🔼The name Heled: Summary
- Meaning
- Life, Mole
- Etymology
- From the verb חלד (halad), to be an earthling.
🔼The name Heled in the Bible
The name Heled occurs only one time in the Bible. Heled, son of Baanah the Netophathite, is one of David's mighty-men (1 Chronicles 11:30). In 2 Samuel 23:29 this man is called Heleb. Some scholars equate Heled with the Heldai mentioned in 1 Chronicles 27:15, but these two characters are more likely different men.
🔼Etymology of the name Heled
The name Heled comes from either of the two words חלד (hld):
חלד
It's not known what the verb חלד (halad) may have signified, but it appears to have had something to do with being an "earthling". Noun חלד (holed) describes the mole or other similar burrowing animal. Noun חלד (heled) refers to the acts and deeds that sum up one's life on earth, or indeed the whole spectrum of human life: the world.
🔼Heled meaning
For a meaning of the name Heled, Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Life or Duration. NOBSE Study Bible Name List curiously omits this name entirely. BDB Theological Dictionary doesn't interpret this name but lists it under חלד (holed), which seems to suggest that BDB would have translated our name with Mole or Weasel.