Today in the Bible

Elul 14, 5784; from sunset September 16, 2024, to sunset September 17, 2024

(The fourteenth day of the sixth month)

Today in the Bible, we’re nearing the end of our study of the meaning of the names of the people who donated their time and labor to the restoration of the walls and gates of Jerusalem.  Today, we’re meeting Hananiah the son of Shelemiah for the first time and Hanun the son of Zalaph for, perhaps, a second time.  We’ve already been introduced to some of these names, but we’ll make a quick review of those and dig into the new ones on our list.

חֲנַנְיָה

Chananyah = Hananiah

The name Hananiah is found 29 times in the Bible. In fact, we’ve already run into this name in our study of Nehemiah, way back in verse eight. He was listed as one of the perfumers who worked on the wall. Though the name of his father was not recorded then, we suspect our Hananiah may be the same man. Why? In today’s verse, he is described as repairing “another section.” In Hebrew, it says that he repaired a “second” section. His name is a combination of the verb-root “chanan” (חנן) and, we’re already familiar with what the “iah” ending of his name represents.

Verb Root	Transliteration	Meaning
חנן	chanan	to be gracious

Prefix/Suffix	Transliteration	Comments
י	y, i	sometimes, just a “yod” (י), the first letter of God’s Holy Name, may serve as an indicator of its presence
ה	h	“yah” (יה) this combination of the 1st and 2nd letters of “The Name” is often translated as “iah” & is a very common name ending
ו	v, w, u, o	“yahu” (יהו) – the first three letters – is not quite as common but still found – as in “Elijah” – “Eliyahu”
ה	h	adding all four letters of “The Name” is not done

These four letters represent God’s Holy Name. Many proper nouns use a combination of two or three of these letters as a prefix or a suffix to indicate an attachment to the Name of the LORD.

“Hananiah“ means “The LORD Has Been Gracious.”

---

Hananiah was the son of Shelemiah.

שֶׁלֶמְיָה

Shelemyah = Shelemiah

The name Shelemiah is found ten times in the Bible. We accidentally ran into this name yesterday when we studied the East Gate. Shelemiah was the man to whom the lot for the keeper of the East Gate fell. It seems his name has lived on in the same area as our Shelemiah for today repaired a section adjacent to the East Gate. Our name is mentioned twice in Ezra, twice in Nehemiah, and five times in Jeremiah. This name is a combination of the verb-root “shalem” (שלם) meaning “to be whole or complete” and “iah” indicating the presence of God’s Holy Name.

Verb Root	Transliteration	Meaning
שלם	shalem	to be whole or complete

“Shelemiah” means “Completeness of the LORD.”

---

חָנוּן

Chanun = Hanun

Hanun is another name that we’ve already studied. He worked with the inhabitants of Zanoah to repair the Dung Gate, along with one thousand cubits of the wall. We titled that article “The Favored and the Rejected” – because the root word “chanan” means “to be gracious, to show favor.” Our Hanun from today and the Hanun associated with the Zanoahites may be one and the same man. Why do we believe this? Just as stated above, our Hanun is said to have repaired a “second” section of the wall. If you remember, the name Zanoah comes from a root that means “to stink” or “to be rejected.” Today we find this man working next to one of the perfumers. Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?

Verb Root	Transliteration	Meaning
חנן	chanan	to be gracious

“Hanun” means “Favored” (NOBSE & BDB) or “Giving for Nought” (Jones’).

---

Hanun was the son of Zalaph.

צָלָף

Tzalaf = Zalaph

A “zalaph” is a caper plant. A caper plant is defined as a “many branched, shrub-like plant.” Hanun is described as the “sixth son of Zalaph.” It seems as if our Zalaph was indeed a man with “many branches.”