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 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 last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; 14also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males. 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. 16Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding. 17And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia—that they should bring us servants 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

People and places in Ezra 8:15

• Levi
• Ahava

Cross-references for Ezra 8:15

• Ezra 8:6of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males;
• Ezra 8:36And they delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond the River. So they gave support to the people and the house of God.
• Psalms 137:1By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.
• Ezekiel 1:1Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
• Ezekiel 3:15Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
• Acts 16:13And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
• Ezra 8:21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones 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 children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim 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