🔼The name Pekod: Summary
- Meaning
- He Inspects, It Reviews
- Etymology
- From the verb פקד (paqad), to inspect for completeness.
🔼The name Pekod in the Bible
The name Pekod belongs to an era or city in southeast Babylon and relates to a tribe called the pukudu. During the time of Jeremiah, Babylon was the great invader. Still its destruction was foretold and the inhabitants of Pekod were to be slain and utterly destroyed (Jeremiah 50:21). Somewhat later, Ezekiel foretold a raid upon the sisters Oholah and Oholibah by several Babylonian tribes including the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa and Koa and all Assyrians (Ezekiel 23:23).
🔼Etymology of the name Pekod
It's not clear what the name pukudu may have meant to the original pukudu, but the Hebrew name Pekod comes from the verb פקד (paqad), to review or inspect in order to see if anything is missing:
פקד
The verb פקד (paqad) means to review, assess or inspect, in general with the intention of seeing if anything is missing. From this verb derive: noun פקדה (pequdda), a visitation or inspection, plural noun פקדים (pequdim), inventory, noun פקיד (paqid), overseer or inspecting officer, noun פקדת (peqidut), oversight, noun פקודים (piqqudim), function or charge of an inspector, his inspections or reviews, noun פקדון (piqqadon), store or deposit, noun מפקד (mipqad), place or agent of review or inspection.
🔼Pekod meaning
For a meaning of the name Pekod, both NOBSE Study Bible Name List and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names read Visitation. BDB Theological Dictionary offers to interpretation of this name.
It's not clear why this town had that name but perhaps it was a mustering station of an army division, or else perhaps a border patrol post for the inspection of goods. It was not uncommon in those days that tribes specialized in services to the empire, and the pukudu may have been Babylon's inspector elite.