🔼The name Iddo in the Bible
There are a whopping six different Hebrew names that all made it into the English version of the Bible as Iddo. Strangely enough, both the Septuagint and the Vulgate managed to transliterate these four or five different Hebrew names to three different Greek and Latin names.
We'll call the different Iddos: Iddo I (אדו), Iddo II (ידו), Iddo III (יעדי) and Iddo IV (עדו).
Also note that the New Testament name Addi is probably a transliteration of one of the versions of the name Iddo.
🔼The name Iddo I: Summary
- Meaning
- ... unknown
- Etymology
- ... unknown, but possibly from a verb אדד ('dd), which may have meant to befall or to be strong.
🔼The name Iddo I in the Bible
There's only one man in the Bible with the name Iddo I (אדו; for some reason, the Septuagint completely omits this name, but the Vulgate calls him Eddo). He is a leading man in Casiphia, and Ezra the Reformer sends him a small delegation of men in order to ask for Levite priests to serve in the temple (Ezra 8:17). Iddo promptly sends him 258 Levites.
🔼Etymology of the name Iddo I
The etymology and meaning of this version of the name Iddo is not clear, although both BDB Theological Dictionary and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names link it to an assumed root אדד. Both sources link this unknown Hebrew root to the same Arabic noun, but Jones says it came from a verb that means to befall (as misfortune), whereas BDB states it means strength.
Then this name may also be an Aramaic version of the name Hiddai, or perhaps even related to the Aramaic divine name Hadad, which (says BDB) was also known as Addu. BDB doesn't submit the Aramaic spelling of Addu, but it wouldn't be far off from our name Iddo.
🔼Iddo I meaning
The meaning of this version of the name Iddo is irretrievably obscure. NOBSE Study Bible Name List doesn't bother with all the different versions of the name Iddo and reads Festal for all (for no perceivable reason). BDB Theological Dictionary doesn't translate this name and volunteers no information beyond the relation to the obscure root אדד. Alfred Jones sticks to his own understanding of the Arabic noun and translates our name Iddo with Great Calamity.
🔼The name Iddo II: Summary
- Meaning
- His Love
- Etymology
- From the verb ידד (yadad), to love or caress, plus the third person masculine pronominal suffix.
🔼The name Iddo II in the Bible
Since the name Iddo is really the English version of half a dozen different Hebrew forms, it's not wholly clear how many men exist in the Bible with the name Iddo II (ידו; the Septuagint reads Ιαδαι and the Vulgate reads Jaddo). Sources agree that 1 Chronicles 27:21 makes mention of an Iddo (ידו) who was a son of Zechariah and ruler of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead.
Then, in some versions of the Hebrew Bible there's an Iddo (ידו) mentioned in Ezra 10:43 among the men who divorced their foreign wives, and sure enough, the American Standard Version prints the name Iddo there. The majority of the older English translations (King James, Green, Webster) transliterate this particular version of ידו with Jadau, and most younger translations (NAS, NIV, Darby, KJV21) go with Hebrew texts that speak of ידי and transliterate this name with Jaddai.
But even if all this may seem a major controversy, it really isn't. The difference between ידי and ידו is minute and hardly essential, and in the end we have no idea to pronounce either one because there are no sound recordings available from Biblical times.
🔼Etymology of the name Iddo II
The name Iddo II appears to be derived from the Hebrew verb ידד (yadad), which either means to love (or it means to cast a lot):
ידד
The root ידד (yadad) has to do with love, and that mostly in the affectionate, physical sense. Adjective ידיד (yadid) means beloved or lovely. Noun ידידות (yedidot) means love, as in "a song of love" and noun ידידות (yedidut), meaning love in the sense of beloved one.
Curiously, an identical verb ידד (yadad II) means to cast a lot and instead of being kin to the previous, it appears to be related to the verb ידה (yada), which originally meant to cast but which evolved to mean to praise.
That our root has to do with physical fondling and love-making is demonstrated by the verb דדה (dada), which means to move slowly. Noun דד (dad) denotes a women's nipple or breast specifically as object of one's husband's interest.
