Hebrew word · H3083
יְהוֹנָתָן
yehonatan
Jonathan
Personal name: 'YHWH has given.'
Appears 82 times in 74 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
A man of the tribe of Benjamin living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.13.2;
son of: Saul (H7586G) and Ahinoam (H0293);
brother of: Abinadab (H0041H), Malchi-shua (H4444), Merab (H4764) and Michal (H4324);
half-brother of: Ish-bosheth (H0378), Armoni (H0764) and Mephibosheth (H4648H);
father of: Mephibosheth (H4648)
Also named: yo.na.tan (יוֹנָתָן "Jonathan" H3129N)
§ Jonathan or Jehonathan = "Jehovah has given"
1) a son of king Saul and a friend of David
2) a son of the high priest Abiathar and the last descendant of Eli of whom we hear
3) a nephew of David who like David slew a giant of Gath
4) an uncle of David
5) one of David's mighty warriors
6) one of David's treasurers
7) a scribe in the time of Jeremiah
8) a Levite and father of Zechariah, a priest who blew the trumpet at the dedication of the wall
9) a son or descendant of Gershom, the son of Moses, and a priest to the tribe of Dan
10) a son of Kareah and a brother of Johanan; a Judaite captain after the fall of Jerusalem
11) another Judaite father of Peleth
12) father of Ebed in the time of Ezra
13) son of Asahel in the time of Ezra
14) a priest of the family of Melicu in the time of Nehemiah
15) son of Joiada and his successor to the high priesthood in the time of Nehemiah
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 Samuel 23:16
- Range of meaning
Personal name: 'YHWH has given.'
- Against the English
English 'Jonathan' hides the meaning.
- Used elsewhere in the period
A common Israelite name type (compare Nathanael, Elnathan).
From the study of 1 Samuel 19:1
- Range of meaning
A personal name meaning 'YHWH has given'. The full form (Yehonatan) and the shortened form (Yonatan) both appear in Samuel and refer to the same man.
- Against the English
English versions use 'Jonathan' for both spellings. The switch inside this verse cannot be seen in translation.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Both spellings occur across 1 Samuel 13–20. Names built on God's name in both long and short forms are common in Hebrew inscriptions of the monarchy period (-yahu / -yah endings and Yeho- / Yo- beginnings).
Where it appears
Judges · 1
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1 Samuel · 44
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2 Samuel · 25
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1 Chronicles · 7
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2 Chronicles · 1
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Nehemiah · 1
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Jeremiah · 3
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Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.