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Discover the meanings of thousands of Biblical names in Abarim Publications' Biblical Name Vault: Iezer

Iezer meaning

Iezer in Biblical Hebrew
איעזר
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Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Iezer.html

🔼The name Iezer: Summary

Meaning
He Will Support
Etymology
From the verb עזר (azar), to help or support.
Related names
• Via עזר (azar): Abiezer, Ahiezer, Azarel, Azariah, Azriel, Azrikam, Azzur, Ebenezer, Eleazar, Eliezer, Ezer, Ezra(h), Ezri, Hadadezer, Hadarezer, Jazer, Lazarus, Romamti-ezer

🔼The name Iezer in the Bible

The name Iezer (or Jeezer, as some translations have it) occurs only one time in the Bible. In Numbers 26:30 he is mentioned as a descendant of Gilead, and patriarch of the איעזרי, Iezerites (or Jeezerites). 1 Chronicles 7:18 speaks of the sons of the sister of Gilead, Hammoleketh, and mentions אביעזר (Abiezer). Some scholars believe that Iezer and this Abiezer are the same man.

🔼Etymology of the name Iezer

The name Iezer comes from the verb עזר (azar), meaning to help or support:

Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
עזר

The verb עזר ('azar), means to help or support, and is often used in military contexts, or to describe God's proverbial help. The nouns עזר ('azar) and עזרה ('ezra) both mean help. A much rarer but identically spelled noun עזרה ('azara) means enclosure and comes probably from an other root.

— See the full Dictionary article —

The letters אי (aleph yod), with which our name starts may indeed be a remnant of the word אבי (aby), meaning my father or father of, but that would necessitate the mysterious disappearance of the letter ב (beth), which is a tall order. The yod can probably be better explained by assuming the יעזר-part of the name to be a regular expression of the verb עזר (azar), meaning He Will Support. The aleph could simply be prosthetic, which isn't rare at all.

🔼Iezer meaning

All the sources we usually consult equate the name Iezer with Abiezer, without being bothered about the missing beth. Hence, for a meaning of the name Iezer, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Father Is Help. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Father Of Help. And BDB Theological Dictionary has My Father Is Help.