BENJAMIN m English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Biblical
From the Hebrew name בִּנְיָמִין (Binyamin)
meaning "son of the south"
or "son of the right hand"
, from the roots בֵּן (ben)
meaning "son" and יָמִין (yamin)
meaning "right hand, south". Benjamin in the Old Testament was the twelfth and youngest son of Jacob
and the founder of one of the southern tribes of the Hebrews. He was originally named בֶּן־אוֹנִי (Ben-'oni)
meaning "son of my sorrow" by his mother Rachel
, who died shortly after childbirth, but it was later changed by his father (see Genesis 35:18
GAD m Biblical
Means "fortune, luck"
in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, Gad is the first son of Jacob
's slave-girl Zilpah
, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites. His name is explained in Genesis 30:11
. Another Gad in the Old Testament is a prophet of King David
ISSACHAR m Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Possibly means "man of hire"
or "there is reward"
, from Hebrew שָׁכַר (shakhar)
meaning "hire, wage, reward". In the Old Testament this is the name of one of the twelve sons of Jacob
and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. A justification for the name's meaning is given in Genesis 30:18
JOSEPH m English, French, German, Biblical
, the Latin form of Greek Ιωσηφ (Ioseph)
, which was from the Hebrew name יוֹסֵף (Yosef)
meaning "he will add"
, from the root יָסַף (yasaf)
. In the Old Testament Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob
and the first with his wife Rachel
. Because he was the favourite of his father, his older brothers sent him to Egypt and told their father that he had died. In Egypt, Joseph became an advisor to the pharaoh, and was eventually reconciled with his brothers when they came to Egypt during a famine. This name also occurs in the New Testament, belonging to Saint Joseph the husband of Mary
, and to Joseph of Arimathea.... [more]
JUDAH m Biblical
From the Hebrew name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah)
, probably derived from יָדָה (yadah)
meaning "praise". In the Old Testament Judah is the fourth of the twelve sons of Jacob
, and the ancestor of the tribe of Judah. An explanation for his name is given in Genesis 29:35
. His tribe eventually formed the Kingdom of Judah in the south of Israel. King David
were among the descendants of him and his wife Tamar
. This name was also borne by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish priest who revolted against Seleucid rule in the 2nd century BC, as told in the Books of Maccabees.... [more]
LEVI m Hebrew, English, Dutch, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Possibly means "joined, attached"
in Hebrew. As told in the Old Testament, Levi was the third son of Jacob
, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, known as the Levites. This was the tribe that formed the priestly class of the Israelites. The brothers Moses
were members. In the New Testament this is another name for the apostle Matthew
. As an English Christian name, Levi
came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
NAPHTALI m Biblical
Means "my struggle, my strife"
in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is a son of Jacob
's servant Bilhah
, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
REUBEN m Biblical, Hebrew, English
Means "behold, a son"
in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is the eldest son of Jacob
and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Reuben was cursed by his father because he slept with Jacob's concubine Bilhah
. It has been used as a Christian name in Britain since the Protestant Reformation.
SIMEON m Biblical, Bulgarian, Serbian
From Συμεων (Symeon)
, the Old Testament Greek form of the Hebrew name Shim'on
(see SIMON (1)
). In the Old Testament this is the name of the second son of Jacob
and the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the New Testament the Greek rendering Σιμων (Simon)
is more common, though Συμεων
occurs belonging to a man who blessed the newborn Jesus
. He is recognized as a saint in most Christian traditions.... [more]
ZEBULUN m Biblical
Possibly derived from Ugartic zbl
. In the Old Testament Zebulun is the tenth son of Jacob
(his sixth son by Leah
) and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Genesis 30:20
implies two different roots for the name: זָבַל (zaval)
meaning "to dwell" and זֵבֵד (zeved)
meaning "gift, dowry". These are probably only folk etymologies.