🔼The name Karnaim: Summary
- Meaning
- Two Horns, Two Peaks
- Etymology
- From the verb קרן (qaran), to radiate or have horns.
🔼The name Karnaim in the Bible
The name Karnaim occurs once in the Bible. The prophet Amos predicts the invasion of Assyria, which would result in the deportation of Israel and assimilation of most of the tribes, and condemns the pride with which the people "rejoice in Lo-debar" and having "taken Karnaim" for themselves (Amos 6:13).
🔼Etymology of the name Karnaim
The name Karnaim comes from the mysterious verb קרן, which either means to be horned or else to radiate:
קרן
The verb קרן (qaran) means to radiate and became applied to the having of horns of certain animals. Subsequently, the noun קרן (qeren) means horn or ray.
Our name is a plural or dual form of a noun derived from the verb.
🔼Karnaim meaning
For a meaning of the name Karnaim, NOBSE Study Bible Name List: Two Peaks, but in a footnote in the text of Amos, NOBSE reads A Pair Of Horns. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads (Two) Horns, and explains this with "the crescent moons; new moon, horned". BDB Theological Dictionary doesn't interpret our name but does list it under the root קרן.