The name Elnathan combines El (God) and natan (to give), meaning "God has given." Several men bear this name in the Old Testament, including a prince of Judah under King Jehoiakim who attempted to protect the prophet Uriah (Jeremiah 26:22) and who pleaded with Jehoiakim not to burn Jeremiah's scroll (Jeremiah 36:12, 25).
Elnathan appears at critical moments of prophetic courage. When King Jehoiakim burned Jeremiah's God-given scroll column by column, Elnathan and others pleaded with the king not to destroy it — a rare act of moral courage before a violent king. His name, "God has given," resonates: the scroll they tried to save was itself God's gift to His people. All true prophetic revelation is a divine gift to be received, not destroyed. The New Testament echoes this: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).