Nehemiah 10:18 — Word Study
WLCהוֹדִיָּ֥ה חָשֻׁ֖ם בֵּצָֽי׃
BSAAterʼÂṭêr HezekiahChizqîyâh AzzurʻAzzûwr
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| הוֹדִיָּ֥ה | Hodiah | Noun proper masculine |
| חָשֻׁ֖ם | Hashum | Noun proper masculine |
| בֵּצָֽי׃ | Bezai | Noun proper masculine |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, |
| KJV | Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai, |
| ASV | Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, |
| YLT | Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai, |
| WEB | Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, |
| BBE | Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, |
The translations agree on the names listed in this verse.
The verse consists of a single main clause listing names without additional subordinate phrases.
1 commentators on this verse
Jamieson & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
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 — Nehemiah 10:18
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 Returneesgenerated
Nehemiah 10:18 is part of a genealogical list that documents the names of those who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. This verse highlights the importance of lineage and community among the Israelites during the restoration period. The names listed serve to connect the present community with their ancestral heritage, as seen in the broader context of Nehemiah 7:22–73 and Ezra 2:17–70.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nehemiah 7:22–73 | the descendants of Hashum, 328; |
| 2 | Ezra 2:17–70 | the descendants of Bezai, 323; |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 2 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — הוֹדִיָּ֥ה, ho.di.Yahgenerated
הוֹדִיָּה (Hodiyah) is a Hebrew name meaning 'my majesty is Jehovah.' It refers to several individuals, including Levites and a chief of the people during the time of the Exile and Return, as noted in Nehemiah and Ezra. The name is derived from a form of another Hebrew word, but specific details about that word are not provided in the entries.
The name appears in a context that emphasizes the importance of identity among the returning exiles. Hodiah is one of the names that connects the community to their past and signifies the reverence for God.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The verse consists of a simple noun phrase listing three names: הוֹדִיָּ֥ה, חָשֻׁ֖ם, and בֵּצָֽי. The structure is straightforward, focusing on the identification of individuals rather than complex grammatical constructions.
The names are presented in a straightforward list format, emphasizing their importance as part of the community's identity.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint renders הוֹדִיָּ֥ה as ατηρ, which does not carry a specific meaning in this context but aligns with the Hebrew name. The choice of Greek reflects the translators' intent to convey the names without altering their significance.
The other names are similarly translated, maintaining the focus on the individuals returning from exile.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Nehemiah 10:18 lists three names of individuals who returned from exile: Hodiah, Hashum, and Bezai. These names reflect the heritage of the Israelites and their connection to their past during the restoration period.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Hodiah means 'my majesty is Jehovah' and is associated with several individuals during the Exile and Return period.
Hashum was a common name among Israelites, meaning 'rich,' and he was a leader of a family that returned with Zerubbabel.
These names connect the returning exiles to their heritage and identity, reflecting their community's history.
They remind us of the importance of lineage and community identity in faith traditions.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How do the names in this verse connect to the identity of the Israelite community?
- What can we learn from the heritage of those who returned from exile?
- In what ways do names carry meaning and significance in our own lives?
- How can we honor our own heritage while moving forward in our faith?
Commentators on this verse — 1 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 10:18 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentarySeraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, No JFB commentary on these verses.
Read Robert Jamieson on Nehemiah 10 →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
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
Tyndale line
Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai;
Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
Strictly literal
Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
(10:19) Hodiyah, Chashum, Bezai,
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
From the Latin
Odaia, Hasum, Besai,
Simplified
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
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 agree on the names listed in this verse. The Septuagint matches the Hebrew words directly, indicating a consistent transmission of these names across different textual traditions.
הוֹדִיָּ֥ה חָשֻׁ֖ם בֵּצָֽי׃
3 of the 3 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 Nehemiah 10:18
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.
הוֹדִיָּה (Hodiyah) is a Hebrew name meaning 'my majesty is Jehovah.' It refers to several individuals, including Levites and a chief of the people during the time of the Exile and Return, as noted in Nehemiah and Ezra. The name is derived from a form of another Hebrew word, but specific details about that word are not provided in the entries.
