נְעַרְיָה
𐤍𐤏𐤓𐤉𐤄
Neareyah
H5294 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Nᵉʻaryâh is a personal name meaning 'Yah is youth' or 'Yahweh has acted with youthful vigor.' Its semantic range is limited to its use as a proper name borne by at least two individuals in the Hebrew Bible.
Semantic Range
personal name; contextually, 'Yahweh is youth' or 'Yahweh gives vigor'; not used as a common noun or title, but exclusively as a proper noun referring to named individuals
Root / Etymology
Formed from the noun נַעַר (na‘ar, 'youth, young man, servant') and the theophoric element יָהּ (Yah, a shortened form of the divine name Yahweh). The name is a compound meaning 'Yahweh is youth' or 'Yah supports/enlivens as a youth.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
נְעַרְיָה appears as the name of at least two individuals in post-exilic biblical records (e.g., 1 Chronicles 3:22, Nehemiah 10:24), reflecting a theophoric naming tradition common in late monarchic and post-exilic periods. The root נַעַר refers to youth or young manhood, but when combined the divine component, the name likely expresses a hoped-for quality of vigor or newness supported by Yahweh, rather than literal youthfulness or servitude. Standard English translations render the name as 'Neariah,' sometimes 'Nearija.' The gloss 'servant of Jah' is a later interpretive expansion; the Hebrew element נַעַר more frequently denotes youth or young attendant than formal servitude, and the construction is not the typical pattern for 'servant of' names (which usually use עֶבֶד or related forms).
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from נַעַר and יָהּ; servant of Jah; Nearjah, the name of two Israelites; Neariah.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
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נער (n-ʿ-r) — youth, young man, adolescent attendant
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H5271 | נָעוּר | in his youths |
| H5286 | נָעַר | they roared |
| H5287 | נָעַר | Shake yourself off |
| H5288 | נַעַר | in the young male |
| H5289 | נַעַר | the youth |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5294-02 |
וּ/נְעַרְיָ֛ה | uneareyah | HC/Np |
and Neariah | and Yah-is-Youth | 2 |
H5294-01 |
נְעַרְיָ֗ה | neareyah | HNp |
of Neariah | Yah Is Youth | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
3 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5294-02 |
1 Chronicles 3:22 | וּ/נְעַרְיָ֛ה | uneareyah | HC/Np |
and Neariah | and Yah-is-Youth |
H5294-01 |
1 Chronicles 3:23 | נְעַרְיָ֗ה | neareyah | HNp |
of Neariah | Yah Is Youth |
H5294-02 |
1 Chronicles 4:42 | וּ֠/נְעַרְיָה | uneareyah | HC/Np |
and Neariah | and Yah-is-Youth |