Salathiel

Salathiel is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Shealtiel, used in the Koine Greek Septuagint and adopted into some English Bible translations, including the King James Version. It is the Greek form of Shealtiel, meaning the same name rendered through a different linguistic lens.

Etymology

The Hebrew name Shealtiel (שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל) means "I have asked of God" in Hebrew, derived from the roots (shaʾal) meaning "to ask" and (ʾel) meaning "God". This etymology reflects a common Biblical naming practice: acknowledging that the child was a child of prayer, an answer to the parents' petition to God for offspring. The Septuagint translators, working in the 3rd century BC, rendered this as Salathiel (Koine Greek: Σαλαθιηλ, Salăthiēl), preserving the essential sounds while adapting to Greek phonology. The related Latin form is Salathiel, a variant spelling with aspiration.

Biblical bearers

In the Old Testament, Salathiel appears as the son of Jeconiah (also called Jeconiah) king of Judah, according to 1 Chronicles 3:17-18. Jeconiah (also known as Jehoiachin) reigned briefly in Jerusalem around 597 BC before being deposed and deported to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar II. After this first siege, the royal family and many nobles were taken into exile; Jeconiah was imprisoned, and his son Shealtiel became the second Exilarch (king-in-exile) of the half-destroyed kingdom (2 Kings 24:8-16). In the New Testament, Salathiel is listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:12, where he is mentioned as the son of Jeconiah and father of Zerubbabel, a line traced through King David's son Solomon.

Usage in translations

The King James Version of the Bible employs Salathiel in both the Old and New Testaments (e.g., 1 Chronicles 3:17; Matthew 1:12), while modern English Bibles such as the New International Version often prefer the Hebrew form Shealtiel. This systematicity is typical: translations today use direct transliterations of the Hebrew where clarity permits, but older versions favored Greek forms found in the Septuagint. The Greek Bible usage is the origin of Western Christian usage of the name, though it never became widespread; aside from Biblical references, bearers are exceedingly rare after antiquity. By comparison, the related name She'alti'el appears in Biblical Hebrew contexts in variant transliterations.

• Meaning: “I have asked of God” (from Hebrew shaʾal, “to ask” + El, “God”)
• Origin: Greek form of the Hebrew Shealtiel
• Type: First name, strongly biblical
• Usage regions: English Bible, Greek Bible; minor, mostly historical usage