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Meaning, origin and etymology of the name Jesse
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Jabal Jabin Jachin Jacob Jael Jahweh Japheth Jared Javan Jebus/Jebusite Jedidiah Jehovah Jerah Jeremiah Jericho Jerusalem Jeshua Jeshurun Jesse Jesus Jether Jethro Jidlaph Joab Job Jobab Jochebed Joel Johanan/ John Jokshan Joktan Jonah Jonathan Jordan Joseph Joshua Jubal Judah Judith |
Jesse
Jesse the Bethlehemite is the son of Obed, the son of Boaz and Ruth. Jesse is the father of eight (1 Sam 16:10-13) or seven (1 Chr 2:15) sons, namely Eliab, Abinadab, Shimea, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem, and David, and two daughters, Zeruiah and Abigail. 2 Sam 17:25 ascribes these two daughters to Nahash, which may mean that Nahash is another name of Jesse. Having two names is not uncommon in the Bible. The father of Zipporah, for instance, is called Reuel in Ex 2:18 and without fanfare Jethro in Ex 4:18. It may also mean that Nahash and Jesse are different people, and that either Jesse or Nahash is the natural father while the other adopted them. This possibility becomes quite likely when we assume that Nahash was in fact a son of Jesse (number eight; born after David, who was the youngest in 1 Sam 16), which in turn neatly solves the problem of the number of Jesse's sons. Saying daughter for grand-daughter or even more remote descendants is not uncommon in the Bible (2 Chr 2:14 - 'daughters' of Dan; Luke 1:5 'daughters' of Aaron). Possibly, Nahash died and his daughters were raised as if they were Jesse's. Another possibility is that he wasn't noticed much and that his grandsons, who were all heroes of the army, rather referred their filiality to famous Jesse, the father of the king, than of Nahash Nobody. If Nahash was indeed Jesse's youngest, he was probably held in the same low esteem as David was. When Samuel came to Jesse with the intention to anoint the next king of Israel, Jesse assumed it would be his first-born. Young David wasn't even called to the house to witness this great event, until it became clear it was him that Samuel was after. |
(the name
('ish 83), meaning man. It is then noted that the phrase 
), which means My Father Is Jesse, and thus My Father Is My Husband.
+ 
. The word 
, which is
