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גֵּיחֲזִי

𐤂𐤉𐤇𐤆𐤉

Geychazi

H1522 noun

SILEX Entry

Root גיא, חזה to excavate or form a valley, to see, to have a vision

Definition

Personal name: Gehazi. Servant (attendant or aide) of the prophet Elisha during the monarchic period; appears chiefly as a narrative character in the Elisha cycle (2 Kings 4–8). The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it likely refers to 'valley of vision' or 'valley of a seer,' reflecting either geographic or metaphorical qualities. The word is only attested as a proper noun, and does not occur outside of this personal name context.

Semantic Range

proper name: Gehazi, attendant or servant, personal name belonging to Elisha's servant

Root / Etymology

Compound formation, apparently from גַּיְא (gai', 'valley') and חָזָה (chazah, 'to see, to have a vision'). Name construction: 'valley of vision/seer'. However, the exact sense of the composite is uncertain, and alternate etymologies have been proposed. The spelling variation (גֵּיחֲזִי vs. גֵּחֲזִי) reflects the vocalization of the first element.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Gehazi is a personal name found only in narratives concerning the prophet Elisha. He functions as Elisha's servant and aide, but becomes infamous for his duplicity in the incident with Naaman the Aramean (2 Kings 5), leading to his punishment with skin disease. The name does not recur as a common personal name in broader biblical tradition. Early interpreters and translations sometimes preserve the name without translation, but later traditions (including English renditions) often use 'Gehazi.' The meaning of the name itself is ambiguous and may reflect an archaic or poetic formation. There is no evidence the name was used as a title or to denote a general office. The presence of the element חָזָה ('to see, have a vision') may associate the name with prophetic or visionary attributes, but there is no direct evidence this was intended in the narrative. The term is not directly connected to Judahite, Israelite, or later Judean identity, but is linked contextually to the Israelite prophetic milieu of the northern kingdom.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or גֵּחֲזִי; apparently from גַּיְא and חָזָה; valley of a visionary; Gechazi, the servant of Elisha; Gehazi.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

גיא, חזה (g-y-ʾ; ḥ-z-h) — valley, ravine; to see, to envision, to have a vision

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H1522-02 גֵּיחֲזִ֗י geychazi HNp Gehazi Valley-of-Vision Geychazi 6
H1522-01 גֵּחֲזִ֣י gechazi HNp Gehazi Valley-of-Vision Geychazi 4
H1522-04 וְ/גֵחֲזִ֞י vegechazi HC/Np And Gehazi Gehazi and Geychazi 1
H1522-03 לְ/גֵיחֲזִ֜י legeychazi HR/Np to Gehazi to Valley-of-Vision to Geychazi 1

Occurrences in Scripture

12 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H1522-01 2 Kings 4:12 גֵּחֲזִ֣י gechazi HNp Gehazi Valley-of-Vision Geychazi
H1522-02 2 Kings 4:14 גֵּיחֲזִ֗י geychazi HNp Gehazi Valley-of-Vision Geychazi
H1522-02 2 Kings 4:25 גֵּיחֲזִ֣י geychazi HNp Gehazi Valley-of-Vision Geychazi
H1522-02 2 Kings 4:27 גֵּֽיחֲזִ֜י geychazi HNp Gehazi Valley-of-Vision Geychazi
H1522-03 2 Kings 4:29 לְ/גֵיחֲזִ֜י legeychazi HR/Np to Gehazi to Valley-of-Vision to Geychazi
H1522-04 2 Kings 4:31 וְ/גֵחֲזִ֞י vegechazi HC/Np And Gehazi Gehazi and Geychazi
H1522-02 2 Kings 4:36 גֵּיחֲזִ֗י geychazi HNp Gehazi Valley-of-Vision Geychazi
H1522-02 2 Kings 5:20 גֵּיחֲזִ֗י geychazi HNp Gehazi Valley-of-Vision Geychazi
H1522-02 2 Kings 5:21 גֵּיחֲזִ֖י geychazi HNp Gehazi Valley-of-Vision Geychazi
H1522-01 2 Kings 5:25 גֵּחֲזִ֑י gechazi HNp Gehazi Valley-of-Vision Geychazi
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