Pedaiah

Pedaiah (meaning: redemption of the Lord) is the name of several individuals in the Old Testament, primarily active in the period of the monarchy and restoration. One Pedaiah was the father of Zebudah, the mother of King Jehoiakim of Judah (2 Kings 23:36), placing him in the royal family circle. Another was a descendant of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) in the post-exilic Davidic genealogy (1 Chronicles 3:17–19), who appears as either the father or the uncle of Zerubbabel, the governor who led the first return from Babylon.

Additional men named Pedaiah include a prince of the tribe of Manasseh in David's administration (1 Chronicles 27:20), a man who helped repair the wall of Jerusalem near the Water Gate under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:25), a Levite who stood at Ezra's left hand during the public reading of the law (Nehemiah 8:4), and a man appointed as temple treasurer (Nehemiah 13:13). The name's frequency reflects the popularity of names expressing divine redemption in the periods of national crisis and restoration.