Hebrew word · H5816

עֻזִּיאֵל

'uzi'el

Uzziel

This is a personal name made of ʿōz/ʿuzzî, 'strength, might' (often 'my strength'), plus ʾēl, 'God'. It can be read as 'My strength is God' or 'God is (my) strength'. Several other men carry the name (for example 1 Chronicles 4:42; 25:4; Nehemiah 3:8).

Appears 16 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, first mentioned at Exo.6.18;

son of: Kohath (H6955);

brother of: Amram (H6019), Izhar (H3324) and Hebron (H2275B);

father of: Mishael (H4332), Elizaphan (H0469), Sithri (H5644), Micah (H4318J) and Isshiah (H3449I)

Also named: oz.zi.e.li (עׇזִּיאֵלִי "Uzzielite" H5817)

§ Uzziel = "my strength is God"

1) the 4th son of Kohath and grandson of Levi, uncle of Moses and Aaron

2) a Simeonite captain, son of Ishi, in the days of king Hezekiah of Judah

3) descendant of Bela, head of a family in the tribe of Benjamin

4) a musician of the sons of Heman in the time of David

5) a Levite of the sons of Jeduthun in the days of king Hezekiah of Judah

6) son of Harhaiah, probably a priest and a goldsmith, who took part in repairing the wall under 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 Exodus 6:22

Range of meaning

This is a personal name made of ʿōz/ʿuzzî, 'strength, might' (often 'my strength'), plus ʾēl, 'God'. It can be read as 'My strength is God' or 'God is (my) strength'. Several other men carry the name (for example 1 Chronicles 4:42; 25:4; Nehemiah 3:8).

Against the English

English versions simply carry the name over. Its meaning, a short statement of trust, is lost on the English reader. This is normal and not an error.

Used elsewhere in the period

Names that join ʿz ('strength') to a divine name are common in Hebrew and across the region: Uzziah/Azariah, and in Phoenician and Aramaic inscriptions forms such as ʿzbʿl. The clan name 'Uzzielites' appears in Numbers 3:27 and 1 Chronicles 15:10, where the clan helps bring the ark up to Jerusalem.

Where it appears

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 6:18 וְעֻזִּיאֵ֑ל and Uzziel

    The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.

  2. Exodus 6:22 עֻזִּיאֵ֑ל Uzziel

    The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

    Here: Uzziel was the fourth and youngest son of Kohath (v. 18) and the younger brother of Amram, father of Moses and Aaron. The name means roughly 'My strength is God'. Because of him, the three men named next are first cousins of Moses and Aaron.

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 10:4 עֻזִּיאֵ֖ל Uzziel

    Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here; carry the bodies of your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary.”

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 3:19 וְעֻזִּיאֵֽל׃ and Uzziel

    The sons of Kohath by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

  2. Numbers 3:30 עֻזִּיאֵֽל׃ Uzziel

    and the leader of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.

1 Chronicles · 9

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:42 וְעֻזִּיאֵ֛ל and Uzziel

    And five hundred of these Simeonites led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, went to Mount Seir

  2. 1 Chronicles 6:2 וְעֻזִּיאֵֽל׃ ס and Uzziel

    The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

  3. 1 Chronicles 6:18 וְעֻזִּיאֵֽל׃ and Uzziel

    The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

  4. 1 Chronicles 7:7 וְ֠עֻזִּיאֵל and Uzziel

    The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, heads of their families—five in all. There were 22,034 mighty men of valor listed in their genealogies.

  5. 1 Chronicles 15:10 עֻזִּיאֵ֑ל Uzziel

    and from the Uzzielites, Amminadab the chief and 112 of his relatives.

  6. 1 Chronicles 23:12 וְעֻזִּיאֵ֖ל and Uzziel

    The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.

  7. 1 Chronicles 23:20 עֻזִּיאֵ֑ל Uzziel

    The sons of Uzziel: Micah was the first and Isshiah the second.

  8. 1 Chronicles 24:24 עֻזִּיאֵל֙ Uzziel

    From the sons of Uzziel: Micah; from the sons of Micah: Shamir.

  9. 1 Chronicles 25:4 עֻ֠זִּיאֵל Uzziel

    From the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 29:14 וְעֻזִּיאֵֽל׃ and Uzziel

    Jehiel and Shimei from the Hemanites; and Shemaiah and Uzziel from the Jeduthunites.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 3:8 עֻזִּיאֵ֤ל Uzziel

    Next to them, Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. And next to him, Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs. They fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

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