Bible Word Study
יַחְזְיָה
Yachzᵉyâh · Jachzejah, an Israelite
יַחְזְיָה
Jachzejah, an Israelite
Definition
Yachzᵉyâh is a proper name meaning 'Yahweh will behold' or 'Yahweh will see.' It belongs to a man named Jahaziah (spelled Jachzejah in some translations), an Israelite who appears in the context of Ezra's reforms regarding foreign marriages (Ezra 10:15). The name signifies a theological affirmation that God is watching over or taking notice of His people. As a proper noun, it has no other major senses or meanings beyond this single biblical occurrence.
Biblical Usage
This name is used only once in the Old Testament, in Ezra 10:15. It appears in a list of leaders who opposed the plan to investigate and dissolve the foreign marriages among the returned exiles. The context is a tense communal and religious crisis, where Yachzᵉyâh is noted alongside others as dissenting from the majority decision, highlighting internal disagreement during a pivotal moment of covenant renewal.
Etymology
The name Yachzᵉyâh is a compound derived from the Hebrew verb חָזָה (ḥāzâ, H2372), meaning 'to see, behold, or perceive,' and the divine name יָהּ (Yâh, H3050), a shortened form of Yahweh. It is a theophoric name, common in Israelite culture, which expresses faith in God's attentive presence. The construction is future-oriented, literally translating to 'Yah will behold.'
Semantic Range
While the name itself is not central to major doctrines, it encapsulates a key theme of the Hebrew Bible: God's active observation and involvement in human affairs. In its narrative context (Ezra 10), the bearer of this name ('Yahweh will behold') is part of a dispute about covenant fidelity, ironically highlighting that God indeed sees the actions and decisions of His people. Understanding the name reinforces the biblical concept of a personal, attentive God who oversees the moral and communal life of Israel. In ancient Israelite culture, names were often meaningful declarations about God's character or actions. Yachzᵉyâh is a classic example of a theophoric name, embedding the name of Yahweh (Yah) to affirm divine attributes. Its use in the post-exilic book of Ezra reflects the community's struggle to re-establish identity and purity under God's watchful eye, a concern paramount after the Babylonian exile. Yechezqel (Ezekiel, H3168) — from the same root (חָזָה) but meaning 'God will strengthen.'
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]