🔼The name Kolaiah: Summary
- Meaning
- Voice Of Yah
- Etymology
- From (1) the verb קול (qw/), to voice, and (2) יה (yah), the shortened name of the Lord.
🔼The name Kolaiah in the Bible
There are two men named Kolaiah mentioned in the Bible:
- The father of Ahab, not the famous king but a lesser known namesake. This latter Ahab was a false prophet in the days of Jeremiah, who subsequently received word from the Lord that Ahab and his colleague Zedekiah would be roasted in a fire by Nebuchadnezzar, on account of their lying and sexual immorality (Jeremiah 29:21).
- A son of Maaseiah of Benjamin, mentioned by Nehemiah in the context of repeopling Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11:7).
🔼Etymology of the name Kolaiah
The name Kolaiah consists of two elements. The final part is יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, YHWH, or Yahweh.
The first part of our name comes from the root קול (qw/), meaning to speak or voice:
קהל
The unused verb קהל (qahal) probably had to do with contracting or compacting. Nouns קהלה (qehilla) and קהל (qahal) mean assembly, group, company or congregation and the denominative verb קהל (qahal) means to assemble or group up. Noun מקהל (maqhel) also means assembly.
The unused and probably related verb קול (qul) has to do with speaking or addressing an assembly, or perhaps even with the sound that emanates from an assembly. Noun קול (qol) means voice, speech or proclamation. It may also describe the sounds animals make and even that of musical instruments, the sea or other items.
🔼Kolaiah meaning
For a meaning of the name Kolaiah, both NOBSE Study Bible Name List and BDB Theological Dictionary read Voice Of Yahweh. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has The Voice Of The Lord.