Nehemiah 12:20 — Word Study
WLCלְסַלַּ֥י קַלָּ֖י לְעָמ֥וֹק עֵֽבֶר׃
BSAof SallaiÇallûw [a man of valor] KallaiQallay△ [meaning swift] of AmokʻÂmôwq [a priest who returned to Jerusalem] EberʻÊbêr [a great-grandson of Shem, beyond or on the other side]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| לְסַלַּ֥י | of Sallai | Preposition, noun proper masculine |
| קַלָּ֖י | Kallai | Noun proper masculine |
| לְעָמ֥וֹק | of Amok | Preposition, noun proper masculine |
| עֵֽבֶר׃ | Eber | Noun proper masculine |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; |
| KJV | Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; |
| ASV | of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; |
| YLT | of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; |
| WEB | of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; |
| BBE | Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; |
Where they part company is in the additional details provided about the names — see How Translations Differ.
The structure lists names in a straightforward manner, emphasizing their significance without complex subordination.
2 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Ellicott & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 4 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 12:20
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 Priestly Lineage in Nehemiahgenerated
Nehemiah 12:20 presents a list of names from the priestly lineage, emphasizing the importance of heritage and service in the community after the return from exile. This verse is part of a larger section that records the heads of families, showing how the Israelites reestablished their worship and identity in Jerusalem.
Cross References
The Key Word — סַלַּי, le.sa.Laigenerated
The name סַלַּי (*Sallai*) is a proper noun that signifies a man of valor. It is derived from a root meaning 'weighed,' suggesting a sense of importance or value. In this context, Sallai is noted for his role among the returning exiles, linking him to the tribe of Benjamin as mentioned in Nehemiah 11:7.
Sallai's mention here highlights the continuity of leadership and the emphasis on valor in the priestly line, reflecting the qualities valued in those who served in the temple.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The translations agree that סַלַּי is rendered as 'of Sallai' across all versions, maintaining its identification as a man of valor.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The sentence structure consists of a series of noun phrases connected by prepositional phrases. The main focus is on the names of individuals, with each name followed by a description of their significance.
The order emphasizes the lineage and roles of these figures, establishing a clear connection between the past and the present community.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates סַלַּי as σαλλαι, maintaining the same name while providing a Greek context. This choice reflects a direct correspondence to the Hebrew name without additional interpretation.
This consistency indicates a recognition of the importance of these names in both Hebrew and Greek traditions.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Nehemiah 12:20 lists four names of priests: Sallai, Kallai, Amok, and Eber. Each name is significant, with Sallai noted as a man of valor, Kallai meaning swift, Amok as a priest who returned to Jerusalem, and Eber as a great-grandson of Shem.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
These names represent the continuity of the priestly line and the restoration of worship in Jerusalem after the exile.
This description highlights his importance and the qualities expected of leaders during the return from exile.
Kallai means 'swift,' indicating perhaps a characteristic valued in his role as a priest.
Eber is noted as a great-grandson of Shem, linking him to the broader genealogical narrative of the Israelites.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How do the names in this verse reflect the values of the returning community?
- What can we learn about the importance of heritage from the genealogies in Nehemiah?
- In what ways do the meanings of these names enhance our understanding of their roles?
- How does this list connect to the larger narrative of restoration in the book of Nehemiah?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 12:20 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryOf Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; No JFB commentary on these verses.
Read Robert Jamieson on Nehemiah 12 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(12-26) List of representatives of Zerubbabel’s priests in the days of Joiakim; to which is added an account of the Levites in his day. Between these there is an interpolation (Nehemiah 12:22-23).
Read Charles John Ellicott on Nehemiah 12 →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
of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
of Sallu, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
Tyndale line
Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
Vnder Sallai, Kallai, vnder Amok, Eber,
Strictly literal
of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
Of Sallai, Kallai; of 'Amok, 'Eber;
Kallai was the leader of Sallu, Eber was the leader of Amok,
From the Latin
Of Sellai, Celai: of Amoc, Heber:
Simplified
of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
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. Both sources present the same four names, confirming their significance in the priestly lineage without variations.
