Ezra 8:31
in Ezra 8On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands of the enemies and bandits along the way.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the lier-in-wait by the way.
KJV
Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.
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This verse in Ezra 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Jews with Ezra left Babylon on the first day of the first month Ezr 7:9. They reached Ahava in nine days, and, having remained there three Ezr 8:15, quitted it, and resumed their journey on the twelfth. They reached Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month Ezr 7:9, four months after the departure from Babylon.
This site's exposition
the hand of our God was upon us
On the twelfth day of the first month the company sets out from the Ahava Canal. The phrase "the hand of our God was upon us" appears for the third time in this chapter. It protected them from enemies and bandits along the way.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
We therefore moved from the river Ahava on the twelfth, and all the rest full of mysteries. For it is read above that on the first day of the first month they began to go up from Babylon; and now it is said that on …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then we departed from the river of Ahava, on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem,....
Even the common perils of journeys are such as oblige us to sanctify our going out with prayer and our returns in peace with praise and thanksgiving; much more ought God to be thus eyed in such a dangerous expedition as this was.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests . . . and weighed unto them the silver, &c.--The custody of the contributions and of the sacred vessels was, during the journey, committed to twelve of the chief priests, who, with the assistance of ten of their brethren, were to watch closely over them by the way, and deliver them into the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽנִּסְעָ֞ה | vanisah | and we set out ! | H5265 → | |
| מִנְּהַ֣ר | minehar | from [the] river of | H5104 → | 119 times |
| אַֽהֲוָ֗א | ʾahava' | Ahava | H163 → | 3 times |
| בִּשְׁנֵ֤ים | bishneim | on [day] two [plus] | H8147 → | 768 times |
| עָשָׂר֙ | ʾasar | ten | H6240 → | 338 times |
| לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ | lachodesh | of the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הָרִאשׁ֔וֹן | harishon | <the> first | H7223 → | 182 times |
| לָלֶ֖כֶת | lalekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְיַד־ | veyad- | and [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הָיְתָ֣ה | hayetah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עָלֵ֔ינוּ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וַיַּ֨צִּילֵ֔נוּ | vaiyatzilenu | and he delivered us | H5337 → | |
| מִכַּ֥ף | mikaf | from [the] hand of | H3709 → | |
| אוֹיֵ֛ב | ʾoyev | an enemy | H341 → | |
| וְאוֹרֵ֖ב | veorev | and from an ambusher | H693 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַדָּֽרֶךְ׃ | hadarekh | the journey | H1870 → | 707 times |
וַֽנִּסְעָ֞הand we set out !
vanisahH5265 →
מִנְּהַ֣רfrom [the] river of
mineharH5104 →119 times
אַֽהֲוָ֗אAhava
ʾahava'H163 →3 times
בִּשְׁנֵ֤יםon [day] two [plus]
bishneimH8147 →768 times
עָשָׂר֙ten
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
לַחֹ֣דֶשׁof the month
lachodeshH2320 →284 times
הָרִאשׁ֔וֹן<the> first
harishonH7223 →182 times
לָלֶ֖כֶתto go
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
וְיַד־and [the] hand of
veyad-H3027 →1618 times
אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙God our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
הָיְתָ֣הit was
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
עָלֵ֔ינוּon us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
וַיַּ֨צִּילֵ֔נוּand he delivered us
vaiyatzilenuH5337 →
מִכַּ֥ףfrom [the] hand of
mikafH3709 →
אוֹיֵ֛בan enemy
ʾoyevH341 →
וְאוֹרֵ֖בand from an ambusher
veorevH693 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַדָּֽרֶךְ׃the journey
hadarekhH1870 →707 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezra 7:9He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his…
it leads to
- Ezra 7:6
this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for…
- Nehemiah 2:8
And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the…
- Ezra 7:6
Through
Acts 26:22But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
it leads to
- John 5:46
If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me.
- Acts 24:14
I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is laid down by the Law and…
- Luke 24:44
Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets,…
- Romans 3:21
But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.
- John 5:46
Through
Ezra 8:15Now 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.
it leads to
- 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…
- Ezra 7:7
So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.
- Ezra 8:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezra
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.