What Does Nehemiah 11:17 Mean?
And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the leader to begin the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.THE KEY
The Hebrew word behind “thanksgiving” grows from a root of acknowledgment, making this a voiced beginning of prayer rather than a passing feeling.
THE MEANING
Mattaniah is named to begin thanksgiving within prayer, and his name means “gift of Yah.” The opening voice belongs to a wider company: Bakbukiah and the others stand alongside him in the work of praise.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Gratitude does not have to wait until it arrives as a feeling; here, thanksgiving is a deliberate beginning within prayer, carried among others.
THE ROOT
לְהוֹדוֹת
lehodot
GROWS FROM
ידה
y-d-h
Acknowledge, give thanks, praise.
The Hebrew phrase means “to begin giving thanks.” Its root connects thanksgiving with acknowledgment: prayer begins by voicing what is received and what is true.
ALSO GROWS
todah: Thanksgiving; confession or acknowledgment.
תּוֹדָה
This related noun shows thanksgiving as an expressed act, not only an inward feeling.
Yehudah: Judah; a name associated with praise.
יְהוּדָה
The name grows from the same root, joining a people’s name with the language of giving thanks.
תְּפִלָּה
tefillah
GROWS FROM
פלל
p-l-l
Intervene, intercede; judge.
The word for prayer shares its root with language of intercession. Here, thanksgiving is not separate from prayer: it is how the prayer begins.
ALSO GROWS
palal: Intercede; judge.
פָּלַל
The root’s sense of intercession gives prayer the shape of active appeal.
hitpallel: Pray; intercede.
הִתְפַּלֵּל
This verbal form makes the link between tefillah and intercession audible.
מַתַּנְיָהוּ
Mattanyahu
GROWS FROM
נתן
n-t-n
Give, set, place.
Mattaniah means “gift of Yah.” The one who begins thanksgiving bears a name that speaks of receiving as gift.
ALSO GROWS
natan: Give, set, place.
נָתַן
This verb is the seed behind the gift-language in Mattaniah’s name.
mattan: Gift.
מַתָּן
This noun shares the root and carries the sense compressed in the name.
THE PATTERN
Thanksgiving is voiced within prayer, where one person’s praise can become a shared practice.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with a clamor of praise; lift your hands to him, and bless his nature.But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of open-handed thanks; what I have vowed, I will make whole. Deliverance belongs to the LORD.Through him, then, let us always carry up a sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.THE THREAD
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with a clamor of praise; lift your hands to him, and bless his nature.Nehemiah’s לְהוֹדוֹת (lehodot, “to give thanks”) and Psalm 100’s תּוֹדָה (todah, “thanksgiving”) grow from ידה (y-d-h), the root of acknowledgment and praise. Nehemiah shows one voice beginning the act; the psalm shows thanksgiving opening the way into shared praise.
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