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טוֹבִיָּה

𐤈𐤅𐤁𐤉𐤄

Toviyah

H2900 noun

SILEX Entry

Root טוב to be good, pleasant, agreeable

Definition

Personal name meaning 'Yahweh is good' or 'Yahweh's goodness.' It is constructed from the elements meaning 'good' and a theophoric suffix from the divine name. As a personal name, it designates various individuals in the Hebrew Bible, both Israelite and non-Israelite. The semantic range covers not only the literal meaning, 'goodness of Yahweh,' but also, by extension, identifies persons bearing this name in diverse historical and social contexts.

Semantic Range

Yahweh is good, goodness of Yahweh, Yahweh's goodness, name borne by Israelite descendants after the return from exile, name borne by an Ammonite official during the Persian period, theophoric personal name

Root / Etymology

Derived from the Hebrew root ט-ו-ב (טוב), meaning 'good,' and the theophoric element יָהּ (a shortened form of the divine name Yahweh). The name is a compound meaning 'Yahweh is good' or 'goodness of Yahweh.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

טוֹבִיָּה (Tobiyyah) appears as a personal name for several figures in the Hebrew Bible. In Nehemiah, Tobiyah is a non-Israelite (often termed 'the Ammonite'), recognized as a local official during the Persian period, probably representing an elite family with regional influence. In other contexts (e.g., 1 Chronicles 3:24), individuals named Tobiyyah are Israelite descendants, suggesting the name was in standard use among Israelites. The appearance of the theophoric element (Yah) signifies a connection to the Israelite deity even when held by non-Israelite individuals, reflecting the cross-cultural exchange of names in the Persian period. While later English Bible translations use the form 'Tobiah' or 'Tobijah,' these do not always reflect early pronunciation or context, and the range from Israelite to foreign use is lost in some translations. The name's construction mirrors that of other Hebrew personal names combining an attribute and the name of a deity.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or טוֹבִיָּהוּ; from טוֹב and יָהּ; goodness of Jehovah; Tobijah, the name of three Israelites and of one Samaritan; Tobiah, Tobijah.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

טוב (ṭ-w-b) — good, pleasant, agreeable, beneficial

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2869 טָב good
H2895 טוֹב you did good
H2896 טוֹב in the good
H2897 טוֹב good
H2898 טוּב in goodness

Word Forms

5 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2900-04 וְ/טֽוֹבִיָּה֙ vetoviyah HC/Np and Tobiah and Yahweh-is-good 6
H2900-02 טוֹבִיָּ֖ה toviyah HNp Tobiah Yahweh’s goodness 6
H2900-01 לְ/טוֹבִיָּ֥ה letoviyah HR/Np to Tobiah to Yahweh-is-good 4
H2900-03 וּ/לְ/טוֹבִיָּ֣ה uletoviyah HC/R/Np and-to-Tobijah and to Yahweh-is-good 1
H2900-05 וְ/טֽוֹבִיָּ֛הוּ vetoviyahu HC/Np and-Tobijah and Yahweh-is-good 1

Occurrences in Scripture

18 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2900-02 Zechariah 6:10 טוֹבִיָּ֖ה toviyah HNp Tobijah Yahweh’s goodness
H2900-03 Zechariah 6:14 וּ/לְ/טוֹבִיָּ֣ה uletoviyah HC/R/Np and-to-Tobijah and to Yahweh-is-good
H2900-02 Ezra 2:60 טוֹבִיָּ֖ה toviyah HNp Tobiah Yahweh’s goodness
H2900-04 Nehemiah 2:10 וְ/טֽוֹבִיָּה֙ vetoviyah HC/Np and Tobiah and Yahweh-is-good
H2900-04 Nehemiah 2:19 וְ/טֹבִיָּ֣ה vetoviyah HC/Np and Tobiah and Yahweh-is-good
H2900-04 Nehemiah 3:35 וְ/טוֹבִיָּ֥ה vetoviyah HC/Np and Tobiah and Yahweh-is-good
H2900-04 Nehemiah 4:1 וְ֠/טוֹבִיָּה vetoviyah HC/Np and Tobiah and Yahweh-is-good
H2900-04 Nehemiah 6:1 וְ֠/טוֹבִיָּה vetoviyah HC/Np and Tobiah and Yahweh-is-good
H2900-04 Nehemiah 6:12 וְ/טוֹבִיָּ֥ה vetoviyah HC/Np and Tobiah and Yahweh-is-good
H2900-01 Nehemiah 6:14 לְ/טוֹבִיָּ֥ה letoviyah HR/Np Tobiah to Yahweh-is-good
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