🔼The name Zeruah: Summary
- Meaning
- Leprous, Bi-Colored
- Etymology
- From the verb צרע (sara'), to be duplicitous.
🔼The name Zeruah in the Bible
Zeruah is the mother of king Jeroboam of Ephraim (1 Kings 11:26). Her husband, Jeroboam's father, is called Nebat, but he passes away before his son becomes king.
🔼Etymology of the name Zeruah
The name Zeruah comes from the unused root צרע (sr'):
צרע
It's not clear what the unused verb צרע (sara') may have meant, but possibly to be duplicitous or multifarious.
Noun צרעת (sara'at) describes a wide spectrum of skin diseases marked by a coloration of the skin (including leprosy), and the denominative verb צרע (sara') means to be diseased or have patches of different skin color.
Noun צרעה (sirah) refers to the hornet, probably because of its bicolored body.
🔼Zeruah meaning
The name Zeruah is like this last word with the letter waw inserted for pronunciation and may mean Hornet. But both Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names and NOBSE Study Bible Name List choose to go with the more general verb meaning to be leprous. Hence Jones reads Leprous, and NOBSE reads Smitten; Leprous.