Janna is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Janna is mentioned only once in the King James Bible, in the genealogy of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Luke. According to Luke 3:24, Janna was “the son of Joseph” and “the son of Melchi,” placing him within the ancestral line that Luke traces backward from Jesus through Mary’s lineage. The source note identifies him as a descendant of David, which fits the broader purpose of this genealogy: to demonstrate that Jesus, through His human family, stood in the royal line promised to David.
The setting of Janna’s appearance is not a narrative scene but a genealogical record. Luke lists him among the generations between David and Jesus, in a long chain of names that most readers pass over quickly. Janna did nothing recorded in Scripture; no deed, speech, or event is attributed to him. He appears simply as one link in the chain, named between his father Joseph and his son Melchi. The King James text gives him no title, no story, and no description beyond his place in the family line.
What Scripture says of Janna, then, is limited to his identity and position: he was a descendant of David and an ancestor of Jesus according to Luke’s account. His inclusion matters because the genealogy matters. Luke is not merely listing names but establishing a historical and theological claim—that the promised Messiah came through a real family, with real ancestors, across many generations. Janna is one of those ancestors, remembered not for what he did but for where he stood in the line that led to Christ.
The Name
The name Janna appears in the Greek text of Luke’s Gospel as Ἰαννά (Ianná), a form that likely stands behind a Hebrew or Aramaic original. The exact meaning of this particular name is not clearly recoverable. Some suggest a connection to a shortened form of a name meaning “Yahweh is gracious,” but this is not firmly established, and other possibilities exist. Because the meaning is uncertain, it is best to say so plainly rather than assign a definition the evidence does not support.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be remembered by name in a genealogy, let alone in Scripture. Janna’s life is summed up in a single line, yet that line matters because it is part of a greater story—the story of God faithfully preserving a family through whom the Savior would come. Quiet, unnamed faithfulness across generations is not wasted. If you feel hidden or overlooked, take heart: God weaves even the unnoticed into His purposes, and He does not forget the link you are in the chain.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Luke 3:24 — Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,