Putiel is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Putiel was the father-in-law of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, and is mentioned only once in the King James Bible, in Exodus 6:25. The verse records that “Eleazar Aaron’s son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas.” Putiel thus enters the biblical narrative not through anything he himself did, but through the marriage of his daughter to Eleazar, a priest of Israel, and through the grandson born of that union, Phinehas.
The setting of this brief notice is the genealogy of the Levites recorded in Exodus 6, where Moses and Aaron’s family lines are traced as the people of Israel stood on the threshold of the exodus from Egypt. These genealogical records established the legitimate priestly lines of Israel, and Putiel’s mention comes at the close of that account, in a summary of the heads of the Levite families.
Scripture says nothing else about Putiel—nothing of his tribe, his life, his character, or his deeds. He appears only as a name attached to his daughter and to his grandson. Yet his inclusion in this sacred record is not incidental: through his daughter’s marriage to Eleazar, Putiel became part of the family from which Phinehas, the zealous priest, would come.
The Name
The meaning of the name Putiel is not clearly recoverable, and interpreters have not reached agreement on it. Some have suggested that the name may mean something like “afflicted by God” or “God is my deliverer,” and others have proposed “contempt of God,” but none of these proposals is firmly established. Because the name appears only once in Scripture and its etymology is uncertain, it is best to say plainly that the meaning of Putiel is not reliably known rather than to assign it a meaning that cannot be supported.
A Closing Thought
Putiel leaves us no record of great deeds, no speeches, no acts of faith we can point to. He is remembered only because his daughter married a priest and bore a son who would serve God zealously. Yet that is no small thing. Much of the faithful life is lived this way—quietly, in families, in the shaping of children and grandchildren whose names we may never know. Putiel’s single verse reminds us that God keeps account of those who serve Him without notice, and that a life hidden in the ordinary can still be woven into His purposes.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Exodus 6:25 — And Eleazar Aaron’s son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.