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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)I assembled the exiles at the Ahava Canal, and we camped there for three days while I went over the lists of the people and the priests who had arrived. I found that not one Levite had volunteered to come along.

Context of Ezra 8:15

13of the descendants of Adonikam, the last ones, whose names were Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men; 14of the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai and Zakkur, and with them 70 men. 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. 16So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of learning, 17and I ordered them to go to Iddo, the leader in Kasiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his fellow Levites, the temple servants in Kasiphia, so that they might bring attendants to us 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 descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men;
• Ezra 8:36They also delivered the king’s orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God.
• Psalms 137:1By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
• Ezekiel 1:1In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
• Ezekiel 3:15I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days—deeply distressed.
• Acts 16:13On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
• Ezra 8:21There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
• Ezra 8:2of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom; of the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel; of the descendants of David, Hattush
• Ezra 7:7Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up 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