יוֹנָתָן
yo.na.tan
Jonathan
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Jonathan (יוֹנָתָן) Based on the lexicon data provided, Jonathan is a proper noun that appears exactly once in the Hebrew Bible. The name itself carries no elaborated definition beyond its identification as a personal name, indicating that the lexicon treats it as a straightforward designation rather than a word with theological or descriptive meaning. The single occurrence of this form in the biblical text limits what can be determined about its usage patterns or contextual significance from the lexicon alone. Unlike common nouns or verbs that appear multiple times and reveal their range of meaning through various contexts, a hapax legomenon—a word appearing only once—provides minimal data about how the name functioned in Hebrew discourse or whether it held special resonance in biblical tradition. For understanding the actual importance of Jonathan in biblical narrative or history, one would need to consult the scriptural passages themselves rather than rely on this lexical entry. The lexicon's spare notation reflects its purpose: to catalog Hebrew words and their basic forms rather than to narrate the roles figures bearing those names played in biblical history.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence across the text