Bible Strands
Ezra 10:18
Among the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women were found these descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the conclusion of Ezra’s investigation into intermarriage, listing specific priests among those who violated the covenant. This occurs immediately after the community completes its review of all men who had taken foreign wives.
The words — הֹשִׁיבוּ (ho.shi.vu) translates literally to "they had married" or "caused to dwell," indicating the formal establishment of marital unions. מִבְּנֵי (mi.bbe.nei) means "sons of" or "descendants of," specifying lineage rather than direct paternity.
The thread — Jeshua son of Jozadak appears repeatedly as a foundational priestly leader during the post-exilic restoration (Ezra 2:2, Ezra 3:2, Ezra 5:2). His inclusion here shows that even the highest priestly lineage participated in the covenant breach and subsequent repentance.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that religious leadership is subject to the same covenant standards as the rest of the community. It requires readers to examine their own alliances and commitments against the explicit boundaries of the law.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
Cross-references
- Ezra 2:2 accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:
- Ezra 3:2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates, began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.
- Ezra 5:2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
- Haggai 1:1 In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, stating
- Zechariah 3:1 Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
- Leviticus 21:7 A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
- Leviticus 21:13 The woman he marries must be a virgin.
- 1 Samuel 2:22 Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- 1 Chronicles 6:14 Azariah was the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak.
- Ezra 9:1 After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.