🔼The name Othni: Summary
- Meaning
- Force, Lion (of Yah)
- Etymology
- From (1) a verb עתן ('atan), to be exalted or violent like a lion, and possibly (2) יה (yah), the name of the Lord.
🔼The name Othni in the Bible
The name Othni occurs a mere one time in the Bible. He is listed as a son of Shemaiah, the first born of Obed-edom, one of the gatekeepers during the reign of David (1 Chronicles 26:7).
🔼Etymology of the name Othni
The meaning of the name Othni is unclear and may even not be Hebrew as it comes from a verb עתן ('atan) that is not used in the entire Bible:
עתן עתל
The verb עתן ('atan) is not used in the Bible but it may be equivalent to an Arabic verb that means to deal violently with, and from which derives a word for lion.
The verb עתל ('atal) is equally mysterious, and may be a variant of עתן ('atan) and mean the same thing, or it may be cognate to an Assyrian verb that means to grow great or exalted.
And ultimately, these verbs may stem from an underlying idea that growing great and inflicting violence often coincides.
The letter י (yod) upon which our name ends, may either create an adjective (lionly), a possessive form (my lion), or may be a remnant of יה (Yah), which is short for יהוה, which is the name YHWH, or Yahweh.
🔼Othni meaning
For a meaning of the name Othni, Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names goes with the Arabic verb and reads Lion Of The Lord. NOBSE Study Bible Name List declares our name to be short for Othniel, and translates Othniel with God Is Force, which would give Othni the meaning of Force. BDB Theological Dictionary does not give any explanation of our name.