Hebrew word · H3048

יְדַעְיָה

yeda'yah

Jedaiah

A personal name built from yādaʿ, "to know" or "to acknowledge," plus Yah (short for YHWH): "Yah knows" or "Yah has cared for." Several different priests carried it, and so did a priestly house.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at 1Ch.9.10;

son of: Joiarib (H3114)

§ Jedaiah = "Jehovah has known"

1) a priest in Jerusalem

2) a man who returned with Zerubbabel

3) a ruler of the priests in the days of Jeshua

4) a post exilic priest

5) one honoured by Jehovah, perhaps one of the above

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 Nehemiah 11:10

Range of meaning

A personal name built from yādaʿ, "to know" or "to acknowledge," plus Yah (short for YHWH): "Yah knows" or "Yah has cared for." Several different priests carried it, and so did a priestly house.

Against the English

English transliterates it, so the meaning of the name and its weight as a clan name are lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezra 2:36 and Neh 7:39 count 973 returnees of the house of Jedaiah. 1 Chr 24:7 lists Jedaiah as the second priestly rotation. Neh 12:6–7, 19, 21 name two priestly heads called Jedaiah. Zech 6:10, 14 mentions a Jedaiah among returned exiles bringing gifts. The Dead Sea Scrolls priestly calendars (the Mishmarot texts, 4Q320–330) keep track of the rotation called Jedaiah.

From the study of Nehemiah 12:6

Range of meaning

'The LORD knows', from yadaʿ, 'to know'. In Hebrew this verb can also mean to acknowledge someone, care for them or choose them. As a name it belongs to a leading priestly clan of the Persian period.

Against the English

English gives the name with no hint of its meaning. Readers also may not notice that Jedaiah appears twice in verses 6–7. These are two distinct families, as the later list shows (12:19 'of Jedaiah, Uzzi'; 12:21 'of Jedaiah, Nethanel').

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezra 2:36 and Nehemiah 7:39 list 'the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua' (973 men) first among the four priestly clans that returned. Jedaiah is also the second division in 1 Chronicles 24:7 and appears in 1 Chronicles 9:10 and Nehemiah 11:10. Outside the Bible, the name is attested in Judean and Elephantine texts of the Persian era.

Similar words

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 9:10 יְדַֽעְיָ֥ה Jedaiah

    From the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin;

  2. 1 Chronicles 24:7 לִֽידַעְיָ֖ה to Jedaiah

    The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 2:36 יְדַֽעְיָה֙ Jedaiah

    The priests: The descendants of Jedaiah (through the house of Jeshua), 973;

Nehemiah · 6

  1. Nehemiah 7:39 יְדַֽעְיָה֙ Jedaiah

    The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah (through the house of Jeshua), 973;

  2. Nehemiah 11:10 יְדַֽעְיָ֥ה Jedaiah

    From the priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib; Jachin;

    Here: A personal name meaning "Yah knows" or "Yah has taken notice." It was also the name of a large priestly clan: 973 "sons of Jedaiah" came back from exile (Ezra 2:36), and Jedaiah was the second of the 24 priestly duty rotations (1 Chr 24:7).

  3. Nehemiah 12:6 יְדַֽעְיָֽה׃ Jedaiah

    Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,

    Here: 'The LORD knows', or 'the LORD has cared for'. A major priestly clan: 'the sons of Jedaiah' are the first priestly family listed among the returnees in Ezra 2:36, and Jedaiah is the second division in 1 Chronicles 24:7. A different Jedaiah closes the list in verse 7.

  4. Nehemiah 12:7 יְדַֽעְיָ֑ה Jedaiah

    Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and their associates in the days of Jeshua.

  5. Nehemiah 12:19 לִֽידַֽעְיָ֖ה of Jedaiah

    of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

  6. Nehemiah 12:21 לִֽידַֽעְיָ֖ה of Jedaiah

    of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

Zechariah · 2

  1. Zechariah 6:10 יְדַֽעְיָ֑ה Jedaiah

    “Take an offering from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon—and go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.

  2. Zechariah 6:14 וְלִידַֽעְיָ֔ה and to Jedaiah

    The crown will reside in the temple of the LORD as a memorial to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and the gracious son of Zephaniah.

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