Hephzi-bah

The name Hephzi-bah — "my delight is in her" — appears twice. Once it is borne by a Judean queen, the mother of Manasseh; once it is the new prophetic name given to Zion when Yahweh declares her no longer forsaken.

Hephzibah, Mother of Manasseh

The Kings narrative introduces Manasseh's reign with the standard formula and names his mother: "Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned five and fifty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hephzibah" (2 Kings 21:1). The UPDV writes the name as one word here ("Hephzibah") and uses it to identify the queen mother — Hezekiah's widow, the woman who saw her young son ascend the throne and reign for fifty-five years.

Hephzi-bah, the New Name of Zion

Isaiah's restoration oracle reuses the same name as a prophetic title for the city itself, exchanging shame for delight: "You will no more be termed Forsaken; neither will your land anymore be termed Desolate: but you will be called Hephzi-bah, and your land Beulah; for Yahweh delights in you, and your land will be married" (Isa 62:4). The UPDV hyphenates the name in this prophetic use ("Hephzi-bah"), pairing it with "Beulah" — "married" — for the land. Two old names are repealed (Forsaken, Desolate); two new ones are conferred. The naming hangs on the explanatory clause: "for Yahweh delights in you" — the literal sense of Hephzi-bah.