Judean Personal Names in the Book of Jeremiah in the Light of the Archaeological Evidence

The relationship between the book of Jeremiah and archaeology can be viewed through the lens of Judean personal names from the end of the First Temple period, i.e., the seventh to the early sixth centuries BCE. Previous onomastic study searched the epigraphic record for names of individuals mentioned in Jeremiah. This study, however, analyzes and compares characteristics of personal names in both sources, such as the type of name, existence and type of theophoric elements, the location of the theophoric element in a name (prefixed or suffixed), the יהו-יה and יהו-יו exchange (for Yahwistic names), and popular names. The comparison reveals similarities between Judean personal names in Jeremiah and those found in archaeology, indicating that the book of Jeremiah probably reflects authentic Judean onomastic traditions. Nevertheless, the differences in the distribution of יהו and יה found between Jeremiah and archaeology may demonstrate that names in Jeremiah have been altered by the biblical redactors.