Bible Strands
Ezra 8:20
They also brought 220 of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ezra records the logistical preparations for the return journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. He notes the muster of specific personnel at the Ahava Canal just before the group departs for the rebuilt temple.
The words — נְתִינִים (ne.ti.Nim) translates literally to temple servants or designated ones. The verb שֶׁנָּתַן (she./na.Tan) means he had appointed or assigned, indicating formal designation rather than voluntary enlistment.
The thread — Temple servants appear again in the earlier return list of Ezra 2:43 and are grouped with priests and Levites in 1 Chronicles 9:2 as part of the resettled community. Ezra 7:7 similarly tracks the movement of priests and Levites alongside the broader return.
Why it lands — The text documents a named, administrative roster rather than a spiritual event. It requires the reader to recognize that post-exilic worship relied on pre-assigned personnel and continued Davidic organizational patterns.
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
Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.
Cross-references
- Ezra 2:43 The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth,
- Ezra 7:7 So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.
- 1 Chronicles 9:2 Now the first to resettle their own property in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.
- Ezra 8:17 And I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his kinsmen, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.
- Philippians 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have contended at my side for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.