לְסַלַּ֥י קַלָּ֖י לְעָמ֥וֹק עֵֽבֶר׃
4 of the 4 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 12:20
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 סַלּוּ (*sallu*) refers to a name meaning 'weighed' and is associated with several individuals from the Old Testament, including Benjamites and a Simeonite. It appears in contexts related to the Exile and Return, with notable mentions in Nehemiah and Chronicles. The entries indicate variations of the name, such as סַלַּי (*sallai*) and סַלוּא (*salu*), all linked to different figures.
H5543a גַּבַּי סַלָּ֑י a Benjamite H5543b סַלּוּ a priest, Zerub.'s time H5543c סַלוּא a Simeonite H5543d סַלּוּא a post-exil. Benjamite H5543e סַלַּי . = סַלּוּ q.v.
. a Benjamite
5543 Calluw sal-loo'
or Calluw; {sal-loo'}; or Caluw {sal-loo'}; or Callay
{sal-lah'-ee}; from 5541; weighed; Sallu or Sallai, the name
of two Israelites:--Sallai, Sallu, Salu.
see HEBREW for 05541
סַלָּ֑י (sal.lay) — `valor`.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.11.8; also translated "valor";
§ Sallu or Salu or Sallai = "weighed"
a Benjamite
סַלּוּ (sal.lu) — Sallu.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Neh.12.7; also called Sallai at Neh.12.20;
Also named: sal.lay (סַלַּי "Sallai" H5543E)
§ Sallu or Salu or Sallai = "weighed"
a priest in the time of Zerubbabel
סַלוּא (sa.lu) — Salu.
A man living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, only mentioned at Num.25.14;
father of: Zimri (H2174)
§ Sallu or Salu or Sallai = "weighed"
father of Zimri, the prince of the Simeonites, who was slain by Phinehas
סַלּוּא (sal.lu) — Sallu.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at 1Ch.9.7;
son of: Meshullam (H4918K)
§ Sallu or Salu or Sallai = "weighed"
a post exilic Benjamite
Prep | N-proper — Preposition · noun proper masculineHR/Npm
sal'-a-i, sal'-i (callay; Salom; Codex Alexandrinus Salo, with variants):
(1) Eponym of a Benjamite family which settled at Jerusalem after the return, descendants of "Sallu" (1Ch 9:7; Ne 11:7,8); the pedigrees of Sallu differ decidedly in the two passages. Curtis (ICC) suggests that "son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah" (Chronicles) is a corruption or derivation of "Judah the son of Hassenuah" (Nehemiah).
(2) Name of a priestly family (Ne 12:20), called "Sallu" in Ne 12:7.
Sallai
Basket-maker. (1.) A Benjamite (Neh. 11:8).
(2.) A priest in the days of Joshua and Zerubbabel (Neh. 12:20).
Sallu, an exaltation; a basket
קַלַּי (Qallay) refers to a personal name, specifically Kallai, who is identified as a priest in Nehemiah 12:20. The name is derived from a root meaning 'frivolous' or 'swift.' There are no significant disagreements among the lexicons regarding this entry.
קַלַּי n.pr.m. priest Ne 12:20
ref
H7040 קַלַּי
7040 Qallay kal-lah'-ee
from 7043; frivolous; Kallai, an Israelite:--Kallai.
see HEBREW for 07043
קַלַּי (qal.lay) — Kallai.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.12.20
§ Kallai = "swift"
a priest of the family of Sallai in the time of Nehemiah
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
(swift servant of Jehovah), a priest in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua. He represented the family of Sallai. (Nehemiah 12:20) (B.C. after 536.)
light; resting by fire; my voice
→ A priest Ne 12:20
עָמוֹק (‘Amowq) primarily means 'deep' and is also the name of a priest mentioned in the context of the Exile and Return, specifically in Nehemiah 12:7. The word is derived from a root meaning depth, and it is associated with an Israelite named Amok.
