Hephzibah

English

Alternative forms

• Hepzibah

Etymology

From Biblical Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (ḥep̄ṣî-ḇāh, “my delight is in her”).

Pronunciation

• (given name): IPA^(key): /ˈhɛpzɪbə/, /ˈhɛfzɪbə/
• (town in Georgia): IPA^(key): /ˈhɛpzɪbə/
• Hyphenation: Heph‧zi‧bah

Proper noun

Hephzibah

1. (now rare) A female given name from Hebrew of Biblical origin. Used by Puritans in the 17th and 18th century.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 62:4:

     Thou shalt no more bee termed, Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed, Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land, Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shalbe maried.

   • 1861, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XIV, in Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, part I, page 250:

     "My mother's name was Hephzibah," said Silas, "and my little sister was named after her."

   • 1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 7, in Pollyanna‎^[1], L.C. Page, →OCLC:

     "Well, anyhow," she chuckled, "you can be glad it isn't Hephzibah." "Hephzibah!" "Yes. Mrs White's name is that. Her husband calls her 'Hep', and she doesn't like it. She says when he calls out 'Hep - Hep!' she feels as if the next minute he was going to yell,'Hurrah!'"

2. A town in Richmond County, Georgia, United States