מַתַּתָּה
Mattattah, an Israelite
Definition
Mattattah is a proper name of an Israelite man mentioned in the book of Ezra. The name means 'gift of Yahweh' or 'gift of the LORD,' signifying a person understood as a divine blessing. In its sole biblical occurrence, Mattattah is listed among the descendants of Hashum who had married foreign women and were compelled to divorce them during the post-exilic reforms led by Ezra (Ezra 10:33). As a proper name, it carries no other semantic senses or variations in meaning across different passages.
Biblical Usage
The name Mattattah is used only once in the Old Testament, specifically in Ezra 10:33. It appears in a genealogical list within the context of Ezra's covenant renewal, where Israelites confessed to intermarriage with foreign peoples and pledged to send them away. The usage is purely identificatory, naming one individual among many in this historical record of communal repentance and restoration.
Etymology
Mattattah (מַתַּתָּה) is a variant or shortened form of the more common Hebrew name Mattithiah (מַתִּתְיָה, H4993). It is derived from the noun 'mattan' (מַתָּן), meaning 'gift,' combined with a shortened form of the divine name Yahweh (יה). Thus, the name's literal construction is 'gift of Yah,' affirming the Israelite belief that children are a blessing from God.
Semantic Range
While the name itself is not theologically loaded, its meaning—'gift of Yahweh'—reflects a core biblical theme: that life and lineage are gracious gifts from God. Its appearance in Ezra 10, a chapter dealing with the purity of the covenant community, subtly underscores that the people themselves, even those needing correction, are part of God's gifted heritage. Understanding the name's meaning enriches the reading by connecting a list of names to the theology of divine grace and covenant identity.
In ancient Israelite culture, names were often theologically significant, acting as statements of faith or circumstances surrounding a birth. A name meaning 'gift of Yahweh' would express gratitude and acknowledgment of God's providence in family life. The act of recording such names in a list, as in Ezra, served to preserve individual identity within the collective story of God's people, emphasizing both personal and communal covenant responsibility.
Mattithiah (Mattithyâh, H4993) — The longer, more common form of the same name, also meaning 'gift of Yahweh.'
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.
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