Hebrew word · H5832

עֲזַרְאֵל

'azar'el

Azarel

Both names are built on the root ʿzr, 'to help, come to someone's aid', often in a military sense: allies who come to fight on your side. 'Azarel' = 'God has helped'; 'Joezer' = 'Yahweh is help'. Names like this usually thanked God for help at a birth or in a family crisis.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.12.6

§ Azarael or Azareel = "God has helped"

1) a Korhite warrior of David who joined him at Ziklag

2) a Levite musician of the family of Heman in the time of David

3) a Danite, son of Jeroham and a prince of the tribe at the census of David

4) one of the sons of Bani who took a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

5) a priest, ancestor of Maasiai or Amashai, a priest in Jerusalem after the return from exile

6) a priest and musician 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 Chronicles 12:6

Range of meaning

Both names are built on the root ʿzr, 'to help, come to someone's aid', often in a military sense: allies who come to fight on your side. 'Azarel' = 'God has helped'; 'Joezer' = 'Yahweh is help'. Names like this usually thanked God for help at a birth or in a family crisis.

Against the English

English versions transliterate the names, so the meaning is invisible to an English reader.

Used elsewhere in the period

Names based on ʿzr are very common in Hebrew: Azariah, Ezra, Eliezer, Azarel (also 1 Chronicles 25:18; 27:22; Nehemiah 11:13). The same root appears in other Northwest Semitic languages, for example Phoenician names with ʿzr.

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 3

  1. 1 Chronicles 12:6 וַעֲזַרְאֵ֧ל and Azarel

    Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, who were Korahites;

    Here: "And" plus a name meaning "God has helped." Its root ʿzr, 'help', is the keyword of this whole chapter, which is about men who came to "help" David.

  2. 1 Chronicles 25:18 עֲזַרְאֵ֔ל Azarel

    the eleventh to Azarel, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

  3. 1 Chronicles 27:22 עֲזַרְאֵ֖ל Azarel

    and over Dan was Azarel son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 10:41 עֲזַרְאֵ֥ל Azarel

    Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah,

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 11:13 עֲזַרְאֵ֛ל Azarel

    and his associates, the leaders of families—242 men; Amashai son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer;

  2. Nehemiah 12:36 וַעֲזַרְאֵ֡ל and Azarel

    and his associates—Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani—with the musical instruments prescribed by David the man of God. Ezra the scribe led the procession.

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