🔼The name Uzai: Summary
- Meaning
- Hastily, Haste Of Yah
- Etymology
- From (1) the verb אוץ ('uz), to hasten, possibly extended with (2) יה (yah), the name of the Lord.
🔼The name Uzai in the Bible
The name Uzai occurs only once in the Bible. In Nehemiah 3:25 we meet a man named Palal, the son of Uzai, who made repairs to the wall of Jerusalem.
🔼Etymology of the name Uzai
It's not clear where the name Uzai might derive from, but traditionally it's been assumed that the first segment, namely אוז ('uz) is a transliteration of a similar Arabic verb that in Hebrew normally looks like אוץ ('uz):
אוץ
The verb אוץ ('uz) means to hasten or press into getting a move on.
The letter י (yod) upon which our name ends, may either create an adjective (hastily), a possessive form (my haste), or may be a remnant of יה (Yah), which is short for יהוה, which is the name YHWH, or Yahweh.
🔼Uzai meaning
For a meaning of the name Uzai, Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads a rather technical Velocity Of The Lord. NOBSE Study Bible Name List has Hoped For, for no discernable reason. BDB Theological Dictionary does not offer an interpretation of this name.