Nehemiah 7:28 — Word Study
WLCאַנְשֵׁ֥י בֵית־ עַזְמָ֖וֶת אַרְבָּעִ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃ ס
BSAof Beth-azmavethBêyth ʻAzmâveth [house of the strength of death, forty and two] 42ʼarbâʻîym
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| אַנְשֵׁ֥י | [the] men of | Noun common, masculine plural construct |
| בֵית־ | Beth | Noun proper |
| עַזְמָ֖וֶת | Azmaveth | Noun proper |
| אַרְבָּעִ֥ים | forty | Adj |
| וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃ ס | and two | Conjunction |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | the men of Beth-azmaveth, 42; |
| KJV | The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty and two. |
| ASV | The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty and two. |
| YLT | Men of Beth-Azmaveth: forty and two. |
| WEB | The men of Beth Azmaveth: forty-two. |
| BBE | The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two. |
There are no significant differences among the translations of this verse.
The sentence has a main clause with a numeral phrase indicating the count of individuals.
2 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Ellicott & 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 7:28
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 Census of Returning Exilesgenerated
Nehemiah 7:28 is part of a larger passage that details the numbers of people returning to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. This census highlights the various families and communities that contributed to the rebuilding of the city and its walls, as seen throughout the book of Nehemiah. The mention of specific locations, like Beth-azmaveth, emphasizes the importance of each group in the restoration efforts.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ezra 2:24 | the descendants of Azmaveth, 42; |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 1 reference, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — אִישׁ, 'an.Sheigenerated
The word אִישׁ ('ish) means 'man' or 'human.' It is a common noun in the masculine plural form, indicating a group of individuals. This term is often used in the Bible to refer to people collectively, distinguishing them from other terms that may refer to specific roles or statuses.
In this verse, it serves to identify the group of people from Beth-azmaveth, emphasizing their humanity and collective identity as part of the returning exiles.
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 is governed by the noun phrase אַנְשֵׁ֥י, the men of, followed by a proper noun phrase בֵית־עַזְמָ֖וֶת, Beth-azmaveth, and concludes with a numeral phrase indicating the count of individuals, אַרְבָּעִ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם, forty and two.
The structure is straightforward, presenting the subject followed by the location and the number, typical of census records in biblical texts.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Nehemiah 7:28 lists the men from a place called Beth-azmaveth, stating that there were 42 of them. This is part of a larger census of people returning from exile to Jerusalem, showing the contributions of various groups to the rebuilding efforts.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Beth-azmaveth means 'house of the strength of death', indicating a place with significant historical or cultural relevance.
The number of men is important as it reflects the size of the community returning to Jerusalem and their contribution to the rebuilding efforts.
This verse fits into the narrative by documenting the various groups that returned to Jerusalem, emphasizing the communal effort in restoring the city.
The census highlights the importance of community and collective identity in the restoration of Jerusalem after exile.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What does it mean to belong to a community, and how can I contribute to my own community?
- How can understanding the history of places like Beth-azmaveth deepen my appreciation for biblical narratives?
- In what ways can I support rebuilding efforts in my community today?
- What significance do numbers hold in biblical texts, and how can they inform our understanding of God's work?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 7:28 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThese are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem
Read Robert Jamieson on Nehemiah 7 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(5-73) The genealogical reckoning of the people, as the first step towards increasing the population of the metropolis, is determined on, not without express Divine suggestion; the allusion to this inspiration from God, is, as in Nehemiah 2:12, very emphatic. The original register of Zerubbabelis found and copied. The express language of both Ezra and Nehemiah makes it plain that this is no other than the list of those who came up with Zerubbabel and Joshua after the decree of Cyrus, in B.C. 538. Nehemiah’s own census follows, in Nehemiah 11. The exposition, especially as compared with Ezra 2, has been given on that chapter.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Nehemiah 7 →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 men of Beth-azmaveth, 42;
The men of Beth Azmaveth: forty-two.
the men of Beth-azmaveth, 42;
the men of the family of Azmaveth, 42;
Tyndale line
The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty and two.
The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty and two.
The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty and two.
The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty two.
The me of Beth-azmaueth, two and fourty.
Strictly literal
The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two.
Men of Beth-Azmaveth: forty and two.
men of Beth-Azmaveth, forty-two;
The men of Beth-'azmaveth, forty and two.
The men of Beth Azmaveth, 42.
From the Latin
The men of Bethazmoth, forty-two.
Simplified
the people from Beth-azmaveth 42;
The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two.
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 אַנְשֵׁ֥י בֵית־ עַזְמָ֖וֶת אַרְבָּעִ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃. The Septuagint does not provide a direct equivalent for this verse, indicating a difference in the transmission of this particular census data.
אַנְשֵׁ֥י בֵית־ עַזְמָ֖וֶת אַרְבָּעִ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃ ס
1 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 7:28
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.
אֱנוֹשׁ (enowsh) refers to man or mankind, often used in a poetic context. It denotes a mortal individual, distinguishing humans from more dignified terms for man. The word encompasses both singular and collective meanings, indicating people or persons in general. Its Aramaic equivalent is אֱנָשׁ (e.nash), also meaning 'man'.
