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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

JOHANAN

Name meaning “Yahweh has been gracious.” It occurs also in the alternate form of Jehohanan. The name John is derived from these names. Several men of this name appear in the OT.

1. Son of Kareah (2 Kgs 25:23). Johanan was a Jewish leader, a contemporary of Jeremiah, and supportive of Gedaliah, the governor of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem (Jer 40:8, 13). He forewarned Gedaliah of Ishmael’s plan to assassinate him (vv 13-16). When the warning was ignored and Johanan was refused permission to execute the would-be assassin, Gedaliah was murdered. Johanan took vengeance against Ishmael and rescued those who had been captured (41:14-18), but he was unable to pursue Ishmael. In fear of a Babylonian reprisal, he made plans to seek asylum in Egypt. Jeremiah, whom he consulted, gave God’s word against this move (42:1-22), but Johanan was unwilling to take counsel (43:2-3). He led the Judeans, including Jeremiah and Baruch, to Egypt (vv 5-7).

2. Eldest son of Josiah, king of Judah (1 Chr 3:15). Possibly he died young, for he did not succeed his father on the throne, even though he was the firstborn.

3. Son of Elioenai (1 Chr 3:24), a descendant of Jehoiachin, one of the last kings of Judah.

4. Grandson of Ahimaaz. He was the father of Azariah, who served as high priest in the temple of Solomon (1 Chr 6:9-10).

5. Warrior from Benjamin’s tribe. He joined David’s special forces of 30 men at Ziklag (1 Chr 12:4). The special forces could shoot arrows and sling stones with either hand (v 2).

6. Gadite who joined David in the wilderness (1 Chr 12:8-12). He was also specially trained for war, in that he could handle both shield and spear, could endure hardship, and was quick on his feet.

7. Ephraimite whose son was a leader in the northern Kingdom during the regime of Pekah and protested against the enslavement of 200,000 Judeans (2 Chr 28:12; NLT “Jehohanan”), who were subsequently freed.

8. Son of Hakkatan (“the younger” or “the smaller”). The designation may be read as “Johanan the younger.” He was head of a family who claimed their descent from Azgad (Ezr 8:12). He joined Ezra with 110 men in traveling from Babylonia to Judah.

9. Priest under Joiakim. He was one of the priests during whose ministry the Levites and priests formally registered (Neh 12:22). He is alternately called Jehohanan in Ezra 10:6 and Jonathan in Neh 12:11. See Jehohanan #4.

10. KJV spelling of Jehohanan, Tobiah’s son, in Nehemiah 6:18. See Jehohanan #6.