tyolilums wrote:
I was glancing at wikipedia on Hezekiah. Under Etymology is says his name means 'mighty god' or 'might of god'....
I notice the JPS keeps the translation [of Isaiah 9:5] as the person being named mighty god, everlasting father [snip]


The etymology in that wikipedia article is inaccurate. The root of the name חִזְקִיָּֽהוּ Ḥizkiyyahu is חזק, a verb stem that can mean

strengthen, fortify in the PI'ÉL (חַזֵּק),
hold, seize in the HIF'IL (הַחֲזֵק), and
gather one's strength, take courage in the HITPA'ÉL (הִתְחַזֵּק).
It also spawns a number of nouns, including
חוֹזֶק, חָזְקָה, חֶזְקָה strength, and
חֲזָקָה taking hold, seizing, occupying, presumption [of entitlement]
as well as the adjectives
חָזָק, חָזֵק strong.
Accordingly, חִזְקִיָּֽהוּ Ḥizkiyyahu can be said to "mean" something like Strengthened by God.

As regards the 1917 JPSA T'nach − we are fully aware here of its many shortcomings. I can't comment on the 1985 edition because I do not own a copy.

http://mordochai.tripod.com - פרופ' מָרְדֳּכַי בֶּן-צִיּוֹן, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל

Last Edited By: ProfBenTziyyon Thu, 31-Dec-09 18:22:42. Edited 3 times.