Hebrew word · H7042

קְלִיטָא

kelita'

Kelita

This is not a theophoric name (one containing God's name). It may come from the root qlṭ, which appears in Lev 22:23 (qalut) for an animal with a stunted or shortened limb. If so, the name means something like "little one, stunted," a nickname. The Aramaic-looking ending -a fits the Persian period.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Neh.8.7

§ Kelita = "crippled"

1) a Levite who had a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

1a) also 'Kelaiah'

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 Nehemiah 10:10

Range of meaning

This is not a theophoric name (one containing God's name). It may come from the root qlṭ, which appears in Lev 22:23 (qalut) for an animal with a stunted or shortened limb. If so, the name means something like "little one, stunted," a nickname. Ezra 10:23 gives his other name as Kelaiah, which suggests he had both a formal name and a familiar one. The Aramaic-looking ending -a fits the Persian period.

Against the English

All the English versions transliterate it as "Kelita" and give no meaning. That is the right choice, since the etymology is uncertain.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezra 10:23; Nehemiah 8:7; 10:10. Shortened names with an -a ending (Aramaic style) are common in the Elephantine papyri and the Samaria papyri.

Where it appears

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 10:23 קְלִיטָ֔א [is] Kelita

    Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 8:7 קְלִיטָ֣א Kelita

    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: A Levite who is also called Kelaiah (Ezra 10:23). The meaning is uncertain, possibly 'stunted' or 'small'.

  2. Nehemiah 10:10 קְלִיטָ֖א Kelita

    and their associates: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

    Here: Ezra 10:23 calls him "Kelaiah, that is, Kelita," a Levite who had sent away a foreign wife. In Nehemiah 8:7 he is among those who helped the people understand the Law. The name may mean "stunted, small," which would make it a nickname, but this is uncertain.

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