The Biblical Era

  • Abi (Avi)
    In the Bible, "Abi" is a girl’s name. It is the shortened version of the name "Abijah".
  • Abraham (Avraham)
    According the bible, the name Abraham is constructed of the words אב (av, “father”) and המון (hamon, “many”), since Abraham was the father of many peoples.
  • Adam
    Person, man, human being. The root of the names is אדמ, just like the root of the word “ground” or “earth”. According to the Biblical account, God used earth to create man.
  • Addar (Adar)
    A name of a settlement in the land of Judah: "And ascended up on the south side unto Kadesh-barnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar" (Joshua 15, 3). In the modern pronunciation of Hebrew, the name "אַדָּר" sounds like the name of the sixth Jewish month: "אֲדָר".
  • Amnon
    The flower’s name אמנון ותמר (Amnon ve-Tamar, “pansy”) is called after Amnon, son of David, and his sister Tamar.
  • Asher
    According to the explanation in the Bible, the name אשר is derived of the word אושר (osher, “happiness”).
  • Bath-Sheba (Bat-Sheva)
    Literally, the meaning of the name is "seven-year old (girl)", but following the etymology of the city name Be'er-Sheva, the name Bat-Sheva can be understood as "(a woman) of oath" (see Genesis 26, 31-33).
  • Debir (Dvir)
    Dvir is "the most holy place" - the inner part of the Temple: "And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle (דְּבִיר) of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims." 1 Kings 8, 6
  • Diklah (Dikla)
    A girl’s name (in the Bible: a boy’s name). The name "דקלה" may be derived of the word "דֶּקֶל" (dekel, "palm tree").
  • Elisheba (Elisheva)
    The name is composed of אלי (eli, “my God”) and שבע (sheva, “seven” – a number that may express the notion of “many”). Another explanation for שבע may relate it to the verb להישבע (lehishava, “to take an oath”).
  • Elon (Eylon, Eilon)
    Elon was a city in the land of Dan: "And Elon and Thimnathah and Ekron" (Jushua 19, 43). Today, Eilon is the name of a kibbutz in Glilee.
  • Ephrath (Efrat)
    Ephrath is the other name of Beth-Lehem: "And Rachel died and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-Lehem." Genesis 35, 19
  • Eshcol (Eshkol)
    bunch, cluster (of grapes, etc.). Eshcol is also a name of a brook near Hebron: "And they came unto the brook of Eshcol and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff" (Numbers 13, 23).
  • Eve (Chava, Hava)
    The root of the name is ח' י' ה', denoting “life”. According to the bible, Eve was thus named for being “the mother of all living”, i.e. of all mankind.
  • Ezra
    "Ezra", in Aramaic, is "עֵזֶר" (ezer, "aid", "support", "help"; "helper").
  • Gad
    According to the Bible, the name גָּד (Gad) is equivalent to the word גַּד (gad) which means "luck", "happiness", "success".
  • Gershon
    According to the explanation in the Bible, the name Gershom (which is sometimes replaced the name "Gershon") is derived of the word גֵּר (ger, "foreign"). Of Gershom, the elder son of Moses, the Bible says: "And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land" (Exodus 2, 22).
  • Harel (Har'el)
    Combined of the words הר (har, "mountain") and אל (el, "God"), the meaning of the name Harel is "the mountain of God". The altar in the Temple is called "harel" or "ariel".
  • Isaac (Yitschak)
    The Biblical story relates the name יצחק (Isaac) to the verb לצחוק (laugh): "And Abraham was an hundred years old when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me." Genesis 21, 5-6
  • Israel (Yisrael, Yisra'el)
    According to the Biblical explanation, the first part of the name "Israel" is derived of the verb לִשְׂרות (lisrot, "wrestle"); the second half of the name is אֵל (El, "God"). This name was given to Jacob because he wrestled with God's angel.
  • Jacob (Yaakov, Ya'akov)
    The name "Jacob" seems to be derived from the verb "לעקוב" (la'akov, "follow"). The Bible explains that the name "יעקׁב" (Jacob) comes from the word עֲקֵב (akev, "heel"). According to the Biblical story, when Jacob was born right after his twin brother, Esau, he was holding his heel in his hand.
  • Jarib (Yariv)
    As a noun: adversary, opponent, rival. As a verb: “he will fight”, like in the verse “Rob not the poor, because he is poor, neither oppress the afflicted in the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause (יָרִיב רִיבָם) and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.” Proverbs 22, 22-23.
  • Joseph (Yoseph, Yosef)
    The name יוסף is the future form (third person singular) of the verb להוסיף (le’hosif, “to add”). Rachel, Joseph’s mother, hoped God would give her another son.
  • Judah (Yehuda)
    According to the Biblical explanation, the name יהודה (Judah) is related to the verb להודות (lehodot, "to thank").
  • Lebanah (Levana)
    A girl’s name (in the Bible: a boy’s name). Its meanning is: white (the feminine form of the adjective "white"); moon.
  • Levi
    According to the Biblical explanation, the name Levi is related to the verb "להילוות" (lehilavot, "accompany").
  • Manasseh (Menashe)
    According to the explanation in the Bible, the name מנשה (Manasseh) is derived of the verb לְנַשּׁוֹת (lenashot, “cause to forget”).
  • Maya
    The name Maya maybe derived of the name of the month "May", which was named after the Roman Goddess of spring and fertility - Maia.
  • Moses (Moshe)
    According to the Bible, the name משה is related to the verb למשות (limshot, “to draw out of the water”). According to the Biblical story, Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses the baby floating in an ark in the river.
  • Nevo (Nebo)
    "Nevo" is the name of a mountain east of the Jordan river. From the top of that mountain, Moses saw Canaan, and there he died without ever crossing the Jordan river into Cannan.
  • Noah (1) (Noach, No'ach)
    According to the Biblical explanation, the name נֹחַ (Noah) is related to the verb לנחם (lenaxem, "comfort", "console"). In Modern Hebrew the name sounds like the adjective נוֹחַ (no'ax, "comfortable").
  • Shamir
    Dill (plant); emery (stone); in the Biblical time: a name of a city in the mountains of Judah; today: a name of a kibbutz in the Galilee.
  • Shemer
    The name "Shemer" is derived of the verb "לשמור" (lishmor, "keep", "guard", "protect").
  • Shoham
    Shoham was one of the twelve precious stones inlayed in the breastplate of the hight priest. It is sometimes identified as a black Onyx.
  • Yigal (Igal, Yig'al)
    In modern Hebrew, the name "יגאָל" sounds just like the verb "יגאַל" (the future tense masculine singular form of the verb לגאול [lig'ol]), which means: (he) will liberate.
  • Zebulun (Zvulun)
    According to the Biblical explanation, the name "זבולון" (Zebulun) is related to the Biblical Hebrew verbs "לזבוד" (lizbod, "bestow") and "לזבול" (lizbol, "dwell").