d ) .
God is great-GCdal-iah (3n-511), for which Jer. 354
has Igdal-iah (W<V). The vocalisa-
tion is that of the perfect tense, which
can scarcely be right here ; 6 usually
1 See Ex. 3 2 5 Dt. 4 24, 'the pillar of fire,' etc.
2 See also ARIEL.I .
3 See Ps. 27 4 5 ktc.
4 These forms have the pronunciation of the perfect tense, see
PS.47903 196 1097 199 I.
3284
 NAMES
has ro&ALa(s)--i.e., m $ ~ i where gldhol seems to be
a contraction of i i i k C p i ~ ~ ‘i
(‘Pap+ou, Pdpthos),
which occurs i n Palniyrene, Nabatzean. and S a b z a n , as
well as other compounds with 21 ; likewise the Sabcean
13h.
God is pevfect-J6thHm (mi,) ; possibly, however,
this is not a compound but a single word meaning
’ orphan ’ (like oin;).
God is hiph-Jehoram (aiin.), Ram-iah ( n - ~ iunless . TCbal-iah (rn.ha) should perhaps be read Tobli-jah.
this be a corruption of Jeremiah, n*ni*, or RtmH-iah,
n;m?). C p the Phcenician niiy2, iy2ni on an old
Aramaic (?) intagZz’o; the S a b z a n nTsN ; the Sinaitic
SNni. So also the Syriac Rdmisho’ ‘Jesus is high.’
God is in front (?)-Kadmi-el, (S~*nip). Cp the
Sabrean o i p h .
God is glon’ous-Joch&ed ( i 2 3 i > fern.), which we
should probably pronounce J2hZb2d.
God is blissful (?)-Jehoaddin RV ( p y i w fern.),
2 K. 142 ( K t . , for which the Kr. substitutes pyin,,
JehoaddBii AV, according to z Ch. 25 I ) . Perhaps
we may add Ladan RV ( i i y i , which occurs several
times in Chronicles), a coutraction, it would seem, of
IlYh.
God is incomparadfe-Micha-~I (5~3’~).Michaiah
( ~ 2 , nwhich
, occurs also on an ancient Hebrew intaglio).
His Godhead is expressly affirmed in kli-jah ( w ~ N ) ,
‘ my God is Yahwe ’ ; we even find Eli-el ( S N ~ ) ,‘ my
God is God.’ Cp the Egyptian Aramaic n h ~ i the
Palmyrene S > ~ $ N , ’EXdpvXos. Whether Jo-el (’xi,)
belongs to this category is doubtful, since it niay per-
haps correspond to i $ ~ (fem.
i n$Ni), the commonest of
all proper names in the Sinaitic inscriptions, the
Arabic W Z ’ i l l - i . e . , ‘ h e who seeks refuge (with God)’;
see above, 5 14. W e may add Elihn ( N W ~ N ) , and
probably Jehu (~m!, for Johu, tmi., like JeshBa, md:,
for Joshua yiwi+).
Some other names compounded with El (h) or Jeho in Ngthan-melech (?$n-;ni), ’ the King has given,’ Ebed-
(in’) are very obscure. Thus Jahziel (5wsn+), Jahre-81
( 5 ~ 3 ~ 9 means
) ‘ God halves’; but how is
39’ obscure‘ this to be explained? Nor is it easy to
account for $ N > D Samuel, ~, ‘name of God,’ though in
Syriac we find an?+j, name of his house,’ and in a
recently discovered Phcenician inscription, hinw fem.,
not to mention several other Syriac names Compounded
with NEW. and Sabzean names compounded with
Possibly SF?nwmay signify ‘ bearing the name of God’ ;
cp ’AaoXhLbuupos, ‘EKaTLbvupos, ‘ named after Apollo
(Hekate).’ In the case of so well-known a name it is
scarcely permissible to alter the pronunciation into
ShEmoel, ‘his name is God,’ although the ‘ Letter of
.4risteas,’3 probably composed i n the first half of the
first century, B.c.. mentions in its list of translators two
men called Zophqhos as well as one called Zapolivhos ;
see, however. below, § 42. Another obscure name is
Misha-el ( i ~ d j . which~ ) , seems to be compounded with
$N, since there is a name Mesha ( N ~ , D ) ,arid in Palmy-
rene we meet with Nw.13 fem. ( = Maiua, the name of
the Syrian grandmother of two Roman emperors). So
also Bakbuk-iah (n.psq3) can scarcely niean ‘ pitcher of
YahwB,’ though the simple Bakbiik ( p q x , 1 71) un-
doubtedly means ‘ a pitcher’ ; on the other hand the
name Bukkinh ( n a p ) might be connected with the Syriac
verb N?>, and if read as BeklyZh, would signify ‘ Yahwe
has tested.’ Elihoreph (+N) cannot possibly be in-
terpreted as my God is winter’ : and to translate the
#
Edomite name. Eliphaz (~D+N), by ‘ m y God is pure
gold’ likewise sounds very strange. Of Jaareshiah RV
1 So Nestle, Zoc. cit. 132. The Phaenician 5 ~ is, - however, or
not a complete name, but only the beginning of one; hence
nothing can be concluded from it.
2 See further S HEM (N A M E S WIT H).
3 See t h e edition of Moriz Schmidt in Merx’s Archiv, i. p.
2 2 8
4 rp is in Hebrew the opposite of y’p and therefore cannot
mean ‘the time of ripe fruits.’
3285
NAMES
(nyjly.) and ShErebiah (?->id)no plausible explanation
has as yet been offered. That the consonants of
Shebaniah (rn*i2d) and RCmaliah (wim)are correct is
proved by intaglios bearing inmw, i - i ~ w ,and i n * $ ~ i ;
but the Masoretic vocalisation here gives no sense.
T h e writer of the present article is inclined to read
Shiibani-jah. ‘Yahwk has brought me back,’ and
Rdmli-jnh,’ ‘Yahwk is exalted for me,’ but this is very
far from being certain. Similarly the unintelligible
‘Yahwe is gracious to me.’ In Athaliah ( n h y ) , also
the word ,i niay be contained, and in Othni-el ( s ~ > i n y ) ,
the suffix * I - , cp Atha-iah (n,ny, Neh. 114 ) : the mean-
ing of nny in this connection remains, however, quite
obscure. Finally Habazziniah RV (,13;u>n, Jer. 3 5 3 )
may perhaps stand for H5bHsani-jah (nqr>n), ’ YAW&
has reduced me to straits.‘ On the whole, it can
hardly be doubted that the suffix ani is contained in
some names where the Masoretic pronunciation con-
ceals the fact. A few other names compounded with
$N or in*-e.s, US1 (irr*)-must here be passed over in
silence ; several of these are no doubt corrupt. Names
compounded with words expressing relationship will be
mentioned later ( 5 4 3 8 ) .
Other appellations of the Deity than Yahwe or El are
. &
comoarativelv rare in Israelite oroDer names. Adoni
40. Other (YjiR), ‘myLord,’occurs, e.g.-in Adoni-
karn (OTjiN), ‘ m y Lord has risen up,’
, divine ’ and in Adoni-ram (O-pjiN), ‘ my Lord
is exalted’: Adoniram aooears in 2 s .
2024 and I K. 1218 as Adoram ( o i i x , but &[A, and B in
a S.] ‘AGwvrpdp : see A DONIRAM). Whether Adoni-
zedek( pis-*jiN), the name of a mythical king of Jerusalem,
means ’ the Lord of righteousness,’ or whether we should
read some such form as Adoni-zaddik, ‘ m y Lord is
righteous,’ cannot be decided (see ADONI-ZEDEK).
T h e word 750, ‘ King,’ as a name of God, is found
41. ~ I e l e c hmelech
, (+n m y , which occurs also in
Phcenician. sometimes shortened into
:ialy ; cp the Mohammedan name, ‘Xbd-almalik),and
Regeni-melech (753 o n ) , which seems to have the same
meaning as Jeremiah (qn*~i,),the first part being prob-
ably verbal, ‘ t h e King has hurled.’ M a k h i (&),
‘ m y king,’ is found in Malchi-ram ( o i - ~ h Phcenician.
,
n-&), ’ my King is exalted,’ and Malchi-shua (yq&&),
’ my king is help ’ (?).
Baal ($yi), ‘lord,’ which occurs so frequently in
Phcenician proper names, may in early times have been
42. Baal. used to a large extent by the Israelites also.
In the O T , however, nanies formed with
Baal are rare. Thus we find Esh-baa1 ( 5 y ~ d ~‘ )man . of
Baal ‘ ( I Ch. 8 3 3 and 939), which stands for 5 y j W-N.
I S H - B AA L ( q . ~ . )‘man
, of Baal,’ and in other passages
is purposely altered into Ish-bosheth (ne;> d , ~ ) or , even
Ishui (,id+, I S. 1449), while in I Ch. 4:21 it is wrongly
spelt yse;~,Ashbea (cp the Phoenician n i n w ~and such
Arabic names as cnw ~TDN,which occurs in Palmyrene
inscriptions, perhaps also the Phcenician mnwyinn, if a t
least the reading McBouduTapTos in Jos. c. ,4$. 1 1 8 be
correct) : REI-iBda (y7.5y3), ’ Baal knows’ (where the
Massoretic vocalisation intentionally disguises the word
$yi ; the name is altered into El-iada [ y i h ] in z S. 5 16
[but see LXX], and in I Ch. 3 8 ) ; Jerubbaal (sy>i,),
‘ Haal contends’ (explained away even in the biblical
narrative so as to mean ‘ he contends against Baal ’ ) ;
in z S. I1 Z I it is distorted into Jerub-besheth (ndmi’).
The same meaning belongs to Merib-baa1 ($yp >,in,
I Ch. 8 3 4 and 940). once wrongly spelt Meri-baa1 (*in
Syx), and in all other passages corrupted into nd>-cn
ndl?o, Mephi-bosheth ( q . ~ . ) . T o these must be
1 It is impcssible for us to discover to what extent vowels
originally long nray h a v e been shortened in the ordinary pro-
nunciation of proper names.
1 In those cases where the later Jews recognised 1 5 as ~ the
name of a (heathen) gal they altered it into MoAdx, Molech.
3286
 NAMES
added the Edomite Baal-hanan (pnSy3, Gen. 3 6 3 8 fi),
‘ Baal has been gracious,’ and perhaps the Ammonite
Baalis ( ~ . $ y l ) , a name of which the meaning is
unknown.
The Babylonian form E 1 ($3), may perhaps he can-
tained in Ashlkl ($&, f i r Ish-bel,
43’ Other ‘ man of Bel ’), unless the name be a
divine names* mere corruption of 5ya WN, Ishbaal ; a
more probable instance is &, B I L D ~ (D g...), ‘ Bel has
loved ’ (?).
q~fi, of which the traditional pronunciation, ShaddHi,
can scarcely be correct,l is found in the following names
only-ShSdE-Cir ( i a ~ ’ i d ) , ‘ ~ E f i is fire,’ Zarishaddai
( w h i t p ) , ’ my rock is ’iw ’ (Zapaua8al [B], or Zaproa6ac
[K],Judith 8 I ) ; and Animishaddai (v~ei.my); see below,
5s 45 and I 17. None of these names seems to be really
ancient, and the same may be said of PEdahzar ( i r r m ~ ) ,
‘ the Rock ji.e., God) has redeemed.’
In ZElophEhid (in&r, more correctly Salpahad, 6 5 ( $ ~ 3 1 )Abida
ZaXxaci8), the word in5 (pahad) should probably not
be taken as a name of God (cp pnr- ins, the p a b a d
[fear] of Isaac, Gen. 314253). since i n s h seems to
mean ‘ shadow ( i . e . , protection) from terror.’
Although Gad (11) is the name of a deity in Is. 65 11
(cp the Syrian name 3 n ~ ‘. God has given ’), Azgad
(i-lry) appears to signify only ‘fate is hard.’
In ShEmida (y,*oy), the word &ern2 may possibly
he a divine appellation, as in the Syrian Nnw-nK (cp
vnN. Ahijah), and NDLII (cp i i n 11,u n h 13).
On names formed from names of the Egyptian gods,
see below, 181.
T h e name of a foreign deity occurs in OMd-BdBm
(niK T I I ~ ) ,hut whether the vocalisation be correct is
doubtful (see OBED-EDOM) ; nix i > y is also a Phcenician
name. In the following names borne by foreigners we
likewise find mention of foreign gods-Tabrimmbn RV
( f i m i ~ ~ ) ‘good
, is Rimmon’ ; Benhgdad (11-1 I > ) , ‘son
of Hadad’ ; HgdadEzer (iiy ? i n ) , I Hadad is help.’
Possibly Hadad occurs also in H e n i d i d (iiin), which
is usually explained as standing for 113 in, a favour of
Hadad ’ ; if this be so, we must suppose the name to
have been adopted during the Exile by an Israelite who
was not conscious of its real meaning, as happened in
the case of the name Mordecai ( * j ~ i nand ) others.
W e have next to discuss a group of proper names
which consist of a noun expressing relationship coupled
either with the name of a god or with
4 4 Names of some other word.3 The interpretation
relationship : of these names involves peculiar diffi-
their syntax. culties, owing chiefly to the fact that
the commonest of the nouns-in question, namely Ab
( 3 ~ ) .‘father,’ and Ah (m), ‘brother’ take in the
construct state the termination (i) which serves also a s
the suffix of the first person singular. Modern dis-
coveries have proved beyond all possibility of doubt
that, strange as it may appear to us, names expressing
‘ brotherhood’ or some other relationship with a god
were current among the ancient Semites (see A BI
[N AMES WITH], 5 4 J , and cp AMMI,HAMU). T h e
feminine proper name +onnu, on an ancient intaglio,
names of Punic wonien such as l h n n and nipinnn, as
well as the masculine name njinn (Himikon, Zmilcon,
etc.), in which the two component parts are of different
genders, cannot he translated otherwise than ’ sister of
Melk,’ ’ sister of Melkart,’ ‘brother of Milkath,’ re-
spectively. So we find the Abyssinian names Ahwa
Krestes, ‘ brother of Christ,’ Ehta KrestBs, ‘sister of
Christ.’ So also must mean ‘brother of Melk.’
Hence, too, the Hebrew Ahijah ( I ~ V N ,and vnN, Ahio ;
1This pronunciation is based upon the impossible view that
v d means ‘One who suffices,’ GI. Ircv6s. The original pro-
nunciation was probably ?@, Shedi (see SHADDAI).
2 On names comoounded with this word see S HEM , N AMES
WITH.
3 Cp WRS RSZ 5 2 8 , and see also ABI-and AHI., AMMI-,and
HAMU,N AMES WITH.
3287
NAMES
see above, § 24) is ‘ brother of YahwB,‘ not ‘ my brother
is YahwB,‘ which ofcourse would come to the same thing,
while Joah (nNi,) can signify only Yahwb is (my)brother.’’
T h e names Abiel ( S N , ~ ) , Abijah (?BIN), Abimelech
( 1 $ p 3 ~ )as , also the Phoenician 5 y 3 9 3 ~(on an ancient
intaglio), $ y x x , ‘A@@hos (Jos. c. Ap. 1 1 7 . 8 , Ant.
viii. 5 3 ) . $ p ~ , and AbiZlahas (CZL, 8 9198) - L e . .
“ 7 5 ~ (probably
9 ~ the name of a Syrian)-are all more
naturally explained as meaning ‘ m y father is God,
YahwB, Melek,’ etc., and with this it agrees that Abijah
( 3 3 3 ~ is
) also used as a feminine name, like the S a b z a n
l $ a x , * $ y 3 ;~ the Phcenician 5 ~ 3 3 3 ~moreover, . un-
doubtedly signifies ‘ our father is Baal ’ (cp B~oxcirpa).
and Abihu in,^) can be nothing but ‘ my father is
He.’ W e also find Abi ( 3 3 ~ ) and Ahi ( v N ) used in
proper names precisely like El (SX) and Jeho (in%),and
we are therefore obliged to regard them as appellations
of the Deity-Abidan ( i l * x ~ corresponding ) tD Daniel
, (Y1’3N. Midianite) to Jeho-iada (yi.in,),
Abi-nadab ( 3 7 3 . 3 ~ and ) Ahinadab (iij*nw)to Jehonadab
(xifin,), Abiezer ( ~ T Y I Nof , which Iezer. i i y - ~ is
, a con-
traction, as Ewald has shown)2 and Ahiezer (iyynw) to
Eliezer (iiy*sN), Abirani ( ~ 1 . 3 ~and ) Ahirani (ni*nN) to
Jehoram (oiin’), Abi-asaph ( 1 0 ~ 7 3 ~and ) Eb-iasaph
( P ~ N )to El-iasaph (rph), Abishua ( y t @ x , on an
intaglio, Y O ~ N )to Jehoshua (ydin.), Abiner ( 1 1 3 ~and )
Abner ( 1 3 1 ~ )to NEriah (n.13, which is synonymous with
’Axdp in Judith 5 5 3 ) , AhisHmach (1co-nN) to SEmach-
iah (WIDD), Ahikam (np’nN) to Adonikam (np’jiN),
Ahishahar (in@nN) to ShBhar-iah (n-ind). Compare
likewise ABISHUR( q . ~ . )i,a d ’ > ~ ,‘ m y father is a wall,’
with the Palmyrene 11&3 (B+uodpou), ’ Bel is a wall.’
Abiathar (-n+3N, EbyZthZtar) appears to mean ‘ my father
is eminent,‘ and so in1 is used in several S a b z a n names.
Ahishar (i&nx) should perhaps be read Ahisar (ib’nn),
‘ my brother is a prince.’ Cp the Sabzean names
~ N X (likeN Hebr. ~ n ? n Amariah),
~, ym%N, ‘ the brother
raises’ (like Hebr. o.jyin*, Jehoiakim), ~ ’ I I ~ N , ‘ t h e
brother is princely,’ etc. The very ancient name, Abram
( ~ ~ I I Abraham
N), ( n ; 1 7 3 ~ ) however,
, must signify ‘ high
father,’ since it stands in connection with Sarai (,ib),
Sarah (nib), ‘ princess,‘ and Milcah4 (>&E), ‘ queen.’
I n those cases where the second Dart of the name is an
abstract term the grammatical analysis
Second becomes more difficult. Here the
45, abstract.
part
rendering mv father is -.’ ’ m v brother
“ 2
is -,’ appears to be supported by the following two con-
siderations. Firstly, the use of ‘ father ’ in the sense
of ‘ possessor,’ ‘ one who has to do with a thing ’-a use
which in ancient Arabic is rare,5 though it is common in
the Arabic of the present day-does not occur in Hebrew,
unless we reckon the obscure expression, l y - 3 ~ ‘~father
of eternity,’ in Is. 9 5 [6].6 To employ ‘ brother’ in the
vague sense mentioned above would likewise be contrary
to Hebrew usage. Furthermore, names with the prefix
*XN or -nN are borne, in some cases, by women.? Hence
Abihud (19n*3X), Ahihud ( v w n N ) , must mean ’ my father,
brother, is glory,’ and similarly Abitub ( II?D’X), Ahitub
3a~)*n ~
(where 3it), tab, is to be rendered ‘happiness,’
or else changed into l i p 1 , tab, ‘good,’ as seems to he.
indicated by the ancient Aramaic name, 3 i ) ’ x , com-
pounded with x ~ ‘,good ’), Abinoam (OYXIH), Ahinoam
n y 1 - n ~( o p , ‘ pleasantness ’), Ahihail ( $ w ~ N , masc. and
fem., ,!$: ‘ strength ’), Abigail (!?I?~N, fem. $71. ‘ exulta-
1 For another view see A BI (N AMES WITH, 5 I).
2 Hghr. (:yarn. ed. of 1862. n. 66-.
8 F i r another suggestion,<& A ~ I S H A R .
4 00these names see also the special articles.
5 This use is a development of the kunya, a form of nomen-
clature peculiar to the Arabs.
6 Foranother suggestion see A B I H U D ; ABI,N A M E S W ITH , $$ I.
7 It is true that the modern Arabs, in certain districts, apply
a&, ‘possessor,’ even to a woman, e.g., a6ul-‘uyGn alwu1“dn
‘the woman with languishing eyes.’ The same meaning belong;
to the Neo-Syriac phrase mar 2n2 mbu‘e, where nrar, ‘master,’
stands for ‘mistress’ (see Socin, Ncuauambi+r Dialekte, 135,
IO). It is very improbable, however, that this usage existed in
Hebrew.
3288
 NAMES
tion’), Ahishalom ( o i b i q x ) or Absalom ( n i % x . niid.
‘ health.’ ‘ peace’), which latter form is supported by
I Macc. 1311‘A\Ldhopos (one of the Hasmonzans, see
Jos. Ant. xiv. 4 4 ) . and ‘A\L.dXapos(see Miller), whilst the
spelling ‘A@suuah&pin 6 (BA and sometimes L) is by
no nieans inconsistent with it. T o these may be added
IchBb6d (ii>3*N), ‘ my father is glory,’ and the feminine
Abiial (ID-~N), ‘ my father is dew.’ In some cases, of mean ‘ cornpan~oiiof God.’ Compare such Abyssinian
course, the real meaning is doubtful. Thus Abishai
(.d,lx), Abshai, RVW (*&IN), IthLmBr (innw), Abishag
( 3 d 3 x , fem. ), Ahimaaz (yyrynR), Ahi-thophel ( h n x ) ,
XhiniRn ( p n x ) , AhbRn (pm, cp Eshban, p i x ) , are
all obscure (see the several articles); others are quite
uncertain.z .4himoth (nin’ng) may perhaps mean the
twin brother of a child born dead, or of a child who died
immediately after birth.3 Ahilud ( i b n n ) is probably
nothing more than ‘ a brother is born ‘-i.e., Ah-yHlCid
(ir5yx). The name of the Phoenician woman Jezebel
( 5 3 7 , ~can
) scarcely belong to this category(see J EZEREL ) ;
c p two other Phcenician names, ~ I I N ~ and ~ I Ih v (both several instances of Aramaic names n-hich designate the
fem. ) . 5
It is therefore in accordance with analogy to interpret
Hamniu-el RV (5ximn) as standing for HBmfi-el ( h ~ n , Compare such Abyssinian names as Walda Le‘fil,
46. ~ n J n cso l e . already AV) ‘brother-in-law of God,’
like the Sabrran ($)xon, nnynn (see further
HAMG, N AMES WITH). The Sabzeans also use $fi
& i Z ‘ avunculus,’6 as an appellation of the Deity, in the
names in&, y ~ h 3ihfi , just as they use oy ‘ patruus ‘ cp BaprTuoGr, Acts 136 and probably Bapa/3/3% also),
in i n ~ ~ lyi ~, n y etc., This word oy (‘amm)’patruus’
is common to all the Semitic languages and must at one
time have been employed in Hebrew also: in certain
phrases of the O T it still retains the general sense of ‘ a
kinsman by blood.’ Hence we are led to interpret ny
or ,ny (‘ammi),in certain Hebrew names, as ‘ m y kins-
man,’ and to refer it to some deity (see further under
AMMI, N AMES WITH). Ammi-nadab (3iymy) corre-
sponds exactly to Abi-nadab ( ~ i j qand ~ ) Jeho-nadab
(lifin,), Ammi-zabad ( i y ~ yto) Jeho-zabad (inin.), Am-
niihud ( i i n ’ r ~ y )to Abihud ( i i n q ~ ) . The name Eliam
( ~ y h )in, ~2 S. 113, instead of which I Ch. 35 has
Suny, Arnmi-el (found in several other passages), can
hardly mean anything but ‘ my God is the kinsman,’ or,
if we follow the other reading, ‘ my kinsman is God.’
I n the case of Ammishaddai (*+ny), it is possible that
the narrator who coined the name intended ny to be
understood as ‘ people,’ and the name of David’s son,
E V Ithream (oym,), may naturally be explained as ‘ the
people is eminent,’ although the analogy of Abiathar
( i n ’ x ) tells in favour of the other interpretation (see
further I THREAM ). The names of the two rival kings
Rehoboam ( o y m i , RShab’Bni) and Jeroboam (oyj-p,
YRrob‘Hni), however, certainly appear to mean ‘ the
people is wide ’ and ‘ the people increases ’ ; it is con-
ceivable that they adopted these names on coming to the
throne, or that one of them, at his accession, adopted
a name formed in imitation of his rival’s.@ On ny3v
see above. 6 20.
Perhaps b g d i v a h (iniiji) in 2 Ch. 2037 (BLAou6rou)
4,. Dad, etc. may be a mistake for inaiii (D5diyyBhu)
‘ my cousin (or friend) is Yahwi: ‘ ; on
shorter forms of the same see below, 5 51 (end). More-
1 If the forms are not corruvt (see I CHABOD . ABITAL).
a T h e ancient Aramaic &N ’and the Palmyrene 1;n-nx are fact that the shorter name, taken by itself, offers a
also of doubtful meaning.
3 Unless the word is corrupt’ see AHIMOTH.
* For another suggestion See’AHILUD.
5 It should he mentioned t h a t the real sense both of $21
Z e h d ) and of Zehfildn (&I) is unknown.
6 See Praetorius, Niue Beitr. ZYT Erklar. der Aimjar.
r n . d r . 2 ;.
7 C p M. Krenkel, Z A T W [‘BX], 2 x 0 8 With some details in
this paper the writer of the present article is, however, not able
t o agree.
8 Cp the Phrenician O Y ~ N , and also ~ y . 5which
~ seems t o
occur on a n intaglio. T h e which stands a t the beginning of
some other Punic names is merely a false spelling of ox, i.e., nDN
‘handmaid.’
9 Foranother suggestion see JEROBOAM.
3289
NAMES
over, the nanie of the Edomite clan Ohi3li-bHmah RV
( n o i h ) appears to contaiii a word corresponding to the
Arabic nhZ ‘ kindi-ed.’ A similar formation is Ohbli-ab
RV (lx+nx), whether it be genuine or not: on the
other hand, i n Oholi-bah KV ( n 3 . 5 7 ~ )coined
, by Ezekiel,
the word < n obviously
~ has the sense of ‘ tent.‘ The
ancient name 5~95q(REUEL,Y.V.) we may suppose to
names as Arka Dengel, ‘friend of the Virgin (Mary),’
Bitza HawBreyR, ‘ companion of the apostle.’
