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Ἀνανίας

Ananías

G367 noun

SILEX Entry

Root Ανανια- personal name, Yahweh is gracious, Yahweh shows favor

Definition

A proper name referring to three distinct male individuals in the New Testament, derived from the Hebrew name חֲנַנְיָה (Ḥananyāh), meaning 'Yahweh has been gracious' or 'Yahweh shows favor.' In the Greek context, Ἀνανίας denotes a personal name without an additional lexical meaning beyond its use as an identifier.

Semantic Range

a male personal name; used for Israelites/Judeans in Second Temple and New Testament contexts; does not have additional semantic value in Greek beyond naming

Root / Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew חֲנַנְיָה (Ḥananyāh), a common Israelite given name, where the components חנן (ḥanan, 'to show favor, to be gracious') and יה ('Yah', a theophoric reference to the God of Israel) form the meaning 'Yahweh has been gracious.' The Greek Ἀνανίας simply transliterates this Hebrew name.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Ἀνανίας appears in the New Testament as the Greek form of a common Hebrew name. The Septuagint uses Ἀνανίας to translate multiple Hebrew bearers of the name in various books. In the New Testament, it refers to (1) a member of the early Jerusalem community struck dead (Acts 5), (2) the Judean high priest in Jerusalem (Acts 23–24), and (3) a Judean disciple at Damascus who aids Saul (Paul) after his vision (Acts 9). English translations typically render Ἀνανίας as 'Ananias,' preserving the transliterated form. The name does not carry lexical meaning in Greek, but its Semitic origin implies divine favor or graciousness. The form is not native to Greek and exists in Greek texts principally due to biblical transmission. It should not be confused with the similar yet unrelated Greek name Ἀννᾶς (Annas).

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

of Hebrew origin (חֲנַנְיָה); Ananias, the name of three Israelites:--Ananias.

Root Family

Ἀνανίας (Ananias) — personal name, Yahweh is gracious, Yahweh shows favor

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
G367-03 Ἁνανίας ananias N NOM M SG Ananias Ananias 8
G367-01 Ἁνανία anania N VOC M SG Ananias O Ananias 2
G367-02 Ἁνανίαν ananian N ACC M SG Ananias Ananias 1

Occurrences in Scripture

11 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
G367-03 Acts 5:1 Ἁνανίας ananias N NOM M SG Ananias Ananias
G367-01 Acts 5:3 Ἁνανία anania N VOC M SG Ananias O Ananias
G367-03 Acts 5:5 Ἁνανίας ananias N NOM M SG Ananias Ananias
G367-03 Acts 9:10 Ἁνανίας ananias N NOM M SG Ananias Ananias
G367-01 Acts 9:10 Ἁνανία anania N VOC M SG Ananias O Ananias
G367-02 Acts 9:12 Ἁνανίαν ananian N ACC M SG Ananias Ananias
G367-03 Acts 9:13 Ἁνανίας ananias N NOM M SG Ananias Ananias
G367-03 Acts 9:17 Ἁνανίας ananias N NOM M SG Ananias Ananias
G367-03 Acts 22:12 Ἁνανίας ananias N NOM M SG Ananias Ananias
G367-03 Acts 23:2 Ἁνανίας ananias N NOM M SG Ananias Ananias
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