The Meaning of Ezra 8:19 Explained

Ezra 8:19

KJV: And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;

YLT: and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah, of the sons of Merari, his brethren, and their sons, twenty;

Darby: and Hashabiah, and with him Isaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;

ASV: and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Hashabiah,  and with him Jeshaiah  of the sons  of Merari,  his brethren  and their sons,  twenty; 

What does Ezra 8:19 Mean?

Context Summary

Ezra 8:1-23 - United Prayer For Guidance
The number of men who accompanied Ezra amounted to 1754, but the women and children would bring up the gross total to about 7000. The lack of Levites was very serious. These should have been among the very first. A deputation was therefore sent to a neighboring seminary or college, where they were being trained, and here again is the mention of the good hand of God. Sometimes hearts are ready and waiting for service, which need just a word or appeal to complete their plans. There is always special interest in this paragraph for those who are venturing forth on the untried and unknown. The camp at Ahava; the sending for the priests; the waiting for their coming; the recognition of God's good hand in sending a man of discretion; and then the fast and prayer for protection. We can almost see the little band on the point of plunging into the inhospitable and dangerous desert, spending hours in prayer, and restrained from requesting an escort, lest they might invalidate their leader's trustful boast. How careful we should be to do nothing inconsistent with the proud position that faith gives us in the keeping power of God! Seek Him, O soul of mine, and He will be found, and His hand shall be upon thee for good. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ezra 8

1  The companions of Ezra, who returned from Babylon
15  He sends to Iddo for ministers for the temple
21  He keeps a fast
24  He commits the treasures to the custody of the priests
31  From Ahava they come to Jerusalem
33  The treasure is weighed in the temple
36  The commission is delivered

What do the individual words in Ezra 8:19 mean?

and Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari his brothers and their sons twenty [men] -
וְאֶת־ חֲשַׁבְיָ֔ה וְאִתּ֥וֹ יְשַֽׁעְיָ֖ה מִבְּנֵ֣י מְרָרִ֑י אֶחָ֥יו וּבְנֵיהֶ֖ם עֶשְׂרִֽים ס

חֲשַׁבְיָ֔ה  Hashabiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֲשַׁבְיָה 
Sense: a Merarite Levite.
וְאִתּ֥וֹ  and  with  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: אֵת 
Sense: with, near, together with.
יְשַֽׁעְיָ֖ה  Jeshaiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְשַׁעְיָה 
Sense: the major prophet, son of Amoz, who prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem during the days of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah; author of the prophetic book by his name; tradition has it that he was sawn asunder in the trunk of a carob tree by king Manasseh and that this is the incident referred to in Heb :37.
מִבְּנֵ֣י  of  the  sons 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
מְרָרִ֑י  of  Merari 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מְרָרִי  
Sense: the 3rd son of Levi and head of a Levitical family.
אֶחָ֥יו  his  brothers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
וּבְנֵיהֶ֖ם  and  their  sons 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
עֶשְׂרִֽים  twenty  [men] 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: עֶשְׂרִים  
Sense: twenty, twentieth.
ס    - 
Parse: Punctuation