Ezra 8:15

Ezra 8:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.
• New International Version (NIV)I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.

Context of Ezra 8:15

13of the sons of Adonikam, the last to come, their names are Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, with 60 men; 14and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, with 70 men. Now I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days. I observed the people and the priests, and I did not find any Levites there. 16So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, [who were] leading men, and also for Joiarib and Elnathan, [who were] teachers. 17And I sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring us servants (ministers) for the house of our God.

Ezra 8:15 word by word

וָֽאֶקְבְּצֵ֗ם אֶל־הַנָּהָר֙ הַבָּ֣א אֶֽל־אַהֲוָ֔א וַנַּחֲנֶ֥ה שָׁ֖ם יָמִ֣ים שְׁלֹשָׁ֑ה וָאָבִ֤ינָה בָעָם֙ וּבַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים וּמִבְּנֵ֥י לֵוִ֖י לֹא־מָצָ֥אתִי שָֽׁם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And I gathered them togetherקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
• to the riverנָהָרnâhâr · riverH5104
• that runnethבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to Ahavaאַהֲוָא'ahăvâ' · AhavaH163
• and there abode we in tentsחָנָהchânâh · to campH2583
• threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• and I viewedבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
• the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• and the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• and foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• there none of the sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Leviלֵוִיlêvîy · LeviH3878

Cross-references for Ezra 8:15

• Ezra 8:6of the sons of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, with 50 men;
• Ezra 8:36And they delivered the king’s edicts to the king’s satraps (lieutenants) and to the governors west of the [Euphrates] River, and they supported the people and God’s house.
• Psalms 137:1By the rivers of Babylon, There we [captives] sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].
• Ezekiel 1:1Now it came about [when I was] in my thirtieth year [of life], on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles beside the River Chebar [in Babylonia], the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
• Ezekiel 3:15Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the River Chebar at Tel Abib. I sat there for seven days [in the place] where they were living, overwhelmed with astonishment [by my vision and the work before me].
• Acts 16:13and on the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the bank of the [Gangites] river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had come there.
• Ezra 8:21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, so that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.
• Ezra 8:2of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush;
• Ezra 7:7Some of the sons of Israel, with some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants also went up [from Babylon] to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

Commentaries on Ezra 8:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15The river that runneth to Ahava - Ahava was a river itself, which is supposed to be the same that is called Diava or Adiava, in the province of Adiabene; and perhaps the place whence the people of Ava came who were brought by the king of Assyria to Palestine, 2 Kings 17:24. None of the sons of Levi - None that were simply Levites. He found priests, and they were sons of Levi; but no Levites that were not priests.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Ahava was both a town and a river Ezra 8:21. The modern name of the place is Hit. It is famous for its bitumen springs, and is situated on the Euphrates, at a distance of about 80 miles from Babylon, toward the northwest. None of the sons of Levi - The Levites appear to have been disinclined to return to Jerusalem (see Ezra 3:8 note).Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15The Ahava Canal branched off the Euphrates River near Babylon. I found no Levites there: Only a few Levites had come earlier with Sheshbazzar (Ezra 2:40). The reason why so few Levites returned to Jerusalem is unclear.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2015. I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava--This river has not been ascertained. It is probable that the Ahava was one of the streams or numerous canals of Mesopotamia communicating with the Euphrates [Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature]. But it was certainly in Babylonia on the banks of that stream; and perhaps the place appointed for general rendezvous was in the neighborhood of a town of the same name. The emigrants encamped there…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezra 8:15

• Ahava
• Genealogy

In the dictionaries

• Levi
• Euphrates River, the River
• Ahava
• Ezra
• Require
• Scribe
• Synagogue
• Esdras, the First Book of
• Genealogy
• Law in the Old Testament

Commentaries on Ezra 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings