🔼The name Adonikam: Summary
- Meaning
- My Lord Has Risen, Lord Of Enemies
- Etymology
- From (1) the noun אדן (adon), lord, and (2) the verb קום (qum), to rise up or stand.
🔼The name Adonikam in the Bible
There's only one man named Adonikam in the Bible, although he plays no role in it. His family is reported among the second wave to returned from exile by both Ezra, who counts 666 members (2:13) and Nehemiah, who counts 667 members (7:18). Ezra reports a secondary surge of Adonikamites returning with the second wave, and counts 63 males, among whom Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah (Ezra 8:13).
🔼Etymology of the name Adonikam
The name Adonikam consists of two elements. The first part of the name comes from the familiar Hebrew word אדן (adon), roughly meaning lord:
אדן
The verb אדן ('dn) means to provide support for a piece of superstructure: to be a base for something big to stand or rotate upon. The noun אדן ('eden) refers to the foundation, base or pedestal of pillars or panels and such, and this word features lavishly in the description of the tabernacle. The tabernacle, of course, was a prototype of the temple, which in turn became embodied by God's living human congregation, and the bases and foundations of that living temple became personified by the human foundation known as אדון ('adon) or אדן ('adon), roughly translatable with lord, sir or mister.
The word adon post-fixed by the letter י creates a possessive form: אדני (adoni), meaning my lord, or lord of, depending on the context.
The second part of the name Adonikam comes from the root קום (qum), meaning to rise up or stand:
קום
Verb קום (qum) means to stand or rise up, both literally (getting up from sitting or erecting some statue) or figuratively (establishing someone in some office). Noun קימה (qima) means a rising up, noun תקומה (tequma), denotes an ability or power to stand, and noun מקום (maqom) describes some set location, place to stand or station.
Noun קמה (qoma) or קומה (qoma) means height or highness and noun קים (qim) describes someone who rises up against someone (an adversary or enemy). Noun קיממיות (qommiyut) means uprightness. Noun קמה (qama) denotes standing grain. And noun יקום (yequm) denotes substance or existence.
🔼Adonikam meaning
For a meaning of the name Adonikam, BDB Theological Dictionary and NOBSE Study Bible Name List both read My Lord Has Risen. Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) goes with the derivation קים (qim), meaning adversary, and reads rather oddly Lord Of Enemies.