Ben (p) ‘ son ‘ appears nowhere as an integral part
of a Hebrew proper nnnie except in the case of Benjamin
48. Son. ! i ~ m ) ,which perhaps means originally
those who dwell to the right ‘-Le., the most
southern portion of the tribes who went by the name of
Joseph ( 2 S. 1920 [zI]). In the N T we find the Aramaic
forms Barsabas ( Rapaa@pBs-i.e., xmwil, Barshabbi),
‘born on the Sabbath’ and Bapvdpas, a surnanie of
which the sense is obscure (see BARNAFLZS). There are
bearer as the ’ son ‘ of some god ; but the only example
in the O T is the Damascene i y i?, ~ Ben-hBdad ( g . ~ . ) .
‘ son of the Most High,’ Walda MBryRm, ‘ son of (St. )
Mary,’ Walda GabreEl, ‘son of (the angel) Gabriel,’
etc. Cases in which a man is called not by his own name
but by a patronymic (as happens several times in I K. 4 :
d o not, of course, belong to this category. Bath ( n l )
‘ daughter ’ occurs in Bath-sheba (yld n3) and Bath-shua
( ~ n ld) : but whether these really signify ‘ daughter of
the oath ’ and daughter of help ’ may be questioned.
Bith-iah (4.”. ; would mean ‘ daughter of Yahwi: ’ ;
but the name is doubtful, though supported by the
analogy of the Phoenician 5 y l n3. Compare such
Abyssinian names as Walata MBryBm, ‘daughter of
(St.) Mary,’ Walada Madkhen, ‘daughter of the
Saviour.’
I n all languages there is a tendency to shorten, or
~.
otherwise to modifv DroDer names. This Dhenomenon.
L
49. A,,,,reviated which has so often been observed in
the Indo-European languages, is like-
names. wise consDicuous i n the languaees of
the Semites. T o this cause it is largely due that, in the
vast majority of cases, Arabic proper names take the
form of nouns pure and simple. Thus when we find
the name Sa‘d, ‘fortune,’ used side by side with Sa‘d
Manit, ‘fortune from (the goddess) ManHt’ (cp the
Nabatzean ~ 1 5 lyv. x and the Sabzan iniiy ?yo, etc.),
there can be no doubt that the simple Sa‘d is an abbrevi-
ation. The same thing applies to Wahd and Am,
‘ gift ’ (which are used sometimes alone and sometimes
with the name of some god), as well as to many other
words. Even a name like ‘A& ‘ high ’ (cp the Nabatrran
viy, ’Ahsfou) may be a shortened form of 5x95y (which
also occurs in Nabatrran) ‘God_ is high,’ or of some
similar compound : the Hebrew Eli ( 3 5 ~ ) is perhaps to
be explained in like manner, and so also KBm (01,as
compared with oiin,, Jehoram). An analogous case is
the Greek”TrraTos ( ‘ T ~ T T ‘ST,r a d a s ) , contracted from
‘TaaT66wpos ; these names were current a t Thebes,
where Z d s hares was worshipped (Fick. 271). T h e
plausible sense constitutes no valid objection, for it not
unfrequently happens that proper names, with or without
change of form, acquire a meaning different from that
which they originally conveyed.
Particularly clear examples of abbreviation are t o be found
among the Abyssinians, who often use part of a conipound a s A
propername, without further modification-e.g., SZhhat, ‘praise,’
shortened from SZbhat la- A h , ‘praise t o the Father,’ Tnr)i,
‘hope,’shortened from TasfZ MaryZm, ‘hope in Mary,’or TasfZ
Hawirij% ‘hope in the Apostles ’ etc: often, however, the
t‘ermination z i d or it is added-c.5 kAaiZi, h%aiiiS for h-haiza
MfhZZl, ‘po&e; of, Michael,’ etc.’, Ha&& Hadfd,’ Abtzi, for
Habfn T&yZnz, gift of Mary,’ etc., Tnnsiei for Tans&z
Krextas, Christ is risen,’ and so forth. T o these may be added
3290
 NAMES
the Syria: K&S, ' cross,' and -&, for NIT N ~ ~ S P'the
, cros
conquers.
In like manner the Hebrews abbreviated names, no
Hoshea (yvin, which occurs afso od an ancient Hegrew
iatugh), Azaz (ny), Shaphat ( D D ~ ) ,Palal ( 5 5 ~ 1which )~
are obviously abbreviations of compounds containing
some name of the Deity. T h e king who is called Ahaz
(ym) in the O T appears as Yau/lnzi-i.e., Jehoahaz
(rnxin')-in an inscription of Tiglath-pileser 111. (see K 5
220). Similarly GiddEl (hi) ' has reared,' must be a
shortened form of sonie name in which God was men-
tioned, and the same thing applies to Ezer (iiy), Pekah.
(npg, also on an itzta.<Lio), Zecher RV (731, also in
Phcenician), Pelet ( ~ 3 5 ~ Shema, ). ynd (also on an
inta&io, c p the Sabzan ym), Ehed (my), ObEd (ixiy.
cp the Arabic and S a b z a n ' A M ) ,Shemer (TnDLs'). T h e
name Zerah (my) may be an abbreviation of Zerah-iah
(n-nii) ; but it is also possible that it was, a t least in the
earlier period, identical with EzrZh TIN), ' indigena.'
That all these abbreviations are correctly vocalised is
very unlikely, and we may therefore hazard the conjec-
ture that yip, ~ $ 7 ,Helez (6 'EhhT'Jror XeXXT'Js) is
really y)? (Hillez), a shortened form of some name
resembling the Phenician ySn5yi. $y>s$n ' Baal has
delivered.' T h e shortened form i h , which occurs also
on a n intaslio, perhaps corresponds to Helis (Ephem.
epigr. 7 165). Azel ( 5 s ~ )seems to be shortened from
Azal-iah ( r n * h ) , Anini (my) and Anin (py) from
Anini-jah. n w y (see above, 132, and cp the Palmyrene
~~~yand lily, the latter signifying ' h e has answered us'), standing for Sichnrbas-Le., * ~ Y ~ T J Dwith
Sheba (y3lsi) from some such form as Elisheba ( p & ~ ) instead
Similarly nnn. which is found on a n ancient intaglio
probably of Hebrew origin, stands for rn'nnn, and in like
manner we must explain p p , a common Phoenician
name. ZaX&w-i.e., ni5$-in the family of Herod and peculiar abbreviation-who could guess, to take modern
in the N T , is doubtless shortened from htmi5u, or some-
thing of the kind.2
In many names the second part is represented by the
termination 6, N ~thefirst , part being sometimes preserved
61. contrac- entire and sometinies abbreviated.
The fixity of the spelling favours
in " the assumption that bere the N was forms in ai were particularly comnion in later tinies--e.g.,
originally pronounced as a consonant, like the Arabic
Lnmaa (a slight guttural aspirate); only in a few
cases has the vowel-letter i) been substituted for the K,
in accordance with the later pronunciation. But the
Aramaic abbreviations in N (e.,.. the Palmyrene ~ 1 3 1 , with the ending d-e.g., Iddo. Ezra 8 17 ( i i x , perhaps
Zap88s) were presumably pronounced with a simple 6 ; equivalent to the Phoenician N ~ N ) .Iddo (Niqy. iiy, the
the same termination is fairly coniinon in Pheniciaii
names, and perhaps sounded as 0. Thus we find Abda
( ~ ~ z also
y , in Phanician and Aramaic), Shim& E V
(NyDd), ShiniEah (nyols'), Shammah ( m d ) , I S. 1 6 9
(probably for in,ynw, Sheniaiah), Uzza (xry). and Uzzah
(nay), probably for wry, Uzziah), Gera (~11, for some
compound with 11 ally,' cp the Phcenician p i 1 , ninayx,
nipinx), Asa (NDN, for some such form as *'AWN,
AsH-e1=5NgT, Rephael), Shebna (xiid), and Shebnah
NAMES
Hannah (nm), the ;3 of the shortened form serves as
the feminine ending, and the nanie therefore does not
correspond exactly to the Phwnician in Hanno.
Other abbreviations have the ending >- (i)or *- ( a i ) ,
the first part of the name being sometimes more violently
62. In or ai. contracted. In these cases the vocal-
isation is not to be trusted implicitly ;
moreover, it is often doubtful whether the i should be
regarded as a sign of abbreviation or as the adjectival
ending. Thus we find Zabdi (,?3?)in the O T , but
Zabdai (,?>I) in Aramaic (cp Z~,3&ior in the NT),
shortened from some such form as1 ZEbad-iah ( r n q i ~ ) ~
and similarly Palti (&g) for Paltiel ( I N - D(y@)
lshi ~~),
for Isaiah (in*y&), JPrEniai, *ni* (probably to be pro-
nounced Jirnii) for Jeremiah (rn.ai,), Hanini ( q ~ n )for
Hgnan-iah (rnnjn), Abdi (,s>y, cp the Phoenician'A,BGaioor
L e . , *my, Jos. c. Ap. 1 2 1 ) for Obadiah ( i n v y ) , Uri
( ~ x for ) Uriah ( l n - ~ ) Amzi
, (*sax) for Amaziah ( I ~ ~ I C N ) ,
Imri ( ~VJK)for Aniar-iah in,^^), Zichri ( T ~ J I ) for ZPchar-
iah (wix),Rani ( 3 3 )for REna-iah (1n93), Ahi (ms) for
Ahi-jah (rn9nrr). Bukki (,>3)for Bukkiah (2.~3,seeabove,
3 8 ) , Unni (qy) for h a - i a h (n-iy), Shilhi (.n$) for
some name formed with n$ ' b e sent,' Ahzai RV ('lnx)
for Ahaz-iah (rn-inx), Athlai ( h y ) for Athallah (rn-iny),
Jaasai RV'W wy, (Kt. ray) for * ~ n * v y ,cp Asa-iah
(nwy), Helkai (,pin) for Helkiah ( r n y h ) , Zaccai ( 7 3 7 ,
Z U K X U ~ OinS N T ) for Zechariah (WYJI), Zabbai (,XI) for
Zbadiah (wiiy), Shamniai ( .DDL~') for ShEnia-iah (rn.mlsi),
y& (EV JESSE [ q . ~ . ] )for Ishmael ( ~ N Y E ~Amittai ?),
(>lax) for some name compounded with npN. . .. Similarly
we may explain the Phenician Sicheus-i.e., *.J-as
, Y ~ D as
, usual,
. of mi. I n many cases the contraction is such
as to render the discovery of the original form impossible.
T h e changes which proper names undergo in the mouths
of small children account for a large number of these
examples, that Bob and Dick arose ont of Robert and
Richard? It would therefore be vain to inquire whether
BEsai ( 3 ~ 3 ) is for REsddE-iah ( n * i i ~ > or
) , Hezai (7x3) for
BEzal6-61 ('&I>). Jaddai (T, cp the Palniyreiie 717,
Ia88aios) might well be shortened from Jeda-iah (n-1,)
I Ch. 4 3 7 ; but this'latter name is itself obscure.* Such
~ K J '('Iavvaios, cp, Janiiai RV) for JonHthin (pi-), -,-pi
(Nai-Baios in the Epistle of Aristeas) for NPthanE-61
(5xjni). and many more in the Talmud, which also
exhibits various other kinds of abbreviation.
There are some possible instances of shortened names
prophet, etc. ), of which the meaning is obscure ; Dodo
(hi1 or ill), as well as Dodai (351) and Dodi (,?i), might
stand for * w i i i , Dodi-jah. Piidon (pig) and J i d o n
(pi,) possibly belong to the same category.
If we compare Joseph (qDi,) with Josiph-iah (n-o~i.),
or JHrib (yi-)with Jeho-iarib (yi4n,), we can hardly
&. doubt that the shorter ( I
Abbrev. ' contends') are abbreviations of the
increases,'

RV ( ~ 3 3 dfor 1733DLs', Sheban-iah). Ishma EV (for imperf' names' longer ( ' YahwP increases,' ' Yahwe con-
SKynU,, Ishmael), Ela RV ( N ~ K and ) Elah (&, for some tends') or of something quite similar. C p also Izrah,
compound beginning with SK), Joha (Nni?) for Johanan E V Izrahite (nil-), ' rises' with Izrah-iah (nmir.); Jakim,
(iini,), Mica RV ( N ~ D )and Micah ( m ~for ) Micaiah (pp': Sabzean opn.), ' raises ' with El-iakim ( ~ ' p h ; )
( r n w ~ ) .cp K ~ J J (in the Talmud) for hb. Ara ( N ~ H ) Jachin (p) ' fixes' with Jeho-iachin (iyrn?); Jephthah
should perhaps be pronounced Ura for Uriah ( W ~ K ) . EV (ring.) ' opens' with the name contained in h n n y 3 2
Some of these forms are altogether 9bscure-e.$. Baasha. (valleqof Jiphthah-el) ; JaphlEt (ab.), 'rescues,' with
q . ~ (. N ~ Y AniBsa,
~), 4.w. ( ~ z m y ) AmBsai
, (.tmy), where *rn&* ( = w & Pelat-iah) : YirhHm (om,, YEraheni ;
the it^ cannot be taken as the equivalent of a D. Ziba ( NYS), M T JEr6hHm) a pities,' with JerahmE-61 (i)xnni') ; Ibhar
Ziha (Nn'S), the ancient Canaanite Sisera (NiD'a), etc. I n (in>,), ' chooses ' (cp"Emprros), with the ancient Aramaic
$Kinx, ; to these we niay probably add Imrah (nin,),
1 Cp the Phoenician feminine name nDDN. 'Aarnr.
2 Cp the n a m e of Herod's daughter Iaha&9--i.e., 7% &w 1 In w h a t follows the Dhrase 'some such form as'% omitted
'prosperity of Zion ' 30s. Axf. xviii.54-aand see i a l m a n , as superfluous.
Gram. 122, where sdme later Jewish corruptions of t h e name 2 For some reduplicated forms, see below, 5 57.
arc mentioned. 3 Cp the Arnbic name Yazid.

3291 3292
 NAMES
‘ resists,’ and MtJrii-iah ( y n ) , Yahboh (nin.), hides ’
( I Ch. 734, Kt.; see J EHUBBAH ), and El-iahba ( ~ i n h , different vocalisation, Zaccur (i?xt), ‘ remembered ’ ;
pin‘, on an integlio), and Ezekiel (hpin?). T h e follow-
ing names presuppose the Deity as the subject, and
perhaps originally contained some divine appellation-
JHir ( 1 3 ~ ~ ) . ‘ enlightens’ ; Jiibin (]-?;), ‘ distinguishes,‘ (irdn), ‘thought of’ ; Jaddiia (yn,), ‘known’ ; Amds
‘perceives’ ; Igal (hi,),‘ransoms’ (cp in’ig, F’Eda-iah) ;
jamlech (&*), ‘ gives dominion’ (cp the Palmyrene
&*, ’Idpkrxos, in Greek literature ’Idp,BkrXos l) ; Imna
(yin,), ‘wards off ; I n n a h ( 3 1 ~ 3 ) ,‘determines’ (properly,
‘counts’) ; JaPlah (nsy.) or JaPla ( K ~ Y - ) ‘is , high’ (cp
the Arabic Ua‘Zi),which last name, however, may
possibly be from the Aramaic, and signify ‘ mountain-
goat ’ (see below, § 6 8 ) . Jaroah (nil,) should perhaps
be read Ynnuah--i.e., ‘ (God) enlarges ‘-cpthe Saba3an
i n v * . To the same class may belong Jeush ( ~ ory
w y * , if it be really the equivalent of the Arabic Yaghziih,
’IhyouOor in MilIer-i.e., ‘helps,’ c p the Phenician i ~ y ) , (cp ~ ~ ’ Y D NAmaz-iah)
and also Jair ( l y , I Ch. 2 O 5 ) , awakes.’
On the other hand, the bearer of the name seems to
be the subject in the following:-Iibsim (obi,). ‘is
fragrant’ (?), cp Biisemath (&I, ‘Apw-
“ ~ ~ ~pariv?), ~ l JaPlHni e (&y), ‘ is youthful ’ (?),
lashub (~>d.).~ ‘returns’ (CO E~”VOUTOS).
Imla (&*) or -1mlah ( &): ‘ is full ’ (cp & as well a s
dm, MaX? in Palmyrene), Jephunneh (nap, @ is
’Ie+ovv6j), ‘ is brought back’ (?), Izhir (inx,), ‘shines’
(or ‘ oil ’), IshbHk ( P O & ) , ‘ leaves behind,’ ‘ outruns’ (?),
IshuH (mfi). ‘ is worthy ’ (?), from which Ishui (’id,) was
probably formed by the addition of the adjectival ending,
Isaac ( p v s , ) , laughs ’ = pnb?, ‘ sports,’ Jacob ( 3 3 ~ 3 ) . read Addn. It is quite possible, however, that these latter
’ follows ; the last two appear to have been originally
nanies of gods. The following names, nearly all of
which occur only once (in Chronicles), are altogether
obscure-Ishpan ( p d ? ) , IdbHsh ( d x ~ ) IdlHph
, (qh’), GHdi 1 1 ?) is probably to be regarded as the abbreviation
JHziz (w), JHldn (fi$). Jaakan (!a; or p v ) , Jachan
(ip), Ishbah (n2i.i.). T h e same may be said of the
national name JtJtiir (iw), if a t least it ts derived
from 1 1 and ~ not from mi.
A feminine form of this class is Timna (yinn, Edomite),
which perhaps originally presupposed some goddess-
s6. Prefixed t. e.g., Ashtdreth (nlnwy)-as the subject.
I n the case of Tahan (inn), the true
pronunciation is possibly THhdn, ‘ she is gracious.’
TeniBn (Tam), ‘ south,’ is primarily the name of a place.
Instead of a sentence, a simple participle or adjective
expressing the same idea may often serve as a proper
~~. Adjective, name ; in such cases the Deity is usually
names. the logical subject. Thus we find Z b i i d
(axi), ’ given (by God) ’ ; fen]. E b i d a h
(RV following K t , r v i i ) , ZEbiidah (AV following Kr,
miii), z K. 2336 (cp the Aramaic N T ~ T ,Z@ei66r, the
Arabic Zabid, also AGpas, Awp3, the Aramaic NIW~
etc. ) ; BBrtich ($>li), ’ blessed ’ ; REhiim (oini) ; HBniin
(pin), ‘pitied’ (cp the Talmudic ]*in, ~ 1 7 1 ;) Rlphii
(~m-,),
‘ lfealed’ ; GHmiil ( $ 1 ~ 1 ) . ‘ benefited (scarcely have a religious meaning, and this is true even of many
‘ weaned, cp h&j) ; David (111, l . i l ) , ‘ beloved ’ ;
probably Mddiid (iiin, as the Samaritan text and the
L X S read in Nu. 1126 3 ,instead of the Masoretic
Mednd, T ~ J ) ; perhaps Hobab8 in, c p the Aramaic
and Arabic i * i n , etc., n i n ~ which j occurs on an mtagZio,
also 9rhot&wor ; names which at least, in certain cases,
may have been intended rather to express love on the
part of men) ; StJthkr (lqno), ‘ hidden’ (cp the Talmudic
1 lanrlicus in CIL83332, is probably a Palmyrene. The moreover, must be attached to the fact that, as the above
Arahi? name Tandik (fern.) means only ‘she has power,’ ‘she
rules.
2 But ip,which is found on an ancient Hebrew infaglio, may
he le:, i.e., l’@; (for >*&K, Eliashib), according to I Cb. 7 1
(Kt.)
which exactly corresponds to the Arabic SZdih.
3 Cp
4 It would =em that the roots pnr and ?nb were originally
distinct.
5 For another possible explanation see D AVID (beg.).
6 For other suggestions see H O B A B .
3293
NAMES
SNqno). T o the same class belong, in spite of the
Azziir (ivy), ‘helped’ ; Shammtia (ymb), ‘heard‘ (or
rather, a one with reference to whom a prayer is heard,’
the prayer primarily being that of the mother) ; Hasshiib
(Diop), ‘borne.’ Probably we may add Meshullam
(obdn), fem. Meshullemeth (nnbdn), ‘ kept safe’ ; and
Shalltim (&). A slightly different example is Siiiil
( k ~ d )‘,asked ‘ (cp $~,&cj, ShCalti-el), with its exact
equivalent in Araniaic N ~ * N V N$W , ( Z e r r X s , Zihas), cp
BeaiTqTos, ’ E T ~ U K T Oetc. S,
It is possible that in several other cases laudatory
titles, used as proper names, were originally understood
67. Possible as referring to some deity whose name
was contained in then1 (see above, § 49).
abbrev. This might apply to Amdz (VnN), ‘strong’
. ; &ddk ( p i x ) , ’just ‘ (cp p i n , .
JehozHdHk) ; Ram (01) and Segtib (iqb or >nit,),‘ lofty ’
(cp nin* i i b ~ i ,Is. 211 17). More doubtful cases are
Adin (iqy). Adina ( ~ y l y )and , py, Eden, ‘blissful’ (in
spite of yiyin*, Jehoaddin RV ; ]iyin*, Jehoaddiin AV), ;
PHriiah (nns), blooming’ in spite of the Talmudic
nvnw); HHriph (qvin), HHreph (qin), ‘sharp’ (?-in spite
of qin+N, Elihoreph) ; kthan (in”), ‘perpetual.’ In the
case of the Edomite Hadad (lln), the name of the god
all that has remained of the original compound, and
the same remark may apply to Melech (+n, cp +n*SN,
Eli-melech), Malluch (qtba), Baal (5yi, cp Baal the
Tyrian, Jos. c. Ap. 1, I ) , Addon ( f i ’ i ~ and ) Addan (p.
cp the Palmyrene N J ~ ~ N )for , which we should probably
names mean nothing more than master,‘ as applied to
human beings, like the Aramaic in. fern. Nnm, MdpOa,
and its variations. T h e personal name Gad (11, and
of a conipound in which 11 was either a god or else
’fortune.’ The tribe of the 11 ‘11~ may also have
derived their name from the god.
Thus, there can be no doubt that very many Hebrew
proper
.~ names are in reality abbreviations. Among these
s ~ aedupli-
. must be included those reduplicatol
cated forms. forms which originate with small children
(after the manner of ‘ Lili’ for ‘ Eliza-
beth,’ ‘ Mimi ’ for ‘ Marie,‘ ’ Lulu ’ for ‘ Louisa ’)--..g.,
Shavsha ( ~ d ~ dShisha ) , ~ ( ~ f i d )Sheshai
, ( ‘ d d ) , Shlshai
(,e$), SheshAn ( p d ) , Shashak (pdd), Zaza ( N ~ T )Ziza ,
(Ni*~).4 T o discover the original forms of such names
is, of course, impossible. In Bebii ( 7 x 1 ) we seem to
have the same term of endearment which, in the form
Babba, served as the nickname of a well-known Arab,5
and is found also in a N. African inscription-Bnbbe (for
Babbm) f(ilius), see Ephe7n. epigr. 5256 ; the word is
ultimately identical with Engl. batv, Fr. btW, words
formed in imitation of an infant’s first attempts to speak.
Of the names hitherto enumerated the vast majority
-
I
69. Character of those in which no god is expressly
of these re- mentioned. The same thing may be
ligious na91es. said of the Semites generally ; nor shall
Y
once the case among the Arabs, though long before
-
we be wrong in sumosing that such was
L .
IslHm a great change had taken place in consequence of
the growing tendency in favour of simple names. I n
Greek names also religious ideas are prominent, but less
so than in the names of the Semites6 Great importance,
1 Such abbreviations are common in names of this sort.
2 No importance can be attached to the fact that t h e Massoretic
vocalisation distinguishes Gad the idol, as well as Gaddi (Nu.
13 I I ) , from the other Gad, Gadi (see G AD,g I).
3 For another explanation see S HAVSHA .
4 On reduplicated forms in the language of Arabian children,
see Goldziher in t h e ZDMG, 33607.
5 He derived t h e name from a verse uttered by his mother
when he was an infant.
6 It isremarkablehow few theophorous names occur in Homer.
3294
 NAMES
parallels show, the names of the Hebrews hardly differ
a t all from those of the other Semites with respect to the
religious conceptions therein expressed. These forma-
tions. it is to be remembered, go back to a remote
antiquity ; we must therefore be careful not to interpret
them in too spiritual a sense. Names like 'God has
helped,' ' God has delivered,' etc., referred no doubt
originally to the help afforded by the Deity to the mother
in granting her a child or in averting the peril of death.
I t is true that from the time of the prophets onward a
more spiritual or a t least a more general conception
began to prevail. Rut a name like the Palniyrene N n h
( =un5513), ' Bo1 has wiped away, effaced,' also belongs
t o n more advanced stage of religious development, since
the reference is to the effacing of sin.
We may now pass on to names of other kinds,
mentioning some of those categories which are most
60. Other important and most clearly defined. In wel!-
nigh every case these names consist of a
kinds. single member only, though it will some-
times be necessary to include compounds, and even to
refer back to names which have a religious meaning.
It may be taken for granted that the meaning of a name
applies, in strictness, only to the first individual who
receives it. When once a name has been coined, it is
liable to be used indiscriminately, that is to say, without
any special reference to its original significance. W e
must admit, however, that among the Hebrews the real
meaning of indigenous names could never be forgotten
to so large an extent as has been the case among the
nations of modern Europe.
Some names refer to the special position which the
new-born child occupies within the family. If we were
61. First-born. F t t e r acquaintedwith the circumstances
in which names have been coined, we
should doubtless perceive that this class of names is
really niuch larger than might appear at first sight.
