🔼The name Adoram: Summary
- Meaning
- Two Fold Majesty
- Etymology
- From the verb אדר ('adar), to be majestic.
🔼The name Adoram in the Bible
Adoram is either an alternate name for Adoniram, or is a completely different man all together. Both are supervisors of slaves subjected to forced labor; Adoram serves king David (2 Samuel 20:24) and Adoniram serves king Solomon (1 Kings 4:6, 5:14). Hadoram, a third name, which is similar to the name Adoram, belongs to the slave supervisor of Solomon's son and successor, king Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 10:18).
🔼Etymology of the name Adoram
Most commentators regard the name Adoram as an improperly or erroneously contracted form of the name Adoniram, and render it therefore the same meaning: BDB Theological Dictionary and NOBSE Study Bible Name List both read My Lord Is Exalted; Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Lord Of Height. But it's by no means certain, indicated or even implied that the two or three men are the same. And even if they are, these three names are obviously completely different words and therefore mean different things. It's not unusual for Biblical characters to have multiple names, and each name must be considered according to its own meaning.
A name that's closely similar to our name אדרם (Adoram) is the name of the city אדורים (Adoraim). It's not uncommon for people and cities to have the same name in the Bible. Look in the menu to the left under "Locations/Peoples" for names of locations that are also personal names (i.e. Ananiah or Tamar)
But the name Adoram looks like it would have reminded a Hebrew audience without ado of the verb אדר ('adar), meaning to be majestic:
אדר
The verb אדר ('adar) means to be superior or majestic (or literally: wide). Noun אדר ('eder) means glory or magnificence, or may refer to a wide cloak. Adjective אדיר ('addir) means majestic. Noun אדרת ('aderet) means glory.
🔼Adoram meaning
If the name Adoram is a contraction, then it's much more likely to be a contraction of the name Adoraim than of Adoniram. The name Adoraim is a dual form of a noun derived from the above verb.
The name Adoram means Two Fold Majesty, and the form אדרם occurs as regular word with that same meaning in Ezekiel 32:18.
Another example of a name taken from a dual form is Ephraim.