Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez, saying, “Because I gave birth to him in pain.” Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would greatly bless me and extend my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm so that it would not hurt me!” And God brought about what he requested.
What does the name Jabez mean in Hebrew?
What is the etymology of the name Jabez?
Short answer: It combines the name of God with a pun on the word for pain or grief.
According to the 13th c. Jewish commentator David Kimhi (Radak), the name results from a Hebrew wordplay involving a transposition of letters. The pun relates to the idea of harm or grief. Jabez caused his mother pain/grief in childbearing. In naming him, she says "I gave birth to him in pain," echoing God's curse upon Eve:
Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said: I will intensify your toil in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.
In 1 Chron. 10b, the narrator records Jabez' prayer to be protected from pain:
"Make me free of misfortune, without pain!” And God granted his prayer.
Etymologically, the problem is that the word for grief/pain is astab - עָצַב while the name given to him by his mother is simply ya‘·bêṣ- יַעְבֵּ֔ץ. So the two words, which are quite dissimilar as we hear them today, do share two consonants and a probable vowel. Kimhi writes:
יעבץ (Jabez)/ Considering the story, this involves a transposition [of letters]—for according to the story it should have said יעצב. Hebrew-speakers are not particular on this.
For Radak, the words are close enough to each other to understand the pun. Readers might also recall Gen. 3:16, in which the "b" sound is further emphasized (bə·‘e·ṣeḇ - in pain). Another element in this puzzle is the syllable "ya/ja" added to Jabez' name, which introduces God's name (yahweh) into the equation. This makes the pun more understandable.
Conclusion: Jabez or "Ya-bes" combines a play on the word for pain with the name of God. It means something like "grief/pain from God." Whether original readers would have understood the pun is debatable.
