The Hebrew name Elioenai combines el (God), ein (eye), and Yah (the LORD). It means 'toward Yahweh are my eyes' — a name expressing prayerful dependence and confident hope in God. Several men in the post-exilic period bear this name.
The name Elioenai captures one of the most beautiful postures of biblical faith: the upward gaze of the soul toward God. It echoes Psalm 25:15 ('My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net') and Psalm 121:1-2 ('I lift up my eyes to the hills... My help comes from the LORD'). Men with this name appear in 1 Chronicles and Ezra, members of the returning exiles who bore witness to God's faithfulness. To name a child 'toward Yahweh are my eyes' was to plant a prayer in the child's identity — that his life would be characterized by trust, dependence, and covenant expectation.