Ahzai meaning

Meaning

My Possession, Yah Has Grasped

Etymology

From (1) the verb אחז (ahaz), to seize or grasp, and (2) possibly יה (yah), the name of the Lord.

Related names

• Via אחז (ahaz): Ahaz, Ahaziah, Ahuzzam, Ahuzzath, Jehoahaz, Joahaz

• Via יה (yah): See the 'browse by form' menu for a long list of yah-names.

There's only one Ahzai (or in some translations, Ahasai) in the Bible, and he's a priestly son of Meshillemoth, who is a son of Immer (Nehemiah 11:13). In 1 Chronicles this grandfather Immer is mentioned too, but here his grandson is named Meshullam. Immer's great-grandchild is here named Jahzerah, which is somewhat similar to Ahzai.

This leads some scholars to believe that the two are the same, and one or the two genealogies (or both) are corrupted. One solution is to assume that the chronicler and Nehemiah interviewed separate strands of the same family for their records, and Ahzai is Meshullam's brother and Jahzerah's uncle.

The name Ahzai comes from the Hebrew verb אחז (ahaz), meaning to take hold of or grasp:

The name Ahzai ends with the letter י (yod), which may either give the name Ahzai the meaning of My Possessing. Or, as BDB Theological Dictionary demands, the name Ahzai is a truncated form of the name Ahaziah, and the yod is a remnant of יהוה, YHWH or Yahweh.

For a meaning of the name Ahzai, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Yahweh Has Grasped and BDB Theological Dictionary proposes the similar Yah(u) Hath Grasped. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Possessor Of The Lord.