🔼The name Elika: Summary
- Meaning
- God Of The Congregation
- God Has Spewed Out
- Etymology
- From (1) the word אל ('el), God, and (2) the verb קוה (qawa), to collect.
- From (1) the word אל ('el), God, and (2) the noun קא (qe'), vomit.
🔼The name Elika in the Bible
The name Elika occurs only once in the Bible. According to the author of the Book of Samuel, Elika the Harodite served among the mighty-men of David (2 Samuel 23:25). Yet the Chronicler, who submits a similar mighty-men list, omits Elika, for no clear reason (1 Chronicles 11:27).
🔼Etymology of the name Elika
The name Elika consists of two elements, the first one being אל (El), the prominent Canaanite deity whose name became applied to the God of Israel, or the common abbreviation of Elohim, the genus God:
אל אלה
In names אל ('el) usually refers to אלהים ('elohim), that is Elohim, or God, also known as אלה ('eloah). In English, the words 'God' and 'god' exclusively refer to the deity but in Hebrew the words אל ('l) and אלה ('lh) are far more common and may express approach and negation, acts of wailing and pointing, and may even mean oak or terebinth.
The second part of our name is a bit embarrassing, which is probably why Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) timidly steers clear of the obvious and lunges for some Chaldean verb קהא (qh'), which means to congregate. In Hebrew this verb exists as קוה (qawa II):
קוה
The verb קוה (qawa) describes the act of combining a multiple of strands and coiling those into a single, much stronger cable. It is used to mean to gather or collect, but also in the sense of to hope or eagerly await.
Deriving from the strong cable-making sense, the nouns קו (qaw) and קוה (qow) mean line or measuring line. Noun תקוה (tiqwah) means cord. The exactly identical noun תקוה (tiqwah) means hope. Noun מקוה (miqweh) also means hope. Noun קוקו (qawqaw) means might or strength.
Deriving from the collecting sense, the noun מקוה (miqweh) means collection or collected mass. Noun מקוה (miqwa) means reservoir.
Anybody else, including any member of an unbiased Hebrew audience, would readily recognize as second part of our name the noun קא (qe'), meaning barf:
קיא קיה
The verbs קיא (qaya') and קיה (qaya) both mean to vomit up. Nouns קא (qe) and קיא (qi) mean vomit.
🔼Elika meaning
For a meaning of the name Elika, Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads God Of The Congregation. NOBSE Study Bible Name List proposes a probably better God Has Spewed Out, although it's not clear why anyone would call their child thus. BDB Theological Dictionary lists this name under the El-names, but does not offer an interpretation.