Lexical Definition

‎יוֹנָתָן‎ Yôwnâthân (yo-naw-thawn') Jonathan ^N:N-M-P
a form of ‎יְהוֹנָתָן‎

Jonathan.

• § Jonathan or Jehonathan = "Jehovah has given"
• Jonathan, the name of ten Israelites

1) a son of king Saul and a friend of David
2) a son of the high priest Abiathar and the last descendant of Eli of whom we hear
3) one of David's mighty warriors
4) a Levite and father of Zechariah, a priest who blew the trumpet at the dedication of the wall
5) a son of Kareah and a brother of Johanan; a Judaite captain after the fall of Jerusalem
6) another Judaite
7) father of Ebed in the time of Ezra
8) son of Asahel in the time of Ezra
9) a priest of the family of Melicu in the time of Nehemiah
10) son of Joiada and his successor to the high priesthood in the time of Nehemiah

Extended Information

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Ezr.10.15
• son of: Asahel (עֲשָׂהאֵל)

Profile

Male • Ezra's opponents • Opposed divorcing foreigners, with Jahzeiah and Meshullam

Man living at the time of Exile and Return

Jonathan, along with Jahzeiah and Meshullam, opposed Ezra's demand to put away foreign wives.

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Ezr.10.15;
• only referred to as Jonathan יוֹנָתָן;
• a son of Asahel עֲשָׂהאֵל.

In the time of Ezra, a Jonathan is mentioned as one of the men who opposed Ezra's demand that Jewish men put away their foreign wives (Ezra 10:15). After the return from Babylonian exile, some Jewish men had married non-Jewish women, which Ezra saw as a violation of God's law. Ezra called for the people to separate themselves from the peoples around them and from their foreign wives (Ezra 10:11). However, Jonathan, along with Jahzeiah and Meshullam, took a stand against this. The text states that only these three men opposed Ezra in this matter, suggesting it was an unpopular minority position.

All entries for Jonathan: יוֹנָתָן

Related Profiles:

• Asahel (father)