יוֹנָתָן
Jonathan
BDB lists 10 entries for ‘Jonathan’ fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
Every verse where H3129 appears in the Book of Ezra — 2 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Ezra
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“Jonathan” is the headline sense of the Hebrew name יונתן (Yôwnâthân). It clusters heavily in 1 Samuel, which alone accounts for 64% of its uses. It turns up in 36 verses across 7 books, a moderately common footprint. Its earliest occurrence is Judges 18:30. The sections below give every occurrence and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3129 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 36
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 36 distinct verses.
- 7 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 7 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #819
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 819 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 36 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- 1 Samuel 23 verses 64%
- 1 Chronicles 4 verses 11%
- Nehemiah 3 verses 8%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 36 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 27 verses · 75%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 9 verses · 25%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Jonathan 34×, Behold jonathan 2×
- American Standard Version: Jonathan 34×
- Berean Standard Bible: Jonathan 37×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Jonathan 43×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3129 across 42 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 6 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3129 across 42 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 8 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3129 across 42 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 5 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3129 across 44 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
18 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 18 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1. יְהוֹ׳ son of Saul 1 S 14:6, 8; 18:1(×2) + 40 times 1 S; 2 S 1:4 + 18 times 2 S; 1 Ch 8:33, 34; 9:39, 40; = יוֹ׳ 1 S 13:2, 3 + 27 times 1 S, 1 Ch 10:2. e.g. 1 Samuel 14:6
- 2. יְהוֹ׳ son of Abiathar 2 S 15:27, 36; 17:17, 20; = יוֹ׳ 1 K 1:42, 43. e.g. 2 Samuel 15:27
- 3. יְהוֹ׳ nephew of David 2 S 21:21 = 1 Ch 20:7; appar. called Jonadab 2 S 13:3 ff. where 𝔊L Ἰωναθαν, cf. יהונדב 2. e.g. 2 Samuel 21:21
- 4. יְהוֹ׳; דּוֹד of David, i.e. his uncle? 1 Ch 27:32. e.g. 1 Chronicles 27:32
- 5. יְהוֹ׳ one of David’s heroes 2 S 23:32 (cf. Dr) = יוֹנָתָן 1 Ch 11:34. e.g. 2 Samuel 23:32
- 6. יְהוֹ׳ one of David’s treasurers 1 Ch 27:25. e.g. 1 Chronicles 27:25
- 7. יְהוֹ׳ a scribe Je 37:15, 20; 38:26. e.g. Jeremiah 37:15
- 8. Levites
- a. יְהוֹ׳ 2 Ch 17:8; e.g. 2 Chronicles 17:8
- b. יוֹ׳ Ne 12:35. e.g. Nehemiah 12:35
- 9. יְהוֹ׳ a priest Ne 12:18. e.g. Nehemiah 12:18
- 10. יְהוֹ׳ priest to the tribe of Dan, son of Gershom Ju 18:30. e.g. Judges 18:30
- 11. יוֹ׳ a Judaite captain, after fall of Jerus. Je 40:8. e.g. Jeremiah 40:8
- 12. יוֹ׳ a Judaite 1 Ch 2:32, 33. e.g. 1 Chronicles 2:32
- 13. יוֹ׳ father of Ebed Ezr 8:6. e.g. Ezra 8:6
- 14. יוֹ׳ son of Asahel Ezr 10:15. e.g. Ezra 10:15
- 15. יוֹ׳ a priest Ne 12:14. e.g. Nehemiah 12:14
- 16. יוֹ׳ son of Joiada Ne 12:11(×2) appar. = יְהוֹחָנָן 2. e.g. Nehemiah 12:11
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
יְהוֹנָתָן, יוֹנָתָן n.pr.m. 𝔊 Ἰωναθαν throughout, with occasional var. (י׳ hath given; cf. אֶלְנָתָן, נְתַנְיָהוּ, נְתַנְאֵל, & reff., Temanite רמננתן HalRÉJ 1884, ix. 7 f. NbrStud. Bib. i. 211; Sab. והבאום Hal 10)—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from יהונתן (Yᵉhôwnâthân) (H3083) — Jonathan.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
יוֹנָתָן
- (b. h.) pr. n. m. Jonathan,
- 1. J. b. Gershom (Jud. XVIII, 30), a priest of idolatry, supposed to be a descendant of Moses. B. Bath. 109ᵇ יו׳ Ms. M. (ed. יהו׳). Cant. R. to II, 5; Ab. d’R. N. ch. XXXIV; Y. Ber. IX, 13ᵈ top; a. e. e.g. Judges 18:30
- 2. J. son of Saul. Ab. V, 16 אהבת דוד וי׳ the friendship between David and J. Ḥull. 95ᵇ כי׳ בן וכ׳ like the omen of J. &c. (1 Sam. XIV, 8 sq.). Cant. R. to VIII, 6; a. e.
