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יְהוּדִית

𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤃𐤉𐤕

Yehudit

H3067 noun

SILEX Entry

Root ידה to praise, give thanks, be grateful

Definition

Yehudith is a feminine proper name and ethnic adjective meaning 'Judahite woman' or 'woman from Judah.' In biblical usage, it refers both to a female member of the tribe or territory of Judah and as the personal name for individuals, particularly a wife of Esau. The semantic range covers identity as a Judahite by lineage or regional association, as well as personal names, without connotations of later religious or cultural identities attached to the English term 'Jew.'

Semantic Range

Judahite woman, woman from Judah (by tribe or region), personal name (Judith); rarely—by later extension—woman belonging to the Judean people or territory

Root / Etymology

From the root ידה (to praise, give thanks), but more directly derivative of יְהוּדָה (Yehudah, Judah), with a feminine suffix -ית to form the ethnic/genitive adjective 'Judahite woman.' The name refers to belonging to, or being from, the tribe (later territory) of Judah. The form is the feminine counterpart to the masculine יהוּדִי (Yehudi, Judahite).

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the patriarchal narratives (Genesis 26:34), יְהוּדִית is presented as the name of a Hittite woman, wife of Esau, whose name is rendered Judith in many English translations. There is no evidence that this indicates Judahite origin in that context; rather, it is a personal name likely reflecting a broader Near Eastern naming tradition that is later repurposed as an ethnic identifier. In the Second Temple period and later, similar forms came to denote women associated with the region or people of Judah (by ancestry or territory). Standard English translations often render יְהוּדִית as 'Judith' when it serves as a personal name, without capturing the ethnic nuance present in the Hebrew. The later English term 'Jewess' does not reflect the biblical term's geographic and ethnic specificity, and should be used cautiously for historical contexts; the English 'Jew' postdates the biblical period. Distinct from other feminine ethnonyms such as אֲרָמִית (Aramean woman) or מִצְרִית (Egyptian woman).

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

the same as יְהוּדִית; Jewess; Jehudith, a Canaanitess; Judith.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

ידה (y-d-h) — to praise, give thanks, acknowledge

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1184 בַּעֲלֵי יְהוּדָה Yah is praised
H1937 הוֹדְוָה to Praise-of-Yah
H3029 יְדָא the one giving thanks
H3034 יָדָה I will acknowledge him
H3035 יִדּוֹ Thanking-One

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H3067-01 יְהוּדִ֔ית yehudit HNp Judith Judahite woman Yehudit 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H3067-01 Genesis 26:34 יְהוּדִ֔ית yehudit HNp Judith Judahite woman Yehudit
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