Eznite
Ez'nite (Hebrews in marg. Etsni', עֶצנַי, but in the text ׃עֶצנוֹ i.e., Etsno') is given in 2Sa 23:8, in the Auth.Vers., as an epithet of Adino, praefect of David's body-guard; and if considered as a gentile adj., must mean an inhabitant of Ezen, a place otherwise unknown. But of the words rendered "Adino the Eznite" (עֲדינוֹ הָעֶצנוֹ, Sept. Α᾿δινὼν οΑ῾᾿σωναῖος; Vulg. quasi tenerrimus ligni vermiculus, as if understanding the latter term to be a form of עֵצ wood), Gesenius (Hebrews Lex.) regards the former as a peculiar alliteration for יעִדּנוֹ, in the sense of "he brandished," from the root עָדַין to be plant; and the latter as a rare word, עֵצֶן, a spear (for which sense he finds analogy in the Arabic); and thus the whole phrase will be equivalent to that in the parallel passage (1Ch 11:11), which otherwise we must here interpolate (with our translators) in order to make sense. That these words do not contain the name of a person is clear from the fact that Jashobeam is given in the parallel passage, and is capable of identification SEE JASHOBEAEL, and also from the enumeration, in which the two meritorius grades of three each, with the 30 warriors specially enumerated, require just this one special officer to make up the number of 37 specified in the text as peculiarly distinguished. SEE DAVID. The passage in 2 Samuel is conceded to be less trustworthy than that in 1 Chronicles, even by Davidson, who vainly contends (Sacred Hermeneutics, page 545) for Adino as a proper name. (See at length in Kennicott, Dissertation, 1:71-128; Gesenius, Thes. Hebrews page 994-5.) SEE ADINO.
