Iddo
Pronounced ID-oh
- Meaning
- "Timely; His ornament; Beloved"
- Origin
- Hebrew
Iddo means "timely" or "his ornament" in Hebrew. Several biblical figures bear this name, the most prominent being Iddo the seer — a prophet whose written works are referenced multiple times in Chronicles but whose writings have not survived independently. The Chronicler cites "the visions of Iddo the seer" as a source for the reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijah. That his work was considered authoritative enough to cite alongside other prophetic records indicates Iddo was a major prophetic voice in Judah during the early divided monarchy period. Another Iddo was the leader of the Jewish community at Casiphia during the exile. Ezra sent to this Iddo requesting Levites and temple servants for the return to Jerusalem, and Iddo responded by sending "a man of understanding" and others to join the returning exiles. Zechariah the prophet is identified as "the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo" — making Iddo the grandfather of one of the most important post-exilic prophets. His name — "timely" — proved accurate: he raised up prophetic voices at precisely the moments Israel needed them most.
Spiritual meaning
Iddo — 'timely' — placed prophetic voices exactly when and where they were needed. His legacy teaches that God raises the right people at the right time, and that faithfulness in one generation produces prophets in the next.
Related verses (KJV)
"Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer?"
2 Chronicles 9:29 (KJV) →"Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem."
Ezra 5:1 (KJV) →