Nehemiah 12:17 — Word Study
WLCלַאֲבִיָּ֖ה זִכְרִ֑י לְמִ֨נְיָמִ֔ין לְמוֹעַדְיָ֖ה פִּלְטָֽי׃
BSAof AbijahʼĂbîyâh [a king of Judah, meaning my father is the Lord] ZichriZikrîy [memorial of the Lord] of MiniaminMinyâmîyn [from the right hand, a leader] and of MoadiahMôwʻadyâh△ [appointed assembly] PiltaiPilṭay△ [my deliverances, a priest]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| לַאֲבִיָּ֖ה | of Abijah | Preposition, noun proper masculine |
| זִכְרִ֑י | Zikri | Noun proper masculine |
| לְמִ֨נְיָמִ֔ין | of Miniamin | Preposition, noun proper masculine |
| לְמוֹעַדְיָ֖ה | of Moadiah | Preposition, noun proper masculine |
| פִּלְטָֽי׃ | Piltai | Noun proper masculine |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai; |
| KJV | Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; |
| ASV | of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; |
| YLT | of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin; of Moadiah, Piltai; |
| WEB | of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; |
| BBE | Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; |
Where they part company is in the transliteration of names — see How Translations Differ.
The structure is straightforward, listing names with their respective roles, emphasizing the importance of lineage.
3 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Ellicott, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
2 of 5 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 12:17
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 Genealogy of Priestsgenerated
Nehemiah 12:17 lists the names of priests from various families, emphasizing their roles in the religious life of Israel after the return from exile. This context highlights the importance of lineage and priestly duties in the restoration of the community and worship practices in Jerusalem.
Cross References
The Key Word — אֲבִיָּה, la.'a.vi.Yahgenerated
The name אֲבִיָּה (*Abijah*) is a proper noun meaning 'my father is the Lord.' It is derived from the roots meaning 'father' and 'Yah,' indicating a connection to God. In this verse, it identifies a specific family line of priests.
Abijah is associated with several figures in the Bible, including a king of Judah. The parsing shows it as a preposition followed by a masculine noun, indicating a relationship or belonging to this priestly lineage.
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 main clause lists the names of priests, with each name followed by a prepositional phrase that describes their lineage or role. The structure emphasizes the continuity of priestly families.
The noun phrases are connected through prepositional phrases, indicating their relationships and roles within the community, showing the importance of these names in the context of priestly duties.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates אֲבִיָּה as αβια, maintaining the connection to the original Hebrew meaning. This choice reflects a direct translation of the name without additional interpretation.
The other names follow similarly, showing a consistent approach to rendering the Hebrew names into Greek, preserving their significance.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Nehemiah 12:17 lists the names of priests from different families, showing their roles in the community after returning from exile. Each name carries a meaning that connects to their heritage and duties.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Abijah means 'my father is the Lord,' reflecting a devotion to God.
These names connect the present community to their priestly heritage, emphasizing the continuity of worship.
Zichri is a name associated with several Israelites, meaning 'memorable'.
Moadiah means 'appointed assembly,' indicating a role in the community's religious life.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How does understanding the meanings of these names enhance our view of the priestly roles in Israel?
- What significance do these genealogies hold for understanding our spiritual heritage today?
- In what ways can we honor our spiritual lineage as the Israelites did?
- How can the meanings of these names inspire our understanding of our relationship with God?
Commentators on this verse — 3 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 12:17 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryOf Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; No JFB commentary on these verses.
Read Robert Jamieson on Nehemiah 12 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(17) Of Miniamin.—Some name has dropped out.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Nehemiah 12 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges17. of Miniamin, of Moadiah] The representative of the house of Miniamin has been omitted.
Read Cambridge on Nehemiah 12 →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
of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;
of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;
of Abijah, Zicri; of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;
Tyndale line
Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
Vnder Abiiah, Zichri, vnder Miniamin, and vnder Moadiah, Piltai,
Strictly literal
of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin [and] Moadiah, Piltai;
of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin; of Moadiah, Piltai;
of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin; of Moadiah, Piltai;
Of Abiyah, Zichri; of Minyamin, of Mo'adyah, Piltai;
Zichri was the leader of Abijah. ... of Miniamin. Piltai was the leader of Moadiah.
From the Latin
Of Abia, Zechri: of Miamin and Moadia, Phelti:
Simplified
of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;
Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
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 lists the names as לַאֲבִיָּ֖ה זִכְרִ֑י לְמִ֨נְיָמִ֔ין לְמוֹעַדְיָ֖ה פִּלְטָֽי׃. The Septuagint matches four of the five names directly, indicating a strong agreement between these witnesses.
לַאֲבִיָּ֖ה זִכְרִ֑י לְמִ֨נְיָמִ֔ין לְמוֹעַדְיָ֖ה פִּלְטָֽי׃
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 Nehemiah 12:17
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.
