Ezer

February 15, 2015

Nehemiah leads the other group (Neh 12:38-12:43)

“The other company of those who gave thanks went to the left. I followed them with half of the people, upon the wall. We walked to the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate. We walked by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate. They came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. So both companies of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God. I and half of the officials were with me. The priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah were with trumpets. Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer were there also. The singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. They offered great sacrifices that day. They rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.”

Nehemiah led the other group on the wall going around the west and north side of the wall. They passed by the Tower of Ovens, the Broad Wall, the Gate of Ephraim, the Old Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred. Finally they came to the Sheep Gate and the Gate of the Guard. There they met at the house of God with the first group. Nehemiah’s group met Ezra’s first group at the Temple. Nehemiah’s priests had trumpets. These singers were led by Jezrahiah, who is only mentioned here and nowhere else. They offered great sacrifices, without being specific how much and what kind. They also rejoiced with all their families including women and children. They made such a noise that they could be heard far away.

February 8, 2015

Repair of the old wall (Neh 3:16-3:19)

“After him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired from a point opposite the graves of David, as far as the artificial pool and the house of the warriors. After him the Levites made repairs. There was Rehum son of Bani. Next to him was Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, who made repairs for his district. After him their kin made repairs. There was Binnui son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. Next to him was Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, who repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the Angle.”

The old wall was inside the northern new wall. This is a different Nehemiah. This one was the half ruler of Beth-zur, which was on the main road south about 20 miles from Jerusalem. The work continued along the east wall outside the graveyard of the kings of Judah, the artificial pool and the army barracks. Then the various Levites worked on this wall. Rehum was a descendent of those who had come back with the early group, 80 years earlier. Both the leaders of Keilah, Hashabiah and Binnui, with their relatives, also helped with the repairs. Keilah was about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Then we have another ruler of Mizpah, Ezer, who was helping with the repairs. Remember that the other ruler of Mizpah, Shallum was at the Fountain Gate. Both these towns of Keilah and Mizpah were well represented in the repair work.

November 20, 2014

The Gadite warriors (1 Chr 12:8-12:15)

“From the Gadites, there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors. They were expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions. They were swift as gazelles on the mountains. Ezer was the chief, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, Jeremiah the tenth, and Machbannai the eleventh. These Gadites were officers of the army, the least equal to over a hundred men and the greatest to a thousand men. These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was overflowing all its banks. They put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.”

The Gadites were from the east side of the Jordan. Apparently they were very fast. They brought a lot of people with them as they seem to have an organized army with various ranks. In fact, 11 different ranks are cited as they chased people on the east and west side of the Jordan River. There were 6 people with the name of Ezer. There were 12 people with the name of Obadiah, with the most famous the prophet and book Obadiah. Eliab appeared as the name of 7 different people. Although Mishmannah never appears elsewhere, Attai was the name of 1 or 2 other people. This Jeremiah was not the prophet Jeremiah. Notice that there was another Jeremiah in this Gadite band of soldiers. There were 9 people with the name of Eliel and Johanan. However, there was only 1 other with the name of Elzabad, and no others with the name of Machbannai except the one mentioned here.

November 10, 2014

The sons of Ephraim (1 Chr 7:20-7:21)

“The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead.”

The second son of Joseph Ephraim was the favorite son, who had 3 sons, According to Numbers, chapter 26, Shuthelah, the clan of the Shuthelahites, Becher, the clan of the Becherites, Tahan, of the clan of the Tahanites. Ephraim got the special blessing from Jacob in Genesis, chapter 48. Obviously, it was also the name of a territory in Canaan. According to Numbers, (1) (7) Shuthelah was the name of the son of Ephraim, the main group of Ephraim. (2) Bered was a place in Canaan and also the son of Ephraim. He may also be the same as Becher in Numbers. There are 2 sons named (3) (5) Tahath. One may be the Tahan mentioned in Numbers, while the other might be grandson. This presentation here is a little awkward. (4) Eleadah and (9) Elead are only mentioned here. It is not clear whose son they are. There are 6 people with the name of (6) Zabad and he is related to Tahath somehow. There are also 5 people with the name of (8) Ezer. Both Zabad and Ezer are names of Benjaminites, so that may be the cause of this confusion.

October 22, 2014

The descendents of Seir (1 Chr 1:38-1:42)

“The sons of Seir or Edom were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam. Lotan’s sister was Timna. The sons of Shobal were Alian, Manahath, Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. The son of Anah was Dishon. The sons of Dishon were Hamran, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Jaakan. The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran.”

Once again, there is a similarity to Genesis, chapter 36, where Seir is called a Horite, a branch of the Hivites. Seir is both a leader and the name of a place, where Esau was living. They seem to inter-marry with Esau and the Edomites. This Seir, who was an early leader southeast of the Dead Sea, had 7 sons and at least 1 daughter, who nearly became the daughter-in-law of Esau. They were considered the chiefs of the Horites in the land Seir. This appears to be an attempt to show how Esau and the others lived in Edom. (1) Lotan’s 2 sons were Hori and Heman. The sister of Lotan was (3) Timna, the concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau. (3) Shobal’s 5 sons were Alian or Alvan as in Genesis, Manahath, Ebal, Shephi or Shepho as in Genesis, and Onam. (4) Zibeon’s 2 sons were Aiah and Anah, who found springs in the wilderness. (5) Anah is both the name of the son of Zibeon and Zibeon’s brother.   Anah’s son was Dishon and his sister Oholibamah married Esau. Once again, (6) Dishon is listed as the son of Anah and his brother. Dishon’s 4 sons were Hamran or Hemdan in Genesis, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. (7) Ezer’s 3 sons were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Jaakan or Akan in Genesis. (8) Dishan’s 2 sons were Uz and Aran. Uz is a name and place connected with Aram.