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אֲבִי

𐤀𐤁𐤉

Avi

H21 noun

SILEX Entry

Root אב to be a father, to protect, to nourish

Definition

Personal name meaning 'my father' (possessive form of 'father'), used as a feminine proper name. In context, the name designates a woman, specifically the mother of Hezekiah, indicating either a theophoric name shortened from a longer form or a standalone name honoring a father or a deity.

Semantic Range

my father (as a possessive designation); used as a proper name for a woman; possible abridged theophoric name; may indicate honoring a father or the deity as 'my father'

Root / Etymology

The word derives from the root אָב (אב), meaning 'father,' with the first-person singular pronominal suffix '-י' ('my'), forming 'my father.' In this context, it appears as a proper name rather than a common noun. Though chiefly masculine in construction, as a personal name it was also given to women, likely as shorthand for longer theophoric names (e.g., אֲבִיָּה - 'Abiyyah').

Historical & Contextual Notes

The name אֲבִי appears only in reference to the mother of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:2, 2 Chronicles 29:1), likely as a shortened or variant form of longer names such as אֲבִיָּה (Abiyyah). While the form is grammatically masculine, biblical Hebrew sometimes employed abbreviated forms of theophoric or honorific names for women. Later Greek and Latin sources transliterate the name as 'Abia' or similar, and some English translations use 'Abi.' Subsequent Jewish tradition commonly used longer forms (Abijah/Abiah), but 'Abi' is the Hebrew form attested in the biblical record. The possessive pronominal '-i' makes the name distinct from a simple titular 'father.' English translations sometimes obscure the feminine referent because of the grammatical structure. The word is not a title but a personal name.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from אָב; fatherly; Abi, Hezekiah's mother; Abi.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אב (ʾ-b) — fatherhood, ancestry, origin, source

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1 אָב father of
H15 אָבֶה my father
H2 אַב your fathers
H24 אָבִיב his father
H29 אֲבִיָּה My Father is Yah

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H21-01 אֲבִ֖י avi HNp Abi my father 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H21-01 2 Kings 18:2 אֲבִ֖י avi HNp Abi my father
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