🔼The name Eth-kazin: Summary
- Meaning
- Judge Now, Time For A Ruling
- Etymology
- From (1) the verb ענה ('ana), to correspond, be busy with, afflict or sing, and (2) the noun קצון (qasin), judge.
🔼The name Eth-kazin in the Bible
The name Eth-kazin (or Ittah-kazin, as some translations have it) occurs only once in the Bible. It's mentioned as one of the towns that marked the northern border of the territory of the tribe of Zebulun (Joshua 19:13).
🔼Etymology of the name Eth-kazin
The name Eth-kazin consists of two elements. The first part is the same as the adverb עתה ('atta), meaning now, but may also be the noun עת ('et), meaning time, post-fixed by the particle of direction ה. Both come from the verb ענה ('ana I), meaning to answer:
ענה
There are four verbs of the form ענה ('nh), or perhaps one verb with four distinct usages:
Verb ענה ('ana I) means to answer, respond or correspond, and since in the old world time was considered a cycle, noun עת ('et) means time. Temporal adverb עתה ('atta) means now; adjective עתי ('itti) means timely or ready, and conjunction יען (ya'an) means on account of. Noun מענה (ma'aneh) means an answer and noun ענה ('ona) means cohabitation.
Verb ענה ('ana II) means to be busy or occupied with. Noun ענין ('inyan) means occupation or task, and noun מענה (ma'ana) means place for or agent of a task.
Verb ענה ('ana III) means to afflict, oppress or humble. Noun ענו ('anaw) refers to the poor, afflicted or needy. Noun ענוה ('anawa) means humility. Noun ענות ('enut) means affliction. Adjective עני ('ani) means poor or afflicted. Noun עני ('oni) means affliction or poverty, and noun תענית (ta'anit) means humiliation.
Verb ענה ('ana IV) means to sing.
The second part of our name is probably the same as the noun קצון (qasin), which denotes a decision making person:
קצץ
The verb קצץ (qasas) means to remove by cutting off. Noun קץ (qes) means end. Adjective קיצון (qison) means outermost or at the end.
The verb קצה (qasa) also means to cut off. Nouns קצה (qaseh), קצה (qasa), קצה (qeseh), קצו (qasu), קצת (qesat) all mean end. Sometimes these words indicate a mere corner (the "end" of a wall), and sometimes a combination of them convey an "end to end" or "whole" of something.
The noun קצון (qasin) describes the position of a man who has the authority to rule or make decisions: an end-maker, so to speak.
Verb קצע (qasa') means to scrape or scrape off. Noun קציעה (qesi'a) describes cassia, a kind of sweet smelling cinnamon powder, harvested by scraping it off from trees. Noun מקצעה (maqsu'a) denotes a scraping tool.
Perhaps a second verb קצע (qasa') appears to means to be cornered or to be set in corners. Noun מקצע (miqsoa') describes a corner structure.
🔼Eth-kazin meaning
For a meaning of the name Eth-kazin, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Time Of A Judge and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has the similar Time Of The Judge. BDB Theological Dictionary doesn't offer an interpretation of this name but does list it under the verb ענה ('ana I).