Thus, as was mentioned above, it is clear from Gen. 3022
that Jephthah (nny 1 \xnnp, Yiftah-el) means the first-
born. The same meaning obviously belongs to Becher
(133, from which is derived the adjectival form 9x13,
Hichri), the equivalent of the Arabic Bakr, found also in
Nabatzan and Sabxan ; cp IIpwroy&vps, IIpwroKr7)Tqs,
IIp6yovos. For n y i m , I S . 91, some MSS. of 6
have BaX(e)cp,'-i.e., 1933 or 133. In I Ch. 838 (=944)
BdchEru ( n 3 i ) is expressly stated to be the name of a
man, but it was no doubt originally iih,' his first-born,'
cp 833.
In the Semitic languages we find a considerable number
of names from the root 15"' whereby a child is designated
6a. substi- as a substitute for onelost. T h e Nabatrean
&&n, ' substitute of God ' ( i e . , given
tution. by God), proves that these names also
originally had a religious sense, like 'Avri8oros, 'Aurf-
Gwpos, which presuppose a giver ; cp Iikewise'Auriyovos.
' A v r r + d v ~ s ,'Avrf+avros. Among the Jews the earliest
specimens of names formed from the root above men-
tioned are XaX@et (Chalphi RV), I Macc. 1170 [AV].
and Alphzus, 'AX+aTos in the N T , which corresponds
to &q in the Talmud. Probably, however, the
same meaning underlies several other names-e.g.,
Manasseh (npjjn), ' h e who causes (a loss) to be
forgotten,' MenahEm (arm), 'comforter' (found also
in Phcenician and ancient Aramaic, cp fem. n ~ n i n
on an ancient intaglio, which is Palestinian but
probably not Israelite), Nahum (mm, Phcenician om,
Ndoupos of Aradus, CZG, 2 5 2 6 ) , also vocalised NBhfim
(Din:) and Naham (om), so likewise mm (Nahilmani)
derived from p, Tanhfimeth2 (nnmn), ' comfort,'
evidently a n abstract noun (cp the Talmudic ornin,
uninln, Bavoljl-Lou),Nehem-iah (worn),in which the refer-
ence to God still appears. The names Rephi-iah ( WB-I),
KEphB-el ( 5 ~ 9 1 ,cp Arabic l'arfii), perhaps convey a
similar idea; so also certain derivatives of >iai--e.g.,
1 For other readings see B ECHORATH.
a The vocalisation can scarcely be correct.
3295
NAMES
MBsh6bab (I>?&), Sh6bib ( n i b ) ,and, if it be really
pre-exilic, El-iashib (3-&u). This last, at a subsequent
time, no doubt, was supposed to denote restoration from
the Exile. K&ibben (ilwl)probably belongs to the same
class, and may be explained as ' reparation ' like the
Palmyrenian m y , Rubatis, the Arabic Ku'ba; but the
interpretation, ' behold a son ! ' IS also possible. T h e
Arabic names 'Zydd, BuduiZ, the Abyssinian Fanti,
FantC, Tikku, MafakkS, K d s r i (the real name of King
Theodore), likewise signify ' compensation.'
Jeshehe-ab [EV] (xW, I Ch. 2413) appears to be
>@,; ' he brings back the father ' ='Avrfyovos. It is
true that 'IupadX in BALseems to presuppose 5y>>w*
(i.e . , Baal) ; but in this case BaaX must be a scribal error,
for the Chronicler w-ould scarcely have bestowed such a
name on a Levite.
Posthumous ('ErryCvqs, Nerdyoror, etc. ) is the most
probable rendering of Akkub (m?y), Jacob (lpy'). In
the case of the latter the essential point is that he was
born after his brother.
The root >p,y, which appears also in the Palmyrene
~ g y >h ? p y ( AWaraSos), the Syriac unhpy, the Talmudic
nqpy, ~ 3 * ? y~, 3 p i y the
, Arabic 'Ok6a, 'Okai6, admits of various
other senses, and may perhaps also mean 'compensation.'
Twin occurs first in the N T name, 8wpBs (Thomas),
explained as Afbupos (Didymus), which is
63' circum- itself a Greek proper name, corresponding
stances Of to the Phoenician nun. 9 w p i s is uqiun,
birth*
a Hebrew form with the Aramaic termina-
tion ; the later pronunciation is un1.n.
Azfibah (n3vy), ' forsaken,' perhaps nieans a girl
whose mother died in giving birth to her. T h e same
idea may be conveyed by AzmRveth (niary), 'death is
cruel,' by GEnfibath' ( n m i , c p the Talmudic and Syriac
U J ~ ) , and by the Aramaic form, Hatipha ( N D w n ,
Ezra254ZNeh. 756).2
The name Geber (131,I K. 4 13 19) expresses the joy
64, Child of the mother on having a male child ; c p
names. Job33, 131 n>h. It is of course possible
that we should pronounce Gibbir, 'hero.'
C p the Palm. 731, the Ar. /ah. On Ahimoth (nia'nu),
see above, 45 end.3
Ben (p),'son,' in I Ch. 1519,is very doubtful ; per-
haps it should be read . ~ ~ - i . e . it, niay suggest more or
less distinctly the idea of ' m y son,' like the Abyss.
GibZzii, ' my boy.' C p also the Talni. upij', ' suck-
ling,' u ~ i l l ,' little son,' and the Ar. Walid, ' son.'
Nailrah (nly]), 'girl,' occurs in I Ch. 45 f., and
corresponds to the Talm. un$, (for un-h'). C p the
Nabatzan n*13, ' little daughter.
Jaillam (&y, see above, § 54) may mean 'youthful,
strong,' and Jiphia ( y y ) , ' tall of stature,' a name of
this kind being often bestowed upon an infant as a
bonum augurium.
Instead of Ahiam (nym), we should probably read
Ahi-Em (Du'nN), ' mother's brother,' and instead of
Ahfimai ( n i n u ) , the form qsnu, ac-
66. cording to BAa('AXerpai)--i.e., *nu mu
ship* (Ahi-inimi). ' mv
I , , mother's brother.'
So also in Aram.'we find nnnul noiinu, not to mention
other varieties of spelling; on this and similar ex-
pressions of relationship used as proper names, see
an essay by the writer of the present article in the
WZKM, 6 3 0 7 8 ~ The idea is that the new-born child
will a t some future time stand by his mother. as if he
were her brother. T o this corresponds Ahab ( m n u ) ,
'father's brother,' of which the more correct form is
1 See also GENUBATH.
a On the other hand the Palmyrene name ~ 3 means
~ 1 'thief'
like the Arabic Sarik. Such a name might perhaps have been
used by Israelites also at a very early period, when skill in
stealing, or at least in robbing, was very highly esteemed.
3 Instead of GibbZr ( i x ~ ) ,Ezra2-q we find in Neh.725
Gibeon (~,"IJ, the name of a place), which is probably the right
reading. ' c -
4 A considerable number of fresh details might now be added.
3296
 NAMES
probably Ahi-ab (x-yx), since 'AxlaPos was the name
of :I nephew of Herod, and in Jer. 2921 f. d
[BKAQ] has 'Axdp. Cp the Aram. -nixxi xnx and
several varieties of the same name. To the same class
belongs Ah-iHn (i'nx) =Syr. ~ i - n x ,' relative, cousin,'
which also occurs as a proper name.
W e now turn our attention to a group of names
descriptive of physical peculiarities. Some of these may
66. Physical have been originally nicknames, like
peculiarities. the corresponding names in Latin ;I but
Arabic usage seems to show that such
terms, even when they are far from flattering, often
served from the first as proper names in the ordinary
sense.2 This applies also to many Hebrew names of
other kinds, such as those borrowed from animals.
Hakkatiin (iqm), Ezra 812, ' the small one' ; the
article is here not easy to explain. C p the Phcen.
p p (doubtful)! KJLI~J, the Talm. xiiyr, etc., also
Pumzlio. Pusrlla. Habakkuk (???In), or (after 6 ' s
a p p a ~ o ~ pp?p?n
) (Habbkkuk), might be explained as
'dwarf,' from the Arabic; but the meaning is ex-
tremely doubtfuL8
The very ancient name, Laban (135).a white,' corre-
sponds to the Ar. Abynd, to AEDKOSand to AIbinus.4
The Levitical name, Libui ( 3 x 5 , 6BA Aopev[e]L), which
has the adjectival ending, may perhaps convey the same
sense. HHriu ( p i n ) is probably yellow ' ( =PIavius?),
and Zohar (ins), 'reddish white' ; cp the Talm.
NjJnio, the Ar. Ahmnr, Kzimait, the Lat. Nzrfils, all
of which mean ' red.' On an ancient Hebrew intusZio
we find the name imnd, 'blackish.' like the Syr.
N??~N, the Ar. Aswnd, Slihnim (which is also Sab.),
etc., MCXas, Niger.
HHrim (oin, o * i n ) might be derived from Bin in its
usual meaning, ' inviolable,' 'holy,' etc. Since, however,
Hilrumaph ( r p i n ) is probably to be explained, with
Gesenius. as F N min, we may conclude that the former
name also siAnified 'with pierced nose,' like the Ar.
A&?Yzm.
Heresh (d?,;,more probably HCrEsh, d y ) , or, in its
Aram. form, Ndin, Harsha (cp the Palm. Nvin, 'ApuC),
' dumb,'=Ar. A h m s . ChimhHm ( c n r ~ ~ ChimhHn),
(pj, in Jer. 41 17 Kt. ,oniaj), ' blind' (?).
( ~ D N =Itter), ' left-handed, Znaios, Scmola. PasEah A m d ) , is 'mountain-goat. like JaEl
(nDfl= Pisseah), ' halting,' ib. A'rffj,etc., Claudius.
KHrEah ( = q = Kereah, c y ) , ' bald,' cp the Palm.
xnnqi, the Ar. A k m ' , etc., Culvus. The Sinaitic imp,
n m p , admits of another meaning. K6rah (ni?) appears
to have been originally the name of a place ( bare
surface ').
IkkPsh ( d ~ y ) .' crooked,' cp Ar. A:'nr, +'air.
(;ideon (pn,) =Ar. f u d ' i n , ' maimed.'
Gkreb (mi), 'scabby, c p Palm. x m , N ~ * T J , Ar.
J u ~ a i b Iarbd.
. ?resent day @ f f ? ~ z i r .T~h e name i'rn *13,which may
%eraah (nynr), 'leprous' (fern.), like the Ar. A b r ~ y . ~jeem strangely inappropriate in the case of the Jews,
Among laudatory names may be mentioned Job
(3iwL
I- --,. ' assailant.' L e . . ' brave warrior' ~ C D Ar.
\ '
67. Laudatory. ;Wu&i&); BHrHk (pi>), ' lightning' ;
Mered (ii~), I Ch. 4 17, ' resistance,' Hilzir. By the ' boar' is here meant the wild boar, as
unless this be the name of a Idace.. of which in ~ ~~ ~~.I type of combativeness.
Semitic countries there are several derived from the
root im. T o these may be added 251, C ALER [ q.a,] appears frequently as a proper name among the aristo-
(of which ChElOb, ~ r h and , ChBlubai, ,dn,are prob-
ably incorrect variations), ' raging with canine mad-
ness' ; a brave warrior may be compared to a mad
dog, as is sxown by the corresponding Arabic name
ARLab (whlch occurs also in Nabatzan). On the other
hand, Nabal (hi),' fool,' can hardly have been the real
name of the foolish man who refused his services to
David. On laudatory proper names, see also above, §
1 For what follows many English, German, and other modern
European fa:iri& names might be quoted.
2 Cp such names as I I a v a i q q s , .4b,yXjAos in Greek.
3 See also H A B A K K U K . 4 For another view see LABAN.
5 See, however, ZERUAH. 13 For another view see MBRBD.
106 3297
NAMES
57. T o the same class belong NBziah (nw), ' excellent '
(Arani.); Nagman ( p y i . cp Ar. Nu'mdn), and the
fem. NaSmah (aryl), ' pleasant,' together with several
other Arabic names from the root n y ;~ DElilah ( n 3 - 5 ~ ) .
probably ' delicate.' We might add Asher ( i i ~ i ~ which ),
perhaps means ' happy' ; but it may also be taken as
an abbreviation of the obscure name which appears as
Liar-El RV ( ' x i b ~or ) ASri-el ( h i b ~in) the MT. T h e
notion of ' long life' seems to be expressed in Huldah
( n h fem.), HFled (ih, very doubtful), and Heldail
(.h) ; c p Arabic g d i d , Mablad, Yablud. Similarly
Anion (lax), A MNON ( q . ~ . ,fiir~x), may signify 'safe,'
out of danger.
Names borrowed from animals (not always, it should
be observed, of the nobler and stroneer kinds) are found
I
68. Animal among the Hebrews as well as among
the Arabs and other races. That the
name of the 'lion' is so used does not
appear certain, since Arieh (EV n*-,~n),2 K. 1525. may
be open to question, on account of the artic1e.l 'Api,
Josephus, BJ, vi. 1 8 vi. 26 vii. 5 5 , may be an abbrevia-
tion. Instead of Lnish (&) of I S. 2544 we find 015 in
2s. 3x5 Kt., and B H L diverges in both passages; but
IZi.5, corresponding to the Ar. Lnifh, 'lion,' is prob-
ably the right reading. The same meaning belongs to
Asad ('Auasor, Miller), a favourite name with all
Arabs ; c p Adwv, Leo. ZBFb (XI, a name said to have
been borne by a Midianite prince) is ' wolf' ; c p Arabic
Diii'b, also Acinos. Lupus. ZibEon (py3r), 'male
hyaena' ; cp Arabic Dubd'a, Qubaz'a. Shuiil (h~r$),
' fox' ; cp Ar. Thri'al,'Gk. 'AX&?$.
Eglah (nhy, feni.). 'cow,' cp Ar. 'GI! (niasc.),
'Ojnil, Palm. i h y ('Oy$wu, feni. ' O y l f h ~ )Sab. , ohy,
Gk. II6prrr, AdpaX~s,etc., VifuIus.
Zibiah ( n , i s ) feni. (H-IY, Zibia, masc. I C ~ S.g ) , in
its Aram. form Tapdd (Acts93640)~'gazelle.' Cp
Phcen. NIX, ArL Zabya, etc., also A o ~ K ~ Neppis, s,
etc. Similarly Epher (my), and the diminutive form
Ephr6n ( j i i ~ y ) , seem to mean 'young gazelle' ; cp
Ar. Ghnzila Parkad, etc. Some animal of a kindred
species is denoted by Dishdn (fiIZi.7, pi),Dishan ( i d i ) .
In like manner Leah (n&, fem.) perhaps means
a kind of gazelle, corresponding to La), Luwaiy in
Ater Arabic ; Lrdn ((ix). (,iix, according to the Syr.
($r, fern.), of
which Jaala (~5y). Jaalah ( n . i y ) , may be the Aram.
form (see above, 5 5 3 ) ; cp Arabic CC'n'ln (masc. form
ObdXou). T h e Arabic Badan and A m i (fem.) have
the same meaning.
Immer (-,EN), ' male sheep ,' corresponds to the Arabic
Hamnl; and Rachel (sn-,), ' ewe,' to the Arabic Ruhailu
:diminutive form).
Hamdr (iiDn), ' ass ' =Arabic +'mar, Lat. Asellus.
Hezir ( i m ) , 'boar'=Arabic tjimir, and still at the
s confirmed by an inscription of this very family ; the
pronunciation HEzir, which is also that of 6RL, has
3een adopted in order to distinguish the name from
The names K d ~ p o s ,Aper
Nere similarly used ; the corresponding term V Q Y ~ Z
:racy of the Sasanian Empire.
Shaphan (pi), the name of an animal similar to the
narmot (hyrax)-cp the synonymous Arabic names,
Wnbr, Ubair.
Achb6r (iimxy), 'mouse'- cp i 3 2 y on an Israelite
'ntagZio and several times in Phcenician inscriptions,
1 Rut see also HULDAH, HELED,H ELDAI .
2 See ARCOR2.
3 T h e many'animal names among the inhabitants of Seir
Gen.36) have heen noticed by WRS (Kin. 218). I n some
mints, i t must he admitted, he has gone too far, and his ex-
)lanation of the facts does not appear
.. satisfactory to the writer
,f the present article.
4 See Jones in the Record ofthe Bom6ay Gouemmenf,43 60.
3298
 NAMES
Arabic ‘Akbur and the synonymous Fu’r, etc., also
MGr, Mus.
Aiah (nw), ‘hawk,‘ or some such bird of prey,
corresponds to the Arabic Nida’, &usir‘um, Gk. ‘Ikpaf.
&b (xiy, a name ascribed to a Midianite prince),
‘raven ‘=Arabic Ghurd6, Gk. R&paf, Lat. Corvus.
Jonah (mi,), ‘ dove,’ is a man’s name, like the corre-
sponding Arabic names Numdm, Numdma. The Arabic
Fdhitu, Gk. Ikpprur~pd,Tpvyhv, + ~ T T [ O Y ,are names of
women.
Hoglah (nhn), partridge’-the word may have the
same meaning when it is the name of a place, shortened
from z h n n 5
Zipper (+r, iiss, fem. Zipprah,, nibs), ‘small bird’
=Palm. N ~ B I(Z~++epa), Arabic, U@r, Gk. IIilros,
ZrpoORos.
Nahash (dni), ‘ serpent,’ with its diminutive Nahsh6n
(irjni). corresponds to the Arabic yaiyn, Hanash, Afd,
etc., Gk. A ~ ~ K o vNShushta
. ( ~ n d n i fern.)
, is doubtful.
Saraph (p) also denotes some kind of serpent.
Niin (791, N6n, pi), ’fish.’ So ancient a name may
perhaps be connected with the worship of fish-deities
which is known to have prevailed in those countries ; to
this Exod. 204 refers, a or that is in the water under the
earth.’
Hagab ( ~ j n ) , and, in its Aram. form, Hdgaba
(Nxm). Hggabah m i n (cp AGABA, AGABUS),‘grass-
hopper,‘ corresponds to the Arabic /auld, JundC6, Gk.
’A~ptGiwv. GazzFim (nil) is probably another form of
gdzdm, which has the same meaning (e.g.,Joell4).
DEbdrah (mil,m i x i , better it would seem, Dibbdrah,
niia?, according to 6 ’ s form AEPPhpa), ‘bee,’-cp
MCXcuuor, fem. MCXiuua.
Parosh (dyls), ‘flea,’-cp WMor, qdXXa, and the
African priest, L. Caecil. Saturninus Pulex (Ephem.
epigr. 5656).
Gaal ($VI) is explained by Wellhausen ( U G 26,
2nd ed. 44) as equivalent to the Arabic Ju‘ul, ‘dung
beetle ’ ; but this is uncertain, although Josephus seems
to have the form I’udXqs. C p KdvOapos, fern. KavRdpa,
Zljpappos.
Tola (yhn), ’ worm,‘-the Arabic names, Du’rid,
Dzidin, perhaps have the same meaning.
Names borrowed from plunts are much rarer.
THmHr (man, fern.), ‘date-palm,’ seems to have no
69. plant equivalent among Arabic proper names ;
since names of this class are many in
Arabic, it must appear strange that the
queen of trees is unrepresented. Allen (~SN), ‘ oak ’ or
‘ terebinth,’ I Ch. 437, is perhaps properly the name of
a place, like !%n (jib p h ) . Tappiiah (nasn, see 5 I O ),
and Eshcdl ( b k , Gen. 141324), the representative of
the SJLZN$nj, ‘ valley of grape-clusters ’ ; Wellhausen is
probably right in identifying Anlib ( m y , I Ch. 48), with
the place called An8b ( l i y ) in Josh. 1121 1550 (Degent.
34 8 ) . LEbRna ( N I I ~ ) , LEbSnah ( m 3 5 ) , is perhaps
‘ poplar,’ properly ‘the white tree,’ like the Aram. N i i n ;
elsewhere the poplar is called libneh ( d 7 ) .
Rimmen (fimy), ‘ pomegranate,’-cp‘PoTor, fern. ‘Po[&.
Zethan ( p i ) . ZethSm (oni). may signify ‘ olive,’-from
a similar form is borrowed the Arabic word Zuitzin.
Hgdassah ( n ~ i n ) , ‘ myrtle ’ ; cp M d p r t ) , M d p i o v ,
Mupivvq.
Zwudvva, Zouudvva (Susanna), in the apocryphal
addition to Daniel and in the N T is itmu or mviv,
‘ lily’; this name appears as Zwudvq, in the old Semitic
myth from Ctesias, Diod. Sic. 2 6 ; cp Adpior (fern.).
K6z ( y i p ) , b n e Hakkdz (pa:, m), ‘briar’ ; many
Arabic proper names are borrowed from thorny plants,
which symbolise men formidable to their enemies ; cp
’AKav@os.
It is not certain whether there are any Hebrew names
denoting a trade or profession ; in Arabic we find only
-
a few such e.g., nirith, ploughman ’ ; Na3&ir,
‘carpenter.’ Carmi (’ni2) probably does not mean ‘vine-
3299
NAMES
dresser,’ but is to be taken as an adjective desimatinrr
I Y
70. Trade race (cp CARMI).cnjmn-p (AV ‘son of [one
of] the apothecaries’), Neh. 3 8 , is one
names. whose Darents or ancestors were aromutan’i;
accordingly we shoild read, in the same verse, o,aiim-i3,
‘son of the goldsmiths.’ Such appellations are not rare
in Syriac. The 3 3 (‘ sons of the LcihZsk ’ ; see HALO-
H E S H ), traced their descent from a magician, the 9 1 3
nipon (‘ sons of the Sophereth ’), from a female scribe (!),
whilst the x i n nna 312 (‘sons of Pahath Moab ’), were
proud to call themselves after an ancestor who had been
governor of Moab. A singular nickname is given to
the mother of the family known as c ’ x n ni3a v x the ( I
sons of Pochereth-hazzebgim ’), ‘ she who fetters the
gazelles,‘ which seems to mean that she was so swift
of foot as to overtake these animals.’ The above
designations are of course not to be regarded as real
names. Arah ( n w ) might he the Aramaic word for
‘ wanderer ’ (corresponding to the Hebrew Oreah).
Heber and Heber (ixn) appear to be wrongly vocalised ;
the form Hdber might be a real name, meaning ‘en-
chanter,’ whereas HHber would be ‘ associate.’
In Arabic, very many names are derived from objects
--
of various kinds. Such names are sueeested sometimes
by a resemblance between the person
,l. Names
from objects. and the object, sometimes by a purely
accidental circumstance attending the
Y
birth. T h e present writer was once informed by
Wetzstein that among the Bedouins a girl might be
named ThaQe, ‘ snow-flake,’ because it happened to be
snowing when she was born. I t is, of course, impossible
in most cases to guess what gave rise to such names.
Among the Hebrew names hitherto unexplained, there
may be some which belong to this class, though it does
not seem likely that they are very numerous. W e may
here mention HethRm (onin), ‘seal,‘ like the Gr. Z+paylr;
the same meaning probably belongs to niyap) (m),sons
of TabbReth, where the plural form, strange as it
appears, is attested also by 6. Piirah [RV] (ma), if
correctly vocalised, is * wine-press.’ Bakbiik ( p a p ) .
‘pitcher’ (cp the Aram. name Xou<&[s], Chuza, z.e.,
~ 1 1 2 ,‘ pitcher,‘ Lk.83). Rebecca (npxi, Ribhkah, ‘PE-
PEKKa), ‘cord,’ especially such as was used for tying
sheep (that her daughter-in-law is called Rachel [hi],
‘ewe,’ may be an accidental coincidence). Rizpah
(zlf3yl). ‘ pavement,‘ Achsah ( n ~ > y ) ,‘anklet’ (for women).
This last belongs to a special category, namely, that of
names borrowed from articles of luxury, of which the
following also are examples :-PEninnah (naa), probably
the singular of ~*i*ia, ‘ corals,’ Shoham (nnv), some
precious stone (perhaps the onyx). Keziah [RV]
( n y r p ) , ‘cassia,’ and Keren-happuch (7rsn l i p ) , ‘box
of face paint.’ The last two are ornamental titles
bestowed by the poet upon the daughters of Job.
Perhaps we may include in the same class the somewhat
doubtful name Wri (?is),which may be another form of
sdri (.is), ‘storax,’ and Zeriiiah ( a m y fern.,), which may
mean ‘one who is perfumed with storax. C p M6pos.
fem. Muph, also RHsEmath [RV] (nnb2).
T h e time of birth may have suggested the names
Nogah (xi]) and Moza (Nrin), ‘sunrise’; but it is also
72. Time. possible to explain them as metaphors. An
analogous case is Shahgraim ( n w d ) , ‘dawn,’
if the form be correct. A similar assumption being
made, Hddesh ( i i n , fem. I Ch. 89) signifies ‘ born at
the feast of the new moon ’ ; c p Phoenician mni3 which
is rendered by N o u p ~ v r o s . ShabbCthai (mid, Z a p -
paraios in the Letter ofAvirteus) is clearly ‘ one born on
the Sabbath’ like Bapua,Bpiis in the N T (see above, 5
48). Haggi (m), Haggai (nn), fem. Haggith ( n * ~ n ) , ~
1 In old Arabic poetry a horse used for Punting is styled
Kaidal ’iiwddid, ‘fetter of the flying animals.
2 See R UBY.
3 Haggiah (asan, the name of a man, I Ch. 6 15[30]) can hardly
be correct; the only possible rendering would be ‘my feast IS
YAW&
3300
 NAMES
probably mean ‘born on the feast day.’ Perhaps
Mdadiah (n*iyin, see 5 32) may have the same sense.
Names of this kind, usually compounded with 6en (p) Shiphmite (*naei). Whether the dual Diblaim (&i),
or 6nr (111) as the case may be, are employed by other
Semites, in particular by the Syrians.
An idea of direction is expressed in the names THmin
seem to be properly nimes of districts,’ ‘ southern ’ and
‘ northern.’
W e may here add the strange names Jagkebah (n2Py).
‘towards Jacob,’ and Chenaanah (n~yj>), ‘ towards
Canaan.’ Moreover in I Ch. 25 14 JEsharElah [so EV]
(&iio*, for which u. 2 has Asharelah. njxieix) may natur-
ally be taken to mean ‘ towards Israel.’
