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The Name Pethahiah (פתחיה)

The Hebrew name Pethahiah (פתחיה) is a theophoric compound consisting of two elements. The final component, יה (Yah), represents a shortened form of יהו (Yahu) or יו (Yu), all of which are abbreviations of the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH), traditionally rendered as Yahweh or the Lord.

The first element derives from the Hebrew root פתח (patah), meaning to open or, in certain contexts, to engrave. The basic verbal form פתח (patah) denotes the act of opening. Because the opening of the lips precedes speaking and the opening of the ears precedes hearing, the verb can extend metaphorically to the acts of speaking, hearing, or even seeing. It may also imply hospitality, petitioning with open hands, or loosening that which is bound.

In some usages, the verb (or a related stem) can also mean to engrave—a semantic development that parallels the concept of “opening” a surface so that it may “speak” through its inscription.

A number of nouns are derived from this root:

פתח (petah) — an opening or doorway;

פתח (petah) (variant form) — an opening in the sense of unfolding;

פתון (pithon) — an opening;

פתיחה (petiḥah) — a drawn sword, metaphorically described as having a “mouth”;

מפתח (miptah) — an utterance (from the prefixed מ, indicating place or agency);

מפתח (mapteaḥ) — a key.

The name Pethahiah, therefore, literally signifies “Yah Opens.” However, its precise interpretive sense is debated.

According to the NOBSE Study Bible Name List, the name may refer to the termination of barrenness or childlessness (cf. Genesis 30:22), and is interpreted as “Yahweh Opens (the Womb).”

Similarly, Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names derives the name from פתח (patah), rendering it “Loosened of the Lord” and explaining it as “Whom the Lord Has Set Free.”

The Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (BDB) lists Pethahiah under the root פתח (patah), though without providing a specific interpretive gloss.

In summary, Pethahiah may be understood broadly as “Yahweh Opens” or “Yahweh Sets Free,” expressing divine action that brings liberation, revelation, or fruitfulness.
Nehemiah 11:24
“And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people.”
Ezra 10:23
“Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.”