593. Aniam
Lexical Summary
Aniam: Aniam

Original Word: אֲנִיעָם
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Aniy`am
Pronunciation: ah-nee-AHM
Phonetic Spelling: (an-ee-awm')
KJV: Aniam
NASB: Aniam
Word Origin: [from H578 (אָנָה - lament) and H5971 (עַם - People)]

1. groaning of (the) people
2. Aniam, an Israelite

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Aniam

From 'anah and am; groaning of (the) people; Aniam, an Israelite -- Aniam.

see HEBREW 'anah

see HEBREW am

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from anah and am
Definition
"lament of people," an Isr. name
NASB Translation
Aniam (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
אֲנִיעָם proper name, masculine ( lament of people) 1 Chronicles 7:19 a man of Manasseh.

II. אנה (√ whence following nouns, compare Assyrian ânu, unûtu, vessel, utensil, see Dl in ZimBP 115 Hpt in KAT2Gloss i.; Arabic ).

Topical Lexicon
Name and Meaning

Aniam carries the idea of “my people” or “a people belonging to me,” drawing from the Hebrew root for “people” (עַם, ʿam) with the first-person singular suffix. Even though a single verse preserves the name, it reminds readers that the God of Israel is personally invested in His covenant community.

Biblical Occurrence

1 Chronicles 7:19—“And the sons of Shemida: Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.”

Genealogical Context

Aniam appears in the tribal record of Manasseh’s descendants. The Chronicler arranges this genealogy in three concentric movements:

1. The patriarch Manasseh (7:14–17)
2. His Gileadite branch, settled east of the Jordan (7:14–18)
3. The sons of Shemida, a sub-clan within Gilead (7:19)

Aniam’s placement within Shemida’s line highlights the familial substructure of Israel’s eastern tribes. These lists supplied post-exilic readers with a roadmap of inherited lands and clan responsibilities, strengthening their claim to ancestral territory and temple allegiance (Ezra 2; Nehemiah 7).

Historical Setting

Chronicles was compiled after Judah’s exile, when returned worshipers needed assurance that God had not forgotten their lineage. Preserving even obscure names like Aniam counters any notion that exile erased covenant identity. For the Manassites who dwelt on both sides of the Jordan, the Chronicler’s catalog united them with their Judean brethren at the temple, reinforcing national cohesion.

Theological Significance

1. Covenant Memory: By recording Aniam, Scripture illustrates that “The LORD knows those who are His” (compare 2 Timothy 2:19). No believer, however inconspicuous, is lost in God’s record.
2. Corporate Identity: The meaning “my people” echoes God’s repeated declaration, “I will be their God, and they will be My people” (Jeremiah 31:33). Aniam’s name anchors that promise in a personal way.
3. Faithfulness across Generations: Since Chronicles spans centuries, each name testifies to God’s sustaining grace from Egypt to exile and beyond. Aniam participates in this unbroken chain.

Lessons for Ministry

• Valuing the Unsung: Local churches may overlook “ordinary” members, yet Chronicles demonstrates that each person’s faith account contributes to the whole body (1 Corinthians 12:22).
• Teaching Identity in Christ: As Aniam’s name means “my people,” believers find ultimate belonging in Jesus Christ, “who gave Himself for us to redeem us and to purify for Himself a people of His own” (Titus 2:14).
• Encouraging Record-Keeping: Keeping accurate membership rolls, family histories, and testimonies echoes the biblical pattern of remembering God’s works through generations.

Related Themes

Genealogies (Genesis 5; Matthew 1); Tribal Inheritance (Numbers 26:29–34); Remnant Restoration (Isaiah 10:20-23); Individual Significance before God (Luke 12:6-7); Corporate Holiness (1 Peter 2:9).

Aniam’s single appearance is brief, yet his inclusion in inspired Scripture assures every reader that God’s covenant love reaches to the smallest branch on the family tree and invites each person to live worthy of the name “My people.”

Forms and Transliterations
וַאֲנִיעָֽם׃ ואניעם׃ vaaniAm wa’ănî‘ām wa·’ă·nî·‘ām
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
1 Chronicles 7:19
HEB: וָשֶׁ֔כֶם וְלִקְחִ֖י וַאֲנִיעָֽם׃ פ
NAS: and Shechem and Likhi and Aniam.
KJV: and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam.
INT: and Shechem and Likhi and Aniam

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 593
1 Occurrence


wa·’ă·nî·‘ām — 1 Occ.

592
Top of Page
Top of Page