Hebrew word · H4509

מִנְיָמִין

minyamin

Miniamin

A personal name, probably 'from the right hand' (min + yamin), that is, 'favoured' or 'fortunate'. It is a variant of Mijamin (miyyamin), the form used in 12:5 and Nehemiah 10:7, and for the sixth priestly division in 1 Chronicles 24:9.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 2Ch.31.15

§ Miniamin = "from the right hand"

1) a Levite in the time of Hezekiah

2) a priest who was present at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem 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 Nehemiah 12:17

Range of meaning

A personal name, probably 'from the right hand' (min + yamin), that is, 'favoured' or 'fortunate'. It is a variant of Mijamin (miyyamin), the form used in 12:5 and Nehemiah 10:7, and for the sixth priestly division in 1 Chronicles 24:9.

Against the English

Translations differ less on the name than on what to do with the blank that follows it. Some leave it, some join Miniamin to Moadiah under Piltai, and some mark a gap.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mijamin is the sixth division in 1 Chronicles 24:9. The same name appears among the priests with Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 12:5, as Mijamin), among the covenant signers (10:7), and as a Levite or priest under Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 31:15, as Miniamin). A Miniamin also appears among the trumpet-playing priests at the wall dedication (Nehemiah 12:41).

Where it appears

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 31:15 וּ֠מִנְיָמִן and Miniamin

    Under his authority, Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah faithfully distributed portions to their fellow priests in their cities, according to their divisions, old and young alike.

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 12:17 לְמִ֨נְיָמִ֔ין of Miniamin

    of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;

    Here: A priestly house, the same as 'Mijamin' in 12:5. In this list every house is followed by its current head, but no name follows Miniamin. The head's name seems to have been lost when the text was copied.

  2. Nehemiah 12:41 מִ֠נְיָמִין Miniamin

    as well as the priests with their trumpets—Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah—

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