Unused verb דוד (dwd) probably meant to gently swing, dandle, fondle. Noun דוד (dod) or דד (dod) means beloved or loved one, and may also describe one's uncle. The feminine version, דודה (doda), means aunt. Noun דודי (duday) literally means a "love-bringer" and describes a mandrake. Noun דוד (dud) refers to a kind of pot or jar (perhaps one that was rocked or stirred?).
It may or may not be that the noun יד (yad), meaning hand, also has something to do with this root.
The letter ו (waw) upon which our name ends may be the masculine pronominal suffix, meaning his.
🔼Iddo II meaning
For a meaning of this version of the name Iddo, Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Love Of Him. BDB Theological Dictionary does not offer a translation but agrees with Jones about the etymology and lists this version of Iddo under the verb ידד (yadad).
🔼The name Iddo III and IV: Summary
- Meaning
- Time Of Him, Timely
- Etymology
- From the verb עדד ('adad), to pass by or over.
🔼The name Iddo III and IV in the Bible
The name יעדי (Iddo III; for some reason, the Septuagint calls this man Ιωηλ — which is Joel — but the Vulgate reads Addo) belongs to a famous Biblical prophet, who wrote his own book, which never made it into the canon and was lost forever (2 Chronicles 9:29). But apparently, the Book of Iddo contained acts of king Solomon, visions concerning king Jeroboam, the acts of king Rehoboam and the acts and words of king Abijah.
The name Iddo III should actually be pronounced as Yiddo or Yiddi (and in English Jiddo, with a J like Joseph and Jacob; names that also start with the letter י, yod), but this prophet is named such only once, in 2 Chronicles 9:29. In 2 Chronicles 12:15 and 13:22 he is called עדו (Iddo IV).
Other men named Iddo IV are:
- A Levite from the Gershom branch (1 Chronicles 6:21), who some take to be the same as the Adaiah mentioned in 1 Chronicles 6:41. There is, however, very little evidence for this.
- The grandfather of the prophet Zechariah, (Zechariah 1:1). In Zechariah 1:7 and Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 this man is called עדוא, which is basically the same name but post-fixed with a snazzy א (aleph). Perhaps this was done to give this name an Aramaic twist.
Other men named עדוא or עדא (Iddo IVb) are:
- The father of Ahinadab, who was one of Solomon's twelve deputies and who was stationed in Mahanaim (1 Kings 4:14).
- A priest who returned with Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 12:4 and 12:16).
🔼Etymology of the name Iddo III and IV
These versions of the name Iddo possibly come from the verb עדד ('adad), which probably has to do with time:
עדד
Root עדד ('adad) describes a repeated passing by or over, or a repeated encountering. Noun עדה ('idda) describes any well-worn item.
Verb עדה ('ada I) means to advance or pass on. Nouns עד ('ad) and ועד (w'ad) describe the difficult concept of a future era advancing upon the now, or else the prey or booty upon which a predator advances. The conjunction עד ('ad) or עדי ('ady) means "as far as" or until.
The same verb, namely עדה ('ada II) is used to mean to adorn or ornament oneself — that is: to have items approach the canvas of one's bulk in order to testify of some social rank or perhaps the trade or order one belongs to. Noun עדי ('adi) means ornamentation: fancy or declarative things worn on one's body or clothes.
Verb יעד (ya'ad) means to meet, habitually and repeatedly rather than incidentally. Noun עדה ('eda) means congregation or some other joint collective. Nouns מועד (mo'ed), מועד (mo'ad) and מועדה (mu'ada) describe a place (or time) of meeting.
Verb עוד ('ud) means to return and repeat. Noun עוד ('od) denotes an addition, repetition or continuance. Nouns עד ('ed), עדה ('eda), עדה ('eda), עדת ('edut), עדות ('edut) and תעודה (te'uda) all mean witness or testimony in various nuances, and verb עוד ('ud) means to bear witness.
The letter י (yod) upon which Iddo III ends, may either create an adjective (such-and-such-like), a possessive form (my such and such), whereas the letter ו (waw) upon which Iddo IV ends may be due to a third person possessive pronoun: his.
🔼Iddo III and IV meaning
For a meaning of these versions of Iddo, Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Timely for Iddo III, and Time Of Him for Iddo IV. BDB Theological Dictionary agrees with Jones on the etymology, lists these versions under the obscure root עדד, but offers no interpretation.