Definition · Webster 1828 · Scriptures · Corruption · Roots · Usage · In the Text · Related
📖 Biblical Definition
Keziah is the second of three daughters born to Job after the LORD restored his fortunes (Job 42:14). Her sisters were JEMIMA ("dove") and KEREN-HAPPUCH ("horn of antimony," a cosmetic). Keziah's name means "cassia" — an aromatic spice closely related to cinnamon, used in the holy anointing oil prescribed for the priests and the tabernacle vessels in Exodus 30:24: "And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment." Cassia was therefore one of four spices (myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, cassia) compounded into the sacred oil that consecrated everything connected with Israel's worship. The daughter named Keziah carries the name of the priest-anointing spice. Like her sisters, she received inheritance with her brothers (Job 42:15), an unusually generous patriarchal arrangement. The three daughters together — Dove, Cassia-Spice, Cosmetic-Horn — name the restoration that came after Job's trial: beauty, fragrance, dignity, inheritance.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Hebrew "cassia" (an aromatic spice in the priestly anointing oil); the second of Job's three restored daughters (Job 42:14).
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KEZIAH, proper noun. Hebrew Qetsi'ah (H7103) — "cassia" (aromatic spice).
Second of the three daughters born to Job after his restoration (Job 42:14). Cassia was one of four spices in the holy anointing oil (Exod 30:24).
📖 Key Scripture
Job 42:14 — "And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch."
Exodus 30:23-25 — "Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much... and of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment."
Psalm 45:8 — "All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad."
Job 42:15 — "And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Keziah is corrupted when modern translations skip past the spice-name etymology, missing the connection between her name and the holy anointing oil that consecrated Israel's worship.
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Spice-etymology lost. Modern preaching about Job's three daughters often passes them quickly as "Job's restored daughters," missing the rich naming theology. JEMIMA = dove (peace returned), KEZIAH = cassia (anointing-spice fragrance), KEREN-HAPPUCH = cosmetic-horn (beauty returned). All three names evoke restoration and dignity. Cassia specifically connects to the priestly anointing oil of Exodus 30 — the spice that consecrated the tabernacle, the priestly garments, the very fragrance of Israel's worship was now the name of Job's daughter. The naming preaches: God restored Job not just with replacement children but with children whose names spoke of holy worship and beauty.
Restoration trivialized. Some commentaries treat Job 42's restoration as a too-tidy ending — "Job got everything back, twice as much, the end." But the canonical text is specific: Job's RESTORED children are not the same as his original children; the dead remained dead. He had ten new children, including the three daughters with these named-for-fragrance names. The restoration was real but it did not erase the loss. Christian families that have suffered loss can take Keziah as a small canonical reminder: God restores, but the restoration carries the names of fragrance and beauty into the lives that bear the scars.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew Qetsi'ah (H7103) — "cassia," the aromatic spice of the holy anointing oil; second of Job's three restored daughters.
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Hebrew Qetsi'ah (H7103) — "cassia"
Cassia is one of four spices compounded into the holy anointing oil of Exodus 30:23-25
Appears only at Job 42:14 — second of Job's three restored daughters
Sister of Jemima (dove) and Keren-Happuch (cosmetic horn); all three received inheritance with their brothers
Usage
"Keziah means CASSIA — the priestly anointing-spice; a daughter of Job named for the fragrance of Israel's worship."
"Three sisters of restoration: Dove, Cassia, Cosmetic-Horn — God's restoration named with fragrance and beauty."
"The dead daughters Job lost in the trial remained dead; the new daughters bore restoration's names without erasing the loss."
📖 In the Text
Chapters of the reading Bible where this entry is linked.