🔼The name Omar: Summary
- Meaning
- Talkative, He Says
- Etymology
- From the verb אמר (amar), to talk.
🔼The name Omar in the Bible
The only Omar in the Bible is a grandson of Esau and Adah, and a son of Eliphaz (Genesis 36:11). Omar became a chief of Edom (Genesis 36:15), but plays no further role in the Bible.
🔼Etymology of the name Omar
The name Omar comes from the common verb אמר (amar), meaning to speak:
אמר
The ubiquitous verb אמר ('amar) means to talk or say and may even mean to promise or command. Nouns אמר ('omer) and מאמר (ma'amar) mean speech, word, promise or command. Nouns אמרה ('imra) and אמרה ('emra) mean utterance or speech. The metaphorical noun אמיר ('amir) refers to the leafy and fruit bearing crown of a tree.
🔼Omar meaning
For a meaning of the name Omar, both NOBSE Study Bible Name List and BDB Theological Dictionary read Eloquent. Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) too derives this name from the verb אמר (amar) but translates this name with a most curious Uppermost. He then proceeds to explain how "it is generally understood of "he that speaks;" hence Gesenius says, "eloquent," "talkative"." But how Jones then arrives at "uppermost" remains an unaddressed mystery.