אֱלִישָׁפָט
Elishaphat, an Israelite
Definition
Elishaphat is a proper name meaning 'God of judgment' or 'God has judged.' It is borne by a single individual in the Old Testament, a military commander who played a crucial role in the coup that overthrew the usurper Queen Athaliah and restored the Davidic line by crowning the boy-king Joash (2 Chronicles 23:1). As a name, it functions solely as a personal identifier for this historical figure, with no other semantic senses or variations in meaning across biblical passages.
Biblical Usage
The name Elishaphat is used only once in the Old Testament, in 2 Chronicles 23:1. It identifies one of the five commanders of hundreds whom Jehoiada the priest secretly gathered to execute the plan to install Joash as king. The usage is strictly as a personal name within a historical narrative of political and religious restoration in Judah.
Etymology
The name Elishaphat (אֱלִישָׁפָט) is a compound of two Hebrew elements: 'El' (אֵל, H410), a primary name for God, and the verb 'shaphat' (שָׁפַט, H8199), meaning to judge, govern, or vindicate. It is a theophoric name, common in Israelite culture, that declares a theological truth about God's character. Similar name constructions include Eliakim ('God raises up') and Elijah ('Yahweh is my God').
Semantic Range
While a personal name, Elishaphat embodies a significant theological concept: God as the righteous judge and vindicator. Its use in the context of 2 Chronicles 23 is poignant, as the conspiracy to restore the Davidic throne was an act of divine judgment against the idolatrous reign of Athaliah. The name serves as a reminder that God actively judges unrighteous rulers and intervenes to uphold His covenant promises, ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah from the line of David.
In ancient Israel, names were often descriptive and carried meaning about God's character or the circumstances of a child's birth. A name like Elishaphat reflects the parents' faith in God's just governance. Its use for a military leader involved in a righteous coup highlights the cultural link between divine justice and human agency in establishing legitimate, covenant-faithful leadership.
Eliakim (ʼElyâqîym, H471) — 'God raises up'; another theophoric name combining 'El' with a different verb. Jehoshaphat (Yᵊhôshāphāṭ, H3092) — 'Yahweh has judged'; a synonymous name using the divine name Yahweh (יהוה) instead of El (אֵל).
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
Full methodology & sources →