Strong's Hebrew: 3108. יוֹזָכָר (Yozakar) -- Yozakar

◄ 3108. Yozakar ►

Lexical Summary

Yozakar: Yozakar

Original Word: יוֹזָכָר
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Yowzakar
Pronunciation: yo-zaw-KAR
Phonetic Spelling: (yo-zaw-kawr')
KJV: Jozachar
NASB: Jozacar
Word Origin: [from H3068 (יְהוֹוָה - LORD) and H2142 (זָכַר - remember)]

1. Jehovah-remembered
2. Jozacar, an Israelite

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Jozachar

From Yhovah and zakar; Jehovah-remembered; Jozacar, an Israelite -- Jozachar.

see HEBREW Yhovah

see HEBREW zakar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from Yhvh and zakar
Definition
"the LORD has remembered," murderer of King Joash
NASB Translation
Jozacar (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

יוֺזָכָר proper name, masculine (׳י hath remembered; compare זְכַרְיָהוּ; Sabean ידֿכראל Hal¹⁸⁷) — servant & murderer of Joash king of Judah 2 Kings 12:22 (ᵐ5 Ἰεζειχαρ, A ᵐ5^L Ἰωζαχαρ);=זָבָד2Chronicles 24:26 (ᵐ5 ζαβελ, Ζαβεθ, Ζαβαθ).

יוֺחָנָן see יְהוֺחָנָן. p. 220.

יוֺיָדָע see יְהוֺיָדָע. p. 220.

יוֺיָכִין see יְהוֺיָכִין. p. 220.

יוֺיָקִים see יְהוֺיָקִים. p. 220.

יוֺיָרִיב see יְהוֺיָרִיב. p. 220.

Topical Lexicon

Canonical Attestation and Textual Notes

– The proper name יוֹזָכָר does not appear in the Masoretic text as printed in most modern editions and therefore does not surface in the Berean Standard Bible translation.

– A minority manuscript tradition at 2 Kings 12:21 preserves a reading that renders the first of Joash’s assassins “Jozachar.” The standardized Hebrew text adopted for nearly all English versions follows the more common spelling “Jozabad,” linking the man with Strong’s 3107 instead of 3108.

– Because Scripture nowhere employs the spelling יוֹזָכָר in the received canon, the name is treated here as a textual variant that nevertheless conveys a distinct theological idea through its meaning.

Meaning and Theological Emphasis

The name combines the divine element “Yah” with the verb “to remember,” yielding the confession “Yah remembers.” In biblical theology remembrance is not mere recollection but covenant-faithful action. When God “remembers,” He intervenes for salvation, judges in righteousness, or provides according to promise.

Divine Remembrance in Redemptive History

• Genesis 8:1 – “But God remembered Noah…and the waters subsided.”
• Exodus 2:24 – “So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.”
• Psalm 105:8 – “He remembers His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations.”

These passages demonstrate that the concept embedded in the name יוֹזָכָר is woven through the entire biblical narrative, grounding hope in the constancy of the LORD.

Historical Setting of the Variant Reading

Should the older form “Jozachar” at 2 Kings 12:21 be original, the man so named participated in the assassination of King Joash of Judah. Ironically, Joash had once benefited from Yahweh’s covenant remembrance, yet his life ended under judgment by two servants whose names (whether Jozachar/Jozabad and Jehozabad) both stress the LORD’s sovereign involvement. The episode underscores that divine remembrance includes both mercy and retribution (compare 2 Kings 12:2 with 12:20–21).

Relationship to Cognate Names

Jozabad (“Yah has bestowed”) and Jehozabad (“Yah has bestowed”) highlight gift or endowment, whereas Yozakar centers on memory. Together the cluster of names in the Joash narrative testifies that every historical detail is under God’s purposeful awareness and provision.

Christological and Eschatological Overtones

The New Testament picks up the theme of divine remembrance with climactic force:
• Luke 1:72 affirms that the coming of Christ serves “to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant.”
• At the cross the repentant thief prays, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42), confident that the Messiah’s remembrance secures eternal life.

Thus the idea embedded in יוֹזָכָר finds its fullest expression in Jesus Christ, in whom the new covenant guarantees that “their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).

Ministry and Devotional Application

1. Assurance: Believers who feel forgotten can rest in the truth that “Yah remembers.” His covenant faithfulness has never faltered and never will (Lamentations 3:22–23).
2. Intercession: Prayer anchored in God’s remembrance reflects the pattern of Moses, David, and the prophets, who appealed to promises God had sworn to remember (Nehemiah 1:8–9).
3. Holiness: Because the Lord both remembers righteousness and does not forget unrepented sin, the name urges sober obedience (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
4. Worship: Public praise recounts the mighty acts that God remembers to perform (Psalm 111:4–5), framing corporate worship around His covenant deeds.

Conclusion

Although the spelling יוֹזָכָר may not appear in our standard Old Testament text, the theology carried by the name is foundational: the covenant-keeping LORD continuously remembers His people, culminating in the finished work of Christ and extending into the believer’s daily walk and eternal hope.

Links

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