Joahaz meaning

Meaning

Yu Has Grasped

Etymology

From (1) יו (yu), the name of the Lord, and (2) the verb אחז (ahaz), to seize or grasp.

Related names

• Via אחז (ahaz): Ahaz, Ahaziah, Ahuzzam, Ahuzzath, Ahzai, Jehoahaz

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

There are three men named Joahaz in the Bible:

• The son and successor of Jehu, king of Israel (2 Kings 14:1). His story is told in 2 Kings 10 to 14, and in 2 Chronicles 25, and he is called יהואחז (Jehoahaz) throughout, except in 2 Kings 14:1. The name Jehoahaz is essentially the same as Joahaz.
• The son of king Josiah of Judah (2 Chronicles 36:2-4). His story is told in 2 Kings 23 and 2 Chronicles 36, and his name too is mostly spelled יהואחז (Jehoahaz).
• The father of Joah, who was a recorder under king Josiah. As part of his reforms, king Josiah sent Joah along with some others to repair the temple of the Lord (2 Chronicles 34:8).

Like the name Jehoahaz, the name Joahaz consists of two 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 part of our name comes from the verb אחז (ahaz), meaning to take hold of, seize or grasp:

For a meaning of the name Joahaz, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Yahweh has Laid Hold Of. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Whom The Lord Holds Fast. And BDB Theological Dictionary proposes Yah Hath Grasped.