Original Word: יְעִיאֵל
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Y`iy'el
Pronunciation: yeh-ee-EL
Phonetic Spelling: (yeh-ee-ale')
KJV: Jeiel, Jehiel
Word Origin: [from H3261 (יָעָה - sweep away) and H410 (אֵל - God)]

1. carried away of God
2. Jeiel, the name of six Israelites

Jeiel, Jehiel

From ya'ah and 'el; carried away of God; Jeiel, the name of six Israelites -- Jeiel, Jehiel. Compare y'uw'el.

see HEBREW ya'ah

see HEBREW 'el

see HEBREW y'uw'el

Word Origin
the same as Yeuel, q.v.

Overview

The personal name יְעִיאֵל (Jeiel) surfaces thirteen times in the Old Testament, applied to at least ten distinct men whose lives collectively trace the Lord’s work among Israel from the tribal period through the return from exile. Their accounts display God’s orderly preservation of leadership, worship, and covenant fidelity in every generation.

Tribal and Genealogical Anchors

• Reubenite head: “the chief Jeiel” (1 Chronicles 5:7) exemplifies early clan leadership on Israel’s eastern frontier.
• Benjaminite patriarch: “Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon” (1 Chronicles 9:35), anchoring the line that produced Saul and later temple residents. Both entries underline Scriptural concern that every tribe maintain its heritage for messianic and covenant purposes.

Warrior under David

Jeiel the Aroerite, listed with David’s mighty men (1 Chronicles 11:44), represents Transjordan loyalty to the anointed king. His inclusion among the elite “Thirty” testifies to the unifying reach of David’s rule and God’s empowerment of courageous faith.

Levitical Musicians and Gatekeepers

When David brought the Ark to Jerusalem, Jeiel appears three times as a Levite:
• “with the gatekeepers Obed-Edom and Jeiel” (1 Chronicles 15:18)
• “Obed-Edom and Jeiel to play harps according to Alamoth” (15:21)
• “then Jeiel … played the harps and lyres” (16:5)

These verses position him in the second tier of musicians, showing the breadth of organized praise. His service also links to later generations: Jahaziel, who prophesied victory for Jehoshaphat, was “son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel” (2 Chronicles 20:14). The musical-priestly vocation thus passes faithfully from father to son.

Support for Spiritual Reform

During Hezekiah’s temple cleansing, “of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel” were among the Levites who rose “to consecrate the temple of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 29:13). Decades later, in Josiah’s great Passover, “Jeiel … gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand sheep and goats” (2 Chronicles 35:9). In both reforms Jeiel stands for readiness to resource true worship when summoned by righteous kings.

Administrative and Military Record-Keeping

King Uzziah’s vast army was organized “according to the number recorded by Jeiel the scribe” (2 Chronicles 26:11). Scripture’s brief note honors the accuracy and diligence demanded of those who handle the nation’s defenses, highlighting that faithful paperwork can be as vital as front-line courage.

Post-Exilic Restoration

• Returnee: “From the sons of Adonikam … Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah” led sixty men back to Jerusalem (Ezra 8:13).
• Repentant transgressor: among the sons of Nebo who put away foreign wives stood “Jeiel” (Ezra 10:43).

Both entries show that, in the renewed community, names formerly linked to temple service re-emerge, sometimes in obedience, sometimes in need of correction—yet always within the redemptive sweep of Ezra’s reforms.

Theological Observations

1. Continuity of Covenant Service: From patriarchal lists to prophetic utterance, Jeiels consistently appear where God is advancing worship, order, and victory.
2. Diversity of Calling: The same name adorns chiefs, warriors, musicians, scribes, donors, and penitents, reminding believers that any vocation may glorify God when yielded to Him.
3. Invitation to Faithfulness: Whether recording troop numbers or plucking harps “according to Alamoth,” the Jeiels model unobtrusive fidelity that undergirds headline moments in salvation history.

Practical Ministry Applications

• Meticulous record-keeping and generous resource-giving are spiritual acts no less than public prophecy.
• Family heritage in ministry should be nurtured, yet every generation must freshly consecrate itself.
• Names repeated across Scripture invite modern readers to see their own ordinary service as part of God’s extraordinary, unbroken story.

וִֽיעִיאֵ֔ל וִֽיעִיאֵ֖ל וִֽיעִיאֵ֗ל וִיעִיאֵ֑ל וִיעִיאֵ֛ל ויעיאל יְעִיאֵ֑ל יְעִיאֵ֖ל יְעִיאֵ֡ל יְעִיאֵ֣ל יְעִיאֵ֤ל יְעִיאֵ֧ל יעיאל viiEl wî‘î’êl wî·‘î·’êl yə‘î’êl yə·‘î·’êl yeiElInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts