Nehemiah 10:16 — Word Study
WLCאֲדֹנִיָּ֥ה בִגְוַ֖י עָדִֽין׃
BSABunniBunnîy AzgadʻAzgâd BebaiBêbay
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| אֲדֹנִיָּ֥ה | Adonijah | Noun proper masculine |
| בִגְוַ֖י | Bigvai | Noun proper masculine |
| עָדִֽין׃ | Adin | Noun proper masculine |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, |
| KJV | Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, |
| ASV | Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, |
| YLT | Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, |
| WEB | Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, |
| BBE | Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, |
All translations agree on the names listed in this verse.
The verse consists of a single main clause listing three names, emphasizing their collective significance.
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 — Nehemiah 10:16
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 List of Returning Exilesgenerated
Nehemiah 10:16 presents a list of names, highlighting key individuals who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile. This verse is part of a larger genealogical record that emphasizes the restoration of the Israelite community and their leaders. These names serve to connect the returning exiles with their heritage and underscore their roles in the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nehemiah 7:19–21 | the descendants of Bigvai, 2,067; |
| 2 | Ezra 2:14–16 | the descendants of Bigvai, 2,056; |
| 3 | Ezra 8:14 | and from the descendants of Bigvai, both Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 3 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — אֲדֹנִיָּ֥ה, 'a.do.ni.Yahgenerated
The name אֲדֹנִיָּ֫ה (Adoniyah) means "my lord is Jehovah" and is associated with several Israelites, most notably a son of David who attempted to claim the throne. The parsing as a proper masculine noun indicates its use as a personal name, reflecting both identity and divine association.
In this context, אֲדֹנִיָּ֥ה signifies leadership and heritage among the returning exiles, linking the individual to significant historical events and familial lines.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
All translations agree on the names listed in this verse, with no significant variation in how they render אֲדֹנִיָּ֥ה, בִגְוַ֖י, and עָדִֽין.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of this verse is straightforward, consisting of a noun phrase that serves as the subject: אֲדֹנִיָּ֥ה, בִגְוַ֖י, and עָדִֽין. The simplicity of the list emphasizes the importance of each name in the context of the returning exiles.
The sentence structure highlights the collective identity of these individuals as part of a significant historical moment in Israel's restoration.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates אֲדֹנִיָּ֥ה as βανι, בִגְוַ֖י as ασγαδ, and עָדִֽין as βηβαι. This choice of Greek words reflects a direct correspondence to the Hebrew names, maintaining their identity while presenting them in a Greek context.
The use of these specific Greek terms indicates a preservation of the names' significance during the translation process.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Nehemiah 10:16 lists three names of men who returned to Jerusalem after the Exile: Adonijah, Bigvai, and Adin. Each name has significance in the context of the Israelite community and their return to rebuild their homeland.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Adonijah was a name given to several Israelites, including a son of David who attempted to take the throne from Solomon.
Bigvai was likely the head of a family who returned from exile, and his name means 'in my bodies'.
Adin means dainty or delicate and is associated with a chief who signed a covenant with Nehemiah.
These names connect the individuals to their heritage and roles in the restoration of the Israelite community after the Exile.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What can we learn from the leadership roles of individuals like Adonijah, Bigvai, and Adin in the restoration of Jerusalem?
- How do names and identities shape our understanding of community and heritage?
- In what ways can we honor our own heritage while contributing to our communities today?
- What significance do you find in the act of returning to one's roots, as exemplified by these returning exiles?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 10:16 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentarySeraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, No JFB commentary on these verses.
Read Robert Jamieson on Nehemiah 10 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges3–8, Priests: 9–13, Levites: 14–28, Chiefs of the peopleThe 21 names here given are those of the priestly houses. The list of Neh 12:1-3 agrees with it in 16 names. The number 21 is peculiar; in chap. 12 the number is larger by one. In Ezra 2, Nehemiah 7, only four priestly houses are recorded, viz. Jedaiah, Immer, Pashur and Harim, as having returned with Zerubbabel. Pashur is mentioned in Nehemiah 10:3; Harim in Nehemiah 10:5. The other priestly families had either developed themselves out of these first four, or had arrived from time to time from Babylon. That 21 and not 24 are recorded, is noteworthy. Various conjectures have been hazarded, e.g. that names have dropped out from the…
Read Cambridge on Nehemiah 10 →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
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Tyndale line
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin;
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Adoniah, Biguai, Adin,
Strictly literal
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
(10:17) Adoniyah, Bigvai, 'Adin,
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
From the Latin
Adonia, Begoai, Adin,
Simplified
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
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, with all three words matched in the Greek translation.
