🔼The name Jedaiah in the Bible
There are two completely different Hebrew names, which have each their own meaning, which both ended up as the transliterated name Jedaiah in English. We'll call them Jedaiah I and Jedaiah II:
🔼The name Jedaiah I: Summary
- Meaning
- Praise Of Yah
- Etymology
- From (1) the verb ידה (yada), to praise, and (2) the divine name יה (yah).
🔼The name Jedaiah I in the Bible
The name ידיה (Jedaiah I) occurs twice in the Bible. The first Jedaiah is a son of Shimri of Simeon (1 Chronicles 4:37). The other Jedaiah, a son of Harumaph, is listed among the repairers of the fortification of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3:10).
🔼Jedaiah I meaning
This version of the name Jedaiah consists of two parts, the final bit being the element יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton; the name of the Lord: YHWH.
The second part of this version of the name Jedaiah comes from the splendid verb ידה (yada), meaning to praise:
הוד ידה
The related verbs ידה (yada), to praise, and הוד (hod), to be worthy of praise, conjugate into such similar forms that it's often not clear which verb in which tense is used. From the verb ידה (yada), to praise, come:
- The plural noun הידות (huyyedot), meaning songs of praise.
- The noun תודה (toda), meaning confession or praise.
From the verb הוד (hod), meaning to be praise-worthy, comes the noun הוד (hod), meaning splendor, majesty, vigor, glory or honor.
🔼Etymology of the name Jedaiah I
For a meaning of this name Jedaiah, Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Praise Of The Lord. NOBSE Study Bible Name List makes no distinction between the two versions and reads the inexplicable Yahweh Has Been Kind for both. BDB Theological Dictionary does not translate.
🔼The name Jedaiah II: Summary
- Meaning
- Known Of Yah, He Knows Yah
- Etymology
- From (1) the verb ידע (yada'), to know, and (2) the divine name יה (yah).
🔼The name Jedaiah II in the Bible
The name ידעיה (Jedaiah II) is assigned to two different men in the Bible. The first Jedaiah mentioned is a descendant of Aaron who was assigned priestly duty in the Temple during the time of king David and high priest Zadok (1 Chronicles 24:7). Then there is Jedaiah, son of Joiarib, a chief priest of the house of Jeshua who was among the returnees from exile (1 Chronicles 9:10, Ezra 2:36, Nehemiah 7:39, Zechariah 6:10).
🔼Etymology of the name Jedaiah II
This version of the name Jedaiah also consists of two parts. As the other version of Jedaiah, this version ends on the name Yah, short for YHWH. But the first part of this name appears to have to do with the verb ידע (yada'), meaning to know:
ידע
The verb ידע (yada') means both to know and to have intimate relations (Genesis 4:1, Judges 11:39). Knowledge equals familiarity with truth, which in turn is the only thing all people can agree on, which in turn promotes the search for agreement and modes of expression (rather than mere data). The Bible holds all knowledge in the highest regard. God, after all, is both a God of knowledge (Jeremiah 3:15) and love (1 John 4:7).
Since all truth relates to the Word of God, wisdom begins with the reverence of the Creator (Proverbs 1:7) and learning equals love-making within a marital relation with the Creator (Isaiah 54:5).
Nouns דעה (dea), דע (dea') and דעת (da'at) all mean knowledge. Nouns ידעני (yidde'oni), מודע (moda') and מדעת (moda'at) describe familiarity or kinship. This root's Greek counterpart is γινωσκω (ginosko).
🔼Jedaiah II meaning
For a meaning of Jedaiah II, Alfred Jones reads Known Of The Lord.