The Hebrew word אֲבִיָּ֫הוּ (*Abiyah*) means 'father of Jah' and is associated with several figures in the Old Testament. It refers to a king of Judah, the second son of Samuel, and others, including a woman and a man from the tribe of Benjamin. The name is linked to the meaning 'Jehovah is (my) father'.
אֲבִיָּ֫הוּ n.pr.m. & f. (Yah(u) is (my) father)—so † 2 Ch 13:20, 21 = אֲבִיָּם † 1 K 14:31 15:1, 7, 7, 8 (𝔊 Ἀβιου, Ἀβια); = אֲבִי † 2 K 18:2 (𝔊 Ἀβου, Ἀβουθ); = אֲבִיָּה 1 S 8:2 22 t.—
king of Judah, son & successor of Rehoboam
2nd son of Samuel
son of Jerob.
son of Becher, a Benjamite
head of a priestly house
id.
wife of Hezron
mother of Hezekiah
base
H29 אֲבִיָּ֫הוּ
29 'Abiyah ab-ee-yaw'
or prolonged Abiyahuw {ab-ee-yaw'-hoo}; from 1 and 3050;
father (i.e. worshipper) of Jah; Abijah, the name of several
Israelite men and two Israelitesses:--Abiah, Abijah.
see HEBREW for 01
see HEBREW for 03050
אֲבִיָּה (a.viy.yah) — Abijah.
A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.8.2;
son of: Samuel (H8050);
brother of: Joel (H3100)
§ Abia or Abiah or Abijah = "Jehovah is (my) father"
second son of Samuel
אֲבִיָּה (a.viy.yah) — Abijah.
A man of the Kingdom of Israel, living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ki.14.1;
son of: Jeroboam (H3379);
brother of: Nadab (H5070H)
§ Abia or Abiah or Abijah = "Jehovah is (my) father"
1) king of Judah, son and successor of Rehoboam
2) second son of Samuel
3) son of Jeroboam the first, king of Israel
4) son of Becher, a Benjamite
5) head of a priestly house (one of the 24 Levite groups)
6) head of a priestly house (after the exile)
7) wife of Hezron
8) mother of Hezekiah (cf H021)
אֲבִיָּ֫הוּ, אֲבִיָּה (a.viy.yah) — Abijah.
Prep | N-proper — Preposition · noun proper masculineHR/Npm
Abijah
Father (i.e., “possessor or worshipper”) of Jehovah. (1.) 1 Chr. 7:8. (2.) 1 Chr. 2:24.
(3.) The second son of Samuel (1 Sam. 8:2; 1 Chr. 6:28). His conduct, along with that of his brother, as a judge in Beer-sheba, to which office his father had appointed him, led to popular discontent, and ultimately provoked the people to demand a royal form of government.
(4.) A descendant of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, a chief of one of the twenty-four orders into which the priesthood was divided by David (1 Chr. 24:10). The order of Abijah was one of those which did not return from the Captivity (
1. Called, in Lu 1:5, Abia; founder of a family among the posterity of Aaron. When David divided the priests into twenty-four courses, to perform the temple-service, in turn, the eighth class was called after him, 1Ch 24:10. To this class of course Zacharias belonged.
2. Son of Jeroboam, the first king of Israel. He died young, and much beloved and lamented, for in him there was found some good thing towards the Lord, 1Ki 14:1-18
3. Son of Rehoboam, the first king of Judah; called in, 1Ki 22:53, Abijam. He came to the throne A.M. 3046, and reigned only three years. In war with Jeroboam he gained a signal victory, 2Ch…
the Lord is my father
The Hebrew word זִכְרִי (*Zikriy*) means 'memorable' and refers to several individuals in the Old Testament, including members of the tribes of Reuben, Judah, Levi, and Benjamin. It encompasses various roles, such as a priest, a captain, and a mighty man of Ephraim. Notably, it is associated with a lineage that includes notable figures like Eliezer and Amasiah.
זִכְרִי n.pr.m.
a Reubenite
a Judahite
Levites
a priest
Benjamites
father of a captain in Jehoiada’s time
mighty man of Ephraim
base
H2147 זִכְרִי . a Reubenite
. a Judahite
. Levites
. a priest
. Benjamites
. father of a captain in Jehoiada’s time
. mighty man of Ephraim
2147 Zikriy zik-ree'
from 2142; memorable; Zicri, the name of twelve
Israelites:--Zichri.
see HEBREW for 02142
זִכְרִי (zikh.ri) — Zichri.
