Bible Word Study
צִלְּתַי
Tsillᵉthay · Tsillethai, the name of two Israelites
צִלְּתַי
Tsillethai, the name of two Israelites
Definition
Tsillethai is a proper name given to two different individuals in the Old Testament. The name itself means 'shady' or 'my shadow,' derived from the Hebrew root for shadow. In 1 Chronicles 8:20, Tsillethai is listed as a descendant of Shimei, a Benjamite. In 1 Chronicles 12:20, a different Tsillethai is named as a leader of the tribe of Manasseh who defected to David's side at Ziklag. Both instances are simple personal identifiers with no narrative development beyond their inclusion in genealogical or military lists.
Biblical Usage
The word is used exclusively as a proper noun for two Israelite men, appearing only in the genealogical and historical records of 1 Chronicles. Both occurrences are in lists: one in a Benjaminite genealogy (1 Chronicles 8:20) and the other in a list of warriors who joined David before he became king (1 Chronicles 12:20). There is no narrative usage or variation in meaning between the two references.
Etymology
The name Tsillethai (צִלְּתַי) is derived from the Hebrew root צ־ל־ל (ts-l-l), meaning 'to be dark' or 'to shade.' It is a formation from the feminine noun צֵל (tsel, H6738), meaning 'shadow' or 'shade,' with a possessive or gentilic ending ('-ai'), giving it a sense like 'my shadow' or 'belonging to shadow.' It is related to other words for protection and covering, as shade was a vital concept in the arid Near East.
Semantic Range
In ancient Israelite culture, names were often meaningful, describing a hoped-for characteristic, circumstance of birth, or an attribute of God. A name meaning 'shady' or 'my shadow' likely carried positive connotations of protection, refreshment, and shelter from hardship, much as physical shade provided relief from the harsh sun. It may have expressed a parental prayer for God's protective covering over the child. צֵל (tsel, H6738) — The root noun meaning 'shadow' or 'shade,' from which Tsillethai is directly derived. צלמות (tsalmaveth, H6757) — A compound word meaning 'deep shadow' or 'death shadow,' often translated as 'deep darkness,' denoting a more intense and threatening obscurity.
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]