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Hi there! I'm really curious about what Abigail means. I've always thought it was "father's joy", but according to Behind the Names, it means "my father is joy" which is totally different. Does anyone know what it really is? Does the hebrew "Avigayil" have a literal translation? Thank you!
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Both translations are correct. And you could also translate "(My) father is joyful". The crucial point is the letter I after "av". Vowels don't usually matter a lot in Hebrew but this one does: it can be either a suffix indicating a possessive pronoun ("ach" means "brother" and "achi" is "my brother") or else it can mean - nothing, because it's just the relict of an ancient grammatical phenomenon which has lost its meaning. We just don't know.
Andy ;—)
Andy ;—)
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and the I can also mean
"of", so "avi gayil" can literally mean "father of joy", although it probably wasn't the original meaning of the name.
"of", so "avi gayil" can literally mean "father of joy", although it probably wasn't the original meaning of the name.
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Hi, Shai!
I don't think your name exists in the States (or it must be very rare) so I suppose you are Israeli.
Yes, I've wondered about "father of joy", too, but I haven't figured out, what this could actually mean. Being a father myself, I can feel with anyone talking about the joy of becoming a father. But what would be the "father of joy"?
I know about the "son of good luck" or "son of the south" (BENJAMIN), in German we talk about "the mother of all battles" (a very important or sever battle), but I'm not familiar with "the father of …" Do you have a clue?
Andy ;—)
P.S.: In case you are Israeli: Do you know a good Israeli name book?
I don't think your name exists in the States (or it must be very rare) so I suppose you are Israeli.
Yes, I've wondered about "father of joy", too, but I haven't figured out, what this could actually mean. Being a father myself, I can feel with anyone talking about the joy of becoming a father. But what would be the "father of joy"?
I know about the "son of good luck" or "son of the south" (BENJAMIN), in German we talk about "the mother of all battles" (a very important or sever battle), but I'm not familiar with "the father of …" Do you have a clue?
Andy ;—)
P.S.: In case you are Israeli: Do you know a good Israeli name book?
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Hi, Andy :-)
I think "father of" usually refers to someone who was either the founder of something, or started an idea, invented something, etc.
At least we (and your right about me being Israeli) call Einstein "father of relativity", Herzl is "father of Zionism", Jesus we call "father of Christianity", etc. (and I think we're not the only ones, but maybe I'm wrong.)
But I don't see how we can apply that to "father of joy".
On a differnt level, I suppose that if your child is "your joy", then it makes you "father of joy" :-) but of course such a name wouldn't describe the child himself (or herself in our case, which would make even less sense).
Finally, I guess if we want to we can call someone who is simply very joyful "father of joy". Implying he looks as if he himself has invented joy, or something...
Again, doesn't make much sense as a name go give to a baby girl, but not impossible to come up with reasons.
P.S.
Don't know any name books, sorry...
P.S. 2
Your knowledge of languages is very impressive! May I ask how many languages you speak?
I think "father of" usually refers to someone who was either the founder of something, or started an idea, invented something, etc.
At least we (and your right about me being Israeli) call Einstein "father of relativity", Herzl is "father of Zionism", Jesus we call "father of Christianity", etc. (and I think we're not the only ones, but maybe I'm wrong.)
But I don't see how we can apply that to "father of joy".
On a differnt level, I suppose that if your child is "your joy", then it makes you "father of joy" :-) but of course such a name wouldn't describe the child himself (or herself in our case, which would make even less sense).
Finally, I guess if we want to we can call someone who is simply very joyful "father of joy". Implying he looks as if he himself has invented joy, or something...
Again, doesn't make much sense as a name go give to a baby girl, but not impossible to come up with reasons.
P.S.
Don't know any name books, sorry...
P.S. 2
Your knowledge of languages is very impressive! May I ask how many languages you speak?
1
When we were kids we used to watch a tv series called "The Men from the Shilo Ranch" and I believe this has to do with your name. In the bible Shilo is a place-name, not a given name. It is spelled with an H in the end or sometimes without. The biblical village was situated about 35 km north of Jerusalem (and a little bit to the east). Its name may be derived from an Aramaic word "sheleh" meaning "peaceful, quiet" (Hebrew: "shalev" = "safe"; "shalva" = "safety, peace").
There is one vers in the bible where the word "shilo" refers to a person: Gen 49,10. The meaning is clear: "ruler". Probably the Hebrew text is damaged and an initial M was omitted at one point. Or else it may be from Accadic "shilu" meaning the same. One guy proposed "new-born" as a translation (from Hebrew ShaLaL = to pull out), but I'm afraid he had the story of Jesus in mind …
Hope this helps.
Andy ;—)
There is one vers in the bible where the word "shilo" refers to a person: Gen 49,10. The meaning is clear: "ruler". Probably the Hebrew text is damaged and an initial M was omitted at one point. Or else it may be from Accadic "shilu" meaning the same. One guy proposed "new-born" as a translation (from Hebrew ShaLaL = to pull out), but I'm afraid he had the story of Jesus in mind …
Hope this helps.
Andy ;—)
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Thanks again! Very interesting!
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