Hebrew word · H649

אַפַּיִם

'apayim

Appaim

Appayim is spelled like the dual ("pair") form of af, "nose". It means "nostrils" and, by extension, "face" (as in bowing "face to the ground"). Yish'i comes from y-sh-', "save, deliver", and means roughly "my salvation" or "(the LORD/God) saves".

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 21, 2026

What it means

People descended from Aph(?) of the tribe of Judah, first mentioned at 1Ch.2.30; descended from Nadab (H5070I); along with Seled (H5540);

progenitors of: Ishi (H3469)

§ Appaim = "nostrils"

a son of Nadab

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 2:31

Range of meaning: Appayim is spelled like the dual ("pair") form of af, "nose". It means "nostrils" and, by extension, "face" (as in bowing "face to the ground"). Yish'i comes from y-sh-', "save, deliver", and means roughly "my salvation" or "(the LORD/God) saves".
Against the English: English versions transliterate both names, so the meanings are invisible. Nothing in the verse plays on those meanings, so nothing is lost for the sense of the verse.
Used elsewhere in the period: Other men named Ishi appear in 1 Chr 4:20, 4:42 and 5:24. Appaim appears only here and in v. 30.

Where it appears

1 Chronicles · 2

1 Chronicles 2:30 וְאַפָּ֑יִם and Appaim

The sons of Nadab: Seled and Appaim. Seled died without children.
1 Chronicles 2:31 אַפַּ֖יִם Appaim

The son of Appaim: Ishi. The son of Ishi: Sheshan. The son of Sheshan: Ahlai.

Here: The younger son of Nadab (v. 30). Since his brother Seled died without children, Nadab's line runs only through Appaim. The name looks like the Hebrew word for "nostrils" or "face".

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