🔼The name Ahinadab: Summary
- Meaning
- My Brother Is Noble, Brother Of Nobility
- Etymology
- From (1) the noun אח ('ah), brother, and (2) the verb נדב (nadab), to willingly give.
🔼The name Ahinadab in the Bible
The name Ahinadab occurs once in the Bible. Ahinadab, son of Iddo, is one of the twelve deputies of king Solomon who were tasked with supplying the court. Ahinadab holds sway over the region of Mahanaim (1 Kings 4:14).
🔼Etymology of the name Ahinadab
The name Ahinadab consists of two elements. The first element is the common Hebrew word אח ('ah), meaning brother:
אח
The noun אח ('ah) means brother, or more broadly: a fellow member of a social economic node (a "house") within a broader economic whole.
This word's lavish inclusion in names strongly suggests that the deity was reckoned by this word — in modern times we mostly speak of Our Father in Heaven but in antiquity the deity appears to have also been addressed as Our Brother. The New Testament appears to entertain that dynamic in the tenet that the Word is God's Son, and all who have the Word are godly brothers. Also note the similarity with the verb חוה (hawa), to show, tell, make known.
The noun אחוה ('ahawa) means brotherhood and אחות ('ahot) means sister.
The second part of the name Ahinadab comes from the Hebrew verb נדב (nadab), meaning to willingly give, incite or make willing:
נדב
The verb נדב (nadab) means to give, donate or volunteer, and by implication to be noble. From it derive the noun נדבה (nedaba), freewill offering, the noun and adjective נדיב (nadib), generous or noble, and the noun נדיבה (nediba), generous deed.
🔼Ahinadab meaning
For a meaning of the name Ahinadab, both BDB Theological Dictionary and NOBSE Study Bible Name List read My Brother Is Noble. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Brother Of Nobility.