- 3. J. b. Uziel, author of the Chaldaic version of the Prophets (v. Zunz, Gottesd. Vortr. p. 66, sq.). Succ. 28ᵃ; B. Bath. 134ᵃ. Meg. 3ᵃ תרגיס של נכיאים י׳ וכ׳ the version of the Prophets has been composed by J. b. U. at the dictation of Haggai &c. Y. Ned. V, end, 39ᵇ גדול שבהן י׳ ב׳ ע׳ the greatest among the disciples of R. Joh. b. Zaccai, was J. &c.
- 4. R. J., a Tannai. Sot. 24ᵃ. Pes. 24ᵃ. Ḥull. 70ᵇ; a. v. fr.—[Erub. 96ᵃ י׳ הקיטוני.]—[Ab. IV, 9, v. Frank. Darkhé, p. 147, note.]
- 5. name of several Amoraim (v. Fr. M’bo, p. 99ᵃ, sq.). Gitt. 78ᵇ. Y. Maas. Sh. III, 54ᵇ top. Ber. 18ᵃ; Y. ib. II, 4ᶜ bot.; a. fr.—Y. Yoma VII, 44ᵇ bot. R. J. of Beth Gubrin.—Y. Peah V, beg. 18ᵈ (R. S. to Peah V, 1 quotes R. Johanan); Y. Shek. I, 46ᵃ bot. R. J. son of R. Isaac bar Aḥa.—Y. Ter. XI, end, 48ᵇ J. b. ʿAkhmai; a. e.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 24 distinct written forms H3129 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| וְ/יוֹנָתָ֣ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 13:16 | 4 |
| יוֹנָתָ֔ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Kings 1:43 | 3 |
| יוֹנָתָ֖ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Chronicles 2:33 | 3 |
| יוֹנָתָ֗ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 13:3 | 3 |
| יוֹנָתָ֛ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Kings 1:42 | 3 |
| יוֹנָתָֽן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 14:3 | 3 |
| י֣וֹנָתָ֔ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 13:2 | 2 |
| יֽוֹנָתָ֔ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 14:29 | 2 |
| יוֹנָתָ֑ן | Noun, Proper | Ezra 8:6 | 2 |
| יוֹנָתָ֣ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 14:12 | 2 |
| יוֹנָתָ֤ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 14:1 | 2 |
| יוֹנָתָ֥ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Chronicles 11:34 | 2 |
| יוֹנָתָ֧ן | Noun, Proper | Ezra 10:15 | 2 |
| בְּ/יוֹנָתָ֥ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 14:39 | 1 |
| הֲֽ/יוֹנָתָ֤ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 14:45 | 1 |
| וְ/יוֹנָתָ֑ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Chronicles 2:32 | 1 |
| וְ/יוֹנָתָ֖ן | Noun, Proper | Nehemiah 12:11 | 1 |
| וְ/יוֹנָתָֽן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 14:21 | 1 |
| וִ/יהֽוֹנָתָן֙ | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 19:1 | 1 |
| וִ֠/יהוֹנָתָן | Noun, Proper | Judges 18:30 | 1 |
| וּ/לְ/יוֹנָתָ֖ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 13:22 | 1 |
| יֽוֹנָתָ֜ן | Noun, Proper | Nehemiah 12:35 | 1 |
| יֽוֹנָתָן֙ | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 14:4 | 1 |
| יוֹנָתָ֜ן | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 14:12 | 1 |
Bible dictionary
Public-domain dictionary articles matched to this entry by name (Jonathan). A biblical name can be shared by more than one person or place, so an article may treat several.
Easton's Bible Dictionary · M. G. Easton, 1897
Whom Jehovah gave, the name of fifteen or more persons that are mentioned in Scripture. The chief of these are, (1.) A Levite descended from Gershom (Judg. 18:30). His history is recorded in 17:7-13 and 18:30. The Rabbins changed this name into Manasseh "to screen the memory of the great lawgiver from the stain of having so unworthy an apostate among his near descendants." He became priest of the idol image at Dan, and this office continued in his family till the Captivity.
