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פְּלָיָה

𐤐𐤋𐤉𐤄

Pelayah

H6411 noun

SILEX Entry

Root פלא to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be set apart

Definition

A masculine personal name meaning 'Yah (the LORD) has distinguished' or 'Yah has shown extraordinary favor.' Used as the name of at least three individuals in post-exilic Israelite communities. The name expresses the notion of Yahweh's special, wondrous, or distinguishing action with regard to the individual.

Semantic Range

personal name meaning 'Yah has distinguished,' 'Yah has shown wonderful favor,' name of post-exilic Israelites

Root / Etymology

Formed from the verb פָּלָא (palaʾ, 'to be extraordinary, to do something wonderful or marvelous') and the theophoric suffix יָהּ (Yah, abbreviated form of the divine name Yahweh). Thus, פְּלָיָה is a theophoric name meaning 'Yah has done something wonderful,' 'Yah has set apart,' or 'Yah has distinguished.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

פְּלָיָה is attested only as a personal name in biblical texts, notably in post-exilic lists (Ezra 10:23; Nehemiah 8:7; Nehemiah 10:10). As with other theophoric Israelite names, the name invokes the involvement of Israel's deity in the individual’s life or identity, emphasizing divine distinction or wonder. The rendering as 'Pelaiah' in English translations closely follows the consonantal Hebrew, but later traditions sometimes used alternate forms. The word's underlying root, פָּלָא, is elsewhere used with reference to acts of divine wonder or distinctiveness, particularly regarding deeds that are extraordinary or set apart from the ordinary, enhancing the nuance of the personal name. No attestations exist for פְּלָיָה as a common or adjective noun; all known occurrences refer to individual Israelites during the post-exilic period. The name reflects the ongoing use of the theophoric element Yah in Late Biblical Hebrew naming practices. In Greek translations (Septuagint), the name is simply transliterated, without specific attention to the semantic content. The term is sometimes rendered 'Pelajah' or similarly in English Bibles, but never as 'Jew' or with ethnic/religious overtones in this context. The core meaning of divine distinction or wonder is consistent throughout known uses.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or פְּלָאיָה; from פָּלָא and יָהּ; Jah has distinguished; Pelajah, the name of three Israelites; Pelaiah.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

פלא (p-l-ʾ) — to be wonderful, to be extraordinary, to be set apart

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4652 מִפְלָאָה wonders of
H6381 פָּלָא in his extraordinary acts
H6382 פֶּלֶא extraordinary wonder
H6383 פִּלְאִי extraordinary one
H6384 פַּלֻּאִי the Pallu-descendant

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H6411-01 פְּלָאיָה֙ pelayah HNp Pelaiah Yah has distinguished 2
H6411-02 וּ/פְלָיָ֡ה ufelayah HC/Np and Pelaiah and Yah-has-distinguished 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H6411-01 Nehemiah 8:7 פְּלָאיָה֙ pelayah HNp Pelaiah Yah has distinguished
H6411-01 Nehemiah 10:11 פְּלָאיָ֥ה pelayah HNp Pelaiah Yah has distinguished
H6411-02 1 Chronicles 3:24 וּ/פְלָיָ֡ה ufelayah HC/Np and Pelaiah and Yah-has-distinguished
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