Etan (Bible)

The name Etan ( Hebrew איתן, Eng. "strong") is found eight times in the Bible.

Ethan (far right, in red robe) depicted in stained glass in the Church of Our Lady in Liegnitz

In the 1st book of kings ( 1 Kings 5.11  EU ) a sage named Etan of Esrachites is mentioned. The Psalm 89 is titled A Song wisdom of Ethan, the Esrachiters . He is therefore considered to be the author of the psalm.

In the 1st book of the Chronicle several men named Etan are mentioned ( 1 Chr 2,6  SLT and 1 Chr 2,8  SLT ; 1 Chr 6.27  SLT and 1 Chr 6.29  SLT ). One of them was a cymbal player at the court of King David ( 1 Chr 15.17  SLT and 1 Chr 15.19  SLT ).

Effect in the literature

Etan, the Esrachite is the main character in Stefan Heym's novel The King David Report ; He acts there as the author of a story of David commissioned by Solomon and of the Song of Songs .

Web links

• Miriam von Nordheim-Diehl:  Etan. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.