הֲדַרְעֶזֶר
𐤄𐤃𐤓𐤏𐤆𐤓
Hădarʻezer
H1928
SILEX Entry
Definition
Personal name: Hadadezer (also appearing as Hadarezer), a royal name meaning 'Hadad is help' or 'Hadad has helped'. The word is a theophoric compound name, indicating that the deity Hadad (a prominent Aramean storm god) serves as the source of aid or strength for the bearer. In the Hebrew Bible, Hadadezer was the king of Zobah, an Aramean kingdom, and opponent of King David. The attested forms in the Hebrew text (הֲדַדְעֶזֶר, הֲדַרְעֶזֶר) show textual fluidity, likely due to dialectal variation or textual transmission. The semantic range is limited to a personal name, specifically the Aramean monarch mentioned in narratives about the Israelite monarchy.
Semantic Range
personal (theophoric) name; Hadadezer, king of Zobah; variant spelling Hadarezer
Root / Etymology
Compound of אַר and עֶזֶר, likely by metathesis or dialectal reduction from the more common הֲדַדְעֶזֶר (Hadadezer). הֲדַד (Hadad) is the name of the high god of storm and rain in Aramean and wider northwest Semitic pantheons; עֵזֶר ('ezer) means 'help' or 'assistance.' The root עזר (ʿ-z-r) carries the idea 'to help; to assist.' The form הֲדַרְעֶזֶר is a shorter or alternate transcription of הֲדַדְעֶזֶר, possibly influenced by regional pronunciation or scribal convention.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, הֲדַרְעֶזֶר appears in 2 Samuel 8 and 10, with variant spelling forms (including the more common הֲדַדְעֶזֶר; the difference may reflect dialectal or textual tradition rather than a distinction in meaning). The name belongs to the king of Zobah, an Aramean polity to the northeast of Israel, during David's reign. The name is theophoric, meaning the deity Hadad is invoked as source of aid or power. Later Jewish and Christian translations rendered the name sometimes as 'Hadarezer', sometimes as 'Hadadezer,' sometimes influenced by transliteration conventions or confusion with other deities (e.g., Hadar). The Aramean context is crucial: Hadad was a common divine element in personal names throughout the region in the Iron Age. English translations sometimes conflate the forms Hadarezer and Hadadezer, though most modern translations now favor Hadadezer to better reflect the underlying theophoric element. The term never refers to an Israelite, Judahite, or Judean; rather, it is distinctly Aramean and specifically denotes the king of Zobah in the relevant narratives.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from הֲדַר and עֵזֶר; Hadar (i.e. Hadad, הֲדַד) is his help; (i.e. Hadadezer, הֲדַדְעֶזֶר); Hadarezer, a Syrian king; Hadarezer.
Bantu Hebrew
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Occurrences in Scripture
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