Hebrew word · H304
אַחְלָ֑י
'achlai
Ahlai
A personal name. It is spelled the same as the sigh-word achalay, "ah, if only!" (Ps 119:5; 2 Kgs 5:3). It can be read as an expression of longing, perhaps a parent's sigh at the birth. Other suggested derivations are less certain.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
A man of the tribe of Judah living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.2.31;
son of: Sheshan (H8348); married to Jarha (H3398);
father of: Attai (H6262)
§ Ahlai = "O! would that!"
1) daughter of Sheshan
2) father of one of David's heroes (mighty men, warriors)
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 1 Chronicles 2:31
- Range of meaning
A personal name. It is spelled the same as the sigh-word achalay, "ah, if only!" (Ps 119:5; 2 Kgs 5:3). It can be read as an expression of longing, perhaps a parent's sigh at the birth. Other suggested derivations are less certain.
- Against the English
All English versions simply write the name "Ahlai". The real question is whether this person was male or female, and none of the translations decide it.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In the Bible the name appears only here and in 1 Chr 11:41 ("Zabad son of Ahlai", in the list of David's warriors). 1 Chr 2:36 places a Zabad in the line that comes from Sheshan's daughter and Jarha.
Where it appears
1 Chronicles · 2
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1 Chronicles 2:31 אַחְלָֽי׃ Ahlai
The son of Appaim: Ishi. The son of Ishi: Sheshan. The son of Sheshan: Ahlai.
Here: The person who carries Sheshan's line on. Verse 34 says Sheshan had no sons, so Ahlai may be the daughter given to Jarha, a son born through her, or a son who died. The same name appears in 11:41 as the father of Zabad, one of David's warriors. A Zabad also shows up in this family line (2:36).
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1 Chronicles 11:41 אַחְלָֽי׃ ס Ahlai
Uriah the Hittite, Zabad son of Ahlai,
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.