Examples of Lexicons Defining יָחִיד as meaning “only” in the context of Genesis 22:2

  

NIDOT:

 

יָחִיד (yāḥîd), adj. only one, abandoned (#3495); < יָיחד, יָחַד, join (#3479).

 

ANE The Ugar. yḥd, alone, is a cognate; so is Akk. (w)ēdu, one, singular.

 

OT The adj. appears 11×. It is related to אֶחָד, one, and יַחַד, together. יָחִיד signifies “only (one)” in Gen 22:2, 12, 16; Judg 11:34. The expression “mourning as for an only son” (Jer 6:26; Amos 8:10; Zech 12:10) relates death and the end of the family line, therefore the death of the son signifies a terrible catastrophe (cf. Jer 31:15; see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah, NICOT, 1979, 264–65). The meaning desolate or abandoned is found in Ps 25:16; 68:6 [7]. In 25:16, the psalmist laments that he is “lonely (יָחִיד) and afflicted (עָנִי).” Having been abandoned by his friends, he puts his hope in the Lord. The confirmation of this hope finds expression in 68:6 [7], according to which the abandoned and lonely people will enjoy the relationship within the family, whereas the wicked will experience abandonment “in a sun-scorched land.” (Robert L. Alden, “יָחִיד,” in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren, 4 vols. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 2:434-35)

 

 

HALOT:

 

יָחִיד, Jerome iaid: יחד = אֶחָד; Amor. Yaḫadu (Huffmon 210); Ug. yḥd lonely (Aistleitner 1153; Gordon Textbook §19:1087); Ph. Ιεουδ in Philo of Byblos (→ Eissfeldt Sanchunjaton 19:3; Kl. Schr. 3:409f); MHeb. someone, an individual (:: many, community), only יְחִידִי single, alone; JArm. יחידי/דאה, Syr. Mnd. (Drower-M. Dictionary 185a); OSArb. wḥd, Arb. waḥīd; Akk. (w)ēdu one, only: יְחִידִים, יְחִידָה, יְחִידָתִי: —1. only; the only son Gn 22:2, 12, 16; אֵבֶל(הַ)יָּ׳ mourning for the only (son), Baudissin Adonis 89f, cf. Akk. Ḫabil-wēdum, the only one is dead (Stamm 297), Jr 6:26 Am 8:10 Zech 12:10 Pr 4:3, Sept. ἀγαπώμενος/πητός; fem. the only daughter Ju 11:34, (Sept. μονογενής, also Ps 22:21); ? cj. Ps 74:6 for → יַחַד —2. lonely, deserted (cf. Ug.) Ps 25:16 (parallel with עָנִי) 68:7 יְחִידָתִי the soul (suffering and lamenting) Ps 22:21 35:17; unique Dam. 20:i:14 מורה היחיד and 20, 32 אנשי היחיד ? rd. יחד, → Rabin Zadokite 37, 41. †

 

 

Clines, Dictionary of Classical Hebrew:

 

יָחִיד _12.0.7 adj. only—sf. יְחִידְךָ (יְחִידֶֽךָ, Q יחידכה); fem. יְחִידָה; sf. יְחִידָתִי; masc. pl. יְחִידִים; sf. Q יחידיהן—1. only, used as noun, only one, (1) masc., <subj> היה be Pr 4:3 (‖ רַךְ tender; + לִפְנֵי אַמִּי before my mother [mss לִבְנֵי אִמִּי of the sons of my mother]). <obj> לקח take Gn 22:2, חשׂך withhold Gn 22:12, 16, אהב love Gn 22:2; 4QpsJub^a 2.1₁₁, עלה hi. offer as burnt offering Gn 22:2. <cstr> אֵבֶל יָחִיד mourning of, i.e. for, an only one Jr 6:26; Am 8:10, פִּתּוּחֵי הַיָּחִד carvings of the only one Ps 74:6 (if em. פִּתּוּחֶיהָ יָּֽחַד its carvings all together). <app> בֵּן son Gn 22:2, 12, 16. <prep> לְ of, + שׁכל pi. be bereft of children 4QapLam^a 2₉, עַל upon, + חמל show compassion 4Q416 2.2₁₃; for Zc 12:10 (מִסְפֵּד עַל־הַיָּחִיד mourning for an only one). (The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, ed. David J. A. Clines, 8 vols. [Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press; Sheffield Phoenix Press, 1998], 4:200)

 

 

TDOT:

 

A few passages, especially where the adj. yāḥîḏ occurs, bring out the numerical aspect of the basic meaning. In the context of the sacrifice of Isaac (Gen. 22), it is repeatedly emphasized that he is Abraham’s ben-hayyāḥîḏ, “only son” (Gen. 22:2, 12, 16), especially beloved by his father (cf. Prov. 4:3). The specifically sacrificial context of the expression ben-hayyāḥîḏ and its development in the NT are discussed by Cocchini.⁴⁴ In Jgs. 11:34, the reference to Jephthah’s “only” daughter, reinforced by the statement “beside her he had neither (ʾên) son nor daughter” (v. 34bβ), emphasizes the dramatic weight of Jephthah’s oath.

 

“Mourning for an only son” (ʾēḇel yāḥîḏ) is almost proverbial as a metaphor for the situation at the eschatological judgment (Jer. 6:26; Am. 8:10; Zec. 12:10). In Akkadian, the loss of an only son could be mourned through the use of the personal name ḫabilwedum, “the only son is dead,” which indicates clearly that the later son who bears it is a substitute for the departed. (Heinz-Josef Fabry, “יָחַד,” in TDOT, 6:46)