Ezra 2:19 — Word Study
WLCבְּנֵ֣י חָשֻׁ֔ם מָאתַ֖יִם עֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּשְׁלֹשָֽׁה׃ ס
BSAthe descendantsbên [sons, children, or family lineage] of HashumChâshum [a common Israelite name, two hundred twenty and three, a specific count] 223mêʼâh
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| בְּנֵ֣י | [the] descendants of | Noun common, masculine plural construct |
| חָשֻׁ֔ם | Hashum | Noun proper masculine |
| מָאתַ֖יִם | two hundred | Adj |
| עֶשְׂרִ֥ים | twenty | |
| וּשְׁלֹשָֽׁה׃ ס | and three | Conjunction |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | the descendants of Hashum, 223; |
| KJV | The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three. |
| ASV | The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three. |
| YLT | Sons of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three. |
| WEB | The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty-three. |
| BBE | The children of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three. |
Where they part company is in the specific wording of בְּנֵי — see How Translations Differ.
The structure is straightforward, with a main clause followed by a numeral phrase indicating the count.
2 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Cambridge & 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 — Ezra 2:19
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 List of Returning Exilesgenerated
Ezra 2:19 records the descendants of Hashum, who returned from exile with Zerubbabel. This list emphasizes the importance of lineage and the restoration of the Jewish community after the Babylonian captivity. It highlights the families that contributed to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple, which is a central theme in the book of Ezra.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ezra 10:33 | From the descendants of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. |
| 2 | Nehemiah 7:22 | the descendants of Hashum, 328; |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 2 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — בְּנֵי, be.Neigenerated
The word בֵּן (ben) means 'son' or 'descendant' and encompasses a range of meanings, including family lineage. It is used frequently in the Old Testament to denote not only immediate descendants but also broader family relationships, reflecting the importance of ancestry in Israelite culture.
In this verse, it indicates the descendants of Hashum, emphasizing their familial connection and role in the community. The masculine plural form suggests a collective identity among the descendants.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which has the descendants of Hashum, 223.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse consists of a noun phrase as the subject, בְּנֵי חָשֻׁ֔ם (the descendants of Hashum), followed by a numeral phrase indicating the specific count, מָאתַ֖יִם עֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּשְׁלֹשָֽׁה (223). This straightforward structure presents the information clearly and concisely.
The order places emphasis on the descendants first, highlighting their identity before presenting the numerical detail, which is typical in Hebrew prose.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint uses υἱοὶ (huioi) for בְּנֵי, meaning 'sons' or 'descendants.' This choice aligns with the Hebrew meaning but reflects a broader understanding of lineage.
The Greek translation captures the essence of the Hebrew text while adapting it for a Hellenistic audience, emphasizing familial ties.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Ezra 2:19 lists the descendants of Hashum, numbering 223. This verse emphasizes the importance of family lineage in the context of the returning exiles, showing how many individuals were part of this specific family group.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
In this context, 'descendants' refers to the family lineage of Hashum, indicating his sons and their children.
The number signifies the size of the family returning from exile, which reflects the community's restoration and continuity.
Hashum is noted as a leader among the exiles, representing his family's contribution to the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
This verse fits within the broader narrative of Ezra, which focuses on the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the re-establishment of their community.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What does my family lineage mean to me, and how does it shape my identity?
- How can understanding the importance of ancestry in the Bible influence my view of community?
- In what ways can I contribute to the restoration and building of my community?
- What lessons can I learn from the return of the exiles about perseverance and hope?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Ezra 2:19 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThe children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three. The children of Hashum - [Septuagint, Asoum].
Read Robert Jamieson on Ezra 2 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges3–19. Names of households or families. Many of these names occur again in other lists, e.g. Ezra 8:1-14; Ezra 10:18-44; Nehemiah 10:1-27, and in connexion with much later events in the lifetime of Ezra and Nehemiah. These names therefore are not to be regarded as the names of the leading men of the various families who accompanied Zerubbabel, but as the titles of the families or clans into which the people were divided. These titles were probably taken from the founders of the families and were many of them of great antiquity. The mention of the same names of the ‘families’ at the return of Ezra (Ezra 8:1-14) merely shows that, though a certain number of a household had accompanied…
Read Cambridge on Ezra 2 →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 Hashum, 223;
The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty-three.
the descendants of Hashum, 223;
the descendants of Hashum: 223;
Tyndale line
The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three.
The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three.
The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three.
The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three.
The sonnes of Hasshum, two hundreth and three and twentie:
Strictly literal
The children of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three.
