ELNATHAN ĕl nā’ thən (אֶלְנָתָ֖ן, God has given). A masculine personal name; a more common form has the deity element last, Nātān’ēl (Nathanael). 1. Elnathan of Jerusalem, the grandfather of King Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:8), and possibly the same Elnathan, the son of Achbor, a nobleman who did the king’s bidding (Jer 26:22). Elnathan sat among the nobles while Jeremiah’s message was read to King Jehoiakim (36:12). He sought to dissuade the king from burning Jeremiah’s scroll, but to no avail.

2. Several other Elnathans are mentioned among the Levites who were described as “leading men” and “men of insight” in the days of Ezra (Ezra 8:15, 16). The passage tells of a search for Levites who were scarce in those days.