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אַדָּן

𐤀𐤃𐤍

Adan

H135 noun

SILEX Entry

Root אדן to be firm, to support, to serve as a base

Definition

Proper name, referring to a geographic location listed as one of the places from which returning exiles could not demonstrate their ancestry as Israelite. The term is best understood as a toponym rather than a common noun, and it designates a particular place, likely a settlement. Its semantic range in the Hebrew Bible does not extend beyond its use as a proper name.

Semantic Range

proper noun (place name), possibly indicating 'firmness' or 'foundation' as an attribute of the place; strictly as a toponym referring to an origin among the returnees in Ezra-Nehemiah

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root א-ד-ן (אדן), meaning 'base, pedestal, foundation;' here used intensively (in a strengthened or emphatic form), possibly to denote firmness or stability. However, direct lexical derivation is uncertain as the word functions as a proper noun and may reflect a local designation or traditional place-name whose precise etymology has been lost or obscured over time.

Historical & Contextual Notes

אַדָּן (ʼAddân) appears only in post-exilic lists (Ezra 2:59; Nehemiah 7:61), part of the record detailing individuals lacking genealogical records among the returnees from Babylon. The word does not refer to an Israelite individual but to a locality or family group associated with a place, likely in Babylonia or the wider exile diaspora. Later translation traditions have sometimes treated it as a personal name due to its form, but the context in Ezra-Nehemiah strongly suggests a geographic or clan-based origin. The root relates to strength or foundation, paralleling other place-names derived from similar concepts, though this significance may have been nominal rather than descriptive at the time of usage. No clear continuity of the settlement's identity or location is identifiable in post-biblical records.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

intensive from the same as אֶדֶן; firm; Addan, an Israelite; Addan.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אדן (ʾ-d-n) — firmness, base, foundation, support

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H113 אָדוֹן master of
H114 אַדּוֹן lord of
H134 אֶדֶן his support-bases
H136 אֲדֹנָי lord
H137 אֲדֹנִי־בֶזֶק my lord

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H135-01 אַדָּ֖ן adan HNp Addan Addan (Firm-Foundation) 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H135-01 Ezra 2:59 אַדָּ֖ן adan HNp Addan Addan (Firm-Foundation)
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