Lexical Definition

‎דַּהֲוָא‎ Dahăvâʼ (dah-hav-aw') Dehavite ^N:N--LG
(Aramaic) of uncertain derivation

Dehavites.

• § Dehavites = "the sickly"
• Dahava, a people colonized in Samaria

1) the name of a people or
2) that is, which is to say (simple particles)

Extended Information

• Also translated as "that is", only mentioned at Ezr.4.9

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎דהוא‎ Kt, ‎דֵּהָוֵא‎ Qr, according to Thes and most proper name, of a people Ezra 4:9, see conjectural identification by Dl^{Baer Dn x} Scheft^{31 f.}; < read ‎דִּהוּא‎ that is, Hoffm^{ZA ii. 54} Marquart⁶⁴ Mey^{Entst. J. 36}, ᵐ5. οἳ εἰσίν.

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Group • Ezra's opponent • People group who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem

Word sometimes translated as a name

The Dehavites were a people group who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem during the time of Ezra. (Ezr.4.9)

• A group or a word meaning "that is", only mentioned at Ezr.4.9;
• only referred to as Dehavite דַּהֲוָא.

The Dehavites are mentioned in Ezra 4:9 as one of the people groups who wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes of Persia, opposing the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. This letter was part of a larger effort by the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin to halt the reconstruction work that had begun under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua.

The Dehavites are listed alongside other groups, such as the Bishlomites, the Tarpelites, and the people of Erech and Babylon, who were transplanted to Samaria by the Assyrian king Osnappar (likely Ashurbanipal). These groups are collectively referred to as "the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over and settled in the cities of Samaria" (Ezra 4:10).

The letter these groups sent to Artaxerxes contained accusations against the Jews, claiming that if the city were rebuilt and its walls completed, the Jews would rebel and cause damage to the royal revenue. As a result of this letter, the rebuilding work was temporarily halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia (Ezra 4:24).

Apart from this single mention in Ezra, no further information is provided about the Dehavites or their specific origins. Their inclusion in the list of opposing groups highlights the challenges and opposition faced by the Jews as they sought to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple following their return from Babylonian exile.

All entries for Dehavite: דַּהֲוָא