🔼The name Ahishahar: Summary
- Meaning
- Dark Brother, Brother Of Darkness
- Etymology
- From (1) the noun אח ('ah), brother, and (2) the verb שחר (shahar), to be dark.
🔼The name Ahishahar in the Bible
The name Ahishahar occurs only once in the Bible. He is mentioned as one of the sons of Bilhan, son of Jediael, son of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 7:10).
🔼Etymology of the name Ahishahar
The name Ahishahar consists of two elements. The first part comes from the word אח ('ah), meaning brother or close associate:
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 Ahishahar comes from the verb שחר (shahar), to be dark or eclipsed:
שחר
The verb שחר (shahar) means to be black or dark (mostly of skin, hair and horses). The adjective שחר (shahor) means black, and adjective שחרחר (sheharhor) means blackish. Nouns שחור (shehor) and שחרות (shaharut) mean blackness.
The noun שחר (shahar) is generally thought to mean dawn, but here at Abarim Publications we find that unlikely (for our reasoning, follow the link at the foot of this paragraph, to the full Dictionary article). Instead, we propose that this noun describes a solar eclipse, which occurs when an invisible moon moves in front of the sun and blocks out its light. This causes a brief and unexpected moment of nightly darkness, which in turn makes the stars and planets visible.
An observer can see other people, but she cannot see what they see. This means that the sun she sees is hers alone, and equal to her own ratio. A solar eclipse also eclipses one's own solar ratio and reveals the many ratios of other people. This awakens one's stellar consciousness, or Theory of Mind, which counts as being "born from above" (John 3:3). These events are obviously mimicked in the Biblical accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection.
From the noun שחר (shahar), solar eclipse, derives the denominative verb שחר (shahar), meaning to diligent search for God and wisdom; again qualities of a stellar consciousness.
🔼Ahishahar meaning
For a meaning of the name Ahishahar, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Brother Of Dawn. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Brother Of The Dawn / Morning, and BDB Theological Dictionary has Brother Of (The) Dawn. As said above, here at Abarim Publications we propose that the noun שחר (shahar) does not mean dawn but rather solar eclipse. That would give Ahishahar the meaning of Brother Of Eclipse, in an implied reference to the stars.