🔼The name Jotbah: Summary
- Meaning
- Pleasant, Pleasantness
- Etymology
- From the verb יטב (yatab), to be or do good.
🔼The name Jotbah in the Bible
The name Jotbah occurs only once in the Bible. In 2 Kings 21:19 we are told that Meshullemeth, the mother of the wicked king Amon of Judah, was the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
🔼Etymology of the name Jotbah
The name Jotbah appears to be an otherwise unused feminine noun derived from the verb יטב (yatab) meaning to be or do good:
טוב יטב
The verb טוב (tob) means to be good or pleasant, and ultimately to be sustained or sustainable, first relative to society but ultimately to the universe at large. Adjective and noun טוב (tob) means good; noun טוב (tub), describes a good thing or goodness, and noun טובה (toba) denotes welfare.
Closely related verb יטב (yatab) means to be or do good (to do sustainable things). Noun מיטב (metab) means the best.
A proposed root טבב (tabab) may have meant something like to keep forever, to be perpetual, to be stable.
🔼Jotbah meaning
For a meaning of the name Jotbah, both NOBSE Study Bible Name List and BDB Theological Dictionary read Pleasantness. Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) proposes Pleasant.