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שְׂרָיָה

𐤔𐤓𐤉𐤄

Serayah

H8304 noun

SILEX Entry

Root שׂרה to contend, to strive, to rule, to persist

Definition

A personal name meaning 'YHWH has prevailed,' 'YHWH is ruler,' or possibly 'YHWH persists.' Used as the proper name of several individuals in the Hebrew Bible. Not used as a common noun; its semantic range is as a theophoric personal name applied to various Israelite men, some of whom were prominent priests, scribes, or officials.

Semantic Range

personal name, 'YHWH has prevailed,' 'YHWH rules,' name of priests, scribes, or Levites; exclusively a theophoric proper name

Root / Etymology

Composed of the roots שׂרה (to contend, strive, rule, persist) and יה (shortened form of the divine name YHWH). Thus the name is a theophoric compound: שׂרה + יה = 'YHWH has prevailed' or 'YHWH reigns.' This formation is typical of later monarchic and post-exilic Israelite personal names. The longer form, שְׂרָיָהוּ (Seraiahu), preserves the theophoric element in fuller form.

Historical & Contextual Notes

שְׂרָיָה appears as the name of several individuals in the Hebrew Bible, including a chief priest in the final days of the First Temple period (2 Kings 25:18; Jer 52:24), as well as scribes and Levites (Ezra 2:2; Neh 10:3, 12:1, 12:12). The name reflects the common post-exilic Israelite practice of forming personal names with a theophoric element to denote loyalty or connection to YHWH. English translations typically render the name as 'Seraiah,' but this transliteration obscures the theophoric significance and Hebrew pronunciation. The spelling variation שְׂרָיָהוּ (Seraiahu) further evidences the full theophoric form common in Judahite and late monarchic nomenclature. The meaning 'Jah has prevailed' is interpretative; the component שׂרה more primarily means 'to contend, strive, rule,' so a fuller lexical understanding is 'YHWH is ruler' or 'YHWH persists.' The term is not linked with later developments of the term 'Jew' and does not denote religious identity. The occurrences are confined to personal names predominantly in exilic and post-exilic genealogical and narrative texts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or שְׂרָיָהוּ; from שָׂרָה and יָהּ; Jah has prevailed; Serajah, the name of nine Israelites; Seraiah.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

שׂרה (ś-r-h) — to contend, to strive, to rule, to persist

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3481 יִשְׂרְאֵלִי the Israelite
H4951 מִשְׂרָה the dominion
H8280 שָׂרָה you persevered and prevailed
H8281 שָׁרָה I wrestled with you

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8304-02 שְׂרָיָה֙ serayah HNp Seraiah YHWH has prevailed 11
H8304-04 וּ/שְׂרָיָ֖ה userayah HC/Np and Seraiah and YHWH-has-prevailed 7
H8304-01 לִ/שְׂרָיָ֣ה liserayah HR/Np of Seraiah to YHWH-has-prevailed 1
H8304-03 שְׂרָיָ֣הוּ serayahu HNp Seraiah YHWH has prevailed 1

Occurrences in Scripture

20 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8304-04 2 Samuel 8:17 וּ/שְׂרָיָ֖ה userayah HC/Np and Seraiah and YHWH-has-prevailed
H8304-02 2 Kings 25:18 שְׂרָיָה֙ serayah HNp Seraiah YHWH has prevailed
H8304-04 2 Kings 25:23 וּ/שְׂרָיָ֨ה userayah HC/Np and Seraiah and YHWH-has-prevailed
H8304-03 Jeremiah 36:26 שְׂרָיָ֣הוּ serayahu HNp Seraiah YHWH has prevailed
H8304-04 Jeremiah 40:8 וּ/שְׂרָיָ֨ה userayah HC/Np and Seraiah and YHWH-has-prevailed
H8304-02 Jeremiah 51:59 שְׂרָיָ֣ה serayah HNp Seraiah YHWH has prevailed
H8304-04 Jeremiah 51:59 וּ/שְׂרָיָ֖ה userayah HC/Np and Seraiah and YHWH-has-prevailed
H8304-02 Jeremiah 51:61 שְׂרָיָ֑ה serayah HNp Seraiah YHWH has prevailed
H8304-02 Jeremiah 52:24 שְׂרָיָה֙ serayah HNp Seraiah YHWH has prevailed
H8304-02 Ezra 2:2 שְׂרָיָ֨ה serayah HNp Seraiah YHWH has prevailed
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