זְבִינָא
𐤆𐤁𐤉𐤍𐤀
Zevina
H2081 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A personal name, Zebina, attested as an individual in post-exilic Israelite contexts, likely bearing a meaning related to 'profit' or 'gain'. The term itself is used solely as a proper name in the Hebrew Bible and does not function as an appellative (common noun or adjective) elsewhere. Its underlying sense appears to connote 'purchase,' 'gain', or 'acquisition,' but as a name, it primarily identifies a specific Israelite and does not denote those qualities directly in lexical usage.
Semantic Range
Zebina (personal name); possible connotations of profit, gain, acquisition (by root association), though not attested as a noun or adjective in Biblical Hebrew
Root / Etymology
From the root זבן, meaning 'to buy, purchase, acquire.' The word זְבִינָא (Zebina) is a nominal form, likely a passive participle or abstract noun construction, rendered here as a personal name. The root is otherwise unused in Biblical Hebrew; however, it is attested with meanings such as 'to buy, sell' in later Aramaic (see e.g. Daniel and post-biblical literature).
Historical & Contextual Notes
זְבִינָא appears in post-exilic genealogical lists, specifically in Ezra 10:43, identifying an individual involved in the list of families. The name may reflect increasing contact and linguistic overlap with Aramaic and Persian languages during the Persian period, when commercial terminology and names derived from them became more prevalent. Unlike more common Israelite theophoric names, זְבִינָא is structurally and semantically similar to Aramaic personal names developed from commercial vocabulary, which reflects the socio-economic and linguistic influences of the era. The term is not used to denote 'gainfulness' or 'purchase' in any non-nominal context within the Hebrew Bible. Later translations (e.g., KJV: 'Zebina') simply transliterate the name without interpretation, and English usage retains this form. The name should not be confused with titles or terms indicating ethnicity or occupation. Its limited biblical usage restricts semantic developments and precludes significant meaning shifts over time.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from an unused root (meaning to purchase); gainfulness; Zebina, an Israelite; Zebina.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
זבן (z-b-n) — buy, purchase, acquire
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2084 | זְבַן | the buying ones |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2081-01 |
זְבִינָ֔א | zevina | HNp |
Zebina | Zebina | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H2081-01 |
Ezra 10:43 | זְבִינָ֔א | zevina | HNp |
Zebina | Zebina |