T h e Arabs use also many abstract nouns a s proper
names. T o account for such names is sometimes even
,*. abstract. harder than to account for those which
are borrowed from material objects. A
few examples of this class have already been mentioned
incidentally (cp Gr. ’IUbTqS, ‘Appouhvq, Zw+pouhvq,
etc.). W e may cite here, ~ i 3 Manoah.
9 ‘rest,’ (unless by Jeremiah, were no doubt of African extraction ; cp
it comes from the root njn, ‘ t o present a gift,’ and there-
fore belongs to the category in § 5 7 ) ; MErab ( 3 1 ~ ) is contemporaneous with Jeremiah. W e also find BPE.ri
probably ‘ increase‘ ; Mahldn (jiinn) and Chilidn (Ti*$,),
sickness ’ and ’ wasting ’ (two persons who are intro-
duced into the narrative for the purpose of explaining
how two young women came to be widows) ; NHb6th
(ni33, masc.). perhaps ‘height’ ; Tikvah ( n i p , niasc.),
‘ hope ’ ; Rinnah (331, masc. ), shouting ‘ ; SBcZr (i2b): phrase fiqn 7 2 (Ge-hizzaion. ‘valleyofvision’) in Is. 221 j.
‘reward’ (from God); TPhinnah ininn. masc.), ‘request
or ‘ favour’ ; Hezion (pvn, an Aramaean). ‘ vision ’ ; see above, 5 52-these are used siniply as adjectives.
MichHl (syn, fem.), perhaps ‘ power’ ; Harhfir; (imin).
‘fever.’ That Mirmah [RV] (nmn), ’deceit, should
be the right form seems very improbable. TWfi[€]iT,
TwpsrO, Tohit (masc.), ‘ goodness,’ appears in post-
biblical Jewish writings as nilB, n,Ip). MHhd (%no) name of a non-Israelite ; in later times Shimshai appears
might be ‘dance,’ were it not that Mahlah (nsno,
masc. and feni.), Mahalath (ninn, fem.) and Mahli
( h o , the name of a family of Levites) point to granimatical form of these three names offers no diffi-
some other derivation than that from 51”; the un-
certainty of the vocalisation here renders it impossible to
draw any conclusions. Amongst the names ending in
Cth (ni) there may be some abstract nouns which perhaps
should be pronounced with 6th (nr) ; but nearly all of
75. Final n,. these are very doubtful, and in some cases
even the form varies. Thus the man who
is called MEshilEmdth (niaka) in Neh. 1113 2 Ch.
2812. is called MCshillErnith (n&do) in I Ch. 912 ; in
this last passage (as in z Ch.) @ has -wtl [BAL], whereas
in Neh. 1113 one reading [Kc.amg.inf,] is -1O.l In like
fashion the same man appears as ShPldmoth (ninsei) and
Sheldmith (n,n$d), the former being used as a name
elsewhere. T o settle the precise meaning is hardly
possible. Nor can we explain Meremoth (ninin, masc. ) ;
though it is once spelt nnia it may perhaps be com-
pounded with nin, ‘death.’ T h e same word is pos-
sibly contained in Jerimoth (nip?,). J6rEmoth (nini.),
and doubtless in Azmaveth (niniy, 5 63). Lappidoth
[RV] (nk& masc.), ‘.torches,’ is no less suspicious in
appearance than Mikloth (nisp, Ma~~X[h]60), ‘ rods.’ ChimhHn (inm), ChimhHni ( D ~ . D J ) , and Gidedn ( p y i ~ )see
On the other hand, Jeridth (niyy,), ‘tents’ ( I Ch. 218),
may be originally the name of a place. Nebaidth (i+~),
‘heights ’ (?), the name of a people, seems to be a real
plural, like the names of modern Arabian tribes in -it.
T h e plural forms Huppim (oqsn, osn, Gen. 4621 ; I Ch.
7x5) and Shuppini ( ~ o d ced, , I Ch. 712 1 5 2616. for
which Gen. 4621 has Muppini, p g o ) are proved incorrect
by the adjectives HfiphHmite (Vnwn) and ShiiphRniite
( o w d ) . The form SWphiiphHm [RV] (oaaei, Samaritan
omw) is found in Nu. 2639, and ShPphfiphin ( p d ) in
I Ch. 85. Both form and meaning are here quite
uncertain. The same may be said of ShHphHm (cod,
1 BH*A omit : L has -d.
3301
NAMES
the name of a man), ShPpham (cod) and Siphmoth [EV]
(niagd, names of places), and also of the adjective
as the name of a man, be correct, it is impossible to say,
since the meaning of the word is unknown.
Adjectives in - E (genlilicin)appear to have been very
rarely used as names in the strict sense. Thus we find
76. Final i. Jehiidi (~irn,,Jer. 3614 ZI 23) ; the man in
question is thereby designated as a real
Judzean, perhaps in consequence of the fact that his
great-grandfather, to judge by his name Cushi ( 9 ~ 2 2 ) .
was a native of &thiopia. Similarly we find a Bceotian
named B o r o r k , a Molossian named MoXouubs, a
Thessalian named IIsrOaXbs ( i . e . , 8erraXbs) ; see Fick,
340. A Judith [EV] (nvirn,) appears even in Gen. 2634,
and in the well-known romance the heroine bears the
name’Iou&rO. as being the ideal of religious and political
virtue. T h e Cushi whowas a member of the royal family,
according to Zeph. 1 I, very possibly had a mother be-
longing to some black race. T h e nian called *~33;1(the
Cushite) in z S. 18 and vnan q$n i ~ (Ebed-melech
y the
Cushite ; EV Ethiopian). who is mentioned several times
*w> in the Phcenician inscription of Elephantine, which
(1x3, or 7 1 2 , BEri, I Ch. 736), a belonging to the well,’
or ‘belonging to the place called Beer,’ and Gehazi
(WTI or vm),which has the appearance of being derived
from the name of some place compounded with y or
NY (W. valley); we are reminded of the mysterious
On the many names ending in i i n the genealogies,
So far as the form is concerned we must include in the
same class names like Omri (,my), Barzillai (+>>),
‘made of iron’ (cp the Punic B i r d i s , genitive case,
Efhem. e$& 540) and Shimshai (-rsinrsi), ‘solaris,’ the
among the Syrians as Zapuaios, Zapulos, and the brother
of Simeon Stylites was called *wow. Though the
culty, their origin and meaning are quite obscure.1
’dorsi might also be regarded a s an abbreviation of some
name like mjono (Zap$r-y+apos), which was not rare
among the Aramaeans.
A considerable number of names end in; 1 (in)or I\
(an),for which, in some cases, the archaic termination
., Bn, tion 0, ( ~ i mor ) oL (5m)is substituted.
sn, am, om. Whether these terminations are really
identical I S by n o means certain. Sonie-
times p appears to be a diminutive termination-e.g., in
Ephrijn (pmy), ‘ hinnulus ‘ ; Egldn ((isiy). ’ vitulus,’
Arabic ‘Ojail; Nahshon (iidnj), ‘small serpent’ ; Samson
(jidoei, Shimshjn), ‘small sun,’ like the Arabic &rnnis
(name of a m a n ) ; Abdon (ps~y), diminutive form
of the abbreviated name Ebed ( n y ) , like the Arabic
‘Obnid. Other examples of these terminations are-
HemdHn ( p n ) , Gen. 3626 (so also in @ [ADL] and
Samaritan text), but Hamran (lion) in I Ch. If’ (BAL
follows Gen.) probably ‘ desirable,’ like the Arabic e a r n -
din;2 AmrHm (amy), probably ‘ i n good condition’ :
;
above, 5 66. Malcham ( c 3 i D . I Ch. 89) I S open to sus-
picion. N o definite meaning can be extracted from
SimednlfiyEd), GErshBm (nioii),Gershijn (peiij), 6nHm
(mix). OnHn (pix), HSmHm (on*n. Gen. 3622, for which
I C ~ 139has
. Hdmim, cain). HE.rniln(pn). Bilhgn (ph;
the fem. Bilhah. n n h . is also obscure), Ralaam ( o y h ,
Bil‘am). As for TrBm (my) and &an (py), they are no
less difficult to explain than i r ( r y ) . Er (1~).Ira (N’I.~).
Iri ( ~ y ) Eri
, (-ip),1ru (wy).-forms of which some are
doubtless incorrect. In Keii&n ( p i x i , as in j . i ~ , Yard&,
1 For other passible explanations see OMRI,EARZILLAI,
SHIMSHAI.
2 See also H EM D AN .
3302
 NAMES
EV Jordan), we seem to have a variation of i n , if the
view expressed in 62 be right. T h e n disappears
in n&d, ShEl6m5, EV Solomon (=Arabic SaZimin),
' peaceable ' or ' happy,' and probably in kn*, EV Jethro
( = Yithrin, p,). 'eminent.'
Had all Hebrew names been transmitted to us in their
correct form, we should presumably be able to point out
in them many archainns and diaZectic
78' Archaic peculiarities. As it is, the most note-
worthy phenomenon of this kind is the
retention of the ancient feminine ending n in a few O T
names-a form which survives in Phenician and even
in Moabite. Thus we find the masculine names GCnii-
bath (nxi), ShimrHth (nind), Goliath ( n h , a Philistine),
Miinahath (nnin, originally, it would seem, the name
of a place), Ginath (nyi, 6 5 rova0 [SA] -wO [L]); attempt to abolish this name of the Deity, which had
the feminine names BHshath (nob3), Mahalath (Rho).
Of these names only a few admit of a satisfactory ex-
planation. Tiiphath (ngpl, feni. I K. 4 11) has a suspicious
appearance, as the words i ~$1i immediately precede.
It is interesting to notice that all the grammatical
persons occur in Hebrew proper names, though they
'Lzz- d o not always refer to the same kind of
subject.
i. The third person is used of the
persons* Deity in names like Azar-iah (inqry),
and also without any express mention of the Deity
-e.$. , in J6saph (IDi*)--whilst in JCphunneh ( n m ) and
the like it refers to the bearer of the name.
ii. T h e second person occurs only in imperative forms ;
it is used of God in ShiibZ-El ( h ? d )and d x m (if the ex-
planations given above, §§ 22, 30, be correct), and of
man in &n (Hakk&le-yah. see above, 23). n?iin has been suggested for it, namelyMose(orsomesuchform),
(H6dO-jah ; see 33), perhaps in i 3 ? ~(Reii-ben l ; but has a different sibilant (see MOSES, 2). PMEl ( h ~ 3 7 3 )
see above, $5 77, 62)'
iii. The first person singular refers ( a ) to God in
the artificial names Giddalti ( m h ) and Komamti-ezer
( i i y Vnnni), see above, 22. ( b ) T o the bearer of the
name in such cases as Abihu ( ~ i n q ~klihu ) , ( i n j w ) , and deity. AshhBr ( a n d N ) is very probably Ish-hBr, ' man
in those which have ni or Zi-eg., HashabnE-iah (n,>ldn),
Tebal-iah (in*sm) ; a (c) to the mother, or, in some cases,
to the father, in Shealti-el(5w&ttci), Hephzi-bah (m7x9:).
Nodmi ( ' ~ y 3EV , Naomi), ' my sweetness,' ' my delight ;
PCullSthai [RV] (.n$yD, pron. PEullHthi), ' my wages ' ;
N d r i (*-,yj), ' my lad ' ; BCni (y2), ' my son ' (if we adopt
the view that these forms are to be substituted for the
Massoretic Naarai and Bunni respectively). Among the
Abyssinians we find a multitude of such names express-
ing motherly affection--e.g., ' my king,' ' niycrown,' 'my
gold,' ' m y plum,' ' m y buffalo' ( L e . , ' m y h e r o ' ) :
similarly in Palmyrene, 'nin, ' my mistress ' ; * n w , ' niy
!lory ' ; *3,2n, ' my beloved ' ; and in the Talmud ~ y i , proper name.
my little one.' Whether Cozbi ( 3 2 1 ~ ) and Tibni (mn)
belong to this class is doubtful. ( d )The first per-
son plural refers to the parents or to the whole com-
munity in ImrnHnuel ( I K I D;~cp ) P h e n . '~JJIx, Syr. p, A reference to the ExiZe is contained in Assir ('ID&),
Talm. p, 'our father' ( a term of endearment used
by the mother, like NX. ' father,' etc. ), Palm. w > $ i ~ , ' B d
is ours ' ; iiiy. ' he has answered us.'
In conclusion something may be said about the
_ _ -
history of the formation of names among the Israelites.
History : Whilst t h e divine app&ation E l ( 5 ~ ) . period in question, with reference to the return to Canaao.
which was common to all the Semites,
Eland appears even in the oldest names, such
names' as-IsriiEl ('xi&), it would seem that
names compounded with jah (in;) came into use later
and gradually increased in n ~ m b e r . ~ Jdchebed ( 1 3 ~ ~ )
is scarcely to be regarded as historical. In JBh6shiia
( y ~ n , ) ,the name of the successor of Moses, we have a n
apparent instance of Jeho- (in,) as a divine appellation ;
1 C also BENINU.
2 Tgese and many others may, however, really belong to c.
3 W. Max Miiller hascompletelyfailedinhisattempt toproduce
from hieroglyphic inscriptions examples of the use of n* (sic, not
in-) in ancient names of places, and at least in one name of a
person (As. u. Bur. 312x).
3303
NAMES
but since the same man is also called H6shBa (Int;in).
some doubt still remains. On SCriiiah (n*ib) and
Reiiah (nwi) in Chronicles n o argument can be based,
for even if these names be genuine they belong to a later
period than that which might be supposed from their
connection with the patriarchs. Whether Gideon's son
J6iish (diti?),and Samuel's son J S l ( h i , ) . are cases in
point is at least not quite certain (see above, $3 26,
37). In any case names formed with Jeho (in,) occur
shortly before the period of the kings, and after a
while they became more popular than any other class
of names.
Names formed with Baal (syx) were doubtless used
to a considerable extent in early times, and even under
the first kings. W e may still perceive traces of the
become offensive in consequence of the feeling that it
stood in contrast to Yahwb (see also § 41). I t is there-
fore quite possible that in several biblical names E l or
Yahwb has been substituted for Baal.
Since the Israelites were a t one time sojourners in
Egypt and ever afterwards continued to have intercourse
81.
with that country, like all the neigh-
bouring peoples, we might naturally
expect to find a certain number of Egyptian names
in use among them. The only clear case, however, is
PhinChas (~n1*3),a name which (according to informa-
tion received by the present writer from Erman and
Spiegelberg) was extremely common in Egypt, and
has the singular meaning ' this negro' (cp Coshi, 9 d i ~ ) .
I t might be plausibly conjectured that Moses (ndn) is of
Egyptian origin, although the Egyptian equivalent which
bears a resemblance to the Egyptian names Potiphar
(ipaig) and Potiphera (ym.pli3) ; a name Compounded
with E l (h) might be coined in Egypt as easily as one
compounded with some other Semitic appellation of the
of Horus,' a n Egyptian god who undoubtedly appears
in the Phenician name i n i i y (cp iDNixy, 'servant of
Osiris,' and other Phoenician names). It seems therefore
quite possible that HBr (an), who, like Phinehas, stands
in connection with Moses, is neither more nor less than
' Horus,' for, acccording to Spiegelberg, this name
occurs in Egypt as the name of a human individual, not
only as the name of a god.' The same scholar has also
corroborated the further suggestion that Pashhiir RV
(-,anrug), which certainly does not look like a Hebrew
name, is compounded with ' Horus ' ; PShHR ' portion
of Horus,' or 'Horus apportions,' occurs once as a
Persons thoroughly acquainted both
with Egyptian and with Hebrew would probably be
able to point out a few more Egyptian names borne
by 1sraelites.l
prisoner,' the name of ason of Jeconiah who was carried
82. Exile. captive to Babylon (see ASSIR). I n Ex. 624
I Ch. 67822 [ z 23 371 the same name 'I-DN
must have been suggested by some other circumstance.
T h e name El-iHshib ( y & x ) was likewise used, a t the
ZerubbSxl ( h m i i ) , according to Jensen, occurs several
times as a Bahvlonian DroDer name : it signifies 'seed
Of the same period
83. Babyloni&. are of Bab$lon.'
the following Babvlonian names
u ,
(on which see the special articles) : Sheshbazzar (irmdd),
Sharezer [RV] isNib ( S a r ' e y ) Zech. 72, Bilshiin ( j d h ,
1 That Tin is Horus has already been suggested by Nestle, who
re ards Putiel ( $ ~ v ~ i , ) likewise as Egyptian (k ~iofi).
5 Cp Che. Pro#h. /sa. (3fi)2 144. S. Kerber in his very able
treatise ' Die religionsgeschichtliche Redeutung der hebraischen
Eigennamen,' which appeared after this article was set up (see
above, col. 3269, n. I ) points o u t (75 A ) that the name yvnx is
compounded with the name of the great Egyptian god Ra'.
It i s to he noticed that this man belongs to the family of the
Naphtalites mentioned in Numbers.
3304
 NAMES
which is found also in an ancient Aramaic document,
CZS, 259, and corresponds to the Babylonian H e W u n ) ,
NEkGda ( ~ i i p the , Babylonian Niksdu, a kind of bird),
see Friedr. Del. ProL 212, where the name Barkas
(bpl3) is also explained as Baby1onian.l On Sanballat
(&ID). see Schrader, KA T(2i,382. Mordecai (.min,
M a p 8 o ~ a i o s )is at least derived from the name of the
Bxbylonian god Marduk.
In MeshezabEel (i~xi'tsia.5 29) the first part is doubt-
less of Babylonian origin ; but since the verb 37w, xiiu had
already passed into the Aramaic language, the name
must be regarded as Aramaic. I t is certain that at
that tinre Aramaic was largely used in Babylonia.
Hence it is that several families of Jewish exiles mentioned
in Ezra2=Neh. T = I Esd. 5 bear Aramaic names-
e.g., b'ne HBtipha ( N m m m), b n e Hatita (Numn m)
( ' p o i n t e d ' ? ) , b n e Perida ( ~ i w
m) or b n e Periida
iris 933, 'separated'?), etc. So also we find Aziza
( w r y ) ' strong' (Palm. r ~ y , and, in its Arabic form
viy), Z b i n a ( HI-37)' bought ' (used in later times both
by Jews and Aramzeans), cp Palm. p h 'God has
bought ' ; the name must therefore be included among
those meutioned in 5 56. W e may observe here how
ready the Jews were, even at that period, to conform to
foreign custom in the matter of names, as in other
externab, while rigidly preserving their national char-
acter.
No Persian names are borne by Jews in the O T ;
even Esther ( i n m ) is scarcely of Persian origin. See
ESTHER.
I n the time of Ezra some ancient names reappear-
e.g.,ShimeCm (iiynuj), Ezral03r. Thegreat popularityof
this name (in Greek, Zupehv, Zipwv,
84. Old the latter being also a genuine Greek
revived' name) is Drobablv due to Simeon the
High Priest, of whom'JesLs bar SIra speaks with such
admiration, and to Simeon the brother of Judas the
Maccabee, who was himself a great-grandson of
another Simeon. Joseph (qoi?)is found in Ezra 1042,
Neh. 12 14, and afterwards appears very frequently,
sometimes in its full form, sometimes shortened into
JirsE. (.oi.), in the N T Joses, 'Iwu?js. Joshiia (ydin.), the
name of the successor of Moses, occurs again in I S. 6
1418 and z K. 23 8 ; the same name, mostly written
Jeshiia (a*) according to the later pronunciation, was
borne by the high priest in the days of Darius I. About
340 B . C . it reappears in the family of the High Priests,
and occasionally in the period following. At the time
of Christ, and even later, it was extremely common
(Greek form, 'IquoDs, Jesus). T h e name J6nHthHn (pi.) mobjectionable, we read of strict Jews calling themselves
had never dropped out of use. Of repetition of the name
Judah (niin.) the earliest instances are Judas the Macca-
bee and one of his contemporaries ( I Macc. 1 1 7 0 ) ; in
subsequent ages it was very popular, as is shown by the
NT. Jacob (xpy.) seems to have come into use very late ;
the list in the Letter of A k t e a s contains one ' I ~ K w ~ o lhristian
and the N T mentions three ( E V James). Of ancient
names, moreover. the following were particularlycommon
at that period-Hgnaniah (n*iin), JBhHnHn ( p i , ) , 'Iwdv-
vqs (EV John), and, as afemininename'Iwdrva, Joanna,
(Lk. 532410), EleHzHr ( i i y i ~ ) . Ad{apos (Lazarus),
Lzariah ( n v y ) , Mattithiah (n*nnn),M a ~ B l a s(Matthias). KXoxGs, Clopas; 0cu8Gr, Theudas, which last is a
W e also find in a considerable number of cases Menahem
(prim), Hezekiah (n,prn), Jeremiah (n,ni*). On the
other hand, as has long ago been remarked, the Jews
continue for many ages after the Christian era to avoid
the sacred names Abraham and Moses, likewise Aaron
and David. The Letterof Aristeas, it is true, mentions
an'Appapos (-4bram), and in Tobit Zdppa (Sara) plays
an important part. The name of Moses' sister probably
owed its popularity to Mariamme, the last of the Has-
monaeans; in the N T we meet with several women
called Blaptdp or Mapla (Mary).
Since Ezra's time very few Hebrew names have been
1 See, however, B A RK O S .
3305
NAMES
coined. The following may be mentioned -*n;I5;,
86.New known to us only in the shortened forms
'Oviar, Onias (n*jin). Talmudic ~ i i n ,~ 3 1 3
names' (which latter represents the Babylonian
pronunciation) ; *A/3oupos, Abubus ' beloved ' (3un.
+'ZbZi6), I Macc. 1611; @auai?lhos(SNSD,P<@) ; Map-
ydXo8os 'pearls' (nr[,]$n~), Jos. A n t . xvii. 6 2 ; Zwuaivva,
Z o w d v v a , 'lily' ( p i u or njuicg). At the same time
some Aramaic names became current - e.g., N $ N ~
(see above, 55), Neseipas (ni*oj)' preserved (by God),
Jos. BJ iii. 721 ; but such names are fewer than we
might have expected.
Soon after Alexander the Jews began to adopt Greek
names ; this process doubtless originated in the upper
'izzz: A high priest called himself
Jason, attempting
- - to imitate his
real name 'I?~uoGs,Jeshua (yrd,), just as a certain 'IaiKtpos
(n-g;, JHkim) called himself * A ~ K L ~ JAlcimus, S, and
Zfhur, Silas ( N $ N ~ ) in the N T was transformed into
Z L X O U U Silvanus.
~~S, From that time Jason became a
common name among the Jews. T h e brother of the
above-mentioned Jason, 'Ovius, Onias (n*iin), bestowed
upon himself the name of MevAaos, Menelaus. T h e
author of the Letter of An'steas includes several Greek
names in his list of those who translated the Pentateuch
in the third century B.C., a list which, it is true, he
composed from his own imagination. T h e national
reaction of the Maccabzean period did not put a stop to
this tendency. A nephew of Judas was named ii,+
'Tp~tav6s, Johanan Hyrcanus ; his sons were jmi3*
(shortened into wy) 'Ah&uv8pos, Jannai Alexander,
nirn?'Aprus6@ouhos, Judah Aristobulus, and 'Avsfyovor.
Antigonus. T h e N T also contains double names of this
kind--e.g., ZaOhor ( h d , ShHiil) IIuGXos, Saul Paul ;
'Iwaivvr]~ (pni,) MGpms, John Mark : ZupeDv ( iyntj) 6
K U ~ O ~ ~ WNlyep,
O S Simon called Niger (Acts13 I).] Even
in Palestine, however, many Jews of the time of Christ
bore only Greek names. Of the apostles, who were Gali-
1;eans in an inferior social position, one was called @ACT-
TOE, Philip, and another 'Av8pks, Andrew. Among the
Jews of the more western regions, Greek names seem a t
that period to have had a decided preponderance. Nor
was any offence caused by names connected with the
worship of heathen deities, since no one thought of the
meaning. I t is true that in the Book of Daniel Abed-
neb5 (ix i i y ) , of which the sense was only too obvious,
has been changed into Abed-nEg6 ( i n m y ) ; but just as
Ashhur (i)nwN) and Mordecai (mm) were regarded as
AnoXhhvtos, Apollonius, and At68wpor, Diodorus (names
Dome by the envoys of the Maccabzean prince in Jos.
Ant. xiii. 9 z ) , whilst the associate of the apostle Paul was
nanied 'AnoXXGs, Apollos. Similarly at a later period,
:he father of a certain Rabbi Jose bore the distinctively
s, name oiu,~, IIkrpos, Peter. Some names
which the Jews borrowed from the Greeks are ultimately
,f Latin origin ; a particular favourite was 'Iou^uros,
lustus, NBDV or *DDV (which is the form of the vocative).
In the N T and elsewhere we find many Greek abhre-
ciations used by Jews-e.&, 'Ahetlir, Alexas ( ~ 0 3 5;~ )
&OUK&, Lucas ; 'Ap~epis, Artemas ; KXEOTGS, Cleopas ;
zenuine Greek abbreviation of 0e66wpos, Theodorus, or
3€08bULOS, Theodosius, whereas 0a88aios. Thaddzeus.
N i n , is formed after the Hebrew fashion. Soon after
he apostolic age, if not earlier, some Jews adopted the
xactice of spelling their Hebrew names according to
he Greek pronunciation-cg., ]in*o, Simon, Z l p o v , or
vtm, Simeon, Zupchr, for j i y m , Shim'6n ; pow, Is&,
'or pnr., YishHk ; ~ i v Juda , (vocative) or ]iv, Judan
accusative) for niin-, Yehiida; cp the name DD+.
Levites, Aeuis1)s, for &, Hallevi. The fusion of Greek
1 On double names-the one indigenous, the other Greek-f
lews and other Orientals, cp K. Herzog in PhiZoZogus, 563i.#
2 See Winer, Granr.18), 8 16, 9.
336
 NAMES
and Jewish culture, a process of such vast importance
in the history of the world, is here, as it were, symboli-
cally represented. T h e creative power whereby a nation
is enabled to coin new names had at that period long been
extinct among the Jews, even as it has become extinct
among the Christian peoples of the present day.
