Elchaba (אֶלְחָבָא) is a Hebrew proper name meaning "God has hidden" or "whom God conceals," combining el (God) and chaba (to hide, to conceal). The name appears in 2 Samuel 23:32 and 1 Chronicles 11:33, identifying one of David's elite thirty mighty men — a Shaalbonite warrior.
To be named "God Has Hidden" in ancient Israel was to be marked as one hidden in God's protective care. The Hebrew concept of divine hiddenness (hester panim) has two dimensions: the troubling absence of God in times of crisis (Psalm 44:24), and the blessed sheltering of God's people under His wings (Psalm 31:20 — "You hide them in the shelter of your presence"). The mighty men of David were warriors who understood both: they had faced enemies in battle where God's protection was not visible, and they had survived because of it. Elchaba's name testifies to the warrior's deepest confidence: "Even when I cannot see God, He sees me — and hides me." This anticipates Colossians 3:3: "your life is now hidden with Christ in God."