Ezra 8:15 BSB — MannaFest

Ezra 8:15

Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we encamped three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.

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.

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Commentary

3 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Ahava was both a town and a river Ezr 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 Ezr 3:8 note).

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Some priests there were, but no others that were Levites. Where was the spirit of that sacred tribe? Ezra, a priest, like Moses proclaims, Who is on the Lord's side?

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

18 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וָֽאֶקְבְּצֵ֗ם	va.'ek.be.Tzem	and I assembled them	H6908 →
אֶל־	'el-	to	H413 →
הַנָּהָר֙	ha.na.Har	the river	H5104 →
הַבָּ֣א	ha.Ba'	which goes	H935 →
אֶֽל־	'el-	to	H413 →
אַהֲוָ֔א	'a.ha.Va'	Ahava	H163 →
וַנַּחֲנֶ֥ה	va.na.cha.Neh	and we encamped	H2583 →
שָׁ֖ם	sham	there	H8033 →
יָמִ֣ים	ya.Mim	days	H3117 →
שְׁלֹשָׁ֑ה	she.lo.Shah	three	H7969 →
וָאָבִ֤ינָה	va.'a.Vi.nah	and I considered !	H995 →
בָעָם֙	va.'Am	<in> the people	H5971 →
וּבַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים	u.va.Ko.ha.Nim	and <in> the priests	H3548 →
וּמִבְּנֵ֥י	u.mi.be.Nei	and any of [the] descendants of	H1121 →
לֵוִ֖י	le.Vi	Levi	H3881 →
לֹא־	lo'-	not	H3808 →
מָצָ֥אתִי	ma.Tza.ti	I found	H4672 →
שָֽׁם׃	Sham	there	H8033 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Ezra 8:21
And there 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…
leads to
- 2 Chronicles 20:3
  Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
- Joel 1:14
  Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
- Isaiah 30:21
  And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
- 1 Samuel 7:6
  When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged…
- Jonah 3:5
  And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
Through
Psalms 137:1
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
leads to
- Ezekiel 1:1
  In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Ezekiel 3:15
I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed.
leads to
- Job 2:13
  Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.
- Psalms 137:1
  By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.

About Ezra

Ezra Kneels in Prayer — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Ezra: the study guide →Read chapter 8 →The featured study →

Continue: Ezra 8 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Ezra

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Ezra