Ezra 2:18 — Word Study
WLCבְּנֵ֣י יוֹרָ֔ה מֵאָ֖ה וּשְׁנֵ֥ים עָשָֽׂר׃ ס
BSAthe descendantsbên [sons, children, or posterity] of JorahYôwrâh△ [an Israelite family, a hundred and twelve, one hundred twelve] 112mêʼâh
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| בְּנֵ֣י | [the] descendants of | Noun common, masculine plural construct |
| יוֹרָ֔ה | Jorah | Noun proper masculine |
| מֵאָ֖ה | one hundred | Adj |
| וּשְׁנֵ֥ים | and two [plus] | Conjunction |
| עָשָֽׂר׃ ס | ten |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | the descendants of Jorah, 112; |
| KJV | The children of Jorah, an hundred and twelve. |
| ASV | The children of Jorah, a hundred and twelve. |
| YLT | Sons of Jorah, a hundred and twelve. |
| WEB | The children of Jorah, one hundred twelve. |
| BBE | The children of Jorah, a hundred and twelve. |
Translations agree on the key terms in this verse, particularly regarding the descendants of Jorah.
The sentence is straightforward, listing the family and their count without additional clauses.
2 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 5 occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament — a word chosen on purpose.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Ezra 2:18
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The List of Returning Exilesgenerated
Ezra 2:18 is part of a larger passage detailing the families of Israelites who returned from Babylonian exile. This verse specifically identifies the descendants of Jorah, emphasizing their role in the restoration of the community in Jerusalem. It highlights the importance of lineage and family in the context of Israel's return to their homeland.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nehemiah 7:24 | the descendants of Hariph, 112; |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 1 reference, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — בְּנֵי, be.Neigenerated
The word בֵּן (ben) means 'son' or 'descendant' and encompasses a range of meanings including children and posterity. It indicates familial relationships and inheritance, showing how the Israelites are connected to their ancestors.
In this verse, it is used to denote the descendants of Jorah, establishing their identity within the community of returnees. The masculine plural construct indicates a group, emphasizing the collective nature of the descendants.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses the descendants for בְּנֵי.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb is absent, as this verse is a straightforward enumeration of a family and their number. It presents a noun phrase as the subject: בְּנֵי יוֹרָ֔ה (the descendants of Jorah), followed by a numeral phrase indicating their count.
The structure is simple and direct, reflecting the nature of genealogical records in biblical texts.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint uses υἱοὶ (huioi) to translate בְּנֵי, which also means 'sons' or 'descendants'. This choice aligns closely with the Hebrew meaning, maintaining the familial connection.
The translation shows a consistent understanding of lineage, emphasizing the descendants' identity as part of the returning exiles.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Ezra 2:18 lists the descendants of Jorah, numbering 112. This verse is part of a larger genealogical record of families returning from Babylon, highlighting their importance in the restoration of Israel.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Jorah was an Israelite leader associated with the families that returned from Babylon during the Exile and Return.
The number signifies the size of the family and their role in the rebuilding of the community in Jerusalem.
It emphasizes the importance of lineage and family connections among the Israelites returning from exile.
It fits into the larger context of the restoration of Israel, showing the specific families involved in the return.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What can we learn from the importance of family lineage in our own lives?
- How does understanding our heritage impact our identity as part of a community?
- In what ways can we honor our ancestors while contributing to our community today?
- What role does community play in our spiritual journeys, as seen in the return of the exiles?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Ezra 2:18 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThe children of Jorah, an hundred and twelve. The children of Jorah - [Septuagint, Ioora] - called Harph in the parallel passage, Nehemiah 7:24; and Harim, Ezra 10:31.
Read Robert Jamieson on Ezra 2 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges18. Jorah] called in Nehemiah (Ezra 7:24, Ezra 10:19) Hariph, with which may be compared Hareph (1 Chronicles 2:51) of the sons of Caleb. The interchange of names is the more strange when we remember that the Hebrew word ‘Joreh’ means ‘autumn-rain’ while the Hebrew ‘Horeph’ means ‘the autumn-season’.
Read Cambridge on Ezra 2 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
the descendants of Jorah, 112;
The children of Jorah, one hundred twelve.
the descendants of Jorah, 112;
the descendants of Jorah: 112;
Tyndale line
The children of Jorah, an hundred and twelve.
The children of Jorah, a hundred and twelve.
The children of Jorah, an hundred and twelve.
The children of Jorah, an hundred and twelve.
The sonnes of Iorah, an hudreth and twelue:
Strictly literal
The children of Jorah, a hundred and twelve.
Sons of Jorah, a hundred and twelve.
sons of Jorah, one hundred and twelve;
The children of Jorah, one hundred and twelve.
The descendants of Jorah: 112.
From the Latin
The children of Jora, a hundred and twelve.
Simplified
the sons of Jorah, 112;
The children of Jorah, a hundred and twelve.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint largely agree in this verse, with four out of five words matched. The Septuagint's word order differs, but the essential content remains consistent.
בְּנֵ֣י יוֹרָ֔ה מֵאָ֖ה וּשְׁנֵ֥ים עָשָֽׂר׃ ס
4 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Ezra 2:18
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
בֵּן (ben) means 'son' or 'male child' and encompasses a wide range of meanings, including descendants, young animals, and even figurative uses like sparks or arrows. It can refer to members of a tribe or class and is used in various contexts throughout the Old Testament, such as in 1 Chronicles 24:26. The word is derived from a root meaning 'to build' and implies a connection to family or lineage.
