B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum

Does the name Cozbi (אחל) mean "my lie," "my liar," "my deception," or "my disappointment"?

And why would any parents (in any culture, at any time) give their daughter such a name?

כָּזְבִּי the feminine name in Numbers 25 and hypothetical form for the phrase "my deception" כְּזָבִי are two different words. The feminine name translated "Cozbi" is Akkadian according to HALOT with "luxuriant" as its meaning.

The addition of the pronominal suffix onto כזב "lie or deception" would reduce the vowel under the first consonant creating open syllables for the first and second consonants which in turn would cause the dagesh lene to disappear in the Beth. Thus the sound of someone saying "my lie" in Hebrew would be very different than the sound of the Akkadian name Cozbi.

So to answer your question, No, Cozbi does not mean "my lie". Her mother's reputation is restored even though Cozbi's is not.

Thank you.

MGWB wrote:Does the name Cozbi (אחל) mean "my lie," "my liar," "my deception," or "my disappointment"?

And why would any parents (in any culture, at any time) give their daughter such a name?

Cozbi was not a Hebrew woman, so there’s a good chance that her name had a different meaning in Midionite.

Karl W. Randolph.