

Habaiah meaning


Source: http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Habaiah.html

🔼The name Habaiah in the Bible

The name Habaiah (or in some translations: Hobaiah) occurs twice in the Bible, but in verses that are exact duplicates (Ezra 2:61 = Nehemiah 7:12). Habaiah's sons are collectively mentioned among the priests whose ancestry wasn't clear — or at least beyond their patriarch Habaiah. Because they couldn't prove who they descended from, they could also not prove that they were true Israelites, and that was very important during the resettlement years. Their lack of proof caused their priestly rights to be limited.

🔼Etymology of the name Habaiah

The name Habaiah consists of two elements, the final part being יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, YHWH, or Yahweh.

The first element of our name comes from the root-verb חבה (haba), meaning to hide:

🔼Habaiah meaning

For a meaning of the name Habaiah, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Yahweh Has Hidden and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes Hidden Of The Lord. BDB Theological Dictionary does not interpret our name but does list it under the root חבה.