qo.la.yah is a personal name used for an ancestor in a Benjaminite genealogy and for Ahab's father.

The attested form functions as a personal name: in Nehemiah 11:7 it marks an ancestor in a genealogy, while in Jeremiah 29:21 it identifies Ahab by his father; the verses do not establish whether these are the same person.

1. Personal name in family identification · dominant

   Both occurrences are tagged as a proper noun and occur within father-son identification. In Nehemiah 11:7 the APB renders a genealogy ending with “son of Kolaiah,” while in Jeremiah 29:21 it renders “Ahab son of Kolaiah” in the statement concerning Ahab and Zedekiah.

   Nehemiah 11:7Jeremiah 29:21

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the name in paternal relationships: “son of Kolaiah” in Nehemiah 11:7 and “Ahab son of Kolaiah” in Jeremiah 29:21. These are verse-level renderings rather than definitions.