Nehemiah 10:26 — Word Study
WLCוַאֲחִיָּ֥ה חָנָ֖ן עָנָֽן׃
BSARehumRᵉchûwm HashabnahChăshabnâh△ MaaseiahMaʻăsêyâh
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וַאֲחִיָּ֥ה | and Ahiah | Conjunction, noun proper masculine |
| חָנָ֖ן | Hanan | Noun proper masculine |
| עָנָֽן׃ | Anan | Noun proper masculine |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, |
| KJV | And Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, |
| ASV | and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, |
| YLT | and Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, |
| WEB | Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, |
| BBE | And Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, |
Where they part company is in the names listed — see How Translations Differ.
The verse consists of a simple list of names, indicating the leaders who participated in the covenant.
2 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 3 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 — Nehemiah 10:26
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 Covenant of Nehemiahgenerated
Nehemiah 10:26 is part of a list of names of leaders who pledged to uphold the covenant made with God after the return from exile. This covenant was a commitment to follow the Law of God and separate themselves from the practices of the surrounding peoples. The names listed reflect the community's dedication and the importance of leadership in maintaining their faith and identity.
Cross References
The Key Word — אֲחִיָּ֥ה, va.'a.chi.Yahgenerated
The name אֲחִיָּ֥ה (*Ahijah*) means 'brother of Jehovah.' It is a proper noun referring to several individuals in the Old Testament, including a prophet and a scribe. The parsing indicates it is a masculine noun, which shows its usage as a personal name.
The lexicons highlight that this name is built from the roots for 'brother' and 'Yah,' indicating a familial relationship with God. The frequency of its occurrences suggests that it was a common name among Israelites, signifying a connection to the divine.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The translations agree on the names listed in this verse, with the BSB, KJV, ASV, YLT, WEB, and BBE all rendering the names as Ahijah, Hanan, Anan.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of this verse is straightforward, consisting of a noun phrase that serves as the subject: אֲחִיָּ֥ה, Ahijah, followed by two additional names. The simplicity of the structure reflects the nature of a list, emphasizing the names of the leaders.
The Hebrew word order places the names in a direct line, which is typical for lists, allowing for clarity and ease of reading.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, אֲחִיָּ֥ה is rendered as εσαβανα, which does not carry the same meaning as the Hebrew. This choice suggests a narrowing of the name's significance, possibly focusing on a specific individual rather than the broader implications of the name in Hebrew.
The other names, חָנָ֖ן and עָנָֽן, are translated as μαασαια, indicating a direct correspondence but also highlighting the differences in cultural context between the Hebrew and Greek.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Nehemiah 10:26 lists three leaders, Ahijah, Hanan, and Anan, who signed a covenant with Nehemiah. These names represent individuals committed to following God's Law after the return from exile.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The verse mentions Ahijah, Hanan, and Anan, who were leaders that signed the covenant with Nehemiah.
Ahijah means 'brother of Jehovah' and was a name given to several figures in the Old Testament.
The covenant was a commitment by the people to follow God's Law and separate themselves from the practices of other nations.
The list signifies the leadership and commitment of the Israelites to uphold their faith and identity after returning from exile.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What does it mean to you that these leaders signed a covenant with Nehemiah?
- How can you apply the commitment shown by these leaders in your own life?
- What role does leadership play in maintaining a community's faith?
- In what ways can you support leaders in your community who are striving to uphold God's principles?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 10:26 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 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges26. Ahijah] R.V. Ahiah.We have here 44 names: or, if Bunni (Nehemiah 10:15) be the accidental repetition of Bani, and if ‘Ater, Hezekiah’ stand for ‘Ater, of Hezekiah’ (Ezra 2:16; Ezra 7:21), no more than 42. This figure is considerably in excess of the number of names under the same head in Ezra 2, Nehemiah 7. (a) 14 names at least (i.e. Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, Azgad, Bebai, Bigvai, Adin, Ater, Hariph (= Jorah Ezra 2), Hashum, Bezai, Anathoth) are found, as they occur here, in the lists of Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7. Adonijah (Nehemiah 10:16) is doubtless the same as Adonikam (Ezra 2:13, Nehemiah 7:18), Magpiash (Nehemiah 10:20), as Magbish (Ezra 2:30). (b) The names of certain…
Read Cambridge 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
Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
Tyndale line
And Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan;
And Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
And Ahiiah, Hanan, Anan,
Strictly literal
and Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
and Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
and Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,
(10:27) And Achiyah, Chanan, 'Anan,
Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
From the Latin
Echaia, Hanan, Anan,
Simplified
Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
And Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
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 lists the names as וַאֲחִיָּ֥ה חָנָ֖ן עָנָֽן׃, while the Septuagint matches two of the three names. This agreement indicates a consistent tradition in the transmission of these names, though the Septuagint's wording differs.
וַאֲחִיָּ֥ה חָנָ֖ן עָנָֽן׃
2 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 10:26
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.
The Hebrew word אֲחִיָּ֫הוּ (*Achiyah*) means 'brother of Jehovah' and is associated with various figures in the Old Testament. It is built from the roots for 'brother' and 'Yah.' The entries highlight multiple individuals named Ahijah, including a prophet, a scribe, and the father of King Baasha. The lexicons provide overlapping details about these figures, with some variations in their roles and lineage.
