Nehemiah 10:24 — Word Study
WLCהַלּוֹחֵ֥שׁ פִּלְחָ֖א שׁוֹבֵֽק׃
BSAHosheaHôwshêaʻ HananiahChănanyâh HasshubChashshûwb
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| הַלּוֹחֵ֥שׁ | Hallohesh | Noun proper masculine |
| פִּלְחָ֖א | Pilha | Noun proper masculine |
| שׁוֹבֵֽק׃ | Shobek | Noun proper masculine |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, |
| KJV | Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek, |
| ASV | Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, |
| YLT | Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, |
| WEB | Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, |
| BBE | Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, |
Where they part company is in the names listed, but all translations agree on their rendering.
The verse consists of a single main clause listing names, with no additional subordinate clauses.
1 commentators on this verse
Jamieson & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
2 of 3 occur nowhere else in the Old Testament — words chosen on purpose.
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 10:24
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 Covenant of Nehemiahgenerated
Nehemiah 10:24 lists names of individuals who signed a covenant with Nehemiah. This act was part of the larger effort to restore the community and reestablish the covenant relationship with God after the Exile. The names listed are significant as they represent leaders and contributors to the rebuilding of the nation.
Cross References
The Key Word — הַלּוֹחֵ֥שׁ, ha.lo.Cheshgenerated
The name הַלּוֹחֵ֥שׁ (Hallohesh) comes from the root meaning 'to whisper.' It refers to a specific individual known as Hallohesh, who was a chief during the time of the Exile and Return. He is mentioned in Nehemiah 3:12 as the father of Shallum.
The passive sense of the name implies a role of guidance or influence, as a 'whisperer' can suggest someone who leads or advises others subtly. This reflects the importance of leadership during the restoration period.
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 structure of this verse is straightforward, consisting of a noun phrase that serves as the subject: הַלּוֹחֵ֥שׁ (Hallohesh), פִּלְחָ֖א (Pilha), and שׁוֹבֵֽק (Shobek). The names are listed in a series without additional clauses.
The Hebrew word order places emphasis on the names themselves, highlighting their significance in the context of the covenant.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates הַלּוֹחֵ֥שׁ as ωσηε, which does not carry the same meaning as the Hebrew. This choice reflects a different interpretative approach, possibly focusing on the character of the individual rather than the literal translation.
The other names are also rendered in the Septuagint, maintaining their identity but potentially altering the nuance of their meanings.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Nehemiah 10:24 lists three men: Hallohesh, Pilha, and Shobek. These individuals were leaders who signed a covenant with Nehemiah, contributing to the restoration of the community after the Exile.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
They are names of Israelites who played significant roles in the return from exile and signed a covenant with Nehemiah.
Hallohesh means 'whisperer' and refers to a chief during the time of the Exile.
Signing a covenant symbolizes commitment to the community and to God, marking a renewal of faith and identity.
This verse highlights the leadership and unity among the people as they rebuild Jerusalem and restore their covenant with God.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What can we learn from the leadership of Hallohesh, Pilha, and Shobek in our own communities?
- How does signing a covenant relate to our commitments today?
- In what ways can we support the restoration efforts in our communities?
- What does it mean for us to be 'whisperers' of truth and guidance in our relationships?
Commentators on this verse — 1 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 10:24 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 →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
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
Tyndale line
Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek,
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek;
Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek,
Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek,
Strictly literal
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
(10:25) Hallochesh, Pilcha, Shobek,
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
From the Latin
Alohes, Phalea, Sobec,
Simplified
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
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
Both the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the names listed in this verse. The Septuagint matches the Hebrew words directly, indicating a consistent transmission of these names across traditions.
הַלּוֹחֵ֥שׁ פִּלְחָ֖א שׁוֹבֵֽק׃
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 10:24
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.
לוֹחֵשׁ (Lowchesh) means 'whisperer' and refers to an enchanter or a specific individual named Hallohesh, who was a chief during the time of the Exile and Return. He is mentioned in Nehemiah 3:12 as the father of Shallum. The term is derived from a root meaning to whisper, and its usage spans both a general and a specific context.
לוֹחֵשׁ n.pr.m. (= whisperer) a chief of the people
base
H3873 לוֹחֵשׁ
3873 Lowchesh lo-khashe'
active participle of 3907; (the) enchanter; Lochesh, an
Israelite:--Hallohesh, Haloshesh (includ. the article).
see HEBREW for 03907
הַלּוֹחֵשׁ (lo.chesh) — Hallohesh.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Neh.3.12;
father of: Shallum (H7967Q)
§ Hallohesh = "whisperer"
father of a chief of Jerusalem after the exile who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
(enchanter), one of the chief of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:24) (B.C. 410.)
פִּלְחָא (Pilha) is a proper name meaning 'slicing.' It refers to a man mentioned in the context of the Exile and Return, specifically noted in Nehemiah 10:24 as a chief who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. The name is derived from the root associated with slicing.
פִּלְחָא n.pr.m. post-exilic name Ne 10:25
ref
H6401 פִּלְחָא
6401 Pilcha' pil-khaw'
from 6400; slicing; Pilcha, an Israelite:--Pilcha.
see HEBREW for 06400
פִּלְחָא (pil.ach) — Pilha.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.24
§ Pileha = "slicing"
a chief of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
pil'-ha (pilcha', "ploughman" (plowman); the King James Version Pileha): One of those who signed Nehemiah's covenant (Ne 10:24).
שׁוֹבֵק (sho.veq) refers to Shobek, a man mentioned in Nehemiah 10:24 as one of the leaders who sealed a covenant with Nehemiah. The name is derived from a root meaning to leave or forsake. The entries do not provide significant disagreement.
שׁוֹבֵק n.pr.m. one of those sealed Ne 10:25
ref
H7733 שׁוֹבֵק
7733 Showbeq sho-bake'
active participle from a primitive root meaning to leave
(compare 7662); forsaking; Shobek, an Israelite:--Shobek.
see HEBREW for 07662
שׁוֹבֵק (sho.veq) — Shobek.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.24
§ Shobek = "free"
one of the heads of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
sho'-bek (shobheq; Sobek): One of those who sealed the covenant under Nehemiah after the Babylonian captivity (Ne 10:24).
(free), one of the heads of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:24) (B.C. 446.)
made void; forsaken
→ A Jew who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah Ne 10:24