Ezra 8:18

18 And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought (to us) a full wise man of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and they brought Sherebiah, and his sons, twenty, and his brethren, were eighteen; (And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us Sherebiah, a very wise man of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and along with him, they brought his sons and his kinsmen, in all, eighteen men;)

Ezra 8:18 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 8:18

And by the good hand of our God upon us
Favouring their designs and orders, protecting those that were sent, and inclining those they were sent to use their interest and authority with those that were under them, and making them willing also to agree to what was proposed to them:

they brought us a man of understanding of the sons of Mahli, the son of
Levi, the son of Israel;
an Israelite, of the tribe of Levi, in the line of Mahli a son of Merari, the third son of Levi:

and Sherebiah;
or rather "even Sherebiah"; so Aben Ezra; for he is the understanding man that is meant, and described by his pedigree:

with his sons and his brethren,
eighteen; all together made this number.

Ezra 8:18 In-Context

16 Therefore I sent (for) Eliezer, and Ariel, and Shemaiah, and Elnathan, and Jarib, and another Elnathan, and Nathan, and Zechariah, and Meshullam, princes (the leaders); and Joiarib, and Elnathan, (the) wise men;
17 and I sent them to Iddo, that is the chief (man) in the place of Casiphia, and I put in the mouth of them the words, which they should speak to Iddo, and to his brethren, (the) Nethinims, in the place of Casiphia, for to bring to us the ministers of the house of our God. (and I sent them to Iddo, that is the chief man, or the leader, at the place of Casiphia, and I put the words in their mouths, which they should say to Iddo, and to his kinsmen, the Temple workers, at that place of Casiphia, yea, that they should bring us ministers for the House of our God.)
18 And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought (to us) a full wise man of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and they brought Sherebiah, and his sons, twenty, and his brethren, were eighteen; (And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us Sherebiah, a very wise man of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and along with him, they brought his sons and his kinsmen, in all, eighteen men;)
19 and Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah came with him of the sons of Merari, (and) they brought his brethren, and his sons, twenty; (and Hashabiah, and along with him came Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, and his kinsmen, and their sons, in all, twenty men;)
20 and of [the] Nethinims, which David and the princes had given to the services of (the) deacons, they brought two hundred and twenty Nethinims; all these were called by their names. (and of the Temple workers, whom David and his officials had appointed for service to the Levites, they brought two hundred and twenty Temple workers; all these were called by their names.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.