בֵּן 4870 n.m. son
son, male child, born of a woman
children (male and female)
youth, young men
the young of animals
of plant shoots
fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows
member of a guild, order or class
of animals son of (the) herd
ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.
n. relat. of age
base
בְּנוֹ 1 Ch 24:26, 27 as n.pr.m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son, cf. VB & Be Öt.
done
H1121a בֵּן son . son, male child, born of a woman
. children (male and female)
. youth, young men
. the young of animals
. of plant shoots
. fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows
. . member of a guild, order or class
. of animals son of (the) herd
. ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.
. n. relat. of age
H1121b בְּנוֹ as n. pr. m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son
1121 ben bane
from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the
widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship,
including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition,
etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-)
(Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to,
(+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born,
bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X
came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of
first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, +
kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+)
people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, +
spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous
one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.
see HEBREW for 01129
see HEBREW for 01
see HEBREW for 0251
בֵּן (ben) — son: child.
: child/son
בְּנוֹ (be.no) — Beno.
A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.24.26;
son of: Jaaziah (H3269);
brother of: Shoham (H7719), Zaccur (H2139I) and Ibri (H5681)
§ Beno = "his son"
the sons of Jaaziah and the sons of Merari by Jaahziah (his son)
בֵּן (ben) — son: descendant/people.
: descendant, people, tribe, nation
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : child/son
בֵּן (ben) — son: young animal.
: calf/lamb/young(ANIMAL)
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : descendant
בֵּן (ben) — son: type of.
: rebel/son(Belial)
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : people/men/nation/tribe
בֵּן (ben) — son.
: [inheriting]son/heir
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
בֵּן (ben) — son: warrior.
: warrior/son(strong)
N-mp — Noun common · masculine plural constructHNcmpc
ov:
(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.
OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]
1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:1.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.
That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.
Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…
יוֹרָה (Yowrah) refers to Jorah, a man associated with the families that returned from Babylon during the Exile and Return, first mentioned in Ezra 2:18. The name is derived from the root meaning 'to instruct.' Jorah is also identified with Hariph in Nehemiah 7:24, indicating a connection to a family lineage.
יוֹרָה n.pr.m. one of the families of the restoration
base
H3139 יוֹרָה
3139 Yowrah yo-raw'
from 3384; rainy; Jorah, an Israelite:--Jorah.
see HEBREW for 03384
יוֹרָה (yo.rah) — Jorah.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.18; also called Hariph at Neh.7.24;
Also named: cha.riph (חָרִיף "Hariph" H2756H)
§ Jorah = "he instructs"
the head or ancestor of a family who returned from Babylon with Ezra
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
(the early rain), the ancestor of a family of 112 who returned from Babylon with Ezra. (Ezra 2:18) In (Nehemiah 7:24) he appears under the name HARIPH, or more correctly the same family are represented as the Bene-Hariph.
Jorai, showing; casting forth; a cauldron
→ A returned exile Ezr 2:18
מֵאָה (me'ah) means 'hundred' in Hebrew. It can refer to a simple number, a component of a larger number, or a fraction representing one one-hundredth. The entries consistently describe its use as a numeral without significant disagreement.
מֵאָה 583 n.f. hundred
as simple number
as part of larger number
a hundredth part
base
H3967 מֵאָה hundred . as simple number
. as part of larger number
. a hundredth part
3967 me'ah may-aw'
or metyah {may-yaw'}; properly, a primitive numeral; a
hundred; also as a multiplicative and a
fraction:--hundred((-fold), -th), + sixscore.
מֵאָה (me.ah) — hundred.
1) hundred
1a) as simple number
1b) as part of larger number
1c) as a fraction-one one-hundredth (1/100)
Aramaic equivalent: me.ah (מְאָה "hundred" H3969)
Adj — AdjHAcfsa
hun'-dred (me'-ah; hekaton).
See NUMBER.
שְׁנַ֫יִם (shnayim) means 'two' and serves as both a cardinal and ordinal number. It can denote 'both,' 'double,' or 'twice,' and is used in various combinations with other numbers. The word is derived as a dual form of שָׁנָה (shanah), which relates to the concept of pairs.
שְׁנַ֫יִם, שְׁתַּיִם 768 n.m. et f. du. two
base
H8147 שְׁנַ֫יִם, שְׁתַּיִם two
8147 shnayim shen-ah'-yim
dual of 8145; feminine shttayim {shet-tah'-yim}; two; also
(as ordinal) twofold:--both, couple, double, second, twain, +
twelfth, + twelve, + twenty (sixscore) thousand, twice, two.
see HEBREW for 08145
שְׁנַ֫יִם (she.na.yim) — two.
1) two
1a) two (the cardinal number)
1a1) two, both, double, twice
1b) second (the ordinal number)
1c) in combination with other numbers
1d) both (a dual number)
HC/Acbda — ConjunctionHC/Acbda
עָשָׂר (asar) means 'ten' and is used exclusively in combination with other numbers to form the teen numbers (11-19), both as cardinal and ordinal forms. The entries indicate that it is derived from another Hebrew root, but do not elaborate on its etymology.
עָשָׂר, עֶשְׂרֵה ten, only after units to make num. 11-19, both cardinal and ordinal
base
H6240 עָשָׂר, עֶשְׂרֵה ten, only after units to make num. 11-19, both cardinal and ordinal
6240 `asar aw-sawr'
for 6235; ten (only in combination), i.e. -teen; also
(ordinal) -teenth:--(eigh-, fif-, four-, nine-, seven-,
six-, thir-)teen(-th), + eleven(-th), + sixscore thousand, +
twelve(-th).
see HEBREW for 06235
עָשָׂר (a.sar) — ten.
1) ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers)
1a) used only in combination to make the numbers 11-19
HAcbsa — HAcbsa