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Ῥησά

Rhēsá

G4488 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Proper name; Rhēsa, a personal name appearing in a genealogical context. Primarily used as a designation for an individual in a lineage, not as a common noun or title. Its usage is confined to a specific person listed among ancestral lines.

Semantic Range

personal name; name of an Israelite ancestor in genealogies

Root / Etymology

Probably transliterated from a Hebrew name, commonly identified with רְפָיָה (Rephajah), though the exact form and derivation are debated. Ultimately likely derived from the Hebrew root רפא, 'to heal' or 'Yah(weh) has healed,' but the Greek form Rhēsa represents an adaptation for Greek pronunciation and writing.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Ῥησά appears as a proper name only in Luke 3:27 within the context of the genealogy of Jesus. Its rarity and isolation in Greek literature suggest it is a transliteration of a Semitic name, not a name native to Greek onomastics. The underlying Hebrew is often reconstructed as Rephajah, but the vowel changes and consonantal adaptation are characteristic of Septuagintal and early Christian transliteration practices. English translations sometimes render the name as 'Rhesa', but this reflects only the Greek, not the earlier Hebrew tradition. The name bears no semantic content in Greek itself; meaning derives solely from the underlying Hebrew. Greek readers would recognize it as a foreign personal name.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably of Hebrew origin (apparently for רְפָיָה); Resa (i.e. Rephajah), an Israelite:--Rhesa.

Root Family

Ῥησά (Rhēsa) — personal name, genealogical name

Root Ῥησ- personal name, name in a genealogy

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G4488-01 Ῥησὰ resa N GEN M SG Rhesa of Rhēsa Rhesa 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G4488-01 Luke 3:27 Ῥησὰ resa N GEN M SG Rhesa of Rhēsa Rhesa
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