Today in the Bible

Elul 12, 5784; from sunset September 14, 2024, to sunset September 15, 2024

(The twelfth day of the sixth month)

Today in the Bible, we’re continuing to follow the men and women who worked to restore the walls and gates of Jerusalem. We’re in the midst of the 52 days that it took to complete the job. Today, we’ll meet Zadok, the son of Immer. Let’s learn some fun things about Zadok and the wordplay between himself and the people who worked next to him.

צָדוֹק

Tzadok = Zadok

We’ve run into the name Zadok before, back in verse four of this chapter. That Zadok was the son of Baana. We learned that the name Zadok is mentioned about 50 times in the Bible.  Probably the most famous Zadok was the high priest in the days of David and Solomon.  There is even a man named Zadok in the ancestry of Jesus.

Zadok is an easy name to define.  It stems from the root “tzadek” (צדק) meaning “to be just or righteous.”

Verb Root	Transliteration	Meaning
צדק	tzadek	to be just or righteous

“Zadok“ means “Righteous” or “Righteous One.”

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Zadok was the son of Immer.

אִמֵּר

Immer

We’ve also studied the root of the name “Immer” back in verse two of this chapter when we met Zaccur the son of “Imri.” Let’s refresh our memory for what the root word is for the names “Immer” and “Imri.”

Name	Transliteration	Verb-Root	Meaning
אִמֵּר	Immer	אמר	to say, speak, command, promise
אִמְרִי	Imri	אמר	to say, speak, command, promise

Notice the similarity in the spelling of both names and how the verb-root “amar” (אמר) is clearly found in each name. Hebrew is read from right to left, that makes the first letter in these names “alef” (א). Alef is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and it is a silent letter. On its own, it makes no sound. But pair it with one of the “nikkudim” (aka “vowel points”) and it can carry the sound of any vowel. As a verb, its simplest form is pronounced like “amar” meaning “he spoke.” Another familiar name from the Bible is also related to these two…the “Amorites.” When we studied the day that Joshua asked God to make the Sun and Moon stand still while he was fighting the Amorites, we learned that the name “Amorites” means the “Talkers.” As far as Imri is concerned, we said that his name means “My Utterance,” “My Word,” or “My Promise.”

“Immer” means “He Promised” according to the Jones’ Dictionary of Proper Names. The NOBSE Study Bible Name List defines Immer as “Eloquent.”

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In the name “Zadok the son of Immer,” we can’t help but see:

“The Righteous (Zadok) Speak (Immer)”

We hope you’ll consider joining us tomorrow as we meet the man working next to him…Shemaiah…whose name means:

“The LORD Hears”