🔼The name Mattanah: Summary
- Meaning
- Gift
- Etymology
- From the noun מתנה (mattana), gift, from the verb נתן (natan), to give.
🔼The name Mattanah in the Bible
The name Mattanah occurs only in one scene of the Bible. It's the name of a place that Israel passed on their way from Mount Hor — where Moses constructed the famous bronze serpent, a.k.a. Nehushtan — to Moab (Numbers 21:18-19).
🔼Etymology of the name Mattanah
The name Mattanah is identical to the noun מתנה (mattana), meaning gift:
נתן
The shape-shifting verb נתן (natan) means to give in a broad bouquet of senses, from regular giving or bestowing, to setting or putting, to transforming one thing or situation into another.
This verb's three nouns מתן (mattan), מתנה (mattana) and מתת (mattat) all mean gift, again broadly ranging from a regular present to an offering to an innate talent (being "gifted").
🔼Mattanah meaning
For a meaning of the name Mattanah, both Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names and NOBSE Study Bible Name List read Gift. BDB Theological Dictionary doesn't translate this name but does confirm that it is identical to the noun מתנה (mattana), meaning gift.