Ἰανναί G2388
Jannai, an ancestor of Jesus listed in Luke's genealogy
Jannai appears in Luke 3:24 as part of the genealogy tracing Jesus's lineage back through David to Adam. Like many names in the genealogical lists, little is known about this individual beyond his position in the ancestry. The name appears only in this Lukan genealogy among biblical texts. Luke's genealogy differs from Matthew's in several names and in structure, reflecting different theological purposes and possibly different lineage traditions (Joseph's line versus Mary's, or legal versus biological descent). Translations typically transliterate: "Jannai" (English), "Jannaï" (French), "Janna" (German), maintaining the proper noun without interpretive addition.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Luke's genealogy includes Ἰανναί (3:24) in the post-exilic section of Jesus's ancestry, positioned between Melchi and Joseph (son of Mattathias). The name doesn't appear elsewhere in Scripture, and no biographical information survives. Luke traces Jesus's line through lesser-known ancestors in the post-David period, differing from Matthew's genealogy. The function is theological: establishing Jesus's full humanity and connection to all humankind (Luke traces to Adam, not just Abraham). Translations uniformly transliterate the name: "Jannai," "Jannaï," "Janna," treating it as an opaque proper noun. 1×
AR["يَنَّاي"]·ben["যান্নায়ের"]·DE["Janna"]·EN["Iannai"]·FR["Jannaï"]·heb["יַנַּי"]·HI["यन्नाई"]·ID["Yanai"]·IT["iannai"]·jav["Yanai,"]·KO["얌나이-의"]·PT["Janai"]·RU["Ианнаев"]·ES["Iannaí"]·SW["Iannaí"]·TR["Yannay"]·urd["ینائی-کا"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
Ἰανναί (Rec. -νά), ὁ, Jannai: Luk.3:24.† (From Abbott-Smith. LSJ has no entry)