A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, only mentioned at Exo.6.21;
son of: Izhar (H3324);
brother of: Korah (H7141I), Nepheg (H5298) and Shelomith (H8019A)
§ Zichri = "memorable"
1) the father of Eliezer, the chief of the Reubenites in the reign of David
2) the father of Amasiah, a descendant of Judah
3) a son of Izhar and grandson of Kohath
4) a descendant of Eliezer the son of Moses
5) a son of Asaph, elsewhere called 'Zabdi' and 'Zaccur'
6) a priest of the family of Abijah, in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua
7) a descendant of Benjamin of the sons of Shimhi
8) a descendant of Benjamin of the sons of Shashak
9) a descendant of Benjamin of the sons of Jeroham
10) father of Joel and descendant of Benjamin
11) a father of Elishaphat, one of the conspirators with Jehoiada
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
The Hebrew word מִנְיָמִין (*Minyamiyn*) refers to a name meaning 'from the right hand.' It is associated with two Israelites, a Levite during the time of Hezekiah and a priest present at the dedication of Jerusalem's wall in Nehemiah's time. The word is built from roots meaning 'from' and 'right hand,' and it appears in contexts related to priestly lineage and roles.
מִיָּמִן, מִיָמִין, מִנְיָמִן, מִנְיָמִין n.pr.m.
priestly name
one of those who took strange wives
base
H4509 מִיָּמִן, מִיָמִין, מִנְיָמִן, מִנְיָמִין
4509 Minyamiyn min-yaw-meen'
from 4480 and 3225; from (the) right hand; Minjamin, the name
of two Israelites:--Miniamin. Compare 4326.
see HEBREW for 04480
see HEBREW for 03225
see HEBREW for 04326
מִנְיָמִין (min.ya.min) — Miniamin.
A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 2Ch.31.15
§ Miniamin = "from the right hand"
1) a Levite in the time of Hezekiah
2) a priest who was present at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah
מִנְיָמִין (min.ya.min) — Miniamin.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.12.41
§ Miniamin = "from the right hand"
1) a Levite in the time of Hezekiah
2) a priest who was present at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah
מִנְיָמִין (min.ya.min) — Miniamin.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Neh.10.7; also called Miniamin at Neh.12.17;
Another name of miy.ya.min (מִיָּמִן "Mijamin" H4326I)
§ Miniamin = "from the right hand"
1) a Levite in the time of Hezekiah
Prep | N-proper — Preposition · noun proper masculineHR/Npm
min'-ya-min, mi-ni'-a-min (minydmin):
(1) A Levite who assisted Kore, the son of Imnah, in the distribution of the freewill offerings (2Ch 31:15).
(2) A priestly family of the time of the high priest Joiakim (Ne 12:17), probably equals MIJAMIN (2).
(3) A priestly participant in the ceremony of the dedication of the wall (Ne 12:41).
(from the right hand). A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 31:15) The same as Miamin 2 and Mijamin 2. (Nehemiah 12:17) One of the priests at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 12:41)
right hand
מַעֲדְיָה (Moadiah) refers to a priest from the time of Zerubbabel, mentioned in Nehemiah 10:8 and 12:5, where he is also called Maadiah. The name means 'assembly of Jah' and is derived from roots meaning 'appointed time' and 'Jah.' There is a note that Moadiah is equivalent to another name, Maaziah.
מַעֲדְיָה n.pr.m. a priest of Zerubbabel’s time acc. to Ne 12:5; appar. = מוֹעַדְיָה v 17
ref
H4153 מַעֲדְיָה, מוֹעַדְיָה
4153 Mow`adyah mo-ad-yaw'
from 4151 and 3050; assembly of Jah; Moadjah, an
Israelite:--Moadiah. Compare 4573.
see HEBREW for 04151
see HEBREW for 03050
see HEBREW for 04573
מוֹעַדְיָה (mo.ad.yah) — Moadiah.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Neh.10.8; also called Maadiah at Neh.12.5; Moadiah at Neh.12.17;
Another name of ma.az.yah (מַעַזְיָהוּ "Maaziah" H4590H)
§ Moadiah = "the set time of JAH"
one of the priests who returned with Zerubbabel
Prep | N-proper — Preposition · noun proper masculineHR/Npm
mo-a-di'-a.
See MAADIAH.
(Nehemiah 12:17) Elsewhere Nehe 12:5 Called MAADIAH.
→ A priest Ne 12:17
פִּלְטָ֑י (Piltay) refers to a male name meaning "my deliverances." He is identified as a priest from the house of Moadiah, noted for returning from exile with Zerubbabel, specifically mentioned in Nehemiah 12:17. The entries consistently describe him as an Israelite and a priest, with no significant disagreement among the sources.
פִּלְטָ֑י n.pr.m. priest Ne 12:17
ref
H6408 פִּלְטָ֑י, פִּלְטַי
6408 Piltay pil-tah'-ee
for 6407; Piltai, an Israelite:--Piltai.
see HEBREW for 06407
פִּלְטָ֑י (pil.tay) — Piltai.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.12.17
§ Piltai = "my deliverances"
a priest, representative of the priestly house of Moadiah; an exile who returned with Zerubbabel
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm