Jahzeiah יַחְזְיָה
Opposed Ezra's command for Israelites to divorce foreign wives.
Who is Jahzeiah in the Bible?
Jahzeiah, son of Tikvah, appears only once in Scripture at Ezra 10:15, where he is noted as one of four men who opposed Ezra's command requiring Israelites to divorce their foreign wives. After the Babylonian exile, Ezra implemented a religious reform to separate the Jewish community from foreign influences, and this controversial decree became a focal point of resistance. Jahzeiah joined Jonathan son of Asahel, Meshullam, and Shabbethai in their opposition, though their stand proved unsuccessful and the divorces proceeded. His brief appearance in the biblical narrative illustrates the tension between strict religious reform and compassion for those affected by such policies, as well as the existence of dissenting voices within post-exilic Jewish leadership.
Biography
Jahzeiah, son of Tikvah, is mentioned only once in the Bible, in Ezr.10.15. He was one of the four men who opposed Ezra's command for the Israelites to divorce their foreign wives. After the Babylonian exile, Ezra led a reform to purify the Jewish community by separating from foreign influences. As part of this reform, he ordered the men of Israel to divorce their foreign wives.
Jahzeiah, along with Jonathan son of Asahel, Meshullam, and Shabbethai, stood against this decision. However, their opposition was to no avail, and many innocent women and children were sent away. The name Jahzeiah means "Yahweh sees" in Hebrew, combining the shortened form of the divine name "Yah" with the verb "haza," meaning "to see" or "have a vision."
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In Scripture
1 biblical book ; 1 with study contentEzra 1 verse
- Ezra 10:15
"(Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this plan.)"
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Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | יַחְזְיָה |
Jahzeiah
ter of prosecuting those who had married foreign wives = Ezekias, 1 Esdras 9:14, or Ezias.
See JONATHAN, 9.
Two translations of the Hebrew phrase (`amadh `al-zo'th) are given:
(1) "stood over this matter," i.e. supported Ezra; so the King James Version ("were employed in this matter"), and so Septuagint, 1 Esdras 9:14, the Revised Version margin. This is supported by 9:4, "Let now our princes be appointed for all the assembly," where the same phrase is found.
(2) the Revised Version (British and American) "stood up against this matter," so BDB, Gesenius, Bertheau, Stade.
Both translations can be supported by parallels in Hebrew. The context is better suited by the former rendering.
David Francis Roberts
ja'-ze-ra, ja-ze'-ra (yachzerah, meaning unknown): In 1Ch 9:12, an ancestor of Maasai and apparently = "Ahzai" of Ne 11:13.
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