Nehemiah 7:16 — Word Study
WLCבְּנֵ֣י בֵבָ֔י שֵׁ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת עֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּשְׁמֹנָֽה׃ ס
BSAthe descendantsbên [sons, children, or posterity] of BebaiBêbay [an Israelite leader, six hundred and twenty-eight, six hundred twenty eight] 628shêsh
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| בְּנֵ֣י | [the] descendants of | Noun common, masculine plural construct |
| בֵבָ֔י | Bebai | Noun proper masculine |
| שֵׁ֥שׁ | six | Adj |
| מֵא֖וֹת | hundred | |
| עֶשְׂרִ֥ים | twenty | |
| וּשְׁמֹנָֽה׃ ס | and eight | Conjunction |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | the descendants of Bebai, 628; |
| KJV | The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight. |
| ASV | The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight. |
| YLT | Sons of Bebai: six hundred twenty and eight. |
| WEB | The children of Bebai: six hundred twenty-eight. |
| BBE | The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight. |
Where they part company is in the presentation of the numeral — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence presents a straightforward identification of the family and their count, typical of genealogical records.
2 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Ellicott & 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 7:16
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 Census of the Exilesgenerated
Nehemiah 7:16 records the descendants of Bebai as part of a larger list of families returning from Babylonian exile. This census serves to establish the identity and lineage of those who would repopulate Jerusalem, highlighting their connection to Israel's heritage and the restoration of the community.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ezra 2:11 | the descendants of Bebai, 623; |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 1 reference, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — בְּנֵ֣י, be.Neigenerated
The word בְּנֵי (be.Nei) is a masculine plural construct form of בֵּן (ben), meaning 'sons' or 'children.' It encompasses a range of meanings, including descendants, and is often used in genealogical contexts to indicate family relationships.
This word indicates not just immediate offspring but can also refer to a broader lineage, such as grandchildren or even members of a tribe. Its use in this verse emphasizes the familial connections of the returning exiles.
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 finite verb is implied in the structure of the census, with the noun phrase בְּנֵי בֵבָי (the descendants of Bebai) acting as the subject followed by the numeral phrase שֵׁ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת עֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּשְׁמֹנָֽה (628). This structure highlights the count of the descendants as a significant detail in the census.
The Hebrew word order places the family name first, emphasizing the identity of the descendants before stating their number, which is a typical structure in genealogical lists.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates בְּנֵי as υἱοὶ (huioi), meaning 'sons' or 'children.' This choice aligns with the genealogical context of the verse, maintaining the familial emphasis.
However, the Septuagint does not preserve the full count of 628 in the same way, indicating a possible divergence in how the census was understood or recorded in Greek.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Nehemiah 7:16 lists the descendants of Bebai, who numbered 628. This verse is part of a larger record of families returning from exile, emphasizing their lineage and connection to the Israelite community.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Bebai was an Israelite leader mentioned in Nehemiah who returned from exile, representing a family line among the returning exiles.
The number signifies the size and strength of the family returning to Jerusalem, which is important for the reestablishment of the community.
It implies not just immediate children but a broader lineage, connecting the returning exiles to their ancestral heritage.
This verse contributes to the narrative of restoration and rebuilding in Jerusalem after exile, highlighting the importance of lineage and community.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What does it mean for us to be part of a lineage or community today?
- How can understanding our heritage influence our identity?
- In what ways can we honor our ancestors while building our future?
- What lessons can we learn from the returning exiles about resilience and restoration?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 7:16 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThese are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem
Read Robert Jamieson on Nehemiah 7 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(5-73) The genealogical reckoning of the people, as the first step towards increasing the population of the metropolis, is determined on, not without express Divine suggestion; the allusion to this inspiration from God, is, as in Nehemiah 2:12, very emphatic. The original register of Zerubbabelis found and copied. The express language of both Ezra and Nehemiah makes it plain that this is no other than the list of those who came up with Zerubbabel and Joshua after the decree of Cyrus, in B.C. 538. Nehemiah’s own census follows, in Nehemiah 11. The exposition, especially as compared with Ezra 2, has been given on that chapter.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Nehemiah 7 →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 Bebai, 628;
The children of Bebai: six hundred twenty-eight.
the descendants of Bebai, 628;
the descendants of Bebai, 628;
Tyndale line
The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight.
The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight.
The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight.
The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty eight.
The sonnes of Bebai, sixe hundreth and eight and twentie.
Strictly literal
The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight.
Sons of Bebai: six hundred twenty and eight.
sons of Bebai, six hundred twenty-eight;
The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight.
The descendants of Bebai, 628.
From the Latin
The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty-eight.
Simplified
the sons of Bebai, 628;
The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight.
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 show some agreement in the mention of Bebai and the concept of descendants, though the Septuagint's exact wording differs. The Masoretic Text presents the full count, while the Septuagint's rendering does not fully align with the Hebrew.
