Lexical Definition

‎כָּסִפְיָא‎ Kâçiphyâʼ (kaw-sif-yaw') Casiphia ^N:N--L
perhaps from ‎כֶּסֶף‎; silvery

Casiphia.

• § Casiphia = "silvery"
• Casiphja, a place in Babylon

1) a place in Babylonia on the