אֲדֹנִיָּ֥ה בִגְוַ֖י עָדִֽין׃
3 of the 3 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 10:16
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.
אֲדֹנִיָּ֫הוּ (Adoniyah) means "my lord is Jehovah" and refers to a name associated with three Israelites, including David's fourth son who sought the throne. The entries note his roles as a Levite and a chief during different periods, including the United Monarchy and the Exile and Return.
אֲדֹנִיָּ֫הוּ (אֲדֹיִּנָה) n.pr.m. (my Lord is Yahweh)
fourth son of David
a Levite
a chief of the people
base
H138 אֲדֹנִיָּ֫הוּ, אֲדֹיִּנָה
138 'Adoniyah ad-o-nee-yaw'
original (prolonged) dAdoniyahuw {ad-o-nee- yaw'-hoo}; from
113 and 3050; lord (i.e. worshipper) of Jah; Adonijah, the
name of three Israelites:--Adonijah.
see HEBREW for 0113
see HEBREW for 03050
אֲדֹנִיָּ֫הוּ (a.do.niy.yah) — Adonijah.
A man of the tribe of Judah living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Sa.3.4;
son of: David (H1732) and Haggith (H2294);
half-brother of: Amnon (H0550), Chileab (H3609), Absalom (H0053), Shephatiah (H8203), Ithream (H3507), Shammua (H8051H), Shobab (H7727), Nathan (H5416), Solomon (H8010), Ibhar (H2984), Elishua (H0474), Nepheg (H5298H), Japhia (H3309I), Elishama (H0476H), Eliada (H0450), Eliphelet (H0467), Tamar (H8559H), Elpelet (H0467I), Nogah (H5052) and Jerimoth (H3406N)
§ Adonijah = "my lord is Jehovah"
1) fourth son of David and Solomon's rival for the throne
2) Levite sent by Jehoshaphat to teach the Law
3) a chief of the people who co-operated with Nehemiah
אֲדֹנִיָּ֫הוּ (a.do.niy.yah) — Adonijah.
A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 2Ch.17.8
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
ad-o-ni'-ja ('adhoniyahu or 'adhoniyah, "my lord is Yahweh"):
(1) The son of David and Haggith, the forth of David's sons, born in Hebron after David became king of Judah, principally known for his attempt to become king instead of Solomon (2Sa 3:4; 1Ch 3:2; 1Ki 1,2). The record gives no details concerning Chileab, the son of David and Abigail. Leaving him out, Adonijah was the oldest living son of David, after the death of Amnon and Absalom.
In treating the record it has been needlessly obscured by neglecting or distorting the time data. It says that the rebellion of Absalom broke out "at an end of forty years" (2Sa 15:7). The natural meaning is not forty years after the last-mentioned preceding date, but at the close of the…
Adonijah
My Lord is Jehovah. (1.) The fourth son of David (2 Sam. 3:4). After the death of his elder brothers, Amnon and Absalom, he became heir-apparent to the throne. But Solomon, a younger brother, was preferred to him. Adonijah, however, when his father was dying, caused himself to be proclaimed king. But Nathan and Bathsheba induced David to give orders that Solomon should at once be proclaimed and admitted to the throne. Adonijah fled and took refuge at the altar, and received pardon for his conduct from Solomon on the condition that he showed himself “a worthy man” (1 Kings 1:5-53). He afterwards made a second attempt to gain the throne, but was seized and put to death (1 Kings 2:13-25).
(my Lord is Jehovah). The fourth son of David by Haggith, born at Hebron while his father was king of Judah. (2 Samuel 3:4) (B.C. about 1050.) After the death of his three brothers, Amnon, Chileab and Absalom, he became eldest son; and when his father’s strength was visibly declining, put forward his pretensions to the crown. Adonijah’s cause was espoused by Abiathar and by Joab the famous commander of David’s army. [JOAB] His name and influence secured a large number of followers among the captains of the royal army belonging to the tribe of Judah, comp. (1 Kings 1:5) and these, together with all the princes except Solomon, were entertained by Adonijah at the great sacrificial feast held "by the stone Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel." [EN-ROGEL] Apprised of these proceedings, David…
The fourth son of David, by Haggith, 2Sa 3:4. After the death of Amnon and Absalom, he aspired to the throne, although it was promised to Solomon, his younger brother. Having gained over Joab and Abiathar and other adherents, he at length openly revolted and claimed the crown while David was yet living. The news of this revolt being brought to the king at once; upon which the friends of Adonijah dispersed, and he took refuge at the horns of the altar. Solomon dismissed him with only an admonition. But soon after the death of David, he applied for the hand of Abishag, thus renewing his pretensions to the throne, for which he was put to death, 1Ki 1:1-2:46.
