Adonikam

Adonikam (meaning the Lord is raised or my Lord has arisen) was the ancestor of a large family who returned from Babylonian exile. Ezra 2:13 lists 666 descendants of Adonikam among those who came back with Zerubbabel in the first return (c. 538 B.C.), making his clan one of the more numerous lay families in the initial restoration. A further group of three sons — Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah — with 60 male members returned in Ezra's later expedition (Ezra 8:13).

Adonikam's name itself may reflect a pious sentiment about the Lord's exaltation, and his family's prominence in both waves of return suggests a well-established clan that maintained its identity and cohesion across the decades of Babylonian captivity. His descendants are also listed among those who sealed the covenant under Nehemiah.