🔼The name Jannai: Summary
- Meaning
- He Will Be Gracious, Yah Is Gracious
- Etymology
- From the verb חנן (hanan), to be gracious, possibly in combination with יה (yah), the name of the Lord.
🔼The name Jannai in the Bible
The name Jannai (or Janna, as some Greek manuscripts say) occurs only once in the Bible, namely in Luke 3:24, where Jannai is mentioned as great-great-great-grandfather of Joseph, the father by-law (see Luke 3:23) of Jesus of Nazareth. Jannai lived during or just after the rule of the Hasmonean dynasty (140 - 116 BC), but nothing further is known about this person.
🔼Etymology of the name Jannai
The name Jannai is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew original of the Hellenized name John, and stems from the vast root חנן (hanan), meaning to be gracious:
חנן
The verb חנן (hanan) means to be gracious or to favor. Nouns חן (hen), חנינה (hanina), תחנה (tehinna) and תחנון (tahanun) mean favor or grace. Adverb חנם (hinnam) means freely or gratis, and adjective חנון (hannun) means gracious.