Jehohanan meaning

Meaning

Yah Is Gracious, Yah Has Been Gracious

Etymology

From (1) יהו (yahu), the shortened name of the Lord, and (2) the verb חנן (hanan), to be gracious.

Related names

• Via חנן (hanan): Ananias, Anna, Annas, Baal-hanan, Ben-hanan, Elhanan, Elonbeth-hanan, Hanan, Hananel, Hanani, Hananiah, Hannah, Hannathon, Hannibal, Hanniel, Hanun, Hen, Henadad, Jannai, Jannes, Joanna, Joanan, Johanan, John, Jonan, Tahan, Tehinnah

• Via יה (yah): See the 'browse by form' menu for a long list of yah-names.

The name Jehohanan is one of the most popular names in the Bible. There are up to ten different men in the Bible with that name, and nine more with the shortened (but essentially equal) name Johanan. The men named Jehohanan are:

• The sixth son of Meshelemiah, son of Kore of Asaph (1 Chronicles 26:3).
• One of the leaders of the army of Judah under king Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 17:15).
• The father of Ishmael, one of the military captains that the insurrectional priest Jehoiada had surrounded himself with in order to secure young Joash's throne (2 Chronicles 23:1).
• The father of Azariah, who was among the Samaritan leaders who didn't want captive Judeans in their territory, especially after Oded the prophet warned them about the imminent anger of YHWH (2 Chronicles 28:12).
• The son of Eliashib in whose chamber Ezra the Reformer went to mourn the unfaithfulness of the returned exiles (Ezra 10:6).
• One of the sons of Bebai, who had married and divorced their foreign wives during the purge of Ezra (Ezra 10:28).
• The son of Tobiah, who was a big shot in post-exile Judah (Nehemiah 6:18).
• The head of the priestly family of Amariah, who may or may not be the same as the next (Nehemiah 12:13).
• One of the musicians who performed during the dedication of the restored wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 12:42).

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

The second element of our name comes from the verb חנן (hanan), meaning to be gracious:

For a meaning of the name Jehohanan, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Yahweh Is Gracious. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes The Lord Graciously Gave. And BDB Theological Dictionary has Yah Hath Been Gracious.