אֱלִיעָם
𐤀𐤋𐤉𐤏𐤌
Eliam
H463 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A personal name meaning 'God is kin' or 'God of the people,' borne by at least two individuals in the Hebrew Bible. The name combines a divine element with a reference to people or kin, emphasizing a familial or communal relationship with the deity. The semantic range includes proper noun usage as the name of (1) the father of Bathsheba and (2) a member of David's 'Thirty.'
Semantic Range
personal name, God is kin, God of the people, one belonging to God, God-related kinship; as the name of Israelite individuals
Root / Etymology
From אֵל (El, 'God') + עָם (ʻam, 'people,' 'kin,' 'clan'). The root of El is אל (ʼ-l), meaning 'god, deity.' The root of ʻam is עם (ʻ-m), meaning 'people, kin, tribe.' The name is a theophoric compound—incorporating a divine name and a relational noun.
Historical & Contextual Notes
אֱלִיעָם is a theophoric personal name, typical of Israelite naming practices of the early monarchy (c. 11th–10th centuries BCE). The incorporation of 'El' is common in personal names, reflecting Israelite use of the generic divine name. While English translations uniformly render אֱלִיעָם as 'Eliam,' they do not reflect the semantic nuance of the name, which emphasizes a familial bond ('kin,' not merely 'people') with the deity, rather than solely divine possession. The name is attested in both 2 Samuel 11:3 (as Bathsheba's father) and 2 Samuel 23:34 (as one of David's elite warriors). In later periods, the theophoric pattern remains but may shift in prominence with changing theologies and naming conventions. Hebrew עַם shifts in meaning across the Bible from 'clan' or 'kin' to broader notions of 'the people,' but as a name element often preserves the older kinship sense.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from אֵל and עַם; God of (the) people; Eliam, an Israelite; Eliam.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
אל; עם (ʾ-l; ʿ-m) — God, deity; people, kin, clan
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H463-01 |
אֱלִיעָ֔ם | eliam | HNp |
Eliam | God-of-kin | 2 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H463-01 |
2 Samuel 11:3 | אֱלִיעָ֔ם | eliam | HNp |
of Eliam | God-of-kin |
H463-01 |
2 Samuel 23:34 | אֱלִיעָ֥ם | eliam | HNp |
Eliam | God-of-kin |