עָמוֹק n.pr.m. a priest
base
H5987 עָמוֹק
5987 `Amowq aw-moke'
from 6009; deep; Amok, an Israelite:--Amok.
see HEBREW for 06009
עָמוֹק (a.moq) — Amok.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Neh.12.7
§ Amok = "to be deep"
a priest who returned with Zerubbabel
Prep | N-proper — Preposition · noun proper masculineHR/Npm
a priest who returned with Zerubbabel. (Nehemiah 12:7,20) (B.C. 536.)
a valley; a depth
→ A priest Ne 12:7,20
The Hebrew word עֵ֫בֶר (*Eber*) refers to a name associated with several individuals in the Old Testament, including a patriarch, a Gadite chief, and various Benjamites. It is derived from a root meaning 'the region beyond.' Notably, Eber is the son of Shelah and the father of Peleg and Joktan, appearing in genealogies and historical contexts.
עֵ֫בֶר n.pr.m. Eber (perh. eponym of Hebrews)
‘son’ of Shelaḥ, and ‘grandson’ of Arpachshad
a Gadite chief
Benjamite names
a priest
base
H5677 עֵ֫בֶר Eber (perh. eponym of Hebrews) . ‘son’ of Shelaḥ, and ‘grandson’ of Arpachshad
. a Gadite chief
. Benjamite names
. a priest
5677 `Eber ay'-ber
the same as 5676; Eber, the name of two patriarchs and four
Israelites:--Eber, Heber.
see HEBREW for 05676
עֵ֫בֶר (e.ver) — Eber.
A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.10.21;
son of: Shelah (H7974);
father of: Peleg (H6389) and Joktan (H3355)
Also named: Eber (Ἐβέρ "Eber" G1443)
§ Eber or Heber = "the region beyond"
1) son of Salah, great grandson of Shem, father of Peleg and Joktan
2) a Gadite chief
3) a Benjamite, son of Elpaal and descendant of Sharahaim
4) a Benjamite, son of Shashak
5) a priest in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua
עֵ֫בֶר (e.ver) — Eber.
A man of the tribe of Gad living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.5.13;
son of: Abihail (H0032I);
brother of: Michael (H4317H), Meshullam (H4918I), Sheba (H7652), Jorai (H3140), Jacan (H3275) and Zia (H2127)
§ Eber or Heber = "the region beyond"
1) son of Salah, great grandson of Shem, father of Peleg and Joktan
2) a Gadite chief
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
e'-ber (`ebher; Eber, in Gen; Obed, in Ch):
(1) Occurs in the genealogies (Ge 10:21,25; 11:14 ff) as the great-grandson of Shem and father of Peleg and Joktan. The word means "the other side," "across," and the form "Hebrew," which is derived from it, is intended to denote the people or tribe who came "from the other, side of the river" (i.e. the Euphrates), from Haran (Ge 11:31), whence Abraham and his dependents migrated to Canaan.
Eber
Beyond. (1.). The third post-duluvian patriach after Shem (Gen. 10:24; 11:14). He is regarded as the founder of the Hebrew race (10:21; Num. 24:24). In Luke 3:35 he is called Heber.
(2.) One of the seven heads of the families of the Gadites (1 Chr. 5:13).
(3.) The oldest of the three sons of Elpaal the Benjamite (8:12).
(4.) One of the heads of the familes of Benjamites in Jerusalem (22).
(5.) The head of the priestly family of Amok in the time of Zerubbabel (Neh. 12:20).
(the region beyond). Son of Salah, and great-grandson of Shem. (Genesis 10:24; 1 Chronicles 1:19) (B.C. 2277-1813.) [For confusion between Eber and Heber see HEBER] Son of Elpaal and descendant of Sharahaim of the tribe of Benjamin. (1 Chronicles 8:12) (B.C. 1400). A priest in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua. (Nehemiah 12:20) (B.C. 445.)
See HEBER.