Bible Word Study
אֶלְעָד
ʼElʻâd · Elad, an Israelite
אֶלְעָד
Elad, an Israelite
Definition
אֶלְעָד (Elad) is a proper name meaning 'God has testified' or 'God is witness.' It refers to an Israelite man from the tribe of Ephraim, mentioned only in 1 Chronicles 7:21. The name signifies a testimony or witness from God, possibly commemorating a divine act or promise. As a personal name, it carries the same meaning in its sole biblical occurrence.
Biblical Usage
This name appears only once in the Old Testament, in 1 Chronicles 7:21, within a genealogical list of the tribe of Ephraim. It is used in the context of family lineage, specifically noting that Elad and his brother were killed by men from Gath during a conflict. The usage is purely historical and genealogical, with no narrative expansion.
Etymology
The name is a compound of two Hebrew elements: אֵל (ʼēl, H410), meaning 'God,' and עוּד (ʻûd, H5749), a root meaning 'to return, go about, or bear witness.' The combined form conveys 'God has testified' or 'God is a witness,' reflecting a common naming convention where divine action or character is invoked.
Semantic Range
While the name itself is theologically rich, meaning 'God has testified,' its single, brief appearance offers limited direct doctrinal insight. It serves as a reminder that even minor figures in genealogies bear names that acknowledge God's role in Israel's history. For readers, it underscores that God is a witness to human events, a theme echoed in verses like Malachi 3:5. In ancient Israelite culture, names often conveyed meaning about God's nature or acts. A name like Elad, given to a child, likely expressed parental faith in God as a witness or testifier in their lives. Its recording in a genealogy highlights the importance of lineage and memory, even for individuals with no further narrative. אֶלְעָזָר (ʼElʻāzār, H499) — meaning 'God has helped'; another compound name with אֵל, but emphasizing help rather than testimony. עֵד (ʻēd, H5707) — meaning 'witness'; shares the root עוּד but is a common noun, not a proper name.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]