Hebrew word · H1909

הֲדַדְעֶ֫זֶר, הֲדַרְעֶ֫זֶר

hadad'ezer

Hadadezer

A name built from the god-name Hadad (the West Semitic storm god, also called Baal-Hadad) and 'ezer, 'help'. It means 'Hadad is help'.

Appears 9 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man of Zobah living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Sa.8.3;

son of: Rehob (H7340I)

§ Hadadezer = "Hadad is help"

son of Rehob, a king of Syria-Zobah defeated by David's army

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Samuel 8:3

Range of meaning

A name built from the god-name Hadad (the West Semitic storm god, also called Baal-Hadad) and 'ezer, 'help'. It means 'Hadad is help'.

Against the English

English versions keep the name without translating it, so the meaning is lost on readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

A later king of Damascus with the same name, written Adad-idri in Akkadian, appears in Shalmaneser III's account of the battle of Qarqar (853 BC). That is a different man, but it shows the name was a standard Aramean royal name. The Septuagint spells it Adraazar, following the r form.

From the study of 2 Samuel 8:5

Range of meaning

A personal name built from Hadad, the West Semitic storm-god (also called Baal-Hadad, Adad in Akkadian), and ʿezer, 'help'. It means 'Hadad is (my) help.'

Against the English

English versions transliterate the name (Hadadezer). The KJV spells it 'Hadarezer' in Chronicles. Because the name is not translated, a reader cannot tell that it is a statement of trust in a rival god.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hadad was the chief god of the Aramean kingdoms. Damascus's main temple, later the site of the Umayyad Mosque, was dedicated to Hadad-Rimmon (compare 2 Kings 5:18). A later king of Damascus with the same name, Adad-idri in Assyrian records, fought Shalmaneser III at Qarqar in 853 BC. He is a different person from David's opponent, but he shows the name was used by royalty. Josephus (Antiquities 7.100–103) quotes Nicolaus of Damascus about a king 'Hadad' of Damascus who fought David.

From the study of 2 Samuel 8:7

Range of meaning

A personal name, 'Hadad is help'. Hadad (Haddu, Adad) was the chief storm-god of the Arameans and Syria, the same deity as Baal-Hadad in Ugaritic texts. ʿEzer means 'help, rescue'. Some manuscripts and 1 Chronicles spell it Hadarezer (with r for d), an easy copying error in Hebrew script.

Against the English

English keeps the name without explaining it, so the irony is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Names built on Hadad are well attested in Aramaic and Syrian sources, e.g. Hadad-yithʿi on the Tell Fekheriyeh statue and Ben-Hadad in Kings. A later Damascus king, Hadadezer (Adad-idri), appears in Shalmaneser III's inscriptions about the battle of Qarqar (853 BC).

Similar words

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 8

  1. 2 Samuel 8:3 הֲדַדְעֶ֥זֶר Hadadezer

    David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.

    Here: An Aramean royal name meaning 'Hadad is help'. Hadad was the storm god worshipped across Syria. An Israelite hearer would notice the irony: the king named for his god's 'help' is beaten by Yahweh's king (v.6: 'the LORD gave victory to David').

  2. 2 Samuel 8:5 לַהֲדַדְעֶ֖זֶר <to> Hadadezer

    When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of their men.

    Here: 'To Hadadezer', the person receiving the help. His name is a confession of faith in the Aramean storm-god: 'Hadad is help.'

  3. 2 Samuel 8:7 הֲדַדְעָ֑זֶר Hadadezer

    And David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.

    Here: 'Hadad is help', the name of the Aramean king of Zobah (v. 3). His name honors the storm-god Hadad, so the plunder also quietly answers his name: Hadad did not help him.

  4. 2 Samuel 8:8 הֲדַדְעָ֑זֶר Hadadezer

    And from Betah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze.

  5. 2 Samuel 8:9 הֲדַדְעָֽזֶר׃ Hadadezer

    When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,

  6. 2 Samuel 8:10 בַּהֲדַדְעֶ֙זֶר֙ הֲדַדְעָ֑זֶר against Hadadezer, Hadadezer

    he sent his son Joram to greet King David and bless him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer, who had been at war with Toi. Joram brought with him articles of silver and gold and bronze,

  7. 2 Samuel 8:12 הֲדַדְעֶ֥זֶר Hadadezer

    from Edom and Moab, from the Ammonites and Philistines and Amalekites, and from the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 11:23 הֲדַדְעֶ֥זֶר Hadadezer

    And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah,

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.