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Meaning and etymology of the name Zebadiah



Zebadiah Zebadiah


The name Zebediah is among the most popular in the Bible. There are up to nine men listed with that name, not counting the Greek version Zebedee or any of the truncated forms listed below.

The Zebediah's of the Bible are: A son of Beriah of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8:15); A son of Elpaal of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8:17); One of two sons of Jeroham of Gedor and brother of Joelah. Both men joined David at Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:1-7); A gatekeeper and the third son of Meshelemiah, son of Kore of Asaph (1 Chronicles 26:2); a military sub-commander and son of Asahel, the brother of Joab (1 Chronicles 27:7); a Levite teacher in service of king Jehoshaphat of Judah (2 Chronicles 17:8); a son of Ishamel of Judah (2 Chronicles 19:11); a son of Michael who joined Ezra in the return from exile (Ezra 8:8); and a son of Immer who pledged to divorce his foreign wife (Ezra 10:20).

The name Zebadiah consists of two elements; the final part comes from Jah, Jah, which in turn is an abbreviated form of the Tetragrammaton; the name of the Lord: YHWH.

The first part of our name comes from the verb zabad (zabad), meaning to give or bestow. This verb comes with the noun zebed (zebed), meaning a gift or endowment. These two words occur only one time in the Bible, both in the scene where Leah is about to name her son Zebulun, "God has endowed me with a good gift..." (Genesis 30:20). Another, much more common verb that means to give is natan (natan - see the name Nathan).

For a meaning of the name Zebadiah, NOBS Study Bible Name List reads Yahweh Has Bestowed. BDB Theological Dictionary proposes Yah Hath Bestowed. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Gift Of The Lord.

Other names that make use of the verb zabad are Elzabad, Jehozabad, Jozabad, Zabad, Zabud, Zabbud, Zabdi, Zabdiel and Zebidah.







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