🔼The name Ahikam: Summary
- Meaning
- My Brother Has Arisen, Brother Of Rising Up
- Etymology
- From (1) the noun אח ('ah), brother, and (2) the verb קום (qum), to rise up or stand.
🔼The name Ahikam in the Bible
There is only one Ahikam in the Bible but he receives quite a bit of Biblical screen time. Ahikam is a son of Shaphan and the father of Gedaliah (the vassal governor of Judah under Nebuchadnezzar), and one of the four delegates of King Josiah, who he sends to consult the prophetess Huldah (2 Kings 22:12). Ahikam is also the one who saves the prophet Jeremiah from being executed (Jeremiah 26:24).
🔼Etymology of the name Ahikam
The name Ahikam consists of two elements which both occur very frequently in names. The first part of the name Ahikam comes from the word אח ('ah), basically meaning brother:
אח
The noun אח ('ah) means brother, or more broadly: a fellow member of a social economic node (a "house") within a broader economic whole.
This word's lavish inclusion in names strongly suggests that the deity was reckoned by this word — in modern times we mostly speak of Our Father in Heaven but in antiquity the deity appears to have also been addressed as Our Brother. The New Testament appears to entertain that dynamic in the tenet that the Word is God's Son, and all who have the Word are godly brothers. Also note the similarity with the verb חוה (hawa), to show, tell, make known.
The noun אחוה ('ahawa) means brotherhood and אחות ('ahot) means sister.
The second part of the name Ahikam comes from the verb קום (qum), meaning to rise up or stand:
קום
Verb קום (qum) means to stand or rise up, both literally (getting up from sitting or erecting some statue) or figuratively (establishing someone in some office). Noun קימה (qima) means a rising up, noun תקומה (tequma), denotes an ability or power to stand, and noun מקום (maqom) describes some set location, place to stand or station.
Noun קמה (qoma) or קומה (qoma) means height or highness and noun קים (qim) describes someone who rises up against someone (an adversary or enemy). Noun קיממיות (qommiyut) means uprightness. Noun קמה (qama) denotes standing grain. And noun יקום (yequm) denotes substance or existence.
🔼Ahikam meaning
For a meaning of the name Ahikam, BDB Theological Dictionary and NOBSE Study Bible Name List both read My Brother Has Arisen. Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) proposes Brother Of Rising Up.