Hephzibah
English
Etymology
From Biblical Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (ḥep̄ṣî-ḇāh, “my delight is in her”).
Pronunciation
- (given name): IPA(key): /ˈhɛpzɪbə/, /ˈhɛfzɪbə/
- (town in Georgia): IPA(key): /ˈhɛpzɪbə/
- Hyphenation: Heph‧zi‧bah
Proper noun
Hephzibah
- A female given name from Hebrew of Biblical origin. Used by Puritans in the 17th and 18th century, but rare today.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Isaiah 62:4:
- Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
- 1861, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, OCLC 457563123, part I, page 250:
- "My mother's name was Hephzibah," said Silas, "and my little sister was named after her."
- 1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 7, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, OCLC 33897078:
- "Well, anyhow," she chuckled, "you can be glad it isn't Hephzibah." "Hephzibah!" "Yes. Mrs White's name is that. Her husband calls her 'Hep', and she doesn't like it. She says when he calls out 'Hep - Hep!' she feels as if the next minute he was going to yell,'Hurrah!'"
-
- A town in Richmond County, Georgia, United States