Bible Word Study
הוֹד
Hôwd · Hod, an Israelite
הוֹד
Hod, an Israelite
Definition
Hod is the name of an Israelite, specifically a descendant of Asher, mentioned only once in the Bible. The name appears in the genealogy of the tribe of Asher in 1 Chronicles 7:37, where he is listed as a son of Zophah. As a proper noun, it functions solely as a personal identifier. The name is identical to the common Hebrew noun הוֹד (Hôwd, H1935), which means 'splendor,' 'majesty,' or 'glory,' suggesting the name may have carried a positive, aspirational meaning.
Biblical Usage
This word is used exclusively as a proper name for an individual in the Old Testament. Its single occurrence is in a genealogical list within the Chronicler's record of the tribe of Asher (1 Chronicles 7:37). It appears in a context focused on lineage and tribal identity, with no narrative or descriptive details provided about the person.
Etymology
The name Hod is derived from the identical Hebrew common noun הוֹד (Hôwd, H1935), meaning 'splendor,' 'majesty,' or 'glory.' It shares a root with words like הָדַר (hādar, H1921), meaning 'to honor' or 'to adorn.' As a name, it follows the common biblical practice of using positive abstract nouns or attributes for personal names.
Semantic Range
In ancient Israelite culture, names were often significant and descriptive. Bearing a name like Hod ('splendor') likely reflected parental hopes for the child's character or destiny, or perhaps acknowledged an attribute of God. Its use in a genealogy underscores the importance of lineage and the preservation of tribal identity in Israel's historical records. הוֹד (Hôwd, H1935) — This is the identical common noun meaning 'splendor' or 'majesty' from which the personal name is derived.
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]