Sons of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three.
sons of Hashum, two hundred twenty-three;
The children of Chashum, two hundred twenty and three.
The men of Hashum: 223.
From the Latin
The children of Hasum, two hundred twenty-three.
Simplified
the sons of Hashum, 223;
The children of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three.
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 reads בְּנֵ֣י חָשֻׁ֔ם מָאתַ֖יִם עֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּשְׁלֹשָֽׁה׃ ס, while the Septuagint matches 4 of the 5 words in a different order. This indicates a general agreement in content, though the Septuagint's structure diverges from the Hebrew.
בְּנֵ֣י חָשֻׁ֔ם מָאתַ֖יִם עֶשְׂרִ֥ים וּשְׁלֹשָֽׁה׃ ס
4 of the 5 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 Ezra 2:19
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…
חָשֻׁם (Chashum) refers to a name meaning 'rich.' It identifies a man associated with the Exile and Return period, specifically as the head of a family of 223 exiles returning with Zerubbabel. He is mentioned in Ezra 2:19 and Nehemiah 8:4 and 10:18, where he is noted as a priest or Levite.
חָשֻׁם n.pr.m. head of a family of returned exiles
base
H2828 חָשֻׁם
2828 Chashum khaw-shoom'
from the same as 2831; enriched; Chashum, the name of two or
three Israelites:--Hashum.
see HEBREW for 02831
חָשֻׁם (cha.shum) — Hashum.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.19
§ Hashum = "rich"
1) head of a family of 223 exiles returning with Zerubbabel
2) one of the priests or Levites who stood on Ezra's left while he read the law
חָשֻׁם (cha.shum) — Hashum.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.8.4
§ Hashum = "rich"
1) head of a family of 223 exiles returning with Zerubbabel
2) one of the priests or Levites who stood on Ezra's left while he read the law
חָשֻׁם (cha.shum) — Hashum.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.18
§ Hashum = "rich"
1) head of a family of 223 exiles returning with Zerubbabel
2) one of the priests or Levites who stood on Ezra's left while he read the law
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
ha'-shum (chashum):
(1) In Ezr 2:19; Ne 7:22, "children of Hashum" are mentioned among the returning exiles. In Ezr 10:33 (compare 1 Esdras 9:33, "Asom"), members of the same family are named among those who married foreign wives.
(2) One of those who stood on Ezra's left at the reading of the law (Ne 8:4; /APC 1Esdras 9:44, "Lothasubus"). The signer of the covenant (Ne 10:18) is possibly the same.
(rich). Bene-Hashum, 223 in number, came back from Babylon with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:19; 10:33; Nehemiah 7:22) (B.C. before 536.) The chief man of the family was among these who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:18) (B.C. 410.) One of the priests or Levites who stood on Ezra’s left hand while he read the law to the congregation. (Nehemiah 8:4) (B.C. 410.)
silence; their hasting
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)
Adj — AdjHAcfda
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.
The Hebrew word שָׁלֹשׁ (*shalosh*) means 'three' or 'triad.' It can also refer to the ordinal 'third' and is used in various contexts, including multiplication as 'thrice.' The entries consistently define it as a primitive number without significant disagreement.
שָׁלֹשׁ, שָׁלוֹשׁ, שְׁלֹשָׁה 430 n.m. et f. a three, triad
base
H7969 שָׁלֹשׁ, שָׁלוֹשׁ, שְׁלֹשָׁה a three, triad
7969 shalowsh shaw-loshe'
or shalosh {shaw-loshe'}; masculine shlowshah {shel-o-shaw'};
or shloshah {shel-o-shaw'}; a primitive number; three;
occasionally (ordinal) third, or (multipl.) thrice:--+ fork,
+ often(-times), third, thir(-teen, -teenth), three, + thrice.
Compare 7991.
see HEBREW for 07991
שָׁלֹשׁ (sha.losh) — three.
1) three, triad
1a) 3, 300, third
Aramaic equivalent: te.lat (תְּלָת "three" H8532)
HC/Acbsa — ConjunctionHC/Acbsa
(shalosh; treis).
See NUMBER.
The phrase "three days and three nights," Mt 12:40, was equivalent in Hebrew to the English "three days;" the Jews employing the expression "a day and a night" to denote our "day" of twentyfour hours. Nor did "three days," 1Sa 30:13, literally "this third day," according to their usage, necessarily include the whole of three days, but a part of three days, a continuous period including one whole day of twenty-four hours, and a portion of the day preceding it and the day following it. Compare Ge 7:12,17 1Sa 30:12-13.