a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Asahel
עֲשָׂהאֵ֛ל'a.sa.h.'El
H6214
Asahel · proper noun, a man's name
Jahaziah
וְיַחְזְיָ֥הve.yach.ze.Yah
H3167
Jachzejah · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
son
בֶןven-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Tikvah
תִּקְוָ֖הtik.Vah
H8616
Tikvah · proper noun, a man's name
employed
עָמְד֣וּ'a.me.Du
H5975
to stand · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
Meshullam
וּמְשֻׁלָּ֛םu.me.shu.Lam
H4918
Meshullam · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Shabbethai
וְשַׁבְּתַ֥יve.sha.be.Tai
H7678
Shabbethai · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Levite
הַלֵּוִ֖יha.le.Vi
H3881
a Levite or descendant of Levi · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
helped
עֲזָרֻֽם'a.za.Rum
H5826
to surround · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Nehemiah 11:16 And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God.
Nehemiah 3:6 Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the d…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezra 10:15–end
The method of proceeding in this matter being concluded on, and the congregation dismissed, that each in his respective place might gain and give intelligence to facilitate the matter, we are here told, 1. Who were the persons that undertook to manage the matter and bring the causes regularly before the commissioners - Jonathan and Jahaziah, two active men, whether of the priests or of the people does not appear; probably they were the men that made that proposal (Ezr 10:13, Ezr 10:14) and were therefore the fittest to see it pursued; two honest Levites were joined with them, and helped them, Ezr 10:15. Dr. Lightfoot gives a contrary sense of this: only (or nevertheless) Jonathan and Jahazia…
Ezra the priest stood up, and said--Having fully represented the enormity of their sin and urged them to dissolve their unlawful connections, he was gratified by receiving a prompt acknowledgment of the justice of his reproof and a promise of compliance with his recommendation. But as the weather was ungenial and the defaulters were too numerous to be passed in review at one time, it was resolved that a commission should be appointed to examine into the whole matter. These commissioners, assisted by the judges and elders of the respective cities, made a minute investigation into every case, and after three months' labor completely removed all traces of the abuse. Doubtless, an adequate provi…
As thou hast said, so must we do - They all resolved to do what Ezra then commanded, they did put away their wives, even those by whom they had children; Ezr 10:44 : this was a great hardship on the women and children. Though by the Jewish laws such marriages were null and void, yet as the women they had taken did not know these laws, their case was deplorable. However, we may take it for granted that each of them received a portion according to the circumstances of their husbands, and that they and their children were not turned away desolate, but had such a provision as their necessities required. Humanity must have dictated this, and no law of God is contrary to humanity. After all, there…
Dictionary and topics
Asahel — Made by God, the youngest son of Zeruiah, David’s sister. He was celebrated for his swiftness of foot. When fighting against Ish-bosheth at Gibeon, in the army of his brother Joab, he was put to…
Covenant — A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a…
Divorce — The dissolution of the marriage tie was regulated by the Mosaic law (Deut. 24:1-4). The Jews, after the Captivity, were reguired to dismiss the foreign women they had married contrary to the law…
Jahnziah — (whom Jehovah watches over), son of Tikvah, apparently a priest. (Ezra 10:15)
Jonathan — Whom Jehovah gave, the name of fifteen or more persons that are mentioned in Scripture. The chief of these are, (1.) A Levite descended from Gershom (Judg. 18:30). His history is recorded in 17:7-13…
Meshullam — Befriended. (1.) One of the chief Gadites in Bashan in the time of Jotham (1 Chr. 5:13). (2.) Grandfather of Shaphan, “the scribe,” in the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 22:3). (3.) A priest, father of…
Shabbethai — Sabbath-born, a Levite who assisted in expounding the law and investigating into the illegal marriages of the Jews (Ezra 10:15; Neh. 8:7; 11:16).
Tikvah — (hope).
Alliance And Society With The Enemies Of God · Sin of, to be confessed, deeply repented of, and forsaken — Sin of, to be confessed, deeply repented of, and forsaken
Ammonites · Jews intermarry with — Jews intermarry with
Asahel · 4. Father of Jonathan — 4. Father of Jonathan
Only Jonathan the son of Asahel, and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah, were employed about the matter,.... To see that this affair was conducted in the manner proposed; that the magistrates of every city brought the persons that had been delinquents, in their turns, of which they gave them notice, and took the account of them as they came:
and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them; assisted them in this work; the other two perhaps were priests, and both these Levites; and these four were the only persons appointed over this matter, as the phrase in the preceding clause may signify; though Jarchi interprets it to a quite contrary sense, that they were the only persons that opposed and ob…
Jonathan the son of Asahel, and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah, indeed opposed this proposal on the part of the community, and were supported in their opposition by two Levites, but without being able to carry it out. This statement is introduced by אך, only, in the form of a qualification to the remark that the whole assembly (Ezr 10:12) made this resolution: nevertheless Jonathan ... stood up against this. For על עמד, to stand up against, or as elsewhere על קוּם, comp. Ch1 21:1; Ch2 20:23; Dan 8:25; Dan 11:14. Such also is the view of R. Sal. and Lightf., while older expositors understand it as meaning: only Jonathan ... stood up for this matter, like the steterunt super hoc of the Vulgate, or…
It is unclear why these four people opposed the plan. Perhaps they wanted a stricter penalty, or perhaps they or members of their families did not want to divorce their foreign wives. That there were only four dissenters shows the overwhelming support the policy had gained among the rest of the exiles. Sadly, a few years later, a similar problem of intermarriage with pagan wives created another crisis within the community (Neh 9–10).
Rashi on Ezra 10:15
stood up against this to argue concerning this matter.
supported them strengthened their hands.
Meshullam · 9. A returned exile — 9. A returned exile
Shabbethai · 1. A Levite, assistant to Ezra — 1. A Levite, assistant to Ezra
Tikvah · 2. Father of Jahaziah — 2. Father of Jahaziah
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
