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Etymology •
& Meaning •
Hebrew •
Greek •
Bible •
Names •
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Meaning and etymology of the Hebrew name Amasa
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Amasa 
The name Amasa is applied twice in the Bible. Most famous is Amasa the son of Abigail, one of two sisters of king David (2 Chronicles 2:17). This Amasa becomes an army leader, first of Absalom (2 Samuel 17:25), later of king David (19:13), supplanting his cousin Joab. For this and other reasons Joab kills him (20:10). The other Amasa is a leader of Ephraim (2 Chronicles 28:12).
The name Amasa comes from the Hebrew verb  (amas), which may also be spelled with a sin in stead of an samekh:  , see for instance Nehemiah 4:11. Either form of the verb amas means to load or carry a load.
Following this line of reasoning, the name Amasa means Burden (Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names), or Burden Bearer (NOBS Study Bible Name List). A related name would be Amos.
BDB Theological Dictionary lists another possibility, namely a combination of the Hebrew name Jesse ( ) and the Hebrew word  ('am), kinsman (on the father's side).
Following this line of thought, the name Amasa would mean Kin To Jesse, or Jesse's People.
Something similar may happen with the name Abishai.
Other names that contain the word 'am are
Amalek,
Ammi,
Ammiel,
Ammihud,
Ammihur,
Amminadab,
Ammishaddai,
Ammizabad,
Ammon,
Amram,
Balaam,
Ben-ammi,
Bileam,
Gomorrah,
Ibleam,
Immanuel,
Ithream,
Jashobeam,
Jeroboam,
Lo-Ammi,
Rehoboam and
Ummah.
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