T. N.
B. PLACE-NAMES
I n the following sections dealing with place-names,
as in the rest of the article, the aim is ( I ) to give the
right points of view for the study of the names, ( 2 ) to
show how they may be classified, with examples, ( 3 ) to
discuss in an introductory way some of the many difficult
questions which arise out of the subject, and (4) incident-
ally to throw some light on certain names and so to
supplement the special articles.
The names of places recorded in the O T are, regarded
as a whole, different in character from the personal
T a o differences in particular
8,. Compived
with personal. names.
are worthy of notice. ( I ) A very much
smaller *mooortion
. of dace-names con-
sists of compounds forming a sentence (sentence-names) ;
for whilst the great majority of compound personal names
are sentences (e.g., Elnathan), the great majority of
compound geographical names are combinations of two
(or more) nouns in a genitival relation (e.g., Bethel).
( 2 ) Whilst in the case of personal compounds with a
divine name, the number of those containing theproper
name of the deity is larger than that of those making
use of one of the common divine terms (such as el,
ba'al) ; in geographical compounds, on the other hand,
the proper name of a deity is very rare, and a common
term, such as el, ba'al, frequent.
Both these differences may be due to the great
antiquity of the place-names ; for there are indications
that sentence-names were not the earliest type even of
personal names among the Hebrews (cp HPN 246j?),
and an early preference for the common rather than the
proper name of deity is also a probable inference from
the history of personal names. I t would be hazardous,
however, to make the assumption that place-names were
generally derived from personal, or the reverse, the basis
of an examination of either group. The two groups
require in the first instance independent analysis and
examination, and only in the light of this can the deter-
mination of the relation between them be profitably
attempted.
T h e rarity of sentence-names among the names of
places is one cause of the - n e a t e r obscurity in which
88. obscuritJr, geographical names are in;olved ; for
the combination of two terms into a
sentence limits the range of ambiguity of either more
than their union as construct and genitive. Another
cause is the greater antiquity and non-Hebrew origin
of at least many of the place-names ; we have to
interpret them with but little or none of the literature
of the people who framed them to help us. Yet another
cause is the uncertainty attaching to the period in which
they originated; we can seldom fix more than a terminus
a d quem,the terminus a quo being absolutely undefined.
T h e textual tradition of place-names is frequently very
dubious.
A very large number of place-names at present defy
any reasonable interpretation. I n other cases difficulty
arises from the ambiguity of the form : and not un-
frequently from the uncertainty of the Massoretic read-
ing. As an example of both causes of obscurity we may
take Migron. This name may come either ( I ) from the
root m p with the substantival suffix On, or ( 2 )fromgry
with substantival prefix m and suffix On,or ( 3 ) from gm
with prefix rn. As to No. I , it is true that the origin
from the root mgr is the barest possibility. It is nn-
likely that a root so Aramaic in character should have
entered into the name of a Mid-Canaanite town already
existing in the time of Isaiah (1028). W e may also
3307
NAMES
dismiss No. z (root g v ) on the ground of the lateness
of the noun formation (Barth, NB, $204), and, adopting
No. 3 (root gm),interpret the name a s ' threshing-floor '
(see We. on Is. 142). Next, as to the reading. This,
though retained by critics, cannot be held to be quite
certain. In the only two places where this name is
found, 6 in Is. and bLin I S. reads Megiddo, which
has suggested a new emendation of the text in I S. 142
(see M IGRON ). Here then we have a typical instance
of the uncertainty of geographical names. For another
such instance take Madon (eBF Marron)-of which
possible roots are &in, m d w , mrw.
I n dealing with the present subject it is most impor-
tant to bear in mind this great ambiguity or uncertainty
of most individual names. I t is as a rule only when
the instances are many that we can be certain that a
particular class of meanings was actually expressed by
place-names. There can, for example, be no question
that many place-names are identical with animal names.
Many of the individual instances even in this case are
uncertain ; but the coincidences are too many to admit
of the reality-and, indeed, of the considerable extent
-of the class being doubted.
Still further uncertainty is connected with this and
many other classes when we proceed from determining
the meaning to inquire into the cause and origin of the
name. For instance : are these animal names due to
totemistic beliefs, or were they given because the animals
referred to abounded in the neighbourhood of the several
places, or because in some prominent feature the place
resembled the animal in question?
I t is impossible within the limits of the present article
to discuss the various theories or to examine in any way
exhaustively the various possible meanings of the whole
of the biblical place-names. All that we can attempt to
do is to arrange the names in classes and according to
meanings that are tolerably well established. More-
over, we shall, generally speaking, exclude the names
of Egyptian, Assyrian, and other towns remote from
Palestine, confining ourselves to the names in the land
of Israel and the immediately surrounding countries.
Before we proceed to the classification, however,
certain points that have already been briefly referred to
89. How far pre- call for discussion, and, especially,
the history of names of Palestinian
Ieraelitish? places. It is difficult to say how
many of these were- given by the Israelites. I n -a con-
siderable number of cases we know definitely that they
were not. In other words, many of the names of places
in the land of Israel are pre-Israelitish. As to these
there are two main sources of information-theAmarna
tablets (circa 1400 B .c.) and the lists of Thotmes 111.
(not later than 15th cent.), Seti I. and Rameses 11.
(predecessors of Mernephtah in whose reign the Exodus
is usually placed), Pap. Anastasi I. (temp. Rameses 11. ) ;
for references and details compare Winckler's edition
of the Amarna tablets with index ( K B 5), and for the
Egyptian lists W. M. Muller (As. u. Bur., especially
154, 157-164, 181). C p P ALESTINE , $ 15.
Among names (of subsequently Israelitish towns)
occurring in the list of Thotmes, and therefore at least
as ancient as the fifteenth century B.c., are Abel, Accho,
Achshaph, Ain, Aphek (?), Asthteroth-karnaim, Edrei,
Gath, Gaza, Hadid, Helkath, Ijon (?), Joppa, Kanah,
Makkedah, Migdal, Mishal, Rehob, Sharuhen, Socoh,
Zephath; and among names mentioned in the lists
of Seti I. and Rameses 11. are Beth-anath, Luz and
Secu, and perhaps also Jabneh and Heres. In the
Amarna tablets (14th cent. B .c.) we meet with Aijalon,
Gath-rimmon (?), Hannathon, Hazor, Jerusalem, Kanah,
Lachish, Megiddo, Seir (?), Zorah. 3
T h e significance of these sources for our present
purpose, however, is not fully represented by the actual
identifications. Several of the names are typical instances
of considerable classes-Ain (cp also Hi-ni-a-na-biz
3 1 ivy,
~ Amarna 23726) and Abel of the numerous com-
3308
 NAMES
pounds with these terms ; Aijalon and Zorah of animal
nanies ; Jabneh of names which consist of a third sing.
impf. Further, other names in these sources, though
not identical with biblical names, are instances of
other large groups of the latter ; Bit-ninib (Amarna).
Bai-ti-y'-a (Thotnies list) of compounds with Beth ;
and Joseph-el (see J OSEPH i., I ) and Jakob-el (see
JACOB, § I , and cp W M M As. u. Eur. 162 8 )of
compounds of an impf. and el: In brief, the biblical
place-names have so many and such close resemblances
to those early names that it is difficult, if not impossible,
in the absence of direct information to distinguish names
given to places by the Israelites from the names which
they took over from the former inhabitants.
With regard to a few names, it is true, the biblical
writings contain statements or suggestions that certain
names were first given by the Israelites. Thus it has
generally been inferred ( e . 8 , by Di. ) from Judg. 19 I O
I Ch. 1 1 4 8 Josh. 1 5 8 1816 28 that Jebus was the
Canaanite name of the city which was subsequently
called by the Hebrews Jerusalem, and this was probably
intended by the Hebrew writers ; but the occurrence of
the name Jerusalem in the Amarna tablets now shows
us that this was not the case.
The words 'their names being changed' in Nu.3238 may
be as Dillmann suggests, a gloss directing that the two pre-
cehing names Neb0 and Baal-maon are to be so read as to
conceal their heathen origin; in any case the clause can hardly
mean that these two names are of Israelitish origin. To the
name Baal-perazim an Israelitish origin is attributed in 2 S. 5 20,
but perhaps erroneously(see BAAL-PERAZIM, and cp NPN 133).
See, further, BETHEL,SAMARIA.Joktheel was the name
given to Sela by Amaziah ( 2 K. 1 4 7 ) ; hut whether the name
itself, which is borne by a Jewish town (Josh. 1538), be pre-
Israelitish or not, we cannot say.
In any case, the number of names directly stated or
implied in the O T to have been of Israelitish origin is
small. In one or two cases the character of the name
itself clearly indicates such an origin; perhaps the
clearest instance is Baal Judah ( H P N 133 ; see also for
a suggestion relative to Laish, ib. 102, n. 5).
Most of the pre- Israelitish names cited above are
clearly Semitic; but it is not improbable that some
&on-Semitic, of the biblical place-names are not
merely pre-Israelitish but non
Semitic. Such a name as Ziklag, for instance, is diffi-
cult to explain from the known Semitic vocabulary. C p
ZIKLAG.
Names of Greek or Latin origin (in some cases substi-
tutes for old names, in others names of entirely new towns)
are easily distinguishable. The ancient name Beth-
shean is already displaced by XKuflGv m5Xis in Judith
310 (cp Judg. 127, 65);and the N T refers to several
places with such names-e.g., Ptolemais, Caesarea,
Antipatris ; see further, Schiirer G/V2) 250-131.
Modern Palestinian names are Arabised forms of the
ancient names or fresh Arabic formations (cp Survey
of Western Palestine-Special Papers, 254- 258, and
the Name Lists).
T o sum up, then. Apart from the Greek and Latin
names which are confined to the Apocrvpha and the
~ I .
91. Conclusion. N T , and are immediately distinguish-
able, the ereat maioritv of biblical
Y I ,
place-names are of Semitic origin ; of the Palestinian
names many are certainly pre-Israelitish, a few may be
non-Semitic. a few are certainly Israelitish ; but with
regard to the great majority we are left in doubt whether
they were given by the Israelites or their Semitic pre-
decessors. Hence from place-names we can infer
Israelitish belief and practice only with great caution
and under strict limitation. The precise origin of a
nnme is of conrse of less interest when it refers to un-
changing physical features of a place ; but it is of con-
siderabk importance when it refers to belief, practice, or
social characteristics which are subject to change. I n
these cases it is seldom safe to infer more than is justified
by the consideration that, even when not given by the
Israelites, these names were intelligible to them.
3309
NAMES
T h e interpretation of the names is to some extent
controlled and in some cases facilitated by certain more
92. Bbbrevia- or less general characteristics. Many
names (below, a , 6, c ) are abbrfviah'ons
tions. of compound names inn. = $NIT) or
compound terms (py=]& '12) ; others (3 93) are exjan-
sions of simpler terms, e.g., jiyn $y3= iim. (For another
question relating to the form of certain place-names see
5 107).
( a ) Abbreviation by omission of dqining mem6er.1-
One of the commonest forms of abbreviation is the
omission of the a r t d e , or the genitive, which originally
defined an appellative used as a proper name. In some
cases we still find both the full and the abbreviated form
of the same name in the O T ; but it must be remembered
that where the definition is by means of the article the
EV never retains the distinction. Thus Gibeah (hill)
is the name of a t least three different places mentioned
in the O T ; one of these appears under these different
forms--nyxn (the hill). !miw nym (Saul's hill), p m n y x
(the hill of Benjamin), n y n (hill); the other two are
each mentioned but once : in the one case we find the
simple, undefined form n y x (hill), in the other the com-
pound expression ~ n l yny21 (the hill of Phinehas).
Compare further, Kirjath and Kirjath-jearim, Bamoth
and Bamoth-baal. We have no doubt to explain certain
place-names of very general significance as the result of
this process of abbreviation-e.g., Adamah ( =land [of
.. .I), which was perhaps also the original form of the
names now appearing as Adam, Admah, and Adami
(in Adami-nekeb); Aio=Well ( o f .
Helkath=Portion (of .. .).
. .); Gezer and
(6) By omission of dejned members.-A second type
of abbreviation is due to the omission of the substantive
in compound terms consisting of a substantive and a n
adjective ; thus 'Ashan (old) in Jos. 15 42 etc. is a n
abbreviation of the full name Bor-ashan (=old well,
unless indeed the name is to be explained with BDB as
'smoking pit' ; see C OR - ASHAN ), which occurs in OT
only in I S . 3030. This instance shows how in some
cases fuller forms did actually lie behind adjectival
names. At the same time it is probably unnecessary
- to assume that all adjectival names spring from original
compound terms.
The way in which tribal names became place-names
is illustrated by the abbreviation of Beeroth Bene-jaakan
(Dt. 106) into Bene-jaakan in a younger source (Nu.
33 31 f:, R ) ; perhaps also by Addar as a n abbreviation
of Hazar-addar (cp $ 105).
(c) T h e parallel forms Jabneh and Jabneel illustrate
another important class of abbreviations-cp Barth, NB,
3 154.
Other types of abbreviations occur among the class
of names which constitute what we have termed ex-
pansions (next §).
T h e existence o f the various forms Beth-baal-meon,
Beth-meon, Baal-meon, and Meon (so read in Nu. 323
93. Expansions. for Beon), taken in connection with
the meaning of the constant element
Meon (Dwelling), suggests that the full form is an ex-
pansion from the original simple place-name which, like
so many others, is an appellative of wide signification
and was once no doubt defined by the article or a
genitive. Moreover, in other similar compounds the
final element is of a similar character ; cp Baal-hermon,
Baal-hazor.
These expanded compounds, however, as the above
parallel forms prove, were in turn subject to more than
one form of abbreviation ; the middle term Baal or the
first term Beth was omitted. The omission of Beth is
further illustrated by suc.h alternative forms of the same
place-name as Beth-lebaoth and Lebaoth, Beth-azma-
veth, and Azmaveth. For further discussion of these
points see H P N 125-136 324 ; on the significance of
the Baal names see also below, 96.
1 Cp. KGnig, Syntax d.Lebr. SjracLe, $295.
3310
 NAMES
W e now come to the classification of place-names
according" to their nieanines : and we mav first consider
" l
94. Meanings : I. Names originating in religious ideas
religious. or practices.
As we have seen. these names cannot ~~ ~ ~
be indiscriminately used to illustrate Israelitish belief or
practice; by themselves they merely prove that such
and such a belief or practice was at some time con-
nected with such and such a place. In some cases,
however, the testimony of the meaning of the name
corndined with other testimony renders much more
definite conclusions possible.
I. A considerable number of names reflects the wor-
ship of certain objects or deities. As already remarked,
96. with divine the deity is in most place-names re-
proper names. ferred to under a general term (e.g.,
6 4 ; but in a few a more definite
designation occurs.
Sun-worship pretty clearly accounts for several.
( I ) Beth-shemesh (House or Temple of the Sun), the name of
a city in Judah (also called Ir-shemesh=City of the Sun, and
perhaps, in Jodg. 135 MT. HERES[ q . ~ . ] )ofanother
, in Naphtali
a n d another in lssachar ; (2) En-shPmesh (Well of the Sun), the
name of a well o n t h e borders of Judah a n d Benjamin : (3) the
ascent of H ERE S [q.u.l-on the E. of J o r d a n ; (4) Timnath-
heres (Portion of the Sun), in the hill-country of E p h r a i m
The distribution of these names is general; their
origin, no doubt, pre-Israelitish ; for the last name
(Timnath-heres) is probably found as Hi-ra-ti in the list
of Rameses I I . , and SamSan (in the neighbourhood
of the southern territory of Dan) in the same list is
obviously of similar significance ( W M M AL u. Eur.
165, n. 4, 166). Perhaps, in spite of the different
sibilant (e not D), the name of the Moabite city K I K -
HERES, or Kir-haraseth, is of similar origin. Cp, further
the SaniSimurun of the Assyrian inscriptions, which may
lie concealed in the name usually read S HIMRON-MERON
in Josh. 1220.
T h e worship of the moon may perhaps be traced in
Jericho, and Lebanon might be similarly explained ;
but the latter word can he explained quite satisfactorily,
and therefore more probably. by the primary meaning
of the root, ' t o be white'; see below, 5 102. T h e
name of the Babylonian moon-goddess, Sin. is gener-
ally detected in the names Sinai and Sin.
Other proper names of gods surviving in place-names
are :-those of the Babylonian god Nebo in the Moahite
town and mountain, and in a town of Judah of that
name (but cp N EBO ) ; of Anath in B ETH - ANATH , BETH-
ANOTH, A NATHOTH (the localities indicate the wide
spread of this primitive cultus) ; of Ashtoreth in ASH-
TEKOTH-KAKNAIM and B E - ESHTEKAH ; of Dagon in
B ETH - DAGON (represented both in N. and in S . ) .
Rimmon. which appears in several place-names, is
ambiguous : it means a pomegranate ; but it is also the
name of a god. The use of the article (Iini7yh in
Judg. 2045) favours interpreting the Rock of Rimmon
as the Rock of the Pomegranate ; hut in several of the
other names (En-rininion, Rimmon, Rimmon-Perez,
and Gath-rimmon) it is possible that Rimmon is a
divine proper name. I t is true, the evidence of 6 is
rather against this view (JPTh. 334, n. I ; but see RIM-
MON ). T h e name given as HADAD-KIMMON ( 4 . v . ) is
too doubtful to quote, and the same remark applies to
the name E TH - KAZIN (q.w.), considered as a mark of
the cultus of the goddess Ath6. T h e Babylonian Bel
(as distinct from Baal) perhaps lies concealed in EBAL
(q.v.) and the R I R L A H(q.".) of Nu. 3411 (6 ... up
PvXa); and a god Kush or Kish (=Ar. Kais) in K ISH .
K ISHON , and ELKOSH. Possibly Zur in Beth-zur is the
name (or title) of a deity. On the other hand, it is
very doubtful whether the 'am which we find at the end
of some place-name be the name of a deity ; see AMMI
[N AMES IN]. T h e altar-names, Jehovah-shalom and
-
Jehovah nissi, and the names Jehovah - jireh and
Jehovah-shammah are hardly of the same k i n d ; cp
1 Cp Von Gall, Alfisraelifischr Kulfsidffm.
3311
NAMES
also Jer. 3316. The only two instances occurring in
OT of actual town-names containing Yah, Y a h d . are
Jeshua and Ananiah. Both of these are mentioned for
the first, and, indeed, in each case, for the only time in
Neh. (11 26 32) ; both are elsewhere personal names.
If the text be sound wshere they occur as town-names,
the names of the towns in question were probably
derived from persons. Unmistakably geographical is
Beth-jah. which, according to W. M. Muller (As. 1.
Bur. 162,312),occurs in the List of Thotmes, and is
consequently a pre-Israelitish name.
2. Of divine general terms ZZ and b d ' d enter into
several place-names. In Bamoth-bad (the high places
Baal. of Baal) and Kiriath-baa1 (the city of
96. Baal) Baal is the second term of the
compound and defines the first. I n the other compound
names it is the term defined; thus Baal-hazor is the
Baal or owner of the place Hazor, Baal-tamar the
Baal of a particular palm tree, and so forth. For
further details as to the significance of the divine term
in question see B AAL . What we have to observe here
is that such names as those just cited are, properly,
names, not of places, but of deities. All names of this
type, together with the undefined names Baal, Baalah,
and Bealoth. when used as place-names, are ahbrevia-
tioils, having arisen by the omission of Beth (cp 5 93).
T h e Beth which still survives in Beth-baal-meon most
probably referred in the first instance to the temple or
abode of the god (cp Judg. 9 4 4 6 ) , and the whole com-
pound then became used of the town or village in which
the temple of the god stood ; cp other names consisting
of Beth and a divine name or title-e.g., Beth-anath,
Bethel, Beth-shemesh, and perhaps Beth-zur. The
omission of Beth. however, was not the only method of
abbreviation used ; the divine term itself might be the
element omitted ; Beth-baal-meon is abbreviated not
only to Baal-meon but also to Beth-meon. Obviously,
in the last instance, it is only the survival of the parallel
forms that proves Beth-meon to be a name originating
in religious worship. It would, therefore, appear very
probable that some of the compounds with Beth which
do not at present contain Baal are abbreviations of
forms that did ; this theory, perhaps, does most justice
to compounds with Beth and a term (like Maon) which
by itself is a suitable place-name; cg.,Beth-rehob is
probably an abbreviation of Beth- baal-rehob, and
although it is not easy to select many particular cases
and say that they are necessarily or probably abhrevia-
tions, it is at least likely that the considerable number
of Baal names of places which the OT mentions would
be increased if all the alternative forms of the Beth
names were preserved. On the other hand, it would
be unreasonable to suppose that all or even most of the
Beth names have arisen from the omission of Baal ;
Beth does not necessarily mean temple, nor consequently
does it necessarily imply that the name of which it forms
a part has a religious significance ; Bcth-ihittah is quite
suitably and sufficiently interpreted as meaning T h e
place which contains the acacia tree,' Beth-marcaboth
as ' the place where the chariots are kept,' Bethlehem as
' the place of food,' though the second element of the
last name has been identified by some with the Baby-
lonian god Lahamu (see B ETHLEHEM ).
Some twenty towns or districts mentioned in the OT
9,. With Z ~ .bear names containing tl as one element.
These names are of three classes.
(i.) Names in which el is a genitive defining the first
element of the compound.
These names a r e Bethel (cp 8 96). Nahaliel= the wady of El ;
Migdal-el=the tower of E l : Penuel=the face of El, and two
names of obscure meaning, Neiel (the first part of which may be
connected with Neah, ?pin) a n d BETHUEL [Q.u.].
(ii.) Names in which e l is part of a (compound)
genitive.
Such a r e the valley of Iphtah-el- where IPHTAH-EL (q.u.)
seems to he the name either of a town or of a man, which
attached itself t o the valley (cp Class iii., on the one hand, a n d
33'2
 NAMES
on. the other) : the Tower of
the Sabxan #eersonal name S ~ n n y
Hananel (Hananel probably beiug originally a personal name) ;
and perhaps Beth-arbel.
(iii. ) Names in which e l is the subject of a sentence.
These are Jezreel ( = ' l e t El sow'), a town in Issachar, and
another in Judah (cp also I Ch. 4 3) ;Jabneel (= ' let El build '), a
town in Naphtali and another in Judah; Jekabzeel (='let El
collect '), of which KASZEEL(q.v.) is probably an abbreviated
form;l Irpeel(='let El heal'), i e . , probably, 'let El rebuild'(cp
the use of ~ 5 in1 I K. 18 30) ; Iphtahel (cp $ 11) ='let El open.'
oktheel the name of a town in Judah which was also given
iy,Arnadah to the conquered Sela (2 K: 14 7), is obscure as far
as its first element is concerned (see JOKTHEEL).
If the first part of Elealeh be the divine term, so that
the name belongs to the present class, it would appear
to mean ' El doth ascend ' or ' hath ascended ' ; but see
below, § 107, end. With the exception of this doubtful
instance, however, in all place-names consisting of e l
and a verbal element, the subject stands last, and the
verb is imperfect. Consequently, since there appears
to have been a strong tendency in earlier times to give
the divine subject the first place in a name intended to
make a statement, the translation of the verbal elements
in these place-names by the voluntative as above is pre-
ferable to the commoner method of translating by the
imperfect-El soweth, etc. T h e point is argued more
fully in HPN215-218.
The eC in all names of classes i. and iii. is probably
the numen of the place (cp the accounts of the theo-
phanies of Bethel and Beer-lahai-roi)."
An instance of abbreviation of the third type (iii.,above)
of el names is J A B N E H ( g . ~ . )the
, full form of which (see
above, 5 92 c ) also occurs. Similarly, both Iphtah and
Iphtahel are found, though not as the name of the same
place. W e should probably also regard a s abbrevia-
tions Jazer ( = ' may [El] help ') and possibly J ANOAH
( = ' may [El] make resting-place here ') ; but scarcely
J ABBOK (g..) . The pre- lsraelitish names Jakob-el
and Joseph-el (see J ACOB , 5 I ; JOSEPH i., 5 I ; ii., 5 I ;
and cp 5 89) do not occur in the O T , nor are even the
corresponding abbreviated forms, Jakob and Joseph,
used as strictly geographical terms.
3. Names clearly due t o religious considerations,
though not containing the name or title of a deity, are
98. without derivatives from the roots KdS and
divine name. &na, which express general Semitic
religious ideas. K ADESH (p.v. : pre-
Israelitish) and Kedesh (the name of at least two
places, one of which has a pre-Israelitish record ; see
K EDESH ) from the one root, Horem, Hormah, and
Hermon from the other, must all have been given t o
the respective places on account of their sacred or in-
violable character. Some less certain but possible
instances of names having a religious origin may be
added : Gilgal, the name of five places in different parts
of Palestine, and Geliloth of two, may be derived from
sacred circles (of stones) ; Mishal (mentioned by Thot-
mes 111.) may denote a place 'where (the advice or
judgment of a deity) is sought' : and Oboth may be
named in reference to spirits (xi(). It is quite possible
that a very much larger number of names ought to be
included here (on the animal names, for example, see
below, § 104): but we cannot admit as more than a
mere possibility what has sometimes been maintained
(most recently by Grunwald in Die Eigennamen des A T ,
1895). that names denoting all sorts of objects or qualities
are survivals from Fetichism, Demonism, and the like.
11. Passing now from names originating in religious
ideas or practices, we note a second considerable class
consisting of names derived from the natural or artificial
features of the place.
I. Height. ( u ) Loftiness of situation is clearly indi-
^^ _._ cated bv Ramah (from nil=to be loftv) _ I
-generally with the article ( n ~ i n ) ,or
height. defined by a genitive (e.g., mi), but
also (according to M T in Ter. 31 15) unde-
fined-the name of seven places in different partsof Pales-
1 Cp Barth, NB227, n. 3. 2 Cp Stade, GVZ 1428, n.
3313
NAMES
tine; Ramoth and Runiah from the sanie root, and,
perhaps, Arumah from a cognate root : Geba, Gibeah,
and Gibeon (several places, see the articles), all signi-
fying hill. Naphath-(or Naphoth-)Dor (Jos. 112 etc.
