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Jannai meaning

Jannai in Biblical Greek
Ιαννα
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Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Jannai.html

🔼The name Jannai: Summary

Meaning
He Will Be Gracious, Yah Is Gracious
Etymology
From the verb חנן (hanan), to be gracious, possibly in combination with יה (yah), the name of the Lord.
Related names
• Via יה (yah): See the 'browse by form' menu for a long list of yah-names.
• Via חנן (hanan): Ananias, Anna, Annas, Baal-hanan, Ben-hanan, Elhanan, Elonbeth-hanan, Hanan, Hananel, Hanani, Hananiah, Hannah, Hannathon, Hannibal, Hanniel, Hanun, Hen, Henadad, Jannes, Jehohanan, Joanna, Johanan, Jonan, John, Tahan, Tehinnah

🔼The name Jannai in the Bible

The name Jannai (or Janna, as some Greek manuscripts say) occurs only once in the Bible, namely in Luke 3:24, where Jannai is mentioned as great-great-great-grandfather of Joseph, the father by-law (see Luke 3:23) of Jesus of Nazareth. Jannai lived during or just after the rule of the Hasmonean dynasty (140 - 116 BC), but nothing further is known about this person.

🔼Etymology of the name Jannai

The name Jannai is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew original of the Hellenized name John, and stems from the vast root חנן (hanan), meaning to be gracious:

Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
חנן

The verb חנן (hanan) means to be gracious or to favor. Nouns חן (hen), חנינה (hanina), תחנה (tehinna) and תחנון (tahanun) mean favor or grace. Adverb חנם (hinnam) means freely or gratis, and adjective חנון (hannun) means gracious.

— See the full Dictionary article —

🔼Jannai meaning

The name Jannai may be a transliteration of the active form of the verb, and thus mean He Will Be Gracious. Or it may be a compound of the element יה (yah), which is short for YHWH, plus an adjective derived from our verb (the final י, yod points to an adjective), and thus mean Yah Is Gracious.