(2.) The eldest son of king Saul, and the bosom friend of David. He is first mentioned when he was about thirty years of age, some time after his father's accession to the throne (1 Sam. 13:2). Like his father, he was a man of great strength and activity (2 Sam. 1:23), and excelled in archery and slinging (1 Chr. 12:2;2 Sam. 1:22). The affection that evidently subsisted between him and his father was interrupted by the growth of Saul's insanity. At length, "in fierce anger," he left his father's presence and cast in his lot with the cause of David (1 Sam. 20:34). After an eventful career, interwoven to a great extent with that of David, he fell, along with his father and his two brothers, on the fatal field of Gilboa (1 Sam. 31:2, 8). He was first buried at Jabesh-gilead, but his remains were afterwards removed with those of his father to Zelah, in Benjamin (2 Sam. 21:12-14). His death was the occasion of David's famous elegy of "the Song of the Bow" (2 Sam. 1:17-27). He left one son five years old, Merib-baal, or Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 4:4; comp. 1 Chr. 8:34).
(3.) Son of the high priest Abiathar, and one who adhered to David at the time of Absalom's rebellion (2 Sam. 15:27, 36). He is the last descendant of Eli of whom there is any record.
(4.) Son of Shammah, and David's nephew, and also one of his chief warriors (2 Sam. 21:21). He slew a giant in Gath.
Smith's Bible Dictionary · William Smith, 1863
that is, "the gift of Jehovah, " the eldest son of King Saul. (B.C. about 1095-1056.) He was a man of great strength and activity. (2 Samuel 1:23) He was also famous as a warrior, (1 Chronicles 12:2) as is shown by the courage he showing in attacking the garrison of the Philistines, in company with is armor-bearer only, slaying twenty men and putting an army to flight. (1 Samuel 14:6-16) During the pursuit, Jonathan, who had not heard of the rash curse, ch. (1 Samuel 14:24) which Saul invoked on any one who ate before the evening, tasted the honey which lay on the ground. Saul would have sacrificed him; but the people interposed in behalf of the hero of that great day, and Jonathan was saved. ch. (1 Samuel 14:24-45) The chief interest of Jonathan's career is derived from the friendship with David, which began on the day of David's return from the victory over the champion of Gath, and continued till his death. Their last meeting was in and forest of Ziph, during Saul's pursuit of David. (1 Samuel 23:16-18) From this time forth we hear no more till the battle of Gilboa. In that battle he fell. (1 Samuel 31:2,8) (B.C. 1056.) his ashes were buried first at Jabesh-gilead, ch. (1 Samuel 31:13) but were afterward removed with those of his father to Zelah in Benjamin. (2 Samuel 21:12) The news of his death occasioned the celebrated elegy of David. He left a son, Mephibosheth. [Mephibosheth]
+ A nephew of David. (2 Samuel 21:21; 1 Chronicles 20:7) He engaged in single combat with and slew a gigantic Philistine of Gath. (2 Samuel 21:21) (B.C. 1018.) + The son of Abiathar, the high priest, is the last descendant of Eli of whom we hear anything. (2 Samuel 15:36; 17:15-21; 1 Kings 1:42,43) (B.C. 1023.) + One of David's heroes. (2 Samuel 23:32; 1 Chronicles 11:34) + The son or descendant of Gershom the son of Moses. (Judges 18:30) [Micah] (B.C. about 1425.) + One of the Bene-Adin. (Ezra 8:6) + A priest, the son of Asahel, in the time of Ezra. (Ezra 10:15) (B.C. 459.) + A priest of the family of Melieu. (Nehemiah 12:14) + One of the sons of Kareah, and brother of Johanan. (Jeremiah 40:8) (B.C. 587.) + Son of Joiada, and his successor in the high priesthood. (Nehemiah 12:11,22,23) (B.C. before 332.) + Father of Zechariah, a priest who blew the trumpet at the dedication of the wall. (Nehemiah 12:35) + 1 Esdr. 8:32. [See No. 6] (B.C. 446.)
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary · Roswell D. Hitchcock, 1869
given of God
Classic public-domain reference works; full attribution on Sources.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 33 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 36 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
