Hebrew word · H2657
חֶפְצִי־בָהּ
cheftzi-
Hephzibah
From ḥēfets, 'delight, pleasure, desire; what one wants or chooses.' It is paired with the verb ḥāfēts, 'to take pleasure in, to want, to be pleased with.' When used of God it often means his choosing favour: he delights in someone and therefore rescues or chooses them.
Appears 4 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
A woman living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 2Ki.21.1; married to Hezekiah (H2396);
mother of: Manasseh (H4519H)
§ Hephzi-bah = "my delight is in her"
1) the queen of King Hezekiah and mother of Manasseh
2) a name for Jesusalem (fig.)
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
- Range of meaning
From ḥēfets, 'delight, pleasure, desire; what one wants or chooses.' It is paired with the verb ḥāfēts, 'to take pleasure in, to want, to be pleased with.' When used of God it often means his choosing favour: he delights in someone and therefore rescues or chooses them. The name means 'My-delight-is-in-her.'
- Against the English
KJV, BSB, WEB and NIV transliterate it as 'Hephzibah.' That keeps it a name but hides its meaning from English readers. ESV and NASB translate it ('My Delight Is in Her'), which makes the meaning plain but makes it look less like a real name. YLT's 'My delight [is] in her' is closest to the Hebrew.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Hephzibah was the name of Hezekiah's queen and Manasseh's mother (2 Kgs 21:1), so first hearers knew it as a real, even royal, woman's name. The verb ḥāfēts for God's favour: 'he rescued me because he delighted in me' (2 Sam 22:20 / Ps 18:19); 'YHWH your God delighted in you to set you on the throne' (1 Kgs 10:9); 'if YHWH delights in us he will bring us into this land' (Num 14:8). The Septuagint renders it Thelēma emon, 'My will / my pleasure.'
From the study of 2 Kings 21:1
- Range of meaning
A name that is a short sentence: ḥēphets ("delight, pleasure, desire," H2656) + "my" + bāh ("in her"). It means "My delight is in her." The "my" could be a parent speaking, or God.
- Against the English
English versions print the name and do not translate it. KJV's hyphen ("Hephzi-bah") follows the Hebrew joining mark and at least shows that the name has two parts.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Isaiah 62:4: "You will no longer be called Forsaken (ʿăzûbāh)... but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah ("married")." Both Azubah and Hephzibah are names of queen mothers in Kings (1 Kings 22:42; 2 Kings 21:1), and some scholars think Isaiah 62 draws on royal women's names. Much later, the Talmud (b. Berakhot 10a) says Hezekiah married Isaiah's daughter. That is rabbinic legend and is not in the text.
Where it appears
2 Kings · 2
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2 Kings 21:1 חֶפְצִי־ בָֽהּ׃ [was] Hephzi-, -bah
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.
Here: The first half of her name: "my delight / my pleasure," from the root for taking pleasure in something or wanting it.
Isaiah · 2
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Isaiah 62:4 חֶפְצִי־ בָ֔הּ Hephzi-, -bah
No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride.
Here: First half of the name: 'my delight / my pleasure,' with God speaking. It is the inner wanting and approval with which someone chooses what pleases them.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.