אֲחִיָּ֫הוּ, אֲחִיָה (always, exc. where other form noted), אֲחִי n.pr.m. (brother of Yah(u))
a priest
a scribe
a prophet
father of king Baasha
grandson of Hezron
son of Ehud, of Benj.
one of Dvd’s heroes
a Levite, Dvd’s time
a chief man under Nehem.
a Gadite
a man of Asher
base
H281 אֲחִיָּ֫הוּ, אֲחִיָה, אֲחִי
281 'Achiyah akh-ee-yaw
or (prolonged) pAchiyahuw {akh-ee-yaw'-hoo}; from 251 and
3050; brother (i.e. worshipper) of Jah; Achijah, the name of
nine Israelites:--Ahiah, Ahijah.
see HEBREW for 0251
see HEBREW for 03050
אֲחִיָּ֫הוּ (a.chiy.yah) — Ahijah.
A man living at the time of United Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ki.4.3;
son of: Seraiah (H8304);
brother of: Elihoreph (H0456)
§ Ahiah or Ahijah = "brother of Jehovah (Yahu)"
1) grandson of Phinehas
2) scribe of Solomon
3) a prophet who predicted the revolt of the Northern tribes
4) father of Baasha, who usurped the Northern throne
5) grandson of Hezron (or mother of 1-4 above)
6) a Benjamite, son of Ehud
7) one of David's heroes
8) a Levite during David's time
9) a chief man under Nehemiah
אֲחִיָּ֫הוּ (a.chiy.yah) — Ahijah.
A prophet living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ki.11.29
§ Ahiah or Ahijah = "brother of Jehovah (Yahu)"
1) grandson of Phinehas
2) scribe of Solomon
3) a prophet who predicted the revolt of the Northern tribes
4) father of Baasha, who usurped the Northern throne
HC/Npm — Conjunction · noun proper masculineHC/Npm
brother of the Lord
חָנָן (Chanan) refers to a name meaning 'he is merciful.' It is associated with several individuals from the tribe of Benjamin, including warriors and leaders during the Divided Monarchy. The entries highlight various figures named Hanan, including a descendant of Saul and a Levite who assisted Ezra. There is no significant disagreement among the lexicons regarding this word.
חָנָן n.pr.m. (gracious)
one of the warriors of David
one of the heads of families of Nethinim
names of Levites
chiefs of the people
Benjamite name
head of a prophetic guild
base
H2605 חָנָן
2605 Chanan khaw-nawn'
from 2603; favor; Chanan, the name of seven
Israelites:--Canan.
see HEBREW for 02603
חָנָן (cha.nan) — Hanan.
A man of the tribe of Benjamin living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.8.23;
son of: Shashak (H8349);
brother of: Ishpan (H3473), Eber (H5677J), Eliel (H0447I), Abdon (H5658I), Zichri (H2147I), Hananiah (H2608O), Elam (H5867), Anthothijah (H6070), Iphdeiah (H3301) and Penuel (H6439I)
§ Canan or Hanan = "he is merciful"
1) one of the chief people of the tribe of Benjamin
2) last of the 6 sons of Azel, a descendant of Saul
3) son of Maachah, one of David's mighty warriors
4) father of some sons who returned from exile with Zerubbabel
5) one of the Levites who assisted Ezra in his public exposition of the law
6) one of the heads of the people who also sealed the covenant with Nehemiah
7) another of the chief laymen who also sealed the covenant with Nehemiah
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
Hanan
Merciful. (1.) A Benjamite (1 Chr. 8:23). (2.) One of David’s heroes (1 Chr. 11:43). (3.) Jer. 35:4. (4.) A descendant of Saul (1 Chr. 8:38). (5.) One of the Nethinim (Ezra 2:46). (6.) One of the Levites who assisted Ezra (Neh. 8:7). (7.) One of the chiefs who subscribed the covenant (Neh. 10:22).
(merciful). One of the chief people of the tribe of Benjamin. (1 Chronicles 8:23) The last of the six sons of Azel, a descendant of Saul. (1 Chronicles 8:38; 9:44) (B.C. 588.) "Son of Maachah," i.e. possibly a Syrian of Aram-maachah, one of the heroes of David’s guard. (1 Chronicles 11:43) (B.C. 1046). The sons of Hanan were among the Nethinim who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:46; Nehemiah 7:49) (B.C. 536). One of the Levites who assisted Ezra in his public exposition of the law. (Nehemiah 8:7) (B.C. 446.) The same person is probably mentioned in ch.…
full of grace
עָנָן (‘Anan) refers to both a cloud and a man named Anan, who is mentioned in Nehemiah 10:26 as one of the leaders who signed a covenant with Nehemiah. The word is built from the root associated with clouds, and its usage in the Old Testament is primarily linked to this individual.
עָנָן n.pr.m. Ne 10:27
ref
H6052 עָנָן
6052 `Anan aw-nawn'
the same as 6051; cloud; Anan, an Israelite:--Anan.
see HEBREW for 06051
עָנָן (a.nan) — Anan.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.26
§ Anan = "cloud"
one of the heads of the people who signed the covenant with Nehemiah
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
Anan
Cloud, one of the Israelites who sealed the covenant after the return from Babylon (Neh. 10:26).
(a cloud), one of the "heads of the people" who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:26) (B.C. 410.)
→ A Jew, returned from Babylonian captivity Ne 10:26