Jahdai is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Jahdai was a descendant of Caleb, the faithful spy who followed the Lord fully and received an inheritance in the land of Canaan. Jahdai appears in the genealogies of the tribe of Judah recorded in 1 Chronicles, specifically within the family line of Caleb through his concubine Ephah. The Chronicler lists him among the descendants of Caleb, showing that he belonged to a prominent clan within Judah and that his household was counted among the people of Israel after the return from exile, when these genealogies were compiled and preserved.
Scripture tells us very little about Jahdai personally. The single verse that names him records only the names of his sons: Regem, Jotham, Gesham, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph. No deeds, words, or events from his life are preserved. He is not described as a warrior, a judge, a prophet, or a king. He simply appears as a father with six sons, a link in the long chain of generations through which God preserved His people.
What Scripture says of Jahdai, then, is chiefly this: he had sons, and his family was remembered in the book of the generations of Judah. His inclusion in the chronicles of Israel shows that he was part of the covenant people and that his household contributed to the tribal inheritance of Judah. He is one of many quiet names in Scripture whose significance lies not in great exploits but in belonging to the line of promise and in raising up the next generation within it.
The Name
The Hebrew name Jahdai (also rendered Jahdai or Yahdai) is not one whose meaning is clearly established. Some have suggested a connection to a root conveying the idea of leading or guiding, and others have proposed meanings related to praise or to the Lord, since the first element of the name resembles the shortened form of the divine name Yahweh. However, these suggestions are not certain, and the precise meaning of the name is not recoverable with confidence from the biblical text or from the standard Hebrew lexicons. It is best to say plainly that the meaning of Jahdai is uncertain rather than to assign it a meaning that cannot be verified.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be remembered for a great public deed. Like Jahdai, we may leave behind only a name and a family, a few lines in a record that no one outside our circle will ever read. Yet Scripture counts such lives as worth recording. Jahdai’s place in the genealogy of Judah reminds us that faithfulness in ordinary things—raising children, tending a household, belonging to God’s people—is not forgotten by the Lord. The generations that came after him carried the promise forward, and so do the quiet lives we live before God today.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Chronicles 2:47 — And the sons of Jahdai; Regem, and Jotham, and Gesham, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph.