Jedidah is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Jedidah was the mother of King Josiah of Judah. She is named in the opening verse of 2 Kings 22, in the genealogical notice that introduces Josiah’s reign: “Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.” This single verse is the only place in the King James Bible where her name appears.
Her son Josiah came to the throne at the age of eight, which means he was still a small child when he became king. The notice of his mother’s name and lineage is part of the standard formula by which the books of Kings introduce the rulers of Judah, recording the king’s age at accession, the length of his reign, the name of his capital, and his mother’s name. Jedidah is identified as the daughter of Adaiah, and her family was from Boscath. Beyond these bare facts, Scripture records nothing further about her life, her character, or her actions.
What Scripture does record is the kind of king her son became. Josiah reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem, and the account that follows in 2 Kings 22–23 describes his efforts to repair the temple and to restore the worship of the Lord in Judah. Jedidah is mentioned only as his mother, yet she stands at the head of that reign in the text. The verse gives her no speech, no deed, and no evaluation—only her name, her father, and her town.
The Name
The name Jedidah (Hebrew *Yedidah*) is generally understood to derive from the Hebrew root *yadid*, meaning “beloved,” and is commonly rendered “beloved” or “darling.” This meaning is well established in Hebrew lexicography, and the same root appears in other biblical names and terms, such as Jedidiah, the name the prophet Nathan gave to Solomon. It is a feminine name, which fits the fact that Jedidah is identified in the text as Josiah’s mother, though the source note above lists the gender as male.
A Closing Thought
Jedidah’s entire legacy in Scripture is one line: she was Josiah’s mother. We are told nothing of her faith, her words, or her deeds—only that she bore and raised a boy who became a king who sought the Lord. Yet that is no small thing. Much of the quiet work of God’s kingdom is done by people whose names appear once and whose stories we never hear. If you labor in obscurity, unseen and unrecorded, take heart: God keeps the fuller record, and a faithful life may bear fruit long after the one line that mentions you.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 2 Kings 22:1 — Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.