Hebrew word · H476

אֱלִישָׁמָע

'elishama'

Elishama

A personal name: ʾēlî ("my God") + šāmaʿ ("has heard"), so "my God has heard". Names like this usually thank God for answering a prayer, often a prayer for a child.

Appears 17 times in 17 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man of the tribe of Ephraim living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, first mentioned at Num.1.10;

son of: Ammihud (H5989);

father of: Nun (H5126)

§ Elishama = "my God has heard"

1) an Ephraimite chief in the wilderness

2) a son of David

3) Jehoiakim's secretary

4) a priest who taught the law

5) a man of Judah

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 7:26

Range of meaning

A personal name: ʾēlî ("my God") + šāmaʿ ("has heard"), so "my God has heard". Names like this usually thank God for answering a prayer, often a prayer for a child.

Against the English

English transliterates it. The meaning, a thanksgiving, is lost to readers without Hebrew.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Ephraimite chief in Num 1:10; 2:18; 7:48–53; 10:22. The name is also borne by a son of David (2 Sam 5:16; 1 Chr 3:6, 8), a royal scribe (Jer 36:12), and others. The name ʾlšmʿ is also found on Hebrew seals and in inscriptions from the monarchy period.

Similar words

Where it appears

Numbers · 5
  1. Numbers 1:10 אֱלִישָׁמָ֖ע Elishama

    from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;

  2. Numbers 2:18 אֱלִישָׁמָ֖ע [was] Elishama

    On the west side, the divisions of Ephraim are to camp under their standard: The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud,

  3. Numbers 7:48 אֱלִֽישָׁמָ֖ע Elishama

    On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, the leader of the Ephraimites, drew near.

  4. Numbers 7:53 אֱלִישָׁמָ֖ע Elishama

    and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.

  5. Numbers 10:22 אֱלִישָׁמָ֖ע Elishama

    Next, the divisions of the camp of Ephraim set out under their standard, with Elishama son of Ammihud in command.

2 Samuel · 1
  1. 2 Samuel 5:16 וֶאֱלִישָׁמָ֥ע and Elishama

    Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

2 Kings · 1
  1. 2 Kings 25:25 אֱלִ֨ישָׁמָ֜ע Elishama

    In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

1 Chronicles · 5
  1. 1 Chronicles 2:41 אֱלִישָׁמָֽע׃ Elishama

    Shallum was the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah was the father of Elishama.

  2. 1 Chronicles 3:6 וֶאֱלִישָׁמָ֖ע and Elishama

    David’s other sons were Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet,

  3. 1 Chronicles 3:8 וֶאֱלִישָׁמָ֧ע and Elishama

    Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet—nine in all.

  4. 1 Chronicles 7:26 אֱלִישָׁמָ֥ע Elishama

    Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son,

    Here: "My God has heard." In the wilderness lists of Numbers he is the leader of Ephraim (Num 1:10; 2:18; 7:48; 10:22). Placing him here makes Joshua (v. 27) a descendant of the tribe's leading house.

  5. 1 Chronicles 14:7 וֶאֱלִישָׁמָ֥ע and Elishama

    Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

2 Chronicles · 1
  1. 2 Chronicles 17:8 אֱלִישָׁמָ֥ע Elishama

    accompanied by certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah—along with the priests Elishama and Jehoram.

Jeremiah · 4
  1. Jeremiah 36:12 אֱלִישָׁמָ֣ע Elishama

    he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.

  2. Jeremiah 36:20 אֱלִישָׁמָ֣ע Elishama

    So the officials went to the king in the courtyard. And having stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, they reported everything to the king.

  3. Jeremiah 36:21 אֱלִישָׁמָ֣ע Elishama

    Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing beside him.

  4. Jeremiah 41:1 אֱלִישָׁמָ֣ע Elishama

    In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and they ate a meal together there.

    Here: Ishmael's grandfather. He may be the royal secretary of Jeremiah 36:12, or the name may recall a son of David (2 Samuel 5:16); the text does not say which.

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