🔼The name Ammihud: Summary
- Meaning
- My Kinsman Is Majesty
- Etymology
- From (1) עם ('am), kinsman, and (2) הוד (hod), majesty.
🔼The name Ammihud in the Bible
There are four men named Ammihud in the Bible:
- The father of Elishama of Ephraim (Numbers 1:10).
- The father of Samuel of Simeon (Numbers 34:20).
- The father of Pedahel of Naphtali (Numbers 34:28).
- A son of Omri and the father of Uthai who returned to Jerusalem after the exile (1 Chronicles 9:4).
Most sources also list the father of Talmai, king of Geshur (2 Samuel 13:37) among the men named Ammihud, but his name is עמיחור (Ammihur). The difference between the two names is in the element after the Ammi-part. This element consists of three letters and two out of three are different. Ammihud and Ammihur are really very different names.
🔼Etymology of the name Ammihud
The name Ammihud consists of two elements. The first element comes from the assumed Hebrew root עמם ('mm):
עמם
The verb עמם ('mm) probably expressed to be inclusive or comprehensive. Its rare uses in the Bible relate to making secrets or making info available to an in-crowd. Preposition עם ('im) means 'with', מעם (me'im) means 'from', and עמה ('umma) means 'beside'. Noun עם ('am) means a people, ranging from all of mankind to the in-crowd of a small village. Noun עם ('am) refers to one's (paternal) kinsman.
The second part of the name Ammihud comes from either of the two verbs ידה (yada) or הוד (hod):
הוד ידה
The related verbs ידה (yada), to praise, and הוד (hod), to be worthy of praise, conjugate into such similar forms that it's often not clear which verb in which tense is used. From the verb ידה (yada), to praise, come:
- The plural noun הידות (huyyedot), meaning songs of praise.
- The noun תודה (toda), meaning confession or praise.
From the verb הוד (hod), meaning to be praise-worthy, comes the noun הוד (hod), meaning splendor, majesty, vigor, glory or honor.
🔼Ammihud meaning
For a meaning of the name Ammihud, Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) inclines towards the verb ידה (yada). But instead of translating Ammihud with People Of Praise or My Kinsman Praises, Jones reads One Of The People Of Judah. Since three out of four Ammihuds in the Bible are typically not of Judah, this rendering seems a bit out of kilter.
BDB Theological Dictionary and the learned body that produced the NOBSE Study Bible Name List see relations with the noun הוד (hod), meaning splendor or majesty. This noun occurs frequently in the Bible, from the authority or majesty of the king (Jeremiah 22:18) or a prophet such as Moses (Numbers 27:20), to the divine splendor of God (Psalm 104:1), and the splendor of Israel due to the blessings of God (Hosea 14:7 — his beauty will be like the olive tree).
Hence NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads My Kinsman Is Glorious and BDB Theological Dictionary reads My Kinsman Is Majesty.