ע
ABARIM
Publications
Discover the meanings of thousands of Biblical names in Abarim Publications' Biblical Name Vault: Irijah

Irijah meaning

Irijah in Biblical Hebrew
יראייה
Irijah categories:
♂
male names
≡
browse names and categories

Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Irijah.html

🔼The name Irijah: Summary

Meaning
Yah Sees, He Will See Yah
Etymology
From (1) the verb ראה (ra'a), to see or understand, and (2) יה (yah), the shortened name of the Lord.
Related names
• Via ראה (ra'a): Beer-lahai-roi, Berodach-baladan, Ezra(h), Gether, Haroeh, Jeriah, Jeriel, Mamre, Moriah, Reaiah, Reuben, Ruth, Sisera, YHWH-jireh
• Via יה (yah): See the 'browse by form' menu for a long list of yah-names.

🔼The name Irijah in the Bible

There's only one man named Irijah in the Bible. Irijah, son of Shelemiah, was a captain of the guard at the time of the prophet Jeremiah and king Zedekiah of Judah (Jeremiah 37:13). He was stationed at Jerusalem's Benjamin Gate when Jeremiah tried to pass and accused the prophet of defection and arrested him. He took Jeremiah to the officials, who beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the scribe.

🔼Etymology of the name Irijah

The name Irijah consists of two elements, the last one being יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, YHWH, or Yahweh.

The first part of our name comes from the verb ראה (ra'a) meaning to see:

Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
ראה

The verb ראה (ra'a) means to see, and by extension to understand. It may mean to become visible (of, say, an angel) or to become understandable (of, say, a theory). Noun ראה (ro'eh) means either seer, or prophetic vision, and noun מראה (mar'a) means either vision as means of revelation, or mirror. Nouns ראית (re'ut) and ראות (re'ut) mean a looking. Nouns ראי (ro'i) and מראה (mar'eh) mean sight or appearance. Adjective ראה (ra'eh) means seeing.

— See the full Dictionary article —

The double yod in our name is rare because double yods usually contract to one. It's so rare even that BDB Theological Dictionary confidently states "= יראיה".

🔼Irijah meaning

For a meaning of the name Irijah, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Yahweh Sees. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has He Will See The Lord. And BDB Theological Dictionary proposes Yah Seeth.