Brief Etymology: The Lehite PN LEHI may plausibly derive from the Hebrew for “jaw, chin, cheekbone.” Alternatively, it may also plausibly derive from Hebrew roots with the meaning “He (i.e., God/the Lord) truly lives.”

Extended Discussion: There are two plausible suggestions for the derivation of the proper name LEHI. One if that the name is derived form the Hebrew common noun lěḥî, “jaw, jawbone, chin, cheekbone,” which appears as a GN in the Hebrew Old Testament (e.g., Judges 15:9, 14, 19; Ezekiel 29;4; 38:4), in addition to its frequent occurrence as a common noun. The Hebrew word lěḥî for “jaw , cheekbone” is also found in Arabic (laḥy), Ugaritic lḥm (with enclitic m) and Akkadian laḫu. Although, according to some, a personal name is unlikely to derive from the name of a body part, the PN Bohan, which derives from the Hebrew word meaning “thumb” (cf. Joshua 15:6; 18:17), has been proposed as a contrasting example. The other is that LEHI is the emphatic l leaning “indeed, truly” and ḥy meaning “live,” as a hypocoristic name (suppressed name of deity), in the sense “He (i.e., God or the Lord) truly lives.”