Hebrew word · H6126

עַקּוּב

'akuv

Akkub

A personal name from the root ʿ-q-b ('heel'; 'to follow, protect'), the same root as Jacob (Yaʿaqov). It is probably a short form of a name like 'God protects'.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at 1Ch.9.17

§ Akkub = "insidious"

1) son of Elioenai and descendant of David through Zerubbabel

2) a head of a family returning from exile

3) head of a family of temple slaves returning from exile

4) a Levite gatekeeper

5) a Levite who helped Ezra expound the law to the people

6) a Levite gatekeeper after the return from exile

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 Ezra 2:45

Range of meaning

A personal name from the root ʿ-q-b ('heel'; 'to follow, protect'), the same root as Jacob (Yaʿaqov). It is probably a short form of a name like 'God protects'.

Against the English

English versions transliterate it.

Used elsewhere in the period

The name is borne by several people: a gatekeeper family (Ezra 2:42; 1 Chr 9:17; Neh 11:19), a descendant of David (1 Chr 3:24), and a Levite teacher (Neh 8:7). A similar root appears in West Semitic names such as the Amorite Yaqub-el.

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 3:24 וְ֠עַקּוּב and Akkub

    The sons of Elioenai: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani—seven in all.

  2. 1 Chronicles 9:17 וְעַקּ֔וּב and Akkub

    These were the gatekeepers: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was their chief;

Ezra · 2

  1. Ezra 2:42 עַקּ֔וּב Akkub

    The gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai, 139 in all.

  2. Ezra 2:45 עַקּֽוּב׃ Akkub

    the descendants of Lebanah, the descendants of Hagabah, the descendants of Akkub,

    Here: A family head whose name comes from the same root as 'Jacob' (ʿ-q-b), probably a short form meaning '(God) protects'. The same name belongs to a gatekeeper family three verses earlier (2:42).

Nehemiah · 4

  1. Nehemiah 7:45 עַקּ֔וּב Akkub

    The gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai, 138 in all.

  2. Nehemiah 8:7 עַקּ֡וּב Akkub

    The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law as they stood in their places.

    Here: From the same root as 'Jacob'. The meaning is uncertain, perhaps 'protected'. Akkub is also a family of Levite gatekeepers (Neh 11:19).

  3. Nehemiah 11:19 עַקּ֣וּב Akkub

    And the gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their associates, who kept watch at the gates—172 men.

  4. Nehemiah 12:25 עַקּ֑וּב Akkub

    Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates.

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