Bilgah; Bilgai

BILGAH; BILGAI

bil'-ga bil'-ga-i (bilgah; bilgay, "cheerfulness"):

A priest or priestly family in the time of the Return (Nehemiah 12:5), and (under the form of "Bilgai," Nehemiah 10:8) in the time of Nehemiah. According to 1 Chronicles 24:14, Bilgah is the 15th of the 24 divisions of the priests who officiated in the Temple. In the Septuagint, the names read Belgai, Belga and Balgas. The traditional explanation of the name is "rejuvenation"; modern exegetes explain it as "cheerfulness."