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אֲבִיָּה

𐤀𐤁𐤉𐤄

Aviyah

H29 noun

SILEX Entry

Root אב father, to be father of, ancestor

Definition

Abijah is a personal name, meaning 'my father is Yah' or 'Yah is father.' It occurs as the name of multiple figures in the Hebrew Bible, both male and female, and reflects the practice of theophoric naming—incorporating a divine name (in this case, the abbreviated form of Yahweh, 'Yah') into the personal name. The primary lexical sense is as a proper noun designating individuals rather than functioning as a common noun or title.

Semantic Range

personal name (theophoric), referring to men or women whose father 'is Yah' (Yahweh); name of an Israelite, a Judahite king, a priestly division, and other individuals; theophoric expression of faith or relationship to Yahweh

Root / Etymology

From the root אָב (av, 'father') and יָהּ (Yah, a shortened form of the Tetragrammaton, representing the Israelite deity Yahweh). The name is a compound theophoric construction: 'avi' (my father) + 'Yah' (Yahweh). The variant אֲבִיָּהוּ (Abiyyahu) employs the longer theophoric ending.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The name Abijah appears for both men and women in various biblical texts. Among men, the best-known figures include a son of Samuel (1 Samuel 8:2) and a monarch of the southern kingdom who is called Abijah in Kings and Abijam in Chronicles—a signal to pay attention to orthographic differences. For women, it names the mother of King Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:1). In post-exilic contexts, the name is also associated with a priestly division (Luke 1:5). English translations sometimes render the name as 'Abiah,' 'Abijah,' or 'Abijam'; the latter may reflect a textual variant or interpretative difference rather than a wholly distinct name. The KJV and other traditional translations sometimes use 'Jew' or 'Jewess' in references to later individuals bearing the name; however, in all ancient contexts the referents are Israelite or Judahite. The meaning 'my father is Yah' is descriptive of familial or personal piety rather than implying literal divine parentage.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or prolonged אֲבִיָּהוּ ; from אָב and יָהּ; father (i.e. worshipper) of Jah; Abijah, the name of several Israelite men and two Israelitesses; Abiah, Abijah.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אב (ʾ-b) — father, ancestor, be father of

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1 אָב father of
H15 אָבֶה my father
H2 אַב your fathers
H21 אֲבִי my father
H24 אָבִיב his father

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H29-01 אֲבִיָּ֑ה aviyah HNp Abijah My Father is Yah 19
H29-02 אֲבִיָּ֑הוּ aviyahu HNp Abijah My Father is Yah 2
H29-04 וַ/אֲבִיָּֽה vaaviyah HC/Np Abijah and My-Father-is-Yah 2
H29-03 לַ/אֲבִיָּ֖ה laaviyah HR/Np to Abijah to My-Father-is-Yah 2

Occurrences in Scripture

25 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H29-01 1 Samuel 8:2 אֲבִיָּ֑ה aviyah HNp Abijah My Father is Yah
H29-01 1 Kings 14:1 אֲבִיָּ֥ה aviyah HNp Abijah My Father is Yah
H29-01 Nehemiah 10:8 אֲבִיָּ֖ה aviyah HNp Abijah My Father is Yah
H29-01 Nehemiah 12:4 אֲבִיָּֽה aviyah HNp Abijah My Father is Yah
H29-03 Nehemiah 12:17 לַ/אֲבִיָּ֖ה laaviyah HR/Np of Abijah to My-Father-is-Yah
H29-01 1 Chronicles 2:24 אֲבִיָּ֔ה aviyah HNp Abijah My Father is Yah
H29-01 1 Chronicles 3:10 אֲבִיָּ֥ה aviyah HNp Abijah My Father is Yah
H29-04 1 Chronicles 6:13 וַ/אֲבִיָּֽה vaaviyah HC/Np and Abijah and My-Father-is-Yah
H29-04 1 Chronicles 7:8 וַ/אֲבִיָּ֔ה vaaviyah HC/Np Abijah and My-Father-is-Yah
H29-03 1 Chronicles 24:10 לַ/אֲבִיָּ֖ה laaviyah HR/Np to Abijah to My-Father-is-Yah
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