הוֹדִיָּה n.pr.m. (my splendour is Yah)
a man of Judah
Levites
a chief of the people
base
H1941 הוֹדִיָּה, הוֹדִיָּה
1941 Howdiyah ho-dee-yaw'
a form of 1938; Hodijah, the name of three
Israelites:--Hodijah.
see HEBREW for 01938
הוֹדִיָּה (ho.diy.yah) — Hodiah.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Neh.8.7; also called Judah (NIV: Hodaviah) at Ezr.3.9; 1x
Also named: ye.hu.dah (יְהוּדָה "Judah" H3063M)
§ Hodijah = "my majesty is Jehovah"
1) a Levite in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah
2) another Levite at the same time
3) a chief of the people at the same time
הוֹדִיָּה (ho.diy.yah) — Hodiah.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.13
§ Hodijah = "my majesty is Jehovah"
1) a Levite in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah
2) another Levite at the same time
3) a chief of the people at the same time
הוֹדִיָּה (ho.diy.yah) — Hodiah.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.18
§ Hodijah = "my majesty is Jehovah"
1) a Levite in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah
2) another Levite at the same time
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
(majesty of Jehovah), one of the two wives of Ezra, a man of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:19) She is doubtless the same person as Jehudijah in ver. 18.
חָשֻׁם (Chashum) refers to a name meaning 'rich.' It identifies a man associated with the Exile and Return period, specifically as the head of a family of 223 exiles returning with Zerubbabel. He is mentioned in Ezra 2:19 and Nehemiah 8:4 and 10:18, where he is noted as a priest or Levite.
חָשֻׁם n.pr.m. head of a family of returned exiles
base
H2828 חָשֻׁם
2828 Chashum khaw-shoom'
from the same as 2831; enriched; Chashum, the name of two or
three Israelites:--Hashum.
see HEBREW for 02831
חָשֻׁם (cha.shum) — Hashum.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.19
§ Hashum = "rich"
1) head of a family of 223 exiles returning with Zerubbabel
2) one of the priests or Levites who stood on Ezra's left while he read the law
חָשֻׁם (cha.shum) — Hashum.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.8.4
§ Hashum = "rich"
1) head of a family of 223 exiles returning with Zerubbabel
2) one of the priests or Levites who stood on Ezra's left while he read the law
חָשֻׁם (cha.shum) — Hashum.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.18
§ Hashum = "rich"
1) head of a family of 223 exiles returning with Zerubbabel
2) one of the priests or Levites who stood on Ezra's left while he read the law
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
ha'-shum (chashum):
(1) In Ezr 2:19; Ne 7:22, "children of Hashum" are mentioned among the returning exiles. In Ezr 10:33 (compare 1 Esdras 9:33, "Asom"), members of the same family are named among those who married foreign wives.
(2) One of those who stood on Ezra's left at the reading of the law (Ne 8:4; /APC 1Esdras 9:44, "Lothasubus"). The signer of the covenant (Ne 10:18) is possibly the same.
(rich). Bene-Hashum, 223 in number, came back from Babylon with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:19; 10:33; Nehemiah 7:22) (B.C. before 536.) The chief man of the family was among these who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:18) (B.C. 410.) One of the priests or Levites who stood on Ezra’s left hand while he read the law to the congregation. (Nehemiah 8:4) (B.C. 410.)
silence; their hasting
בֵּצָ֑י (Betsay) refers to a personal name, specifically Bezai, who is noted as a chief among the returning exiles during the time of Ezra. The name is associated with the meaning 'conqueror' and appears in contexts related to the Exile and Return, specifically in Ezra 2:17 and Nehemiah 10:18.
בֵּצָ֑י n.pr.m. one of the chiefs of the people; i.e. a family
base
H1209 בֵּצָ֑י
1209 Betsay bay-tsah'-ee
perhaps the same as 1153; Betsai, the name of two
Israelites:--Bezai.
see HEBREW for 01153
בֵּצָ֑י (be.tsay) — Bezai.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.17
§ Bezai = "conqueror"
a chief of the returning exiles in the time of Ezra
בֵּצָ֑י (be.tsay) — Bezai.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.18
§ Bezai = "conqueror"
a chief of the returning exiles in the time of Ezra
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
(conqueror). "Children of Bezai," to the number of 328, returned from captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:17; Nehemiah 7:23; 10:18)
eggs
