Lexical Definition

‎בֵּבַי‎ Bêbay (bay-bah'ee) Bebai ^N:N-M-P
probably of foreign origin

Bebai.

• § Bebai = "my cavities"
• Bebai, an Israelite

1) a leader of the returning exiles

Extended Information

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.11

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎בֵּבַי‎ proper name, masculine a chief of returning exiles ‎בֵּכָ֑י‎ Neh 10:16* ‎בְּנֵי בֵבַי‎ Ezra 8:11 ‎בֶּןבֵּֿבָ֑י‎ Ezra 8:11 ‎בְּנֵי בֵבָ֑י‎ Ezra 2:11; Ezra 10:28; Neh 7:16.

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Male • Returned leader • Head of a family that returned from Babylonian exile.

Man living at the time of Exile and Return

Bebai was the head of a family that returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity.

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.11;
• only referred to as Bebai בֵּבַי.

Bebai is mentioned in Ezra 2:11 and Nehemiah 7:16 as the head of a family that returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile. The lists in these passages record the names of the families and their numbers who returned to Judah to resettle and rebuild the temple and the city. According to Ezra 2:11, 623 members of Bebai's family returned, while Nehemiah 7:16 lists 628. This discrepancy may be due to differences in counting or additional family members joining the group. In Ezra 8:11, a descendant of Bebai named Zechariah is mentioned among those who returned with Ezra to Jerusalem, along with 28 men of his family. Later, in Ezra 10:28, another member of Bebai's family is listed among those who had married foreign women and pledged to put them away in response to Ezra's call for repentance. These references indicate that Bebai's family played a significant role in the resettlement of Jerusalem and the restoration of the Jewish community after the exile.

All entries for Bebai: בֵּבַי