Jireh Meaning

"Jireh" Is the Hebrew Verb Yireh

Jireh transliterates the Hebrew yireh (יִרְאֶה) — the third-person masculine singular imperfect form of the verb ra'ah (רָאָה, Strong's H7200). The verb means primarily "to see." The form yireh means "he will see."

In Hebrew idiom, "to see" with a direct object of need extends to "to see to" or "to provide for" — the same semantic move English makes with "see to a matter." This is how yireh comes to be rendered "will provide" in English translations.

The Word's Origin: Genesis 22

"Jireh" comes from the binding of Isaac. At the climax of the narrative, after God has stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son and provided a ram caught in a thicket, Abraham names the place:

Genesis 22:14 — "And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen."

The place name is YHWH Yireh — "YHWH [will] see" or "YHWH [will] provide." The KJV transliterates rather than translates it, combining the divine name and the verb into "Jehovahjireh."

The Threefold Wordplay

Genesis 22 uses the verb ra'ah three times in the chapter's climax, each with a different grammatical nuance — a deliberate literary wordplay:

• Verse 8 — Abraham to Isaac: "My son, God will provide (yireh) himself a lamb for a burnt offering." Abraham uses the verb before the ram appears.
• Verse 14a — Abraham names the place: "YHWH Yireh."
• Verse 14b — The explanatory note: "In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen (yera'eh, passive)."

Three instances of the same root at the peak. The text holds together "seeing" and "providing" as one action from God's side. What God sees, God sees to.

The Location

Genesis 22:2 names "the land of Moriah." 2 Chronicles 3:1 identifies Mount Moriah as the site of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem:

"Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where [the LORD] appeared unto David his father."

The "mount of the LORD" where God provided Abraham's ram became the mountain where the temple stood for a millennium. Abraham's place-name YHWH Yireh was carried forward not as an obscure footnote but as a theological marker for the site of ongoing sacrificial worship.

The Full Name Among Compound Names of God

The compound YHWH Yireh is one of several compound names of God in the Hebrew Bible, each tied to a specific narrative moment:

• Jehovah Jireh — "the LORD will provide" (Genesis 22:14, Mount Moriah)
• Jehovah Rapha — "the LORD who heals" (Exodus 15:26, waters of Marah)
• Jehovah Nissi — "the LORD my banner" (Exodus 17:15, after Amalek)
• Jehovah Shalom — "the LORD is peace" (Judges 6:24, Gideon)
• Jehovah Shammah — "the LORD is there" (Ezekiel 48:35)

These compound names are not additional divine beings. They are identity disclosures — moments when God reveals a particular facet of his character through a specific act. "Jireh" names God as the one who sees the need and supplies it.

Scripture's Broader Testimony on Providence

• Psalm 23:1 — "The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want."
• Psalm 34:10 — "they that seek the LORD shall not want any good [thing]."
• Matthew 6:32–33 — "your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things... seek ye first the kingdom of God..."
• Philippians 4:19 — "my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
• 2 Corinthians 9:8 — "God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you."

"Jireh" — the specific Hebrew word — belongs to one narrative moment in Genesis 22. The broader biblical teaching that God sees and supplies runs through the whole of Scripture in many different vocabularies.