AV, RVmS) would, if it were the proper name of a
town, be a further instance; but Naphath is rightly
translafed in RV's text ( ' the heights ' [of Dor]). Terms
picturesquely indicating the lofty situation of the town
itself, or a lofty natural feature in the neighbourhood,
are Jogbehah (from 8x1,to be high), Sela (two places)
=The Cliff, and perhaps Hadid (qsrs &r' 6pous KeipduV
-Jos. Ant. xiii. 65)=the sharpened or pointed cliff with
which we might perhaps further compare En-haddah
(yet see P E F M 2 z g 7 ) . Some would include SHAHA-
ZUMAH (g.~.) in this list. Some metaphorical terms for
natural configuration became names of places and are
to be noticed here :-Shechem= ' Shoulder,' and, meta-
phorically, ' a ridge' (cp Gen. 4822, but see S HECHEM ;
the use of the synonymous q n j in Nu. 34 II etc. ; and
Ges. Ths. 14076) ; Dahb&heth= ' a camel's hump '
(Is.306), which is also according to some (see BDB)
the meaning of Gilead ; Chisloth-tabor ( a x n nSo>), or
abbreviated Chesulloth (nisDI-the different punctuation
adopted by M T in the case of the full and abbreviated
formisnotsupported b y @ ) = theflanksofTabor : Aznoth-
tabor perhaps= the ears (and hence metaphorically the
peaks) of Tabor. If the last interpretation be correct, we
may probably (though against 6 ) add UZZEN-SHEERAH
(9.v.). Compare also Bohan (shape of a thumb).
(6) T h e indication of lowness of situation, or the
neighbourhood of some notable depression, is obvious
in all compounds with Gi ("1 =valley, and so translated
always in RV except Neh. 1135 mg. and I Ch. 414).
which are, however, always names of valleys, not of
towns : in Beth-emek= House of the valley : and prob-
ably in Horonaim and Beten (literally=belly). Jahaz,
if we may follow a cognate Arabic term ( w a h ~ u )means,
terra rotunda et depressa (BDB). T h e names S HARON
(p.v. ) and BASHAN(g.v.)seem to have arisen from the
absence of conspicuous irregularities of height over the
districts which they designate. Bithron ( a district) prob-
ably means cleft or ravine [but cp MAHANAIM] : and
Shepham possibly a bare height ( Z AT W 3 275 [I 8831);
2. T h e character or condition of the soil, the fruit-
fulness of the place, or the reverse, account for several
Horeb ( a mountain) and Jabesh
loo. Nature names.
In Jabesh-gilead (a city) are both [but cp
of Boil.
S I N A I ] most naturally interpreted of the
dryness of the ground ; Argob perhaps indicates a rich
and earthy soil (cp Driver, Deut. 48),E KRON (g.v.,5 3)
barren or unfruitful : the Arabah (the name of the
valley of the Jordan and its prolongation) means the
desert or waste country: hence the town- name
Betharabah abbreviated in Josh. 1818 into ' the Arabah.'
On the other hand CARMEL(p.v., 55 I, 9). the name of
the well-known, now thickly-wooded mountain range,
and of a place in Judah capable of supporting large
numbers of sheep, expresses the fertile character of the
places in question, and Ephraim and Ephrathah (if cor-
rectly derived from nio : so Ges.-Buhl, but not BDB ;
see EPHRAIM i., I f: ) have a similar meaning. T h e
following interpretations (some of which are discussed in
the several articles) may be mentioned here : Bozkath =
an elevated region covered with volcanic stones (BDB),
Zion= waterless (Lagarde, BN 84),Abel (=meadow)
by itself and in several compounds ( e . g . ,Abel-Shittim).
3. The presence of water accounts for many names,'
--most clearly for those which are compounded with
.
Beer (=well) or En f> =a sorinei. %.,
u. En.- In some cases such a En-hakkore=the partridge's
c?) well (Judg. 15 q),En-rogel (Josh. 157) En-harod (RV 'the
spring of H a r d ' ) as weh as in a very large
101. water. number of modern) Palestinian names in 'Ain,
the name appears to be that of a sprina onlv;
1 ' The etymolo,T of Arabian place-names refers mostly to
water, pasturage, plants, and trees,' Jacob, Das Le6cn d. voris-
Zrinrischn Beduinen. 41.
3314
 NAMES
In most cases, however, the name serves also for the name
of the lace containing the well or spring, or possibly in some
cases &r a new township that sprang up nearer to the well
than the place from which the name was derived (? Hazor
and En-hazor, Josh. 19 3 6 x ) . En-mishpat (the well or spring
ofjudgment) was no doubt originally the name of the spring at
Kadesh ; but in Gen. 14 7 it is used of the place itself. Town-
names of this type are many, distributed over all parts of the
country, and were already in use before the Israelitlsh conquest
of Canaan In OT we have mention of the following :-En-dor,
En-gannim, En-gedi ( z ) , En - haddah, En-eglaim, En-hazor,
En-nmmon En-shemesh, En-tappuah. Ain is an abbreviated
name (perhaps from En-rimmon q.u.). Enaim (=Enam)
perhap: means ‘Two springs’ (cp i 107) and in any case owes
its origin to the resence of a spring, as also does Hazar-enon
(Hazar-enan) a n i p r h u p s Anim.
6. Beer, which in Hebrew generally (though not exclusively :
see, c.g. Nu. 21 17) denotes a well rather than a spring, is less
frequent) in names. OT mentions Beer (two places-in both
cases without the &le) Reeroth (pl. = wells), Beer-lahai-roi
Beer-sheba Beer-elim, Beeroth-bene-jaakao. Berothah (d
Berothai) is)perhaps to be similarly ex lained.
c. Me (=water) is found in Me-jarfan, Me-zahah (if we may
regard this name as only apparently 7 1 and really
geographical. Gen. 36 39 cp Dt. 1 I Diza ah) an8 gerlru s in
Medeba. Giah (to judge’from the root-meaning) very protably
means a spring; so also Gihon. The presence of hot springs
ave rise to the names Hammath Hammoth-dor and Hammon
erhaps only two different places’in all), and of a bitter spring,
b w e may for once trust the bibljcal etymology, to Marah.
Nahalol means the ‘ watering-place.
4. Beautyof situation and appearance, for which some
of the Hebrew writers certainly had an eye . 482
- (Ps.
102. other Cant. 6 4 ) , or general attractiveness may
features. account for some names-e.g., Shaphir,
Shepher (a mountain)= beautiful, beauty;
T i r z a h c s h e is pleasing ; Jotbah and Jotbathah=
pleasantness ; and, more metaphorically, Ziz perhaps
=the flower. Most of the names, however, that
have been or might be cited in this connection are really
very ambiguous or indecisive.
5. Colour appears to account for a few names.
Lebanon is most probably named from the whiteness of
its cliffs (or its snows?) ; and the root meaning to be
white ’ seems at least as probable an explanation as any
of other proper names from the same root, viz., Laban,
Libnah ( z ) , Lebonah. Kidron, the name of a torrent-
bed, may mean black or dull-, dirty-, coloured (cp Job
616) ; Hachilah (ahill), dark ; Zalmon (two hills accord-
ing to M T : but see Z ALMON ), dusky ; Adummim, red :
Jarkon in Me-jarkon. yellow ; Hauran, black. None
of the foregoing instances, however, are really free from
ambiguity; though in some a t least the colour-meaning
seems the most probable.
111. Having dealt with religious place-names and
names indicating natural or artificial features, we must
consider next place-names derived from names of
trees, plants, etc., and of animals.
I. Trees, plants, etc.-Some instances are unmistak-
able : (Abel) Shittim=(the meadow of) the acacias,
103. plant Beth-shittah= the house of the acacia : the
tree ( t a p p S h ) gives its name to three
names. apple places - Beth-tappuah, En-tappuah and
Tappuah ; the palm tree (t8mar) to Tamar, Baal-tamar,
Hazazon-tamar, the city of palm trees (Judg. 116,
3 13 =Jericho, Dt. 34 3). and probably also Tadmor (cp
Lagarde, Ubers. 125); the terebinth (or whatever large
tree may be implied by the Heb. $ R , n h , jisN) to El-
paran ( = E l a h , Elath. Eloth), Elim, Elon and perhaps
Allammelech. All of these are names of towns. On
the other hand Allon-bacuth appears to be simply the
name of a particular tree (cp in the Hebrew Gen. 126
1318 Dt. 1 1 3 0 Jos. 1 9 3 3 Judg. 9 3 7 IS.103, where similar
designations have been translated). The pomegranate
appears at least in the Rock of Rimmon (Judg. 2045
etc. ) and probably in other compounds with Rimmon ;
but for another possible interpretation of these, see
above (3 9 5 ) . 0 6 v e treer give their name to the Ascent
( z S. 1530) or Mount (Zech. 1 4 4 etc.) of Olives : vine-
y a r d s to Abel-cheramim (the meadow of vineyards) in
Ammon and Beth-haccherem in Jndah ; thegrapecZuster
to the valley of Eshcol ; and probably, the ‘ choice vine ’
( p w ) mentioned in Is. 5 2 (cp Gen. 4911) to the fertile
3315
NAMES
valley of Sorek and the Edomite town Mairekah. Anab,
too, probably means grapes in spite of the differing
punctuation of the proper name (3:y) and the common
noun (me). TAANATH-SHILOH (q.v.)is the f i g tree of
Shiloh, if we may follow the Greek rather than the
Hebrew vocalisation. R ITHMAH , a station in the wilder-
ness, is the juniper tree, and ABOER(q.v.) has been
interpreted bushes of dwarf juniper. E ZION -GEBER
(q.v.),another station, derives its name from the tree
called in Arabic &di. Thorn bushes of different kinds
are denoted by the names Atad, Shamir ( z ) , and perhaps
also Seneh (see B USH ) ; the ulmond tree by Luz (which,
however, is otherwise explained by Lagarde, Ubers.
158). The balsam tree accounts for the name of the
valley of B ACA ( q . ~ . ) and
, perhaps also for Bochim (cp
Moore, /udges, 59 f:). Libnah may be named from
a tree (cp &=? the white poplar-Gen. 3037. Hos.
4 13) or be more closely connected with the root-meaning
‘ t o be white.’ (For another view see L IBNAH .) I n
the light of Aramaic we can without much difficulty
interpret Gimzo the Sycamore tree, and Dilan the
cucumber ; cp Low, Pjanzennamen, 387. 334, 351.
Betonim, especially in the Greek (pwavcrp) closely re-
sembles the Hebrew word (Gen. 4311) for pistachio
nuts (NUTS,2 ) . A water-plant (qia), as most scholars
suppose, gave rise to the Hebrew name Yam S o p h ;
see R ED S EA ; but cp 1\4OSES, I O .
2. Animab-The following animals have given
names to places.
( a ) Wild quadrupeds : the stag (Aijalon), the lion
(Lebaoth, Laish and ? Shahazumah), the leopard (Beth-
io4. -
Bnimal nimrah), the Gazelle (Ophrah 123,Ephron
[I or z]), the wild ass (Arad), the fox
<
names’ (Hazar-shual. the land of Shual. Shaal-
bim), the hyena (Zeboim).
( b ) Domestic quadrupeds : Lambs (Telaim, Beth-
car), the cow (Parah), or calf (En-eglaim, Eglon). the
horse (Hazar-susah [or Susim]), the goat (? Seirah) or
kid (En-gedi).
(c) Birds : the partridge (Beth-hoglah, ? En-hakkore),
birds of prey (Etam [I-31).
(d). Reptiles and insects : the serpent (Ir-nahash).
the lizard (Humtah), the hornet (Zorah), scorpions
(Akrabbim), the cricket (Gudgodah).
Names of animals applied to towns are much more
frequent in the southern territory of the Israelites than
in the northern : cp HPN 105J Names of this class
are also frequent as clan names (on the other hand
they are comparatively rare as personal names). This is
one of the reasons which favour tracing at least many
of them back to a totem stage of society.
IV. A considerable number of places derive their
names from what may be termed the social, political,
105. Gompounds and industrial characteristics of the
with Hazer, etc. place. Here we may notice first
the names consisting wholly or in
part of the terms Hazor or Hazar, Ir, and Kiriath.
H%?Sr or HBs6r’ denotes the fixed settlement as
contrasted on the one hand with the movable en-
campments of nomads, and on the other with walled
towns; cp in the one case the contrast between the
tadariyy or ah& I-hadar (with which perhaps cp the
i ~ q n w of Jer. 4 9 3 0 3 3 ) and the badawiyy or ahlu
I-bZdiyah (ie., the Bedouin) and in the other, e.g., Lev.
2531. Clearly the proper names can only be taken to
indicate the character of the place at the time of the
origin of the name ; in the case of the Hazor of Judg.
42 17 etc., at least, the name must have continued in
use long after the place had ceased to be an actual
h%s6r and had become a fortified city; for it is
mentioned by Thotmes 111. among his conquered towns,
in the Amarna Tablets as the seat of a prince (Har H a -
zu-ra--15441) and in the OT, more than once, in
1 7x5 (constr. l~?)or lj~;, the latter only in proper names
but cp Lag. fibers. 47.
3316
 NAMES
connections which indicate that it was a place of
strategic importance (e.g.,I K. 9 1 5 z K. 1529). With
the exception of the place just mentioned, Hazar-enan
(or -enon) on the N. boundary of Palestine, and (Baal-)
Hazor in Benjamin. all names of this type are of places
in the S. of Palestine (being assigned to the territories
of Judah or Simeon) or in the wilderuess; many of
them, therefore, no doubt retained the character whence
they originally derived their name. T h e places are
Hazor (two places, one of which is also called Kerioth-
hezron), Hazor-hadattah (?=New Hazor-if the text
be right), Hazar-:iddar ( = Hezron). Hazar-gaddah,
Hazar-susah (or -susim), Hazar-shual, Hazeroth.
Hazarmaveth (4.v.) is the name of a district in S.
Arabia, and is perhaps only apparently connected with
the type of name under discussion.
There are some indications that the second element
in the compounds is, as we might independentlyexpect, a
clan or tribal name. Thus we note ( I ) the alternative
forms (Susah and Susim), ( 2 ) the two animal names
(Susah [horse] and Shual [fox], if the most obvious
meaning is correct; but cp HAZAR-SUSAH, HAZAR-
SHLJAL)-CP the many clan names of this type ( H I "
97 8 ) . (3) Addar actually occurs as a clan name, if
the text of I Ch. 83 be sound. (4) Gaddah resembles
the tribal name Gad. Similarly Jair in Havvoth-jair
(the tent villages of Jair) is no doubt a clan name (see
JAIR). Other names originating in and reflecting much
the same stage in social development as Havvoth-jair
and the compounds with hazar are Mahaneh Dan (Camp
of Dan) and Mahanaim (two camps), Succoth (booths,
though the originality of this form of the name is con-
tested, see SUCCOTH).
'Zr( ~ y )which
, forms the first element in the compound
names Ir-shemesh. Ir-nahash, the City of Salt ( n h n v y ,
Josh. 1562), and the City of Palm trees ( o m n n i y , Judg.
1 16), is a wider term, applicable to a camp or a watch-
tower (Nu. 1319 2 K. 179) as well as to fortified towns,
in which latter case, however, the term may be more
exactly defined (Lev. 25 29). As to the second element :
in the first of the foregoing names (Ir-sheniesh) it is an
object of worship, in the second (Ir-nahash) probably
tribal rather than personal, and in the last two (City of
Salt and of Palm trees) presumably derived from natural
characteristics of the place. The 'A-Y( i y ) in the Moabite
name Ar Moab (or, abbreviated, Ar) is a parallel form
of the same term.
The Kiryah (n*ip), again, which constitutes, or forms
part of, several names, cannot be very closely defined ;
etymologically, it appears to mean simply ' meeting-
place.' The plural form KERIoTH (q...) is the name
of a Moabite city, and, compounded with Hezron, of a
city in Judah ; the dual form Kiriathaim is the name of
a city in Reuben and another in Naphtali ; three of the
compound names-Kiriath-arba (Four cities-cp 107).
Kiriath-jearim (City of Forests), also called Kiriath-
baal, and Kiriath-sepher (City of Books)-are found in
Judah, and another Kiriath-huzoth (City of streets?) in
Moab. Kir. the Moabite word for city (MI I I J 24 29)
probably as a walled place (cp the Hebrew usage),
forms, by itself as an abbreviation, or in one of the
compound forms Kir-Moab, Kir-heres or Kir-hareseth,
the name of an important Moabite town. With Kartah
compare the word for city (nip) used in Job 297. On
these names, as indeed throughout these introductory
discussions, compare the special articles.
The defensive character or feature of the town is
more or less clearly indicated by the names Bezer ( 2 )
106. Names due and Bozrah, which mean a fortified
place (cp 'ir mi6pir=fortified city,
to character I S. 6 18 and often) ; Geder, Gederah ;
Of town' Gederoth, Gederothaim, Gedor-all
of which are from Jgd;= to wall up, bnt some of them
perhaps with the specific sense of sheepcotes (so often
Heb. g'dsmh); Hosah (place of refuge) ; the com-
pounds with Migdal ( =tower), viz., Migdal-el, Migdal-
3317
NAMES
gad, Migdol (cp also Magdali, KB v. 23726) ; Mizpeh
or Mizpah ( 5 ) . which signifies the watch-tower (cp ' the
field of Zophim,' Nu. 2314 and Di. ad ZOC.; possibly
also Zephath). Azem and - Azmon, if, as is likely, they
are to be derived from J'asm=to be strong, are prob-
ably to be explained in the same way ; of the meanings
' enclosure ' or ' fortress ' suggested in BDH for Aphek
and Aphekah the latter may perhaps be justified by the
Assyr. epeRu=to be strong (Del. Ass. H W B I I ~ U ) ,
but scarcely (with Ges. in Thes.) by known usages of
the root in Hebrew and Arabic.
The size of the town appears to have been the origin
of the names Zoar and Zior (small), Rabbah (large) in
) in Ammon (fully jrny 331 mi). Rabbith
Judah ( n ~ i nand
is perhaps also to be connected with the root of Rabbah.
En-mishpat. Madon, and probably hleribah, owed
their names to being places where disputes were settled.
The presence of one or more wine-presses gave their
names to the cities of Gath. Gath-hepher, Gath-rimmon
( z ) , Gittaim (in addition to the place so named in Neh.
1 1 3 3 . cp Gen. 3635 $k I'dMaifi=Heb. n'ly ; see A VITH ,
G ITTAIM ) ; cp further Judg. 7 2 5 , HI-439. Similarly
the town of Migron is probably derived from a thresh-
ing-floor (see § 88); but it is not clear whether ' the
threshing-floor ofAtad' (Gen. 5010,f) and the a threshing-
floor of Nacon' ( 2 S . 66=Chidon I Ch. 139) are names
of towns or not (see ATaD, N ACON ). Madmen in
Moab, Madmenah in Benjamin, and Madmannah in
Judah, mean the dung-place or dung-pit,'and KIRIATH-
SEPHER (9.". ) should apparently be translated Book-
city.
Whether the stenches which appear to have given
their names to Zanoah (2),Ziphron, and OphniI were
natural, proceeding from some well or cave or the like, or
artificial-;.e., due to the life of the town-is uncertain.
In the latter case, the names may have originated with
the Bedouins, who are sensitive to the smells of towns
(Doughty, Ar. Des. 1210 438).
Many place-names are plural in form-e.g., Gederoth.
ilkrahbim. In some cases the exact number of objects
plurals whence the name was derived is perhaps
and duals. definitely indicated. Thus Kiriath-arba
may mean four-cities : Beer-sheba, seven
wells. Migdal Hammeah (EV the tower of Meah)
should mean the tower of the hundred; but on the
reading of M T see HAMMEAH. In the case of Sheba
(seven) and Eleph (a thousand) we have names con-
sisting of a term of number only ; unless, indeed, as is
quite possible, the names are to be otherwise interpreted.
T h e question whether this class of names is a t all large
depends on the actual character of certain names
apparently dual in form.
Such names are-
Adithaim Enaim Kiriathaim
Adoraim En-eglaim Mahanaim
Almon-diblatbaim Ephraim Mizraim
Beth-diblathaim Gederothaim Ramathaim
Diblaim Gittaim Shaaraim
Uiblathaim Hapharaim Zemaraim. Cp also
Dothaim ( D O T H A N ) Horonaim SAMARIA, JEnu-
Eglaim Kibzaim SALEM, 8 I
Does Kiriathaim mean two cities, Enaim, two wells,
as Kiriath-arba means four cities and Beer-sheba,
seven wells? T h e dual significance of this ending in
many or all of these proper names has been called in
question by Wellhausen (JDTh. 1876, p. 433). Philippi
(ZDMG, 1878, pp. 63-67), Barth ( N B 319, n. s),
1 The occurrence of such names as Madmen and perhaps we
may add Kibshan 'furnace' (see NIBSHAN), &kes it plausible
(but cp the specid articles) to hold t h a t Z ANOAH ( z ) , ZIPHRON,
and O P H N I are so called from natural or artificial stenches. n1r
is a well-known Heb. root. For Zipbron cp d a j r a = t o smell
(especially, though not exclusively, of bad smells); cp also
Syr. ze#har=foetuit, a sense of which some trace is found in
certain derivations of AI. zajra. With Opbni cp Ar. 'a/Ena=
to be putrid. We might add Hannathon if this name be from
the root (urnan (but see helow, $ ' 0 7 ) ; cp Ar. Lannn=foetorem
emisit ; Syr. hannind=rancid ; also in Heh. Job 19 1 7 (nil from
i l l =to be loathsome).
3318
 NAMES
Kautzsch (He6. Gram.(%),88 c), Strack (Genesis, Ex-
cursus, 1391:). C p also WMM, As. u. Eu7. ?SI{
p i n c k l e r , K A I(3),
zSJ] T h e dual interpretation is
retained, sometimes with a ?, in certain cases by BDB
(see, e.g., under n ~ n n,? i I i N ) , and defended by Konig
(Lehrgeb. d. Heb. Spyaches 2 4 3 6 J ) .
T h e main reasons urged against the dual character
of the ending are these : ( I ) The dual in Hebrew, as
also, it is urged, in original Semitic, is confined to
things found in pairs ; in many cases the proper names
cannot be naturally explained of a pair of objects. ( 2 )
Such a form occurs in some cases side by side with a
singular-e.g., Mahaneh and Mahanaim, Ramah and
Ramathaim. ( 3 ) The forms also occur side by side
with forms in -dn (r,) and -Bm (0:).
This last parallelisni has been explained indeed by
the supposition that - dn and -dm are alternative dual
endings ; but on the other hand it is argued with force
that the endings -En and -dm are unquestionably
frequent in names in which there is no reason to assume
a dual meaning ; and that in some names the ending
-aim is certainly secondary, as may be seen most
clearly in the case of Jerusalem (cp Amarna Urusulinz
and M T Kt. form o$on*),which was later pronounced
Jerusalaim ( n * h i i * M T Kr.), and Samaria ( i i i ~ w , but
in Aram. p v ) . Barth’s explanation is somewhat
different ; he regards -aim ( - a h ) as an old locative
ending which was subsequently displaced by the more
familiar -5n,- i n .
T h e first of the foregoing objections (limitation of
Hebrew dual) cannot be pressed ; the names in question
may he pre-Israelitish (cp 5 89) and sprung from a
dialect which, like Arabic, used the dual more freely
than Hebrew ; nor can a stricter dual-meaning be
considered in all cases inappropriate-e.g., Kiryathaim
may mean ‘ The twin cities’ (cp use of the Heb. dual
in n.ai*-Ges.-Kautzsch, G r a m . P ) E T , $ 88c).
The second objection (parallel singular forms) is far
from conclusive.
As to the third (parallel forms in Bm, etc.)-in view
of the history of the name Jerusalem, a certain tendency
to change a name so that it should resemble a dual
form cannot be denied. On the other hand, this
very tendency renders the prior existence of actual
dual names probable. Further, in many cases the
endings -aim, -Bm,-dn are attached to the feminine
inflection ; if these endings be duals, the forms of the
names are in accordance with the known laws of
inflection ; but if they are substantival afformatives
the proper names in question are exceptional forma-
tions; Barth, at least, in his section ( N B , 316-416)
on nouns with suffixes, cites no instance of nouns
formed by the addition of endings (such as -dm,- i n ,
-5n) to the feminine inflection. Among proper names
might be cited some few ambiguous forms, such as
p m ,iinx.
~ T h e present writer therefore concludes that those
names in which the endings -aim, - d m , or -Bn are
attached to the feminine termination are dual forms;
that several other names also may be duals, but that
the ending in their case is ambiguous. Though not
unaware of the divergence of some scholars, he would
interpret Kiriathaim. ‘ the two cities‘ ; Gittaim,
the two winepresses’ : Diblathaim (in Beth-dibla-
thaim=Almon Diblathaim), ‘the two assemblies ’ (cp
BDB s.v.) ; R A M A T H A I M (P.v.),
~ ‘the two hills.’
Gederothaim is a name of doubtful genuineness, but,
if genuine, would mean the two walls or sheepcotes.
In the following (among other) names the ending is
ambiguous ; but the dual is in some cases appropriate
and probable- Dothan (in1 nimi), Enaim or Enam
(the two wells), Horonaim (the two hollows), Shaaraim
(two gates, or double gates ; cp St. Heb. Gr. 340 6).
1 Probably a later name of Ramah.
33’9
NAMES
T h e significance of place-names turns not only on
their meanings but also in some cases on their forms.
This is too complicated a question to discuss here. As
is remarked elsewhere, the names of two towns in
Judah (E SHTEMOA [ q . ~ . ]and Eshtaol) present the same
modification of the root as is found in the Arabic verb
(conj. viii.) (and also in Mesha’s Znscr. l. 11) ; and in
three names of towns belonging to the southern tribes
(Eltekon, Eltekeh, and Eltolad), possibly also in the
Reubenite Elealeh, the first element may be the Arabic
article.’ G. B. G.