בְּנֵ֣י בֵבָ֔י שֵׁ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת עֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּשְׁמֹנָֽה׃ ס
3 of the 6 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 7:16
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…
בֵּבַי (bebay) refers to a man named Bebai, a leader among the returning exiles during the time of the Exile and Return. The name is thought to mean "my cavities." He is mentioned in Ezra 2:11, Ezra 8:11, and Nehemiah 10:15.
בֵּבַי n.pr.m. a chief of returning exiles
base
H893 בֵּבַי
893 Bebay bay-bah'ee
probably of foreign origin; Bebai, an Israelite:--Bebai.
בֵּבַי (be.vay) — Bebai.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.11
§ Bebai = "my cavities"
a leader of the returning exiles
בֵּבַי (be.vay) — Bebai.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.8.11b;
father of: Zechariah (H2148R)
§ Bebai = "my cavities"
a leader of the returning exiles
בֵּבַי (be.vay) — Bebai.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.15
§ Bebai = "my cavities"
a leader of the returning exiles
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
be'-ba-i, beb'-a-i (bebhay; Septuagint Bebai, "fatherly"):
(1) Descendants of B: returned with Ezra to Jerusalem (Ezr 8:11 called Babi; 1 Esdras 8:37); one of these is Zechariah, the son of Bebai (Ezr 8:11, Zaeharias; 1 Esdras 8:37). 623 returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem (Ezr 2:11; 1 Esdras 5:13; Ne 7:16 gives the number 628); some of these had married "strange wives" (Ezr 10:28; 1 Esdras 9:29).
(2) A chief of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah (Ne 10:15).
(fatherly). "Sons of Bebai," 623 (Nehe 6:28) in number, returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, (2:11; Nehemiah 7:16) (B.C. 536), and at a later period twenty-eight more under Zechariah, son of Bebai, returned with Ezra. (Ezra 8:11) Four of this family had taken foreign wives. (Ezra 10:28) The name occurs also among those who sealed the covenant. (Nehemiah 10:15) Father of Zechariah, who was the leader of the twenty-eight men of his tribe mentioned above.
void, empty
The Hebrew word שֵׁשׁ, transliterated as shesh, means 'six' and can function as both a cardinal and ordinal number, indicating the sixth position. It is a primitive number that signifies an excess beyond five, as noted in the entries. The Aramaic equivalent is שֵׁת (shet).
שֵׁשׁ, שִׁשָּׁה 216 n.m. et f. six
base
H8337 שֵׁשׁ, שִׁשָּׁה six
8337 shesh shaysh
masculine shishshah {shish-shaw'}; a primitive number; six
(as an overplus (see 7797) beyond five or the fingers of the
hand); as ord. sixth:--six((-teen, -teenth)), sixth.
see HEBREW for 07797
שֵׁשׁ (shesh) — six.
1) six
1a) six (cardinal number)
1b) sixth (ordinal number)
1c) in combination with other numbers
Aramaic equivalent: shet (שֵׁת "six" H8353)
Adj — AdjHAcbsc
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)
HAcfpa — HAcfpa
hun'-dred (me'-ah; hekaton).
See NUMBER.
עֶשְׂרִים (esriym) means 'twenty' and can also refer to the ordinal 'twentieth.' It is derived from the root word for 'ten' and has an Aramaic equivalent, עֶשְׂרִין (es.rin). The entries consistently define the term without significant disagreement.
עֶשְׂרִים (a) twenty
base
H6242 עֶשְׂרִים (a) twenty
6242 `esriym es-reem'
from 6235; twenty; also (ordinal) twentieth:--(six-)score,
twenty(-ieth).
see HEBREW for 06235
עֶשְׂרִים (es.rim) — twenty.
twenty, twentieth
Aramaic equivalent: es.rin (עֶשְׂרִין "twenty" H6243)
HAcmpa — HAcmpa
twen'-ti.
See NUMBER.
שְׁמֹנֶה (shmoneh) means 'eight' and can also denote 'eighth' as an ordinal number. It is derived from the idea of plumpness, suggesting a surplus beyond seven, which is considered a perfect number. The term appears in various contexts, including combinations with other numbers.
שְׁמֹנֶה, (less oft. שְׁמוֹנֶה), שְׁמֹנָה 109 n.m. et f. eight
base
H8083 שְׁמֹנֶה, (less oft. שְׁמוֹנֶה), שְׁמֹנָה eight
8083 shmoneh shem-o-neh'
or shmowneh {shem-o-neh'}; feminine shmonah {shem-o-naw'}; or
shmownah {shem-o-naw'}; apparently from 8082 through the idea
of plumpness; a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above
the "perfect" seven); also (as ordinal)
eighth:--eight((-een, -eenth)), eighth.
see HEBREW for 08082
שְׁמֹנֶה (she.mo.neh) — eight.
1) eight, eighth
1a) eight (as cardinal number)
1b) eighth (as ordinal number)
1c) in combination with other numbers
HC/Acbsa — ConjunctionHC/Acbsa