Arodi is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Arodi was a son of Gad and a grandson of Jacob, making him one of the seventy members of Jacob’s household who went down into Egypt. He appears in the genealogy recorded in Genesis 46, where the sons of Gad are listed as “Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli” (Genesis 46:16). This listing is set within the larger account of Jacob’s family migrating to Egypt during a severe famine, where Joseph, Jacob’s son, had risen to power and provided refuge for his father’s household.
Arodi is named only once in the King James Bible, and the text tells us nothing about his personal life, character, or deeds. He is known simply as one of Gad’s sons who entered Egypt with the patriarch Jacob’s family. What we know of him comes through the record of his descendants: according to the source note, his offspring became known as the Arodites, a clan or family group within the tribe of Gad. This pattern of naming a clan after its founding ancestor was common in Israel’s tribal structure, and it indicates that Arodi’s line endured and was counted among the Gadites.
Though the Bible gives no further narrative about Arodi himself, his inclusion in the Genesis genealogy places him among the founding generation of the tribes of Israel. He was part of the family that entered Egypt as a small clan and, over centuries, grew into a great nation. His name is preserved in Scripture not because of anything he accomplished, but because he belonged to the covenant family through whom God would later deliver Israel from Egypt.
The Name
The Hebrew name Arodi (אֲרוֹדִי) is of uncertain meaning. Some scholars have suggested a possible connection to a root meaning “wild ass” or “roving,” but this is not firmly established, and the etymology is debated. Because the meaning is not clearly recoverable from the Hebrew text, it is best to say so plainly rather than assign a meaning with false confidence. The related clan name “Arodites” derives directly from Arodi himself, identifying his descendants as his household within the tribe of Gad.
A Closing Thought
Arodi’s brief appearance reminds us that God’s story often includes people whose names we know but whose lives we cannot see. He did nothing recorded, achieved nothing noted, and yet he was part of the family through whom God kept His promises. Most of us will live similarly quiet lives, unknown to history. That is not a small thing. Faithfulness does not require fame; it requires belonging to God’s family and passing faith to the next generation. Arodi’s descendants carried his name forward, and God carried His covenant forward through them.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Genesis 46:16 — And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.