C. DIVINE NAMESa
T h e special importance attaching to the names of
God in the O T and the emphasis often laid on their
108. signifi- signification (cp Ex. 3 1 3 8 15 3 Is. 428
51 15 Jer. 33 2) finds a partial explanation
Of
in the peculiar emphasis with which the
names’ word n u m itself is there employed. T h e
name of a person or thing was for the Hebrew not simply
distinctive; it was a revelation of the nature of the
person or thing named, nay, often almost an equivalent
for the thing itself. This is specially true of names of
God. A new special revelation of God leads to the
formation of a new name (Gen. 1613). Only so can we
explain many Hebrew forms of expression that either
seem to us pleonastic or peculiar, or else easily become
associated with a false meaning. [For other applica-
tions of the term, some of them compelling attention by
their boldness, see NAME,5 9.1
I. What is called the Tetragrammaton, appears
in the O T 6823 times a s the proper name of God as the
God of Israel. As such it serves to
log. yahwb9 distinguish him from the gods of other
the nations. I t is * the [sacred] name’ p a r
name* excellence (Lev. 2411 Dt. 2858). In the
M T nrn’ ( Y H W H ) is almost always written with the
vowels of Ad5ndi. 9 5 , 4 ‘lord’ (YtHoWLH, ?I>;),the
vowels of 2Z5him, nqti$g, ‘ G o d ’ (YBHGWiH, 31%) being
used when iXdGnLi itself precedes4 This was a direction
1 [It will not he surprising that the special articles, having
been prepared independently do not always agree in their ex.
lanations of these names with the present critical discussion.
%he reader will rightly infer that the question at issue is difficult.]
2 For other titles applied to God, see the several articles :-
ABI- ADONI- AHI-, AMMI-, DODI-, HAMU-,SHEM-, ZUR,
nam& in ; alsd BAAL, MOLECH, etc.
For epithets applied to God, see above 81 26J
For designations of other supernatural beings, heavenly or
earthly, see ANGELS, AZAZEL, D EMONS, LILITHSATYRS.
For names of deities other than Yahwk. see A N ~ T HASHERAH,
,
ASH-HUR ASHTORETH B ELIAL, CHEMOSH, C HIUN , DAGON,
Q UEEN d~H EAVEN , S ~ C U TTAMMUZ,
H, F ORTUNE , A BRAHAM,
ISAAC S ARAH MILCAHLABANSAMSON, also above, 8 40H.
3 Sd also M i 1. 18. 1; the second half of compound Hebrew
proper names the name has the form VI; ;contracted into : 3
(only, in the case of some of the names compounded with 5,
‘the final element n: or 93; represents merely an emphatic
afformative and not the divine name’; so Jastrow, JSBL
13 r o ~ f [cp
i the view often maintained in this volume that the
final or 173 is due to post-exilic manipulation of early names,
such as qn,, , ~ i y ,*nSy, of ethnic origin]). The contraction
3; occurs not only in the liturgical formula 3 19%. (written
ip%~ only in Ps. 104 35), praise y e Yah, hut also twenty-four
times otherwise, though only in poetical (and probably all late)
passages. It is most probably to be regarded with Jastrow
( Z A W , 1896, p. I&) as an artificial post-exilic formation. It is
very doubtful whether ‘y(e.g., in 2pp. etc.) occurs as a con-
traction for ??I:.Cp on this point Olsh. Lehr6. 612&:. and
Grimme, Gmzdzege der Hc6. Akzenf- und VokaUehre
(Freiburg, 1896, p. 146).
In the first half of compound proper names, on the other
hand, we find the form in: (from IC:, the equivalent of 17:)
contracted into j* (e.g., in I?$$,etc.).
4 In 310places(i4j of themin Ezek.) ala*(originallyprobably
without vowels) isretained in the text after the Kr. $5, which
has come to be regarded as a KZthib. The resulting combination
‘ AdanBi [substituted for] YHWH,’ Kr. ‘AdbnRi YZH6WiH’-
Le., Adan5 Elohim-appears in EV as ‘the Lord G OD.
3320
 NAMES
to the reader always to substitute for the unpronounce-
able' actual name either Z d h i i , (hence in @
6 K f i p l O S for nin.) or &%him, o,+g. O n this b7rt per-
petuum c p Gesen. Gram. § 1 7 3 .
T h e controversy as to the correct pronunciation of the
tetragrammaton, whether as YahwP, mil;, am:,
. . YahawP,
~ I
llo. Its YahwB, ml?,or YahawZ, akm;,2a con-
pronunciation. troversy in which, as in Ex. 314. the
derivation of -in* from a n imDerfect
form of XI; was always a s ~ u m e dhas , ~ been gradually
brought to an end by the general adoption of the view,
first propounded by Ewald, that the true form is YahwP,
;I!?;. T h e abbreviated form, Yahu, can be ex-
plained only by the form, Yahw, y; (with closed syl-
lable ; c p rnp from ye), a n d the s&hd(lo) of the second
syllable is attested, t o mention nothing else, b y the fact
that, in Samaritan poetry, ala*rhymes with words end-
ing in that way.4
A much more difficult point to decide is the original
1 As early as the beginning of the third centu B.C. i i i *
seems to have been regarded as +pqrov, at least Teyond' the
recincts. Thus is to he explained to a considerable
2
:
: tte avoidance of the Tetragrammaton in the latest hooks
of the OT, as e.g., in Daniel (except chap. 9), to some extent in
Chronicles and in consequence of editorial revision in Ps. 42-
84 as well i s in ;he Apocrypha generally. The N T foilows LXX
in'invariahly substituting 'the Lord' (6 K J ~ L O Sfor ) YHWH,
>in.. At the same time, however, the gradual change that
came over the idea of God as it became more and more universal
had also a great deal to do with the suppression of the persona\
name in favour of ' God,' 03$h$ (so everywhere in Koheleth)
and other appellatives. What led more than anything
else, however, to mens avoiding the utterance of the sacred
name, was probably the dread of breaking the injunction
Ex. 207. It would appear, indeed, from Q8 of Lev.2416
that the very mention of the sacred name was threatened
with death. Probably, however as in the original, all that
is meant is the employment of i; in abusive language or in
witchcraft.
According to the BabylonianTalmud( Mmd 39 6 ) the name
had ceased to he pronounced even by the priests in the blessing
as early as the time of Simon the Just (about 270 B.C. ; cp, how-
ever, on this date, ECCLESIASTICUS, 5 7 [b]). Philo, on the other
hand, declares simply that the sacred name was pronounced
only in the sacred precincts, and according to the Jerusalem
Talmud (Ycimd 37) it was lawful down to the very end for the
high priest to pronounce it-though finally only below his
hreath-in the ceremonial of the day of Atonement. Moreover,
Josephus ( A n t . ii. 12 4) seems to have known the true pronuncia.
tion, though he excuses himself from giving it as being unlawful.
As late as 130 A.D. AbhZ Shad denied eternal bliss to any
one who should pronounce the sacred name with its actual
consonants. See on this especially Dalman, Der Gottesname
Adona3. una! seine GescJc. (Berlin, 1889), and cp Che. OPs.
29 3 3
2-2p;Franz Del. 'On the pronunciation of the Tetraqram-
maton Z A T W 3 f . (1883-84). Brinton reads Jahva The
origin 'of the sacred name Jahva,' Archivf i r Rel.-Wisi, 1899,
32 2 6 8
8 Grimme alone (0). cit. 1 4 3 8 ) ~
on quite insufficientgrounds,
explains >in' as a lengthened form of ?X;, YZhu, regarding it as
a sort of plural or collective form from the root in* or 127.
4 On this cp Kau. TL2' 1886 no. IO col. 223. Moreover
Theodoret (quest. I S in ~?zoduA)state: that the Samaritan;
pronounced the sacred name 'la@&, and the same ronunciation
is ascribed by Epiphanim (Adu. &Y. i. 3 20) to a Zhristian sect
and is to he found in Egyptian magic papyri (on this, as also 0:
the whole question, see the thorough investigation of A. Deiss-
mann, ' Griechische Transskriptionen des Tetragrammaton ' in
his Bibelsfudien, Marburg, 1895, p. 3 8 ; Author. Transl. by
A. Grieve, ~ p r p. , 3 2 1 x ) . Clement of Alexandria (Strom.
v. 6 34, according to the better reading) attests the still more
exactly corresponding form Iaoui or 'Iaouai; Origen, the form
'Ia?. Burkitt's edition of fragments ofAquila shows that Aquila
wrote the sacred name in archaic Hebrew characters. Finall
on ' J?hwe' is based also the form I a o o u ~ sin the Jewisg!
Egyptian Magic-papyri ; cp L. Blau, dar alf$dicche Zauber
7cwscn (1898), 128. According to Blau, w appears in the third
place in order that the first three vowels may be sounded Iao
(=in.). The form /meoccurring in Latin MSS (cp Z A T W
1346 [188rl, 2 173 [188z]) at least testifies to an e in the second
syllable. On the other hand, the form f a o , handed down by
the Gnostics, may be left ont of account. Like all similar forms
(eg-., Iruo, in Philo Byblius), it is simply the roduct of erro-
neous or misunderstood Jewish statements. 8 n this cp Bau-
dissin, 'Der Ursprunp de5 Gottesnamens fuo,' in his Studies
zicr semif. ReL 2 1 8 1 3 (1876).
3321
NAMES
meaning of the word YahwB. In E of the Pentateuch
lll. supposed ?in', transposed from the third person
into the first, is explained by God him-
meaning. self first by ' I am that I a m ' (n+,lr
1 . >.:
i1:7~yk),and then by the simple ' I a m ' ( q ~ ) .
Y H W H (ma.) is here obviously regarded as the third
~ .
person imperfect of the archaic stem IlWH (m?=n~;),
a to he,' in the sense of ' h e is (and manifests himself)
continually,' with the additional connotation of remain-
ing the same, so that the name would express both the
attribute of permanence a n d that of unchangeability,
a n d especially unchangeability in keeping promises-
;.e., faithfulness.
This explanation offered in the OT itself has been felt
b y many modern scholars (heginning with Ewald) to be
oply an attempt to explain a primitive name that had
long since become unintelligible, and, further, to be
simply the product of a religious-philosophical specula-
tion and far too abstract to be by any possibility correct.
Increased importance is given to these considerations
by the observation that the name is in no sense peculiar
to the Hebrews, a n d o n other soil it must originally
have had a much simpler a n d in particular a much more
concrete signification.
Of the various hypotheses that maintain an adoption
-
of the name from some foreinn nation. that which
112. Supposed derives it from the cultus of the Kenites
origin. has still the greatest claim to mention
(so Tiele. years ago : most recentlv in
his Gesch. der Rei. i m AZt&tum, 1& ; St. GV(, 1687.
1 1 3 0 8 ; c p Che. EB(9J 5 [1876] 790). A t Sinai Yahwe
revealed himself to Moses and then to the whole people ;
whence Sinai was-what it long continued to he : cp,
e.g., I K. 198fl-the proper seat of YahwB. Accord-
ing to the oldest tradition the Sinai district was in-
habited by the Kenites (cp KENITES, MOSES, § 14).
That indeed the name YahwP was then revealed to Moses
and through him to the people is expressly asserted only
by the youngest Pentateuch source (P).2 E does not
say this expressly, a n d according to J YahwP w-as in use
from the beginning as the name of the god of the patri-
archs ; even the interpolated Gen. 426 carries it back as
far as Enoch. I t is, in fact, hardly conceivable that
Moses should have been able to proclaim a god that
was simply unknown, a new god, as ' god of the fathers.'
Great uncertainty, however, attaches on the other hand
to the hypotheses of the occurrence of the related forms
Yuhu ( Y u u ) and Yu in Assyrio-Babylonian or Canaan-
itish proper names.3
1 The MS known as the Grecus Venetus finely renders 313.
by inventing the substantive b &.rwnjs-i.e., probably 'the
really existing one' ; hardly, as Lag. (Gbers. 138), comparing
E o u M w supposes, with a causative signification, to indicate ni?.
as a Hiph'il.
a When P nevertheless gives Jochebed(l;$', Ex. 6 zo)as the
lame of Moses' mother we must suppose this to be a name sub-
stituted by a later edi;or for what P originally wrote. Others
:ake the name ochebed as an indication that Yahwt was origin-
illy the God o?Moses' family or his tribe. But cp JACOB, 0 I ;
JOCHEBED.
3 In support of a Canaanitish /aha the following cases have
?een cited :-the place-names mentioned by W. M. Miiller
,As. u. Exr. 162 31zj+-viz., from the list of Thotmes III.,
Bad-ti-y-'-d ($n'???), and from that of SoSenk, Ba-bi-y-'Z,Sa-
ra-y-'d, and Ha-nf-nG'd-all equally doubtful : Yaubidi, the
lame of a king of Hamath, also written ZZubi'di; so Schr.
KA TPJ, Z ~ J ? : , and Wi. G I 3 6 3 , who has also proved Azriyau
>f Yaudi(according to Schrader, Azariah of Judah) to he the
lame of a N. Syrian king (AOF113)' but cp also Jastrow,
fzubitdiand the supposed/aybz"di,' 22, 1895, p. 2 2 2 3 The
lames adduced hy Pinches, Ya and I o w a in Assyro-Baby-
onian inscriptions,' PSBA 15 I pp. 1-13 (cp also Jager, Beifr.
iur Assyr. 1 4 5 2 5 ; Grimme, Grundzuge etc. 145. Hommel,
4 H T 115, and Ex#. T 104248144: S&e, i d . 9 5 ~ ; : [against
Hommel] Konig, 'the origin of the name nin9,'ib. l o ~ x g f i ) ,
nust for the present, onaccount of the uncertaintyattending the
:xpl?nation, and often the reading as well, he left out of account.
%gainstthe proposal of Frd. Del. (Par. 1 5 8 8 ) t o derive a form
rahu, common to all Canaanites, from an Accadian la-u, trans-
brmed by the Hebrew priests into 2179, M as to render possible
2.x
ts derivation from 3.3, to he,' cp Philippi, VuZkerjsych. u.
3322
 NAMES
Ex.8 14 being left out of account, ' Yahwk ' has been
explained variously.
(u) As nomen imfevfech'.(raZ of ma, ' to fall,' either
in the sense of ' rushing, crashing down ' (Klo. GI 70). can hardly be doubted, accordingly, that the singular
or in that of a falling (from heaven),'
~ ~ as being& originally ~ the name ~ of one of~
explanations. the objects (see MASSEBAH, 5 I d ) called
Bai$ (so, along with other possible
explanations, Lag. O r i e n t u k 2 2 7 8 ) .
( a ) As a nomen imperfecli KuZ of a:?, ' to blow ' (cp image of a god-e.g., Ex. 32 I, most probably also Gen.
Arabic huwd(y), ' to blow,' hawdun. ' air, breeze '), ' the
Blower,'2 as a name for the storm-god, analogous to
the Assyrian RammHn.
(c) As a nomen impevfecti H+hh'iZ of nia, either as
' h e who makes to be, calls into existence,' the C r e a t ~ r . ~
or, following ( a ) ,as ' h e who makes to fall, who smites
with lightr~ing,~ and so, as before, the storm-god.
A Hqh'il (or a causative form analogous to the
Hebrew H@h'fl),however, from ?a: (or 7;;) cannot be
produced, apart from late Syriac formations, in any
Semitic dialect, and the signification ' fall ' occurs in
Hebrew only in the imperative ~ i ? Job376
, (where
Siegfried, SBOT, reads a??): and'.for the meaning
'blow ' recourse must be had to Arabic : whilst the
interpretation of Yahwk as creator would ill agree with
Hebrew usage, which employs the name Yahwk chiefly
with reference to revelations of God to his people, or
the conduct of the people towards their national god,
whereas the cosmic working of God is connected with
other divine names.
It is not to be denied that nix* may have had origin-
ally another much more concrete signification than that
given in Ex. 3 14. Nevertheless it seems precarious to
suppose that while Hebrew was still a living language,
the people should have been so completely deluded as
to the meaning of the most important and sacred name.
T h e objection that Ex. 3 1 4 rests on a piece of too subtle
metaphysical speculation, falls so soon as we cease to
force into it the abstract conception of ' self-existence,' 6
and content ourselves with the great religious idea of
the living God who does not change in his actions.
Of originally appellative names by far the commonest
(2570 times) is 8iih.h (&3), the regular plural of
ZZPh ( R i h j , -God, which (if we allow
'14*
for the modification of d to 6 ) corre-
form and sponds to the more original Arabic i l d h nate
(Aramaic .$.). Of the fifty-seven
.
Sfrachwiss., 1882, pp. 175 8 Tiele, Th.T 1882, pp. 262
Kue. Hi66eriLecfures, 3088 'Moreover, accbrding to W i n c k
(GI1 368), nrn*,with the meaning of 'Lord of eternal being,' is
to he regarded as a spiritualising of the quite independent and
distinct popular f o r m l u h u .
1 Cp especially Driver, 'Recent theories on the origin and
nature of the Tetragrammaton,' Stud. Bi6Z. 1: T. P. Valeton,
'De Israelitische Godsnaam,' Thcol. Stud May 1889.
2 So Wellh. I / c @ A ) ,25. n. I , (4) 26 n. I
'! The etymology is being, ghost, is quite exceptional, and it is certainly an error to
quite obvious ; he rides through the air, he blows.'
3 So already Jn. Clericus (1696) on Ex.63 ; Schr., since 1862,
and in Schenkel's Bi6.-Zex. 3 167& (cp, however, also KAT12)
2 5 ) : Lag. ZDMG22331, and most recently in U6ers. 137x.
(='he who calls into being what be has promised'). The equat-
ing ?f ?in*and am-, so as to obtain the meaning, 'the Vivifier,
distributer of life,' must he rejected, for the interchange of n and
n at the beginning of a Semitic word is unheard of.
4 So Lag. Orienfaliu,229 (alongside of the explanation as
imperf. Kal), and, doubtfully, Stade, G V I l 429. According to
C. Ilfargoliouth ( P S B A , :395, p. 5 7 3 3 , niil' is 'one who sends
down things from heaven.
6 So, e.g., Di. (Gen., 1887, p. 74): 'he who exists ablutely
and lives in himself'. Scbultz Alfiesf. TheoZ.151, 387,. the im-
mutable self-centred'existenc;. the absolute personality.' De-
serving Lf mention, also, is thb hypothesis of G. H. Skipwith
('The Tetragrammaton ' JQR lOaz&:) according to which
mn,, 'he will be,' is thd elliptic form o i the invocation of the
ancient Israelite warrior-god, to he completed by 5K and aJ!3Y
-i.e. 'God will he with us.' The Unfersuchungen ii6er den
Na&n Jehmu of B. Steinfuhrer (1898), and W. Spiegelberg's
eim Vermutung u6er den Ursgrung des Nanienr ?in* (from
an Egyptian word for 'cattle'), ZDMG, 1899, p. 633fi, are
quite valueless.
3323
NAMES
places where the singular (,$m) occurs, forty-one belong
to the Book of Job, and the rest (apart from the Kt. of
2 K. 1731) either to poetic passages or to late prose. It
( p h ) is only a n artificial restoration based on the plural
c ~
(n-G5t+).1 The plural serves sometimes to denote the
heathen gods (Ex. 9 I 1212 203 etc.) or images of gods
(Ex. 2023 etc.), but mostly to denote a single god (or
313032), whether a heathen deity (e.g., I S.57, of
Dagon ; I K . 115, even of a female deity-for Hebrew
never had a word for goddess) or the God of I ~ r a e l . ~
I n numberless places-especially with the addition of
the article-n-,fi,fi; ( L e . , like 6 Oebs in the NT, the
well-known, true God) is a sort of proper name and
equivalent for Yahwk. The usage of the language
gives no support to the supposition that we have in the
plural form &him, as applied to the god of Israel, the
remains of an early p ~ l y t h e i s m or, ~ a t least a combina-
tion with the higher spiritual beings (the ' son of God'
or ' sons of the gods '-Le., according to Heb. usage,
simply beings belonging to the class of Elohim, Gen.
6 2 4 J o b 1 6 21 387, cp Ps.291 897 [ 6 ] ) . Rather must
we hold to the explanation of the plural as one of majesty
and rank (a variety of abstract plural expressing a com-
bination of the several characteristics inherent in the
c~nception).~
There is much difference of opinion as to the ety-
mology, and therefore the proper signification, of the
word EZ6him. A verbal stem, n$?,
E t ~ o l o of ~ 'which one would naturally think
first of all, is not known in Hebrew ; and the Arabic
'ufuha, ' to worship God,' is obviously a denominative
from the substantive 'ildh, ' God.' On the other hand,
the derivation from the Arabic 'aliha, with medial i
(according to Arabic scholars a n old Bedouin word
meaning ' t o be filled with dread, be perplexed,' and so
' anxiously to seek refuge'), seemed enticing. 'iZuh
( 9 h ) would thus mean in the first place ' dread,' then
the object of the dread with whom one nevertheless
seeks refuge.5
Support for this viewhas been found in particular in several
allusions in the OT itself to the supposed proper meaning of the
word, since in Gen.314253 God is called 'the fear (mg) of
Isaac,' and in Is. 8 13 Ps. 76 12 [II], 'the object of fear' (xiid.
The state of'fie problem is this. If 'aliha, along with the cog-
waliha, to fear,'is really an independent verbal stem, the
above explanation has a greater claim to consideration than any
other. Possibly however, 'alihu itself, along with waliha, is
only a denominkve from 'ilcih, and signifies originally 'pos-
sessed of God ' (cp 6dovord<fw, Grrpov&), as the Arabic 6u'ila
means 'to be possessed of Bu'L'O In this case, naturally,
Fieischer's explanation would be futile.
1 According to Baethg. (Beifr. 297) the poetic author of
Dt. 32 is to be regarded as the inventor of the sing. 355.
2 The use of pnsw (1 S. 28 13) in the sense of supernatural
assert that sometimes indicates judges or magistrates in
general. In Ex. 21 6 22 7f: T S. 2 25 ' N invariably nleans
God as witness of a lawsuit or dispenser of oracles. (We have
cleaily a relic of the lastmentioned usage in Ex. 4 16 [J ?I and
even in 7 I [P?]:) In Ex. 22 7, too, the parallelism shows that
what is meant is the reviling of God as the giver of decisions
on points of law. In Ps. 82 I 6 97 7 138 I, on the other hand,
the 'ware like the 'holy ones' of Ps. 8968 [5 71, the gods of the
heathen, &hich, in later post-exilic times, fell to a lower rank
(see AWGELS).
3 According to WRS (RSP),4491, 'the Elohim of a place
originally meant all its sacred denizens, viewed :ollectively as
an indeterminate sum of indistinguishable beings.
4 On this point cp Ges. Gram.(n),5s 124gand 132 h. In the
Phcenician inscriptions, too (cp G. HoiTmann, Ue6er einigeph8n.
fnschr., 1889, p. 17&), &N (Elim) indicates most probably the
universal conception of divinity, $, on the contrary, the in-
dividual deity in the idol.
5 So especially the illustrious Arabist Fleischer (most lately
in Kleinr Schriffen, 11548). and after him Franz Del. (most
recently in his Genesis 1887. p. 48, where he explains $55
as 'awe or respect ' and'then 'object of awe').
6 So Ni3d. f D h G 4 0 174, after We. Wzikidi, 356, n. 3 (ulihu
*un-iwa@i, the fear of God has made the man harmless').
3324
 NAMES
There is just as little proof, however, for the view of
>.
Ewald, and after him Dillrnann (on Gen. 1 1 ; also in
Hundb. d. ATZichen TheoZ.), that a N means ' t o be
mighty,' and is to be regarded a s a by-form of the stem
n k (h), from which $5 comes.
Nestle follows another course ( TheoZ. Si. aus Wiirt.,
1882, p. 2 4 3 8 : ) . explaining ZZ5him a s the plural, not
of the late artificially revived form Pfu'h, but of the
sing. Z l (see next § ) . l
Nestlesupposes the plural to havearisenfromPZhy theartificial
insertion of a il(h), like Heh. ninm, maidens, from >p, Arab.
'abahrif,fathers, Syr. Si..ncri/uin,names, etc. Nestle is thus able
easily to explain how the older language had no singular for
ElGhim hut el, and no other plural for E l but &him. The
explanation of this plural form woiild thus he dependent on that
of the sing. CI (see below). To Nestle's hypothesis however
there is the objection 2 that at least the Arabic formatibnn of thi;
kind have a short A before the termination, whilst the long d of
Pldhim would represent a long 6 ; and above all, that all ex-
.>,
amples with inserted > (if we ignore some secondary formations
in Syriac) have t h e fem. ending. Moreover, were this hypo-
thesis accepted, the Ar. 'i26k and the Aram. would have,
with Nestle, to h; regarded as words borrowed directly or in-
directly from the Hebrew.3
There is no less difference of opinion as to the ex-
planation of E l , 'God,' a word which appears as a
116. El.divine name 217 times (73 in Ps.. 55 in Job,
and generally almost only in poetical passages,
or a t least in elevated prose), and just like eldhim (see
preceding col., n. 2 ) may denote either deities (&
c . 8 , in Ex. 1511, etc., Ps. 58 I [z] corrected text) which
have come to be viewed as subordinate divinities. or
the god of Israel. Sometimes it occurs with the article
(yet also without it ; so especially in Deutero-Isaiah,
4018,etc.), like ' t h e ZZjhim' (p*?$:) in the sense of
the true God (e.g., Gen. 4 6 3 ) . but specially often with
some attribute or other, whether a noun (e.g., iim? $5,
' hero-god,' Is. 9 6 ) or an adjective as in *n 55, the
living God," p ) y 56 (see below, § 118), ' G o d most
high,' *?@ 5~ (see below, 5 117), ' G o d almighty (?),' or
with a genitive, as $+n,a \e, ' the God of Bethel' (Gem
357), o$y 55, 'the god of antiquity' (Gen. 2133), or
finally with a noun in apposition-e.g., Gen. 4 6 3 ; c p
also 3320 where Jacob calls the ma+hih (for in view of
-l$-a] we must read thus. not npp, ' a l t a r ' ) that he
erected ' ZZ, god of Israel.' Very frequent is the
occurrence of ZZ (never or n'n3:) as first or second
member in proper names--e.g., 1&, i y s ~ +,, 5?i*,
$Kn,';"y,etc. (see above, 5 2 5 ) .
