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Meaning and etymology of the name Allon




Allon Allon


The name Allon is ascribed to one man and quite a few locations in the Bible, although these locations are in translated versions of the Bible usually referred to by the translation of this name. The one person named Allon is mentioned in a genealogy of Simeon: Allon is the son of Jedaiah and the father of Shiphi (1 Chronicles 4:37).

The name Allon is identical to the masculine noun Allon (allon), meaning oak (Isaiah 44:14, Zechariah 11:2, Amos 2:9). Quite a few locations were known for their oaks. The prophet Isaiah specifically mentions the oaks of Bashan (2:13), and Deborah, the maid of Rachel, was buried by Allon-bacuth (the Oak of Weeping) near Bethel (Genesis 35:8). The feminine version of this noun, alla ('alla) is used only once, in the troublesome verse Joshua 24:26, which speaks of an oak (a girl-oak) in the sanctuary of the Lord. No such tree actually exists anywhere in the Bible, and we're all baffled at the meaning of this reference.

But both nouns come from an assumed root all ('ll), which is one of two members of the root group all ('ll I & II). The other (also assumed) root all ('ll) yields the word elil ('elil), meaning something worthless. The etymology of both roots is uncertain, and while scholars assume that there are indeed two, and that these two have nothing to do with each other, they may very well be one. It may seem curious to see these two (or three) closely related words carry such different meanings, but the word Allon, meaning oak and mostly symbolizing strength, also occurs in the prophets as synonym for a place of pagan worship (Hosea 4:13) or the material from which idols were made (Isaiah 44:14).

One special instance of our word Allon occurs in Joshua 19:33. Some translations read here about "Allon of Zaanannim," while others have "the oak in Zaanannim." BDB Theological Dictionary refutes all together that this particular instance of Allon (allon) comes from our root group all ('ll) and refers to another root group 'wl ('wl I & II), which, curiously enough, reflects another and similar disparity in meaning:

The assumed root 'wl ('wl I) yields the following derivations, all having to do with foolishness:
'ewil ('ewil), meaning foolish;
'ewili ('ewili), also meaning foolish , and
'iwwelet ('iwwelet), meaning foolishness or foolish.

The assumed root 'wl ('wl II) yields the following derivations, all having to do with protruding or sticking out:
'ul ('ul), which, depending on the context, may mean belly or leading man.
'ulam ('ulam) means porch (of the temple). This word is identical to a common adversative, meaning but, however or nevertheless.
'ayil ('ayil) means either ram, doorpost, leader or terebinth (that's a kind of oak), depending on the context, and the slightly differently pronounced word 'ayyal ('ayyal) means stag or deer. This latter word made feminine yields 'ayyala ('ayyala), meaning doe.
Another word from the same root that means terebinth is 'ela ('ela), which bears a striking resemblance to 'ela (ela), meaning God (see Elohim).
And finally there is 'allon ('allon), also meaning terebinth. This word is identical to our name Allon as used in Joshua 19:33, and nearly identical to the similar word derived from root all ('ll).

But whatever the etymology and underlying symbolic structure, it's pretty sure that the name Allon means Oak (and BDB Theological Dictionary, NOBS Study Bible Name List and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names agree).

Other names that come from any of the above listed words are Aijalon, Allammelech, Elah, Elath, Elon, Eloth, El-paran, Ulai and Ulam.







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