🔼The name Sachia: Summary
- Meaning
- Cover Of Yah, Watchman Of Yah
- Captive [Of Yah]
- Etymology
- From (1) the verb סכך (sakak), to weave a cover, or סכה (saka), to look out, and (2) יה (yah), the shortened name of the Lord.
- From the verb שבה (shaba), to take captive.
🔼The name Sachia in the Bible
The name Sachia occurs only once in the Bible: in 1 Chronicles 8:10 he is mentioned as one of the sons of Shaharaim and Hodesh. Some manuscripts list this name as שביה (with a b instead of a k) and the authors of the Septuagint transliterated this into Ζαβια (Sabia). The only major English translation that maintains this form is the Darby translation, which tells of Shobia instead of Sachia.
🔼Etymology of the name Sachia
It's not clear what the name Sachia originally meant to express, or even how it was formed. But it could be construed to consist of two elements, the final one being יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, YHWH, or Yahweh.
The first element of our name could be regarded to come from the following root cluster:
סכך שכך
The root סכך (sakak) or שכך (sakak) speaks of the creation of a hedge of sorts from interwoven strands of sorts. It commonly describes how prickly branches interweave to create a defensive hedge to hide behind and to look intently out from. In a figurative sense it may describe any sort of protective thing that consists of many separate branches, and from which one looks out.
The Psalmist famously connected this verb to the formation of a human fetus (Psalm 139:13), but it also obviously links to human culture and science and technology at large. The evangelists openly referred to all this by means of the famous "crown of thorns."
Nouns מסך (masak), מסכה (mesuka) and מוסך (musak) describe coverings or screens (mostly of the tabernacle). Noun סך (sak) means throng or multitude; an "interwoven mass" of people. Nouns סך (sok) and סכה (sukka) describe a thicket or lair from where a lion would lay in wait to pounce on a prey. The latter noun is also often used to describe woven booths to stall cattle or even to house soldiers or guards. This noun occurs frequently in the legislation concerning the Feast Of Booths.
Noun שך (sok) means booth or pavilion. Noun משכה (mesukka) means hedge. Noun שך (sek) means thorn and noun שכה (sukka) means barb. Noun שכון (sakkin) means knife. This noun may actually be a loanword but it fits right in.
Verb נסך (nasak I) means to pour out. Nouns נסך (nesek), נסיך (nasik) and מסכה (masseka) mean both libation or a cast artifact. The latter is the word for the familiar Gold Calf. Identical verb נסך (nasak II) means to weave. Noun מסכה (masseka) means anything woven
Verb סוך (suk) or סיך (syk) describes the administration of oil — apparently in the expectation that this would protect the recipient, since this two-faced verb may also be used to mean to hedge in. To solve this conundrum, dictionaries propose a whole separate verb, which accidentally may also be spelled in two identical ways. Noun אסוך ('asuk) means [oil-] flask. Noun מסכה (mesuka) means hedge and is obviously similar to משכה (mesukka) meaning hedge.
Verb שוך (suk) means to hedge or fence up. It too yields a noun משכה (mesuka), meaning hedge. Nouns שוך (sok) and שוכה (soka) mean branch.
Verb שכה (saka) means to look out, keep watch or even hope for. Nouns שכוי (sekwi) and שכיה (sekiya) denote a kind of celestial sign or appearance. Noun משכית (maskit) denotes a kind of show-piece, real or imaginary.
But, even though the dominant manuscripts read שכיה, this form might be an adaptation of the form שביה (Shobia). And that form seems to have to do with the verb שבה (shaba) meaning to take captive:
שוב
The verb שוב (shub) tells of a reversal in motion; the point where an upward motion becomes a downward one, or vice versa, or a westward motion an eastward one, and so on. This very frequently occurring verb is mostly translated with to turn or return, and is often used to mean to convert or return to a more fruitful way of life, and hence to restore, to retrieve or even to abstain, to reply and to repeat. Noun שובה (shuba) means withdrawal; noun שיבה (shiba) means restoration, and noun תשובה (teshuba) means answer. Adjectives שובב (shobab), שובב (shobeb) and משובה (meshuba) mean backsliding, or transitioning from a positive to a negative way of life.
Verb ישב (yashab) means to sit (the act which occurs precisely in between a person's descent and ascent) or to remain or dwell (in between traveling to and from some place). Nouns שבת (shebet) and מושב (moshab) mean both seat or dwelling place. Noun תושב (toshab) means sojourner.
The verb שבת (shabbat) means to rest or cease activity, and the familiar noun שבת (shabbat) means a rest or stoppage. Noun שבת (shebbet) means cessation and is closely similar to the noun שבת (shebet), meaning seat, mentioned above. Noun משבת (mishbat) also means cessation. Denominative verb שבת (shabat) means to keep the Sabbath and the noun שבתון (shabbaton) denotes a sabbatical observance.
Verb שבה (shaba) means to take captive, or to put a halt to someone's preferred trajectory and coerce them to go somewhere else. Nouns שבי (shebi) and שביה (shibya) mean captivity or captives collectively, but with the emphasis on being moved somewhere rather than the static condition of being imprisoned. Likewise, the noun שביה (shebiya) means captive. Noun שבית (shebit) or שבות (shebut) means captivity but since the parent verb speaks of a sudden change of destiny rather than a particular destination, this noun may also be used to mean restoration. The noun שבו (shebo) describes some sort of gem, apparently a real "head-turner."
Note that the word שביה means captive, and that the name Shobia doesn't necessarily contain the appellative יה
🔼Sachia meaning
The name Sachia could be construed to mean Cover Of Yah, or something to that extent. For inexplicable reasons, NOBSE Study Bible Name List translates our name with Fame Of Yahweh. Perhaps NOBSE is familiar with a similar name in another language that means that, but no member of a Hebrew audience would figure such.
Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) believes that Sachia is an adaptation of Shobia and translates the latter with Captive Of The Lord.
BDB Theological Dictionary does not offer an interpretation of this name but lists it under the verb שכה (skhe), meaning to look out or keep watch. Following BDB would render Sachia the meaning of Watchman Of Yah.