Against the derivation of the substantive iZ ( 5 ~from ) whilst in the Pentateuch Saddai is simply rendered by a
$ 1 ~' t o be strong,' with the meaning 'the strong one,'
a derivation a t one time common and in itself satis-
factory,6 objections have been raised. T h e most that
The other example from Lieder der HudhaiZ (ed. We. 123),
no. 278, 1. 3, is less certain.
1 Conversely, Ewald had already explained $5 as abbreviated
from (D3$$t$ ; Lehre &r Bi6eZ von Gotf,2 382fi
2 Cp Ndd. SBA W , 1882, p. 1180.
3 Cp the detailed refutation of this theory by N6ld. (SBA W,
1882, pp. 11836f), according to whom both 21 and iZEh were
already in existence side by side before the parting of the
Semitic nations. Cp also Ed. Meyer, 'El'in Roscher's Lex.
a'. p i e c h . u. r8m. Mythol. 1223 j? : Baethgen too shows
(Beifr.271, and in the excursus, 2 9 7 8 ) that it i; at iest but
traces of the form il ( e o that are to he found in the various
Semitic tribes and peoples, whilst i26h is quite wanting in some
languages. On the other hand, ?2 has in some cases become
quite unfamiliar in the living language : in others it is passing
out of use, its place being taken by i/ah. It is only in personal
.
names that '. . i2 has established itself in all Semitic lan-
guages, either alone as in some of them, or alongside of ilah as
an others.
4 Cp El roi, Gen. 16 13 R V w . ('K: 5K); see ISAAC,8 2.
5 On this usage of ZZ perhaps the oldest where it originally
denoted the local divibity (afterwards id&tified with Yahw&)
of the several places of worship, cp Stade, GVI 1428.
6 Wellhausen says (SRizzen 3 169) : 'the true content of the
conception I' God amongst tde Semites generally is that of lord-
" :vidence for the originality of the pronunciation '0.
3325
NAMES
can be cited in the way of evidence for such a use of
the substantive ZZ is the expression '7; \!?-w;, ' it is in
the power of my hand ' (Gen. 31 zg and elsewhere). I t
has been urged too, especially by Lagarde (Mztfeilungen,
1884, pp. 96f.), that the derivation of this particular
name from a neuter verbal stem is unthinkable (cp,
however, also y$, 'scoffer' ; i@, 'Demon'). Above
all it is objected 'that a participle or verbal noun from
~ 5,!) would of necessity have an unchangeable i , l
5 1 (or
whereas forms like ElhBnZn (ph), ElimClek ($p'?c()
and many others would argue for the i being simply a
prolongation of a n original i. T h e last objection would
apply also to Noldeke's derivation from hrt, ' to be in
front.' Dillmanu (on Gen. 1I ) and Lagarde derive
08 from >$N (or ha) ; but for the meaning, assumed by
Dillmann. ' to be mighty,' no authority can be found,
and Lagarde's connection of el with the preposition
(h)'to.' is open to serious question. (See N A T URE -
WORSHIP, § 2 . )
Lagarde maintains that e2 denotes : him 'after whom one
strives,' ' who is the goal of all human aspiration and endeavour '
(according to DeufscLe Schrzyfen, 222, the 'aim' or 'goal'), or
(1888) ' t o whom one,has recourse in distress or when one is in
need of guidance' (Ubers. 170 : ' t o whom one attaches oneself
closely'). Such an origin for the name would be no doubt con-
ceivable on the hasis of pure and strict monotheism; it is
however, inconceivable if ilu, el, originally served to denote a n i
god whatever,4 a n d even a demon or local divinity.
W e are no nearer a solution in the case of the divine
name Shaddai, '96. Whilst it occurs six times5 as an
attribute of h, it occurs as a n inde-
1' Saddai* pendent divine name 39 times, of
which 31 belong to the poetical parts of Job (since here,
as is well known, Yahwe is avoided and its place taken
by other names). According to Ex. 6 3 ( P ) it was by
the name El Saddai (not YahwA) that God revealed
himself to the patriarchs. I t is in agreement with this
that four of the six Genesis passages belong certainly t o
P (along with the three personal names compounded
with v g ) , whilst, as 6 shews, Baddai in Gen. 4 3 1 4 is a
Redactor's interpolation into the text of E. The only
pre-exilic testimony for Saddai is therefore Gen. 49 25
Nu. 24416.
I t is incorrect to appeal in support of the common
explanation ' Almighty ' to the Arabic root faddu, ' to
be firm, strong,' for the Hebrew equivalent for this
would be not i i w (SDD) but l i b (SDD). Nor is
much weight to be laid on 6 ' s rendering Haddai b y
' Almighty ' ( r a v T o K p 6 T w p ) . This occurs oiily in the
book of Job, and there only in 15 out of 31 places,
pronoun (you, uou, 6 #yh) or passed over altogether.6
Judged by its form, Saddai could only h e a derivative
ship.' With this it agrees that Yahwt is also called in Is. 6 5
and elsewhere 'the king,' and t h a t in Ethiopic the j2uuralis
majestatis amMk has hecome a sort of proper name for God.
1 Yet NBldeke still in 1882 decided (SBA H', 1882, p. 1188)that
SF hasprobably an originally long vowel. As a matter of fact the
punctuation of the Massora (in &'b, etc., alongside of ?il$N)
may he founded on an error. Whether the Babylonian ilu,
' God ' (but never as the name of a defined god ; cp on this point
Jensen, Kosmog. der BaS. ir6), can be cited in support of the
origi?al shortness of ;he vowel in SN, must be left an open
question. Lagarde (U6er.s. 131 $) regards the Assyrian form
Sir-'./a-&-' Israelite' as sufficient proof.
2 SBAlV, 1880, p. 7 6 0 8 , less definitely 1882, p. 11756f
3 Symmicfn, 2 (1880), IO=& ; Orkntalia, 2 (r88o), 1 0 3;
MiffLeilungen,1 9 4 I O & 231 f: 2 27f: 183 (1881.86); at
length (most recentlyfn 36 err. 15gfl. According top. '67 the
derivation of 55 from the preposition SF was proposed as long
ago as by Josue de la Place (tr655).
4 According to Lagxrde, it is true, 5~ was not a native word
amongst the Arabs, Idumaeans, etc., but only a loan-word from
the Jews (cp however above n. 3).
6 Five tides in Gen'. (for we must certainly read 55 for
W i l K in Gen.49ag)and in Ex.63.
6 In Ezek. 10 5, probably an interpolated verse, @ retains the
Form Za88ar. This, however, by no means furnishes any real
3326
 NAMES
of the form n w with the suffix ay.' But this root
means only ' lay waste, destroy,' and it is surely incon-
ceivable that, for example, in the oldest passage (Gen.
4925), .El Saddai designates God as the devastator or
destroyer. Moreover, the pronunciation Saddai is
perhaps purely artificial, intended to embody the ex-
__
planation (sd (.*)= 'what (or who) is sufficient.' I t is
only thus we can explain the remarkable rendering
(6 k a v b s ; c p iKauw8ijvar [ =.1] in Mal. 310) of d in
Job21 15 31 2 402 Ruth1 .of. of bAin Ezek. 1 2 4 and
of Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion (also R. Ishaki
on Ex. 63). T o derive the name from a root niw would
require the pronunciation Saddai @ *I( , the so-called
nomea opz@cs). But there is no such root in Hebrew,
though according to Frd. Delitzsch (Prol. 1896) there
is a root ?a& ' t o be high ' in Assyrian.2 See SHADDAI.
Like Saddai, the title 'Elydn (p*!q~), the Almighty,'
appears sometimes in connection w'ith 8 1 (Gen. 1418-20
and in apposition with Yahwe in u. 2 2 ;
118"E1y6n. Ps.7835)orYahwe(Ps.718[17];in573[2]
7856, too, Eldhim has been substituted by a Redactor,
as elsewhere in Ps. 42-84 for Yahwe : see P SALMS , $$ 7 ) ,
sometimes standing alone (Nu. 24 16 Dt. 328 Ps. 21 8[7]
465 [4] 77 11[IO], etc. ; as a vocative 93 [z]). That when
it stands alone 'elydn was felt to be a proper noun is clear
from its never having the article even after prepositions ;
cp, e.g., Ps. 7311Is. 1 4 ~ Ps.4 5014. With this agrees the
testimony of Philo Byblius (Eus. &'re$. euang. 1IO)
that among the Phcenicians 'EXtoSv was in use as a
name for God. This is the simplest explanation of the
fact that in the single early passage where 'Elydn
occurs (Nu. 2416) it is put in the mouth of a foreigner,
whilst the employment of the word as an Israelite
name for God belongs almost exclusively to post-exilic
usage.
Another word, occurring as a sort of proper noun
1 -x 0 .(or according to the Massora 134) times, not as
119. adonai. Kr. for Yahwe (see above note I) but
as Ktb., is ( * J ~ N , L e . ) according to
M T AddnZi ('iifc) but probably originally Addni FJ~Y)
' my lord. '3 Aden (pi:) without suffix is used only in
Ps. 1147,ofGod; and'theAd6n'(liim)inMaL31,and,
in connection with other divine names, in Ex. 2317 3423
and five times in Is. (124 31, etc.).
Of other terms indicative of lordship Baal (Sp?) ' pro-
prietor, lord ' (with the article S p n ) was also in ancient
times used without hesitation as a desig-
120. Baa,. nation for the god of Israel. This is
proved by a series of proper names compounded with
a Baal,' in the bestowal of which not the heathen Baal
1 So Baethgen (Beifr., etc., 294) who appeals to Palmyrene
and other parallels. He maintains that '# can he explained
only as an Aramaism, an Aramaism that the Hebrews brought
with them from their Aram-aan home.
2 Neldeke (SBA W, 1880, p. 775 ; Z D M G 42 480) conjectured
that ' l d or (on the analogy of ,$le) *?e, 'my lord' was the
original pronunciation. Cp G . Hoffmann, Phbn. Inscdr. 53-55.
But what explanation could then be given of ' W 58 in the
mouth of God (Gen. 49 25 Ex. 6 3)? Cp SHADDAI.
3 As Dalman has shown (Dey Gotfaname Adonnj U. seine
Gesch.), it is simply by Rabbinic arbitrariness, not yet known to
the Talmud, that we have theformQiK) with long ri(commonly
supposed to be a means of distinction from the ordinary profane
form [Pil!] 'my lords '; but supposed by Nestle Z A T U', 1896,
p. 325, to be a reaction of the d of a?:,: such a form as n!n:
being impossible; and by Lagarde, U6crs. 188, to be an
Aramaism, related to the Old Palestinian p l y like Syriac malkdy,
'kingly' to mekkh) or even a plural suffix at all (in connection
Gith the plural of majesty O'JlF). For with the suffixof the
first person sing. elsewhere only the sing. 'xi* is found, and
from this form the divine name had to he distinguished. The
common assertion that the suffix in * J ~ Nis often, as in ?nonsieur,
madame etc., quite meaningless, is corrected by Dalman by
t h e ohseivation that outside of the Book of Daniel and eight
critically doubtful passages, the suffix is never quite meaningless.
(Cp excursus on Adonai, Cbe. OPs. 299.303.)
3327
NAMES
but Yahwh was certainly thought of.' See J ERUBBAAL ,
I SHBAAL , MERIBAAI., B EELIADA (forms retained in
Ch.), but in the earlier books deliberately corrupted
by the substitution of E l or Bdsheth.2 See, however,
M EPHIBOSHETH .
The title "Abirof Jacob' (z>p! i *'the ? Strong
~ One
)
of Jacob' ( L e . , he whom Jacob must acknowledge and
honour as the Strong One ; cp SN?V; t$h?
12" Abir. in all parts of the Book of Isaiah-ie.,
he whom Israel ought to treat as the Holy One), Gen.
4924 and four other times (cp Is. 1 2 4 hp! I N ) , occurs
only in poetical writing. Since no adjective E b i v (-I,??)
is known, it is probable that we should read a d b i r ( i * q n ) ,
but with the same meaning, ' the Strong One of Jacob.'
not ' t h e Bull of Jacob' as by itself it might mean.
Isaiah would certainly not have employed the expression
had it contained for him any reminiscence of steer-
worship. On the other hand it is very probable that
. -. is so written in order to avoid the likeness to
a'bir (i*>x)
abbir ( 1 ' 2 ~ )'bull.'
Another term used only in poetry as a kind of divine
name is s d r (iw), ' Rock.'3 It occnrs attached to a geni-
tive (hp;iw, 2 S. 233 1s. 3029) or with
122' Rock* a suffix (e.g., Dt. 3230 ; in v. 31 also of a
heathen deity), and also alone-e.g., in Dt. 32418-even
as a vocative, parallel with Yahwe, Hab. 112 (if the
text is sound). On the other hand it is very question-
able whether in the plainly very corrupt text of Gen.
4924 (hp:pt), ' t h e stone of Israel ' is to be taken
(like '* a x ) as a name for God.
Special fulness is required in discussing, finally, the
combination of YahwA or Eldhim with the genitive
SSb26th (niqx) 'hosts,' from- which
123*sLibs6th* sprang a much used name for G0d.4
T h e original appellative signification of SEbiidth appears
still quite plainly in the full formula ' Yahwh the god of
thehosts' (nimys ' 8 5 ~ nin3,with the article), Hos. 126 [s]
Am. 3 13 6 1 4 ; according to 65 originally also 95.
Much more common is the form (nitax V ~ 'R.) without
article, and commonest of all 'Yahwe ofhosts' (niN3x ' . ) . 5
Frequently, too, addnsi is prefixed to this (probably in
most cases an interpolation to supply the place of the
original Yahwe, on which c p above 109, note 4),
sometimes also pix,: 'the lord' (Is. 1 2 4 194, to which,
according to 6 , 1016 is to be added).
Of the 282 places where the genitive s8b5dth occurs,
no less than 246 are in the prophets ( 5 5 in I Is., 81
in Jer.), and even the five that occur in Kings are in
speeches of prophets. It nowhere appears in the
Pentateuch,'' Josh., Judg., Ezek., Joel, Obad., or
(apart from Ps. 24 IO and 15 places in the 2nd and 3rd
Books of Psalms and 3 in Ch. taken from I S.)the
whole Hagiographa.
1 In 2 S. 5 20 we have a place-name (BAAL-PERAZIM)
ing Baal governing a genitive (cp below, $ 123)~although it is
contain-
Yahwi: that is meant.
2 In z S. 11 21 we find the form Jerubbesheth=Jerubhaal.
3 Cp especially A. Wirgand, ZATWlOE5J The employ.
ment of 1%in the proper name Pedahzur (lW?!7?: Nu. 2 20
a n d elsewhere) specially favours its being a genuine divine
name. (On the difficultproblems involved see ZUR,N AMES I N .)
4 Cp Kautzsc! 'Zehaoth ' in PREN 17 4 2 3 8 and Z A T W
6 1 7 8 ; Lljhr jahve Zebaoth' in Untersuchungen zum B.
A ~ n o s(,PI), ' 3 7 3 (with a thorough statement of the usage
of '1).
5 Cp on this abbreviation Gesen. Gram; 26, $ 125h. For the
grammatically impossible combination (YahwS) god, hosts
(:x p n s or ~ 'y p n $ '*) ~ in Ps. 596[5] and elsewhere (for the last
time 849[e]) we must everywhere read 'YahwS ofhosts. Elahim
('god') was substituted for YahwS throughout t h e and and 3rd
Books of Psalms by some redactor without regard to Syntax ;
hut then the original YahwS was in some cases also retained in
the text. Cp P SALMS , D 7.
6 The theory of Klostermann (Gesch. Isr. 76) is worthy of
*
notice. He thinks that the name was really removed from the
Pentateuch by a redactor just as in osh. 3 11 I 4 7 instead of
' the ark of the lord of all the earth,'t&re tnustc?earl;originally
have stood the ark of Yahwh of hosts.
3328
 NAMES
T h e old dispute whether the title Yahwk SSbB6th
designates Yahwk as God of the earthly (Israelite) or of
the heavenly hosts (angels or stars or both) may be
decided in this way-viz., that sEbBBth denotes in the
first place the earthly hosts, the hosts of Israel fighting
under the leadership of Yahwk. Apart from this divine
name, SCbSth in the plural never means anything but
armies of men,’ and indeed almost always Israelite
armies, whether at the Exodus (Ex. 6 26, etc., cp especi-
ally 7 4 and 1241) or later ( D t . 2 0 9 , etc., and so also
Ps. 4410[9] 108x2 [I.]), only in Jer. 3 1 9 Ps. 6813 [I.]
heathen armies. The heavenly host on the other hand is
without exception designated by the singular ( ~ 2 : ) .
T h e above interpretation of Yahwb SSbL6th is favoured
moreover by I S. 1 7 4 5 where ‘ t h e God of the ranks of
Israel’ is plainly intended as a n interpretation of
Yahwb SebBBth-an interpretation not superfluous for a
Philistine-and above all by the fact that of the 11
occurrences of Yahwk SEbB6th in the book of Samuel,
5 ( I S. 1 3 I I 4 4 z S. 6 2 1 8 ) are directly or indirectly
connected with the ark, and 3 others ( I S. 152 1 7 4 5
z S. 510) with military transactions. T h e sacred ark is,
according to the earliest references (cp especially Nu.
1035f. 1 4 4 4 f . Josh. 64f. I S. 4 3 3 and 4z1J z S. 11 11).
the symbol, nay the pledge, of the presence of Yahwb
as the god of war, the proper leader of Israel ; and in
I S. 4 4 and especially z S . 62 the name Yahw8 SEbS6th
is expressly connected with the sacred ark. T h e idea
that the appositional phrase ‘who is enthroned above
the cherubim ’ here designates Yahwk as leader of the
heavenly hosts, appears to us to be quite excluded by
I S. 1 7 4 5 (see above). On the other hand it cannot be
denied that even in the earliest prophetic passages there
is hardly a trace to be seen of this original meaning.
Nay, we may assume that Isaiah. e.g., would not have
used the name so often, had its connection with the
former markedly naturalistic representation of the
sacred ark been expressly before his mind. On the
contrary, the admission of the word into the prophetic
vocabnlary must have been preceded by its transference
from the earthly to the heavenly hosts. At the same
time it can never be determined with certainty whether
sEbL6th denotes the angels3 or the stars or both.4
W h a t is clear with regard to prophetic usage is that
with Yahwh SEbB6th is associated the thought of super-
mundane power and majesty. It is very significant in
this connection that Yahwh SEbB6th is parallel with
‘the holy (one)’ (tjhc:) in I s . 5 1 6 , and with ‘ t h e holy
(one) of Israel’ (imp: eii-rp) in v. 24. whilst in Is. 6 3 it
has ‘holy’ ( ~ 1 2 )for its predicate. ‘ T h e Holy’
( z i i i ~ ) however,
, in Is. likewise means exalted above
everything earthly. T h e most probable conclusion is
that in prophetic usage Yahwb SEbB8th-agreeably to
its original meaning-suggested in the first place the
angelic hosts of war, but that finally the thought of the
starry host, as the grandest proof of divine omnipotence
and infinity, prevailed. 6 appears to attach a still
more general meaning to Ynhwb SSbBBth, when it
renders it, as it often does,5 by ‘ L o r d of the powers
1 -4gainst this view Borchert plausibly objects (Sf. Kr. 1896
p. 6 1 9 8 ) , that all the places where gib24th is used of h&ts &
men belong to the later or even the very latest literature, and
that, besides cEbZ6th in P means not fighting hosts hut the
masses of th; Israelitish people, whilst for the former the sing.
$b2 is used. But we really know no other usage apart from
the divine title, and the angelic host is called in ’Josh. 5
I K. 22 19 Is. 24 ar $ib2 in the sing. Certainly P regards the
masses of the people as fighting hosts (see Nu. 2).
2 In Ps. 103 21 148 2 for ‘ his hosts’ ( i , ~ > y ) , which the Massora
thought necessary on account of the preceding imperativeplural,
read ‘ his host’ ON?! : the language knows no plural D’Nx).
3 So most recently Borchert explicitly (0). cif. 6 3 3 8 ) .
4 According to Smend (Alttest. Rel.-psch.(2) ,zoz), indeed,
the meaning ‘lord of all t h e forces of the world is to be re-
gardedas the original. [Wellhausenthinks of the G a i p o v r s (O’!N)
who were attached to different localities, but were all subject
t o YahwS.1
5 In I S. and almost invariably in Is. (hence it appears also
107 3309
NAMES
or forces’ (ahpros TGY G u u d p ~ w v ) ,or
~ even by ‘ t h e
Almighty G o d ’ (6 8ebs 6 X a v m K p d T w p ) , or ‘Lord
Almighty ’ ( K + x ?ravToKpdTwp). 7hat Yahwk SSb26th
early came to be felt to be a single proper name,
is shown by the invariable dropping of the article
(except in Hos. 1 2 6 [5] Am.313 6 1 4 95) and the almost
equally invariable dropping of the governing noun
(Ti5$).
T h e transition to the divine names of the N T is
effected by the title ab, ‘ Father.’ This name cannot,
however, claim in the OT anything
124. Father. like the wealth of meaning that belongs
to it in the invocation of the ‘ L o r d s prayer,’ and in
countless other passages in the N T . Just as in the OT
(apart from the :heocratic king, Ps. 2 7 ; c p z S. 7 1 4 ) it
is not the individual Israelite but the whole people that
is called ’son (or sons)’ of God (Ex: 4 z z J Is. 12 Hos.
1 1 1 , etc.), so also God is called ‘father’ not of the
individual Israelites but of the whole people. Moreover,
the context of such passages as Dt. 326 Is. 6 4 7 [8] Jer. 31 g
Mal. 1 6 210 shows that in the name ’father’ what is
chiefly thought of is the formation of the nation-;.e.,
its elevation to its historical position. Only in Is. 63 16
is there at the same time a n allusion to the redemptive
acts of Yahwk, t o his fatherly care for his people, whilst
in Jer. 3 4 x 9 ‘father’ is used as a sort of name of
endearment. T h e only reference to a n individual
relation is to be found in z S. 7 14 (see above ; and cp Ps.
8927[26], likewise with reference to the theocratic king).
T h e thought of the inexhaustible fatherly compassion
which is the significant idea in the name father in the
NT,appears in the O T only in Ps. 6 8 6 [5] and 103 13, and
in both places merely by way of simile.
i. Concordances and Dictionanis.-For the Hebrew text
Mandelkern’sConcordance(Brecher’sConcordnntire Nominum
Propniorum Frankfort a M. 1876, is
126. Bibliography. very defectbe) ; Gesenius, Thesaurus;
Brown Driver Briggs, Hedr. Lex. :
~ ~
and (for post-biblical Jewish names) Levy, Neuhehr. WbrtLrbuch.
For the Greekversionsand Greekapocrypha Hatchand Redpath‘s
Concord. i!oSe& (Supplement) ; for the EV Strong’sExhaustiw
Concordance.
ii. Text.-This important part of the subject has never been
systematically treated, and as a rule is neglected or indifferently
handled in commentaries; it receives much attention in many of
the individual articles in this work : see also Lists and Notes in
HPN, pp. 277-313. and Gray’sarticle in jQR, 1901, pp. 375-391.
Smend, Die Listen d. BB. Esra u. Neh. (1881); Marquart:
Fund. (1896), pp. 10.26. On the prefixes in‘ and 1, see Bonk,
ZATW 11 1 2 4 - 1 6
iii. Interp&t&!ion and usage. -Lagarde, OS (including
Jerome’sLi6erinter~retationish h 7 . nominum): M. Hiller,Ono-
masticum Sacrum (c. 1000 pp. ; Tiibingen 1706): Nestle, Eig.
(1876): GrayJtudiesinHe67. PropPrNames (1896): Kerher, Die
reZigionsResclrichtliche Bedeutung der heb. Eigennamen ( I 897).
For later Jewish names, see Zunz, Nanzen der juden (1837)
reprinted in Gesammeltr Schrifien 2 1-82 and H. P. Chajes
B e i t r i p ZUT Nordsem. Onomatolo& (rgw). For discussion;
of details, the reader may consult the separate s ecial articles in
the present work, not neglecting the references ;g and the works
of Nestle a n d Gray. Here it may sufficeto mention one or two
of the more important discussions in periodicals (chiefly jQR,
IR.4S,jBLit. and especially ZDMG, ZATIV) prior to the
latest of these Dublications and to some subsequent contributions
in Rom. 9 29 Jas. 54) @ retains [r<prosl XaPw.9. 1: occprs [or
the first time ahsolutely as a proper name (i.e., ignoring its
dependence as properly a genitive) in the Sibyl (1 304): In the
so-called Ophite Gnosa, Sabaoth is one of the emanations from
the world fashioner, Jaldabaoth.
1 In the other Greek versions it is lip^^ T ~ ) Y r ~ p a n i v - i n
what sense is doubtful, but perhaps looking hack to the mparrd
roi o6pavoii of @.
2 [It is hoped that when the present work is finished, the
reader will have before him a more complete and up-to-date
survey both of the material at our disposal for solvinq the
problems of names and of the possible solutions of those problems
:han can be found elsewhere, mainly through the co-operation
,f scholars of different sections of the critical school. ?’he
:reatest difficulty has been the backwardness of textual criticism
see T EXT AND VERSIONS), which has inevitably affected all the
:urrent treatises hearing on names. The thorough criticism to
which in this work the text has been subjected has often led to
.he adoption of new views of some importance, which, with all
ieductions for possible errors, justify the editors in claiming
h a t here, as elsewhere, they have been able to carry the subject
it any rate ‘a little beyond the point hitherto reached in print’
Preface to vol. i., p. r r ) . - E ~ . l
3330