Boy Old Testament Rare
Habaiah
the hiding of the Lord
חֲבַיָה cha.vay.yah
Habaiah (Hebrew: חֲבַיָה, cha.vay.yah) means “the hiding of the Lord”, by traditional interpretation. It appears in 2 verses across 2 books of the Bible. In United States birth records the name is below the reporting threshold. Appears with Barzillai in Ezra 2.
The bearer in scripture
One person in scripture bears this name.
-
Habaiah
Scripture against society
The two measures, side by side
At a glance
- Verses
- 2 across 2 books
- Bearers
- 1 one person only
- Testament
- Old
- Era
- Return
Using it today
In United States birth records this name is below the reporting threshold. The Social Security Administration does not publish counts under five, so a name given to four children looks the same as one given to none.
In scripture
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First appears | Ezra 2:61 |
| Last appears | Nehemiah 7:63 |
| Cross-references | 15 linked passages |
Names connected to this one
- Barzillai co-occurrence Appears with Barzillai in Ezra 2.
- Hakkoz co-occurrence Appears with Hakkoz in Ezra 2.
- Isaiah root Shares the element -yah, “Yahweh”.
- Elijah root Shares the element -yah, “Yahweh”.
- Hezekiah root Shares the element -yah, “Yahweh”.
- Mattaniah root Shares the element -yah, “Yahweh”.
- Josiah root Shares the element -yah, “Yahweh”.
- Zedekiah root Shares the element -yah, “Yahweh”.
Origin & meaning
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.61; also called Hobaiah at Neh.7.63;
§ Habaiah = "Jehovah has hidden"
head of a priestly family who returned from exile with Zerubbabel
Habaiah was a priest whose descendants were excluded from the priesthood due to insufficient genealogical records.
The biblical story
Habaiah is mentioned in Ezr.2.61 and Neh.7.63 as one of the priests who returned from the Babylonian exile to Jerusalem. However, when the genealogies of the priests were examined, the descendants of Habaiah were unable to prove their priestly lineage. As a result, they were considered unclean and were excluded from serving as priests. The governor ordered them not to eat from the most holy things until a priest with the Urim and Thummim could resolve the matter. The Urim and Thummim were sacred objects used to determine the will of God. The fact that the descendants of Habaiah could not provide clear genealogical records suggests that their priestly lineage may have been lost or compromised during the exile.
Key verses
Habaiah appears in 2 verses. Here are some of the most notable:
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And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name:
Ezra 2:61 -
And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name.
Nehemiah 7:63
Show all 2 references
Ezra (1)
- Ezra 2:61
Nehemiah (1)
- Nehemiah 7:63