בִּגְוַי (Bigvay) refers to a man, likely of foreign origin, associated with the return from exile under Zerubbabel. He is mentioned in Ezra 2:2, 2:14, and Nehemiah 10:16, possibly as a head of a family or a chief of the people. The name is interpreted to mean "in my bodies."
בִּגְוַי n.pr.m. (happy?)
a companion of Zerubbabel
a chief of the people in Nehemiah’s time
base
H902 בִּגְוַי
902 Bigvay big-vah'ee
probably of foreign origin; Bigvai, an Israelite:--Bigvai.
בִּגְוַי (big.vay) — Bigvai.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.2
§ Bigvai = "in my bodies"
an exile who returned under Zerubbabel, perhaps the head of a family
בִּגְוַי (big.vay) — Bigvai.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.14
§ Bigvai = "in my bodies"
an exile who returned under Zerubbabel, perhaps the head of a family
בִּגְוַי (big.vay) — Bigvai.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.16
§ Bigvai = "in my bodies"
an exile who returned under Zerubbabel, perhaps the head of a family
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
big'-va-i (bighway; Baogei, Bagoua):
(1) The head of one of the families who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:2; Ne 7:7), having a large number of his retainers (2,056, according to Ezr 2:14; 2,067, according to Ne 7:19), besides 72 males later under Ezra (Ezr 8:14).
(2) One of those who subscribed the covenant with Nehemiah (Ne 10:16).
(happy). "Children of Bigvai," 2056 (Neh. 2067) in number, returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel, (Ezra 2:14; Nehemiah 7:19) and 72 of them at a later date with Ezra. (Ezra 8:14) (B.C. 536.) Apparently one of the chiefs of Zerubbabel’s expedition, (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7) whose family afterwards signed the covenant. (Nehemiah 10:16) (B.C. 410.)
in my body
עָדִין (Adiyn) refers to a personal name associated with two Israelites during the Exile and Return period. It is glossed as meaning 'dainty' or 'delicate' and is linked to a family of exiles who returned with Zerubbabel and a chief who signed the covenant with Nehemiah. The entries consistently focus on this individual's historical context without significant disagreement.
עָדִין n.pr.m.
returned exiles
a chief
base
H5720 עָדִין
5720 `Adiyn aw-deen'
the same as 5719; Adin, the name of two Israelites:--Adin.
see HEBREW for 05719
עָדִין (a.din) — Adin.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.15
§ Adin = "dainty" or "delicate"
1) ancestor of a family of exiles who returned with Zerubbabel
2) a chief among the returned exiles who signed the covenant with Nehemiah
עָדִין (a.din) — Adin.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.16
§ Adin = "dainty" or "delicate"
1) ancestor of a family of exiles who returned with Zerubbabel
2) a chief among the returned exiles who signed the covenant with Nehemiah
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
a'-din (`adhin, "adorned"): The name of a family, "the sons of Adin" (Ezr 2:15; 8:6; Ne 7:20; 10:16; 1 Esdras 5:14; 8:32), mentioned among the returning exiles. The list in Ezr 2 is placed in the midst of the narrative concerning Zerubbabel, but its title and Its contents show that it also includes the later Jewish immigrants into Palestine. The list in Ne 7 is a duplicate of that in Ezr, but with variations; most of the variations are naturally accounted for by supposing that one copy was made later than the other and was brought up to date. In Ezr and 1 Esdras the number of the sons of Adin is said to be 454; in Ne it is 655. The 50 males, led by Ebed the son of Jonathan, who came with Ezr, may or may not have been included in the numbers just mentioned. Among the names of those…
Adin
Effeminate. (1.) Ezra 8:6. (2.) Neh. 10:16.
(dainty, delicate), ancestor of a family who returned form Babylon with Zerubbabel, to the number of 454, (Ezra 2:15) or 655 according to the parallel list in (Nehemiah 7:20) (B.C. 536.) They joined with Nehemiah in a covenant to separate themselves from the heathen. (Nehemiah 10:16) (B.C. 410.)
Adina, adorned; voluptuous; dainty