אֱנוֹשׁ n.m. man, mankind, mostly poet.
of individ.
coll. men
man, mankind
base
H582 אֱנוֹשׁ man, mankind, mostly poet.
582 'enowsh en-oshe'
from 605; properly, a mortal (and thus differing from the
more dignified 120); hence, a man in general (singly or
collectively):--another, X (blood-)thirsty, certain,
chap(-man); divers, fellow, X in the flower of their age,
husband, (certain, mortal) man, people, person, servant, some
( X of them), + stranger, those, + their trade. It is often
unexpressed in the English versions, especially when used in
apposition with another word . Compare 376.
see HEBREW for 0605
see HEBREW for 0120
see HEBREW for 0376
אֱנוֹשׁ (e.nosh) — human.
1) man, mortal man, person, mankind
1a) of an individual
1b) men (collective)
1c) man, mankind
Aramaic equivalent: e.nash (אֱנָשׁ "man" H0606)
HNcmpc — 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…
בֵּית־עַזְמָ֫וֶת n.pr.loc. near Jerusalem
base
H1041 בֵּית־עַזְמָ֫וֶת
1041 Beyth `Azmaveth bayth az-maw'-veth
from 1004 and 5820; house of Azmaveth, a place in
Palestine:--Beth-az-maveth. Compare 5820.
see HEBREW for 01004
see HEBREW for 05820
see HEBREW for 05820
בֵּית־עַזְמָ֫וֶת (bet az.ma.vet) — Beth-azmaveth.
Beth-azmaveth = "house of the strength of death"
a place near Jerusalem
Also named: az.ma.vet (עַזְמָ֫וֶת "Azmaveth" H5820K)
N-proper — Noun properHNpl
Beth
Occurs frequently as the appellation for a house, or dwelling-place, in such compounds as the words immediately following:
the most general word for a house or habitation. It has the special meaning of a temple or house of worship Beth is more frequently employed in compound names of places than any other word.
House, forms a part of many compounds names of places, and sometimes means the place or dwelling; and at others the temple. This word becomes Beit in modern Arabic.
בֵּית־עַזְמָ֫וֶת n.pr.loc. near Jerusalem
base
H1041 בֵּית־עַזְמָ֫וֶת
1041 Beyth `Azmaveth bayth az-maw'-veth
from 1004 and 5820; house of Azmaveth, a place in
Palestine:--Beth-az-maveth. Compare 5820.
see HEBREW for 01004
see HEBREW for 05820
see HEBREW for 05820
בֵּית־עַזְמָ֫וֶת (bet az.ma.vet) — Beth-azmaveth.
Beth-azmaveth = "house of the strength of death"
a place near Jerusalem
Also named: az.ma.vet (עַזְמָ֫וֶת "Azmaveth" H5820K)
HNpl — Noun properHNpl
Azmaveth
Strong as death. (1.) One of David’s thirty warriors (2 Sam. 23:31).
(2.) An overseer over the royal treasury in the time of David and Solomon (1 Chr. 27:25).
(3.) A town in the tribe of Judah, near Jerusalem (Neh. 12:29; Ezra 2:24).
(4.) 1 Chr. 8:36
a place to all appearance in Benjamin, being named with other towns belonging to that tribe. (Ezra 2:24) The name elsewhere occurs as BETH-AZMAVETH.
strong death; a he-goat
אַרְבָּעִים (arba`iym) simply means 'forty' in Hebrew. It is a multiple of the number 702 and is consistently defined across various lexicons. There are no significant disagreements among the entries regarding its meaning.
אַרְבָּעִים a forty
base
H705 אַרְבָּעִים a forty
705 'arba`iym ar-baw-eem'
multiple of 702; forty:---forty.
see HEBREW for 0702
אַרְבָּעִים (ar.ba.im) — forty.
forty
Adj — AdjHAcmpa
שְׁנַ֫יִם (shnayim) means 'two' and serves as both a cardinal and ordinal number. It can denote 'both,' 'double,' or 'twice,' and is used in various combinations with other numbers. The word is derived as a dual form of שָׁנָה (shanah), which relates to the concept of pairs.
שְׁנַ֫יִם, שְׁתַּיִם 768 n.m. et f. du. two
base
H8147 שְׁנַ֫יִם, שְׁתַּיִם two
8147 shnayim shen-ah'-yim
dual of 8145; feminine shttayim {shet-tah'-yim}; two; also
(as ordinal) twofold:--both, couple, double, second, twain, +
twelfth, + twelve, + twenty (sixscore) thousand, twice, two.
see HEBREW for 08145
שְׁנַ֫יִם (she.na.yim) — two.
1) two
1a) two (the cardinal number)
1a1) two, both, double, twice
1b) second (the ordinal number)
1c) in combination with other numbers
1d) both (a dual number)
HC/Acbda — ConjunctionHC/Acbda
too.
See NUMBER.