Keziah or Kezziah is a Hebrew name used in the Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

. A number of etymologies have been suggested, among them the Hebrew for Cassia, from the name for the spice tree.

In the Old Testament, after his first daughter Jemima, the second of the three daughters born to Job after his sufferings is named Keziah (see Job

Book of Job

The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...

 42:14). The name has been taken to symbolize female equality, since all of Job's three daughters received an inheritance from their father, an unusual circumstance in a time period when women and men were not treated equally .

In the United Kingdom, the name Kezia is now unusual, but it was more common in Victorian times. In 1890, the births of 137 children named Kezia were registered in England; in 1990, only 40 were . More recently the name has become unisex despite its origin such as the musician Keziah Jones

Keziah Jones

Keziah Jones is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He describes his musical style as "Blufunk", which is a fusion between raw blues elements and hard, edgy funk rhythms...

. Keziah has also found its way into modern literature in the book Keziah Dane

Keziah Dane

Keziah Dane is a 1967 novel by Sue Grafton. A work of mainstream fiction, this novel was published by Grafton when she was 27 years old. This is one of only two Sue Grafton novels published before her more famous "Alphabet" series of mystery novels....

 by Sue Grafton

Sue Grafton

Sue Taylor Grafton is a contemporary American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the 'alphabet series' featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. The daughter of detective novelist C. W...