Hebrew word · H3039

יָדִיד

yedid

beloved

Beloved, dear one, darling: a person held in deep affection. The same root gives Jedidiah, 'beloved of Yah', Solomon's other name (2 Sam 12:25), and the heading of Psalm 45, a royal wedding song, is 'a song of loves' (shir yedidot).

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

What it means

1) beloved

2) lovely

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 Isaiah 5:1

Range of meaning

Beloved, dear one, darling: a person held in deep affection. It is used of God's love for a person or tribe (Deut 33:12, Benjamin as 'the beloved of the LORD'; Ps 127:2), of Israel as God's beloved (Jer 11:15, 'my beloved' in the mouth of God), and in the adjective 'lovely' (Ps 84:1, 'how lovely are your dwellings'). The same root gives Jedidiah, 'beloved of Yah', Solomon's other name (2 Sam 12:25), and the heading of Psalm 45, a royal wedding song, is 'a song of loves' (shir yedidot).

Against the English

'Beloved' (BSB, ESV), 'wellbeloved' (KJV), 'the one I love' (NIV). All are fair. 'Wellbeloved' and 'beloved' sound formal or churchy today, while yedid is warm and personal: 'my dear friend' or 'my darling', depending on context.

How it drifted

In English, 'beloved' now lives mostly in religious and ceremonial speech, so readers hear a pious title rather than the language of friendship and love.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hebrew Bible as above. The Septuagint renders it ēgapēmenos/agapētos ('loved one'), the word group the Gospels later use at Jesus' baptism ('my beloved Son'). Psalm 45's heading puts the root in a wedding-song setting.

From the study of Jeremiah 11:15

Range of meaning

'Beloved, darling, dear one.' It is a word of affection, used in love poetry and for people especially cherished by God.

Against the English

English 'beloved' is accurate, but it can sound formal or churchy. In Hebrew it is warm and intimate, the word a lover or close friend would use.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 5:1 ('let me sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard') is a love-song frame for God and Israel. Deuteronomy 33:12 calls Benjamin 'the beloved of the LORD'. Psalm 127:2 says 'he gives to his beloved sleep'. Solomon's name Jedidiah means 'beloved of YHWH' (2 Samuel 12:25). Jeremiah 12:7 uses the related word: 'I have given the beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.'

From the study of Psalm 108:6

Range of meaning

Beloved, dear one, darling. It is used of a person God loves: Benjamin is 'the beloved of the LORD' (Deut 33:12), and Solomon is given the name Jedidiah, 'beloved of Yah' (2 Sam 12:25). It is used of God's people (Jer 11:15; Ps 127:2, 'he gives to his beloved sleep'), of a friend in a love song (Isa 5:1), and as an adjective, 'lovely,' of God's dwelling places (Ps 84:1). It is related to dod, 'beloved/uncle,' and to the name David.

Against the English

English 'beloved' now sounds romantic or old-fashioned and churchy. KJV's 'thy beloved' does not show whether one person or many are meant. The Hebrew is plural, 'your beloved ones' (YLT, ESV, NIV 'those you love', NLT 'beloved people').

How it drifted

English 'beloved' has no plural ending in this phrase, so the Hebrew plural disappears in KJV, NASB and BSB. This has made it easy to read the line about a single beloved figure.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 33:12; 2 Sam 12:25; Jer 11:15 ('my beloved' = Judah); Ps 60:5 (twin verse); Ps 127:2. The Septuagint uses agapētoi, 'beloved ones' (plural).

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 33:12 יְדִ֣יד [the] beloved [one] of

    Concerning Benjamin he said: “May the beloved of the LORD rest secure in Him; God shields him all day long, and upon His shoulders he rests.”

    Here: "The beloved of". It names Benjamin as Yahweh's darling, the one he holds dear. The word is warm and affectionate, but it is about being favoured, not about romance.

Psalms · 5

  1. Psalm 60:5 יְדִידֶ֑יךָ beloved [ones] your

    Respond and save us with Your right hand, that Your beloved may be delivered.

    Here: 'Your beloved ones', meaning Israel, or its army in the field. A warm word for affection, used here as the ground of the appeal: these are the people God loves, so he cannot leave them.

  2. Psalm 84:1 יְּדִיד֥וֹת lovely

    For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts!

    Here: A love word, used everywhere else of a person someone loves ("my beloved," "the beloved of the LORD"). This is the only place it describes a place. The temple is called "beloved": dear to the heart, not just good to look at. It is plural to match "dwellings".

  3. Psalm 108:6 יְדִידֶ֑יךָ beloved [ones] your

    Respond and save us with Your right hand, that Your beloved may be delivered.

    Here: Plural: 'your beloved ones,' meaning Israel, the people God holds dear. It is a warm word for affection and closeness, and here it is used to appeal to God's own attachment to them.

  4. Psalm 127:2 לִֽידִיד֣וֹ to beloved [one] his

    In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.

    Here: 'To his beloved one.' The word is singular but probably stands for the whole group God loves (hence WEB 'loved ones'). With 'Of Solomon' in the title, it also echoes Solomon's God-given name, Jedidiah, 'beloved of the LORD' (2 Samuel 12:25).

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 5:1 לִֽידִידִ֔י לִֽידִידִ֖י to beloved [one] my

    I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.

    Here: 'For my dear one.' The preposition l- can mean 'for', 'to', 'about' or 'on behalf of', so the singer may be singing in honour of his friend, to him, or as his spokesman. Yedid is a warm word for someone deeply loved.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 11:15 לִֽידִידִ֞י to beloved [one] my

    What right has My beloved in My house, having carried out so many evil schemes? Can consecrated meat avert your doom? When you are wicked, then you rejoice.

    Here: 'To my beloved one' - a tender, love-song word. God still calls Judah his darling even while barring her from his house, which makes the rebuke sharper.

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