🔼The name Ginnethoi: Summary
- Meaning
- Gardener
- Etymology
- From the noun גנה (ganna), garden, from the verb גנן (ganan), to surround and protect.
🔼The name Ginnethoi in the Bible
The name Ginnethoi occurs only one time in the Bible. He is listed among the priests and Levites who were with Zerubbabel's wave of returnees from Babylon (Nehemiah 12:4). Most scholars assume that the name Ginnethoi is a variant spelling of the name Ginnethon, and that Ginnethoi and the Ginnethon mentioned in Nehemiah 10:6 are the same man. There is, however, no proof for that or even much reason to maintain that position.
🔼Etymology of the name Ginnethoi
The name Ginnethoi comes from the root גנן (ganan), which means to protect or surround:
גנן
The verb גנן (ganan) means to surround, cover or defend. Nouns גן (gan) and גנה (ganna) mean garden. Noun מגן (magen) means shield and verb מגן (magan) means to shield or deliver.
Our name may be formed from the noun גנה (ganna), meaning garden, spelled in an old-fashioned way. The letter י (yod) upon which our name ends may be perceived as an adjective-maker, which in this case may denote someone who dwells in a garden.
🔼Ginnethoi meaning
For a meaning of the name Ginnethoi, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Gardener. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has no separate entry for Ginnethoi and reads Gardener for Ginnethon. BDB Theological Dictionary does not translate our name but does list it under the root גנן (ganan).