Lexical Definition

‎בִּגְוַי‎ Bigvay (big-vah'ee) Bigvai ^N:N-M-P
probably of foreign origin

Bigvai.

• § Bigvai = "in my bodies"
• Bigvai, an Israelite

1) an exile who returned under Zerubbabel, perhaps the head of a family

Extended Information

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.14

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎בִּגְוַי‎ proper name, masculine (compare Sanskrit bhagavân, happy) ?)

1. a companion of Zerubbabel Ezra 2:2 = Neh 7:7 perhaps = head of a family of returning exiles Ezra 2:14 (‎בִּגְוָ֑י‎) = Neh 7:19, compare Ezra 8:14.

2. a chief of the people in Nehemiah's time Neh 10:17* compare Sm^{Listen 13}.

‎בִּגְלַל‎ see ‎גלל‎. p. 164 ff

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Male • Returned from exile • Ancestor of exiles who returned to Jerusalem

Man living at the time of Exile and Return

Bigvai was an ancestor of over 2,000 individuals who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity.

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.14;
• only referred to as Bigvai בִּגְוַי.

Bigvai was the ancestor of a large group of people who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity. According to the records in Ezra and Nehemiah, 2,056 (Ezr. 2:14) or 2,067 (Neh. 7:19) individuals from Bigvai's family were among the returnees. This significant number suggests that Bigvai's descendants formed an important part of the Jewish community in exile. Additionally, Ezra mentions that Uthai and Zabbud, two leaders from the descendants of Bigvai, led a group of 70 men to Jerusalem during Ezra's own return (Ezr. 8:14). The repeated mention of Bigvai's descendants highlights their active role in the restoration of Jerusalem and the Jewish community after the exile.

All entries for Bigvai: בִּגְוַי