יְכָלְיָהוּ (ye.khol.yah)
ye.khol.yah
Jecoliah
N:N-F-PQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- N:N-F-P
Word Overview
The name Jecoliah, or Jecholiah, appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, recorded as the wife of King Amaziah and the mother of King Uzziah (also known as Azariah) in 2 Kings 15:2 and 2 Chronicles 26:3. While her personal story is not detailed in the text, her lineage places her at a critical juncture in Judah’s history, linking the reigns of two kings during the divided monarchy period.
Linguistically, the name means "Jehovah is able" or "Yahweh has strength." This theophoric element reflects a common practice of invoking divine capability in personal names. The brevity of her scriptural mentions highlights how women’s roles were often defined through their relationships to kings and dynastic succession, yet the name itself serves as a theological statement about God’s sustaining power over the royal house.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The name Jecoliah carries a quiet but powerful meaning: "Jehovah is able." Though Scripture mentions her only in passing as the mother of King Amaziah and grandmother of Uzziah, this brief record reminds us that God’s strength sustains history even when individual stories remain hidden. Her name stands as a testament to divine capability anchoring royal lineage.
In our own lives, we often feel overlooked or defined merely by our relationships to others. Yet Jecoliah’s legacy shows that God sees and remembers those who stand behind the scenes. Her faithfulness in bearing kings did not go unnoticed; it became part of the sacred narrative that points us toward Christ, the true King whose power never fails.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- [was] Jecholiah2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- יְכָלְיָ֖הוּ1×
- יְכָלְיָ֖ה1×
Key Verses
-
II Kings 15:2
He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
This verse identifies Jecoliah as Amaziah’s mother, anchoring her in Judah’s royal history and showing how God preserves lineage even for those with minimal personal detail.
-
II Chronicles 26:3
Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jechiliah, of Jerusalem.
Here she is named as Uzziah’s mother, linking two reigns and highlighting the continuity of God’s sovereign plan through generations, even when names are recorded only briefly.