Ezra 8 · Verse 15

Ezra 8:15

And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.
Ezra 8:15, King James Version

Ezra 8:15 in other translations

BSBNow I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there.
WEBI gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days. Then I looked around at the people and the priests, and found there were none of the sons of Levi.
ASVAnd I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we encamped three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.
YLTAnd I gather them unto the river that is going unto Ahava, and we encamp there three days; and I consider about the people, and about the priests, and of the sons of Levi I have found none there;
DARBYAnd I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days; and I surveyed the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.
BBEAnd I made them come together by the river flowing to Ahava; and we were there in tents for three days: and after viewing the people and the priests I saw that no sons of Levi were there.
WebsterAnd I assembled them at the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we abode in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.

What does Ezra 8:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Ezr 8:15-20. He Sends to Iddo for Ministers for the Temple Service.

15. I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava--This river has not been ascertained. It is probable that the Ahava was one of the streams or numerous canals of Mesopotamia communicating with the Euphrates [Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature]. But it was certainly in Babylonia on the banks of that stream; and perhaps the place appointed for general rendezvous was in the neighborhood of a town of the same name. The emigrants encamped there for three days, according to Oriental custom, while the preparations for the departure were being completed and Ezra was arranging the order of the caravan. I ... found there none of the sons of Levi--that is, the ordinary Levites. Notwithstanding the privilege of exemption from all taxes granted to persons engaged in the temple service, none of the Levitical tribes were induced to join the settlement in Jerusalem; and it was even not without difficulty Ezra persuaded some of the priestly families to accompany him.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 The river that runneth to Ahava - Ahava was a river itself, which is supposed to be the same that is called Diava or Adiava, in the province of Adiabene; and perhaps the place whence the people of Ava came who were brought by the king of Assyria to Palestine, 2Kgs 17:24. None of the sons of Levi - None that were simply Levites. He found priests, and they were sons of Levi; but no Levites that were not priests.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezra 8:1-20

Ezra assembles the outcasts of Israel, and the dispersed of Judah. God raised up the spirits of a small remnant to accompany him. What a pity that good men should omit a good work, for want of being spoken to!

Read the full comment on Ezra 8:1-20 →

Ezra 8:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וָֽאֶקְבְּצֵ֗םva.'ek.be.Tzemand I assembled themH6908
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הַנָּהָר֙ha.na.Harthe riverH5104
הַבָּ֣אha.Ba'which goesH935
אֶֽל\־'el-toH413
אַהֲוָ֔א'a.ha.Va'AhavaH163
וַנַּחֲנֶ֥הva.na.cha.Nehand we encampedH2583
שָׁ֖םshamthereH8033
יָמִ֣יםya.MimdaysH3117
שְׁלֹשָׁ֑הshe.lo.ShahthreeH7969
וָאָבִ֤ינָהva.'a.Vi.nahand I considered !H995
בָעָם֙va.'Am<in> the peopleH5971
וּבַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔יםu.va.Ko.ha.Nimand <in> the priestsH3548
וּמִבְּנֵ֥יu.mi.be.Neiand any of [the] descendants ofH1121
לֵוִ֖יle.ViLeviH3881
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
מָצָ֥אתִיma.Tza.tiI foundH4672
שָֽׁם\׃ShamthereH8033

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezra 8:15

  • Ezra 8:21

    Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

  • Ezra 8:31

    Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.

  • Ezra 7:7

    And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

  • Ezra 8:2

    Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush.

  • Psalms 137:1

    By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

  • Ezekiel 3:15

    Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel–abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

  • Acts 16:13

    And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

  • Ezekiel 1:1

    Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

  • Ezra 7:24

    Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the river that runneth.Ahava is supposed to be the river Adiava, which, with the Diava, is said by Ammianus to have given name to Adiabene, a province of Assyria, through which they flowed into the Tigris. These rivers were also called respectively, Anzabas and Zabas, the Caprus and Lycus of Ptolemy; the former of which he places, at its source, in long. 79 degrees, lat. 39® degrees, and at its junction with the Tigris, in long. 79® degrees, lat. 36 degrees 6'; and the latter, at its source, in long 78 degrees, lat. 39 degrees; and where it falls into the Tigris, in long. 79 degrees, lat. 36® degrees. They are now called the Great and Little Zab, or the Zabein, i.e., the two Zabs, which, says Ibn Haukal, "are considerable streams, each about half as large as the Dejleh (or Tigris). They rise among the mountains of Azerbaijan: of these, the larger is that which runs towards Haditheh. These streams form part of the Tigris, and water the district of Semerah."
Ps 137:1; Eze 1:1; 3:15; Ac 16:13
Ahava.
21,31
abode. Heb. pitched. and found.
2; 7:7,24

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezra 8:14

    Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.

  • Ezra 8:15

    And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.

  • Ezra 8:16

    Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.

Read all of Ezra 8

Ezra 8:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y juntélos junto al río que viene á Ahava, y reposamos allí tres días: y habiendo buscado entre el pueblo y entre los sacerdotes, no hallé allí de los hijos de Leví.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et je les rassemblai vers le fleuve qui s’en va vers Ahava, et nous avons campé là trois jours; et je considérai le peuple et les sacrificateurs, et je n’y trouvai aucun des fils de Lévi.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und ich versammelte sie an den Fluß, der nach Ahawa fließt; und wir lagerten daselbst drei Tage. Und ich sah mich um unter dem Volke und unter den Priestern, und ich fand keinen von den Söhnen Levis daselbst.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Congregavi autem eos ad fluvium qui decurrit ad Ahava, et mansimus ibi tribus diebus: quæsivique in populo et in sacerdotibus de filiis Levi, et non inveni ibi.