Zabdi meaning

Meaning

My Gift, Gift Of Yah

Etymology

From (1) the verb זבד (zabad), to give, and possibly (2) יה (yah), the name of the Lord.

Related names

• Via זבד (zabad): Ammizabad, Elzabad, Jehozabad, Jozabad, Zabad, Zabbai, Zabbud, Zabdiel, Zabud, Zebadiah, Zebedee, Zebidah

There are four men named Zabdi in the Bible:

• The first Zabdi we meet is a son of Zerah and grandfather of the notorious Achan, the "troubler of Israel who violated the ban" (Joshua 7:1).
• The next Zabdi is mentioned as a son of Shimei in a genealogy of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8:19).
• Then there is Zabdi the Shiphmite who has charge of the produce of the vineyards stored in the wine cellars of king David (1 Chronicles 27:27).
• And finally Zabdi, the son of Asaph, father of Mica and grandfather of Mattaniah who was among the Levites during the resettlement of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11:17).

This last Zabdi is called זכרי (Zichri) in 1 Chronicles 9:15. Most scholars assume that this dual name is due to a scribal error. Some scholars assume this duality is deliberate and with intended pun.

Our name Zabdi comes from the verb זבד (zabad), meaning to give:

The letter yod upon which our name ends may either be a possessive (my zebed), or it may be considered as a remnant of יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton; the name of the Lord: YHWH.

For a meaning of the name Zabdi, NOBSE Study Bible Name List takes the final yod to belong to the divine name and proposes (God) Has Given. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names does the same and reads Gift Of The Lord. BDB Theological Dictionary thinks the yod to be possessive and carefully submits: (perhaps) My Gift or Gift To Me.