🔼The name Abida: Summary
- Meaning
- Father of Knowledge, The Father Knows, My Father Took Knowledge
- Etymology
- From (1) the noun אב ('ab), father, and (2) the verb ידע (yada'), to know.
🔼The name Abida in the Bible
Abida is a son of Midian who is a son of Abraham with Keturah (Genesis 25:4). More we don't know about this man.
🔼Etymology of the name Abida
The name Abida consists of two elements. The first part comes from the common word אב ('ab), meaning father:
אב
The noun אב ('ab) means father, but describes primarily a social relationship rather than a biological one. That social fatherhood was the defining quality of the community's alpha male, the one around whom all economy revolved and from whom emanated all instructions by which the 'sons' (בן, ben) operated. It's unclear where this word אב ('ab) comes from but the verb abu means to decide.
The letter yod probably turns the word ab into a possessive form, meaning either my father or father of, depending on the context.
The second element of the name Abida comes from the root ידע (yada'), meaning to know:
ידע
The verb ידע (yada') means both to know and to have intimate relations (Genesis 4:1, Judges 11:39). Knowledge equals familiarity with truth, which in turn is the only thing all people can agree on, which in turn promotes the search for agreement and modes of expression (rather than mere data). The Bible holds all knowledge in the highest regard. God, after all, is both a God of knowledge (Jeremiah 3:15) and love (1 John 4:7).
Since all truth relates to the Word of God, wisdom begins with the reverence of the Creator (Proverbs 1:7) and learning equals love-making within a marital relation with the Creator (Isaiah 54:5).
Nouns דעה (dea), דע (dea') and דעת (da'at) all mean knowledge. Nouns ידעני (yidde'oni), מודע (moda') and מדעת (moda'at) describe familiarity or kinship. This root's Greek counterpart is γινωσκω (ginosko).
🔼Abida meaning
The name Abida means Father of Knowledge (Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names), The Father Knows (NOBSE Study Bible Name List) or My Father Took Knowledge (BDB Theological Dictionary).