THE DISTRIBUTION OF THEOPHORIC ELEMENTS IN A CORPUS OF 262 BIBLICAL PERSONAL NAMES: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF YAHWISTIC, EL-BASED, ADON, AND SHADDAI NAME FORMATIONS
Željko Stanojević
Institute for Hebrew Language and Literature, Belgrade, Serbia
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0717-6184
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17613/5md5q-5fa46
Academia.edu Version
Abstract
This study examines the distribution of theophoric elements in a corpus of 262 biblical personal names extracted from a systematically compiled onomastic corpus. The analysis focuses on four principal categories of Hebrew theophoric formations: Yahwistic names containing the divine element Yah/Yahu, names incorporating the divine title El, names derived from Adon (“Lord”), and names containing the divine epithet Shaddai.
Quantitative analysis demonstrates that Yahwistic formations constitute 55.34% of the corpus (145 names), while El-based formations account for 41.60% (109 names). Names containing Adon represent 1.91% (5 names), whereas Shaddai-based formations constitute only 0.76% (2 names). These findings indicate that although Yahwistic anthroponymy became the dominant naming pattern within the Hebrew biblical tradition, El-based formations remained remarkably productive and continued to occupy a substantial portion of the onomastic landscape.
The study contributes to biblical onomastics, Hebrew linguistics, biblical anthroponymy, and the study of religious terminology preserved in personal names by providing a quantitative assessment of the principal theophoric elements found within a defined corpus of biblical names.
Keywords
Biblical Onomastics; Hebrew Personal Names; Theophoric Names; Biblical Anthroponymy; Hebrew Bible; Biblical Hebrew; Yahweh; El; Adon; Shaddai; Hebrew Linguistics; Semitic Linguistics; Ancient Israelite Religion; Personal Names in the Bible; Biblical Studies
Full Text and Repository Links
DOI Version
https://doi.org/10.17613/5md5q-5fa46
Academia.edu Version
Description
This article presents a quantitative study of 262 biblical theophoric personal names classified according to their principal divine element. The corpus includes Yahwistic formations containing Yah/Yahu, names incorporating the divine title El, as well as smaller groups associated with Adon and Shaddai.
The study analyzes the relative frequency of these elements and demonstrates the predominance of Yahwistic formations while simultaneously highlighting the remarkable persistence of El-based names within biblical anthroponymy. The findings contribute to the understanding of Hebrew naming practices, biblical onomastics, religious vocabulary, and the linguistic history of personal names preserved in the Hebrew Bible.
Rather than attempting to reconstruct the history of Israelite religion solely from anthroponymic evidence, the article provides a statistically grounded description of the distribution of major theophoric elements within a clearly defined corpus.
Research Areas
Biblical Onomastics; Hebrew Bible; Biblical Hebrew; Hebrew Linguistics; Semitic Philology; Anthroponymy; Historical Linguistics; Ancient Israelite Religion; Old Testament Studies; Biblical Studies
Citation
Stanojević, Željko.
The Distribution of Theophoric Elements in a Corpus of 262 Biblical Personal Names: A Quantitative Analysis of Yahwistic, El-Based, Adon, and Shaddai Name Formations. Belgrade: Institute for Hebrew Language and Literature, 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17613/5md5q-5fa46
Related Work
Stanojević, Željko. Onomastikon biblijskih imena. Tom I: Starozavetna imena (Preview Edition). Belgrade: Institute for Hebrew Language and Literature, 2026.
Stanojević, Željko. Sveto pismo ili Biblija: Savremeni prevod sa hebrejskog. Belgrade, 2010.
Additional Information
Language: English
Type: Research Article
Primary Topics: Biblical Onomastics; Theophoric Names; Biblical Anthroponymy; Hebrew Personal Names; Biblical Hebrew; Yahweh; El; Adon; Shaddai; Hebrew Bible