Meshelemiah meaning

Meaning

Yah Repays, Whom The Lord Repays

Etymology

From (1) the verb שלם (shalem), to be or make whole or complete, and (2) יה (yah), the name of the Lord.

Related names

• Via שלם (shalem): Abishalom, Absalom, Bishlam, Islam, Jerusalem, Meshillemith, Meshillemoth, Meshullam, Meshullemeth, Muslim, Salamis, Salem, Salim, Salmone, Salome, Shallum, Shallun, Shalmai, Shalmaneser, Shelemiah, Shelomi, Shelomith, Shelumiel, Shulammite, Solomon, YHWH-shalom

• Via יה (yah): See the 'browse by form' menu for a long list of yah-names.

There's only one man named Meshelemiah in the Bible. He is the father of Zechariah, whom the Chronicler mentions among the priests who returned from the Babylonian exile (1 Chronicles 9:21).

Most translations have this Zechariah be the gatekeeper at the Tent of Meeting, but that would be difficult to combine with the return from exile. It's more probably that not Zechariah but his distant ancestor Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the tabernacle (possibly at the time of David, or earlier).

In 1 Chronicles 26:1, this Meshelemiah (now spelled with a final waw: משלמיהו or Meshelemiahu) is listed as a son of Kore of the sons of Asaph. The Chronicler lists 18 "sons" of Meshelemiah to have made it back from Babylon (1 Chronicles 26:9).

The name Meshelemiah consists of two elements, the final one being 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 appears to be a participle of the verb שלם (shalem), to be or make whole or complete:

For a meaning of the name Meshelemiah, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Yahweh Repays and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes Whom The Lord Repays, "i.e. rewards graciously". BDB Theological Dictionary does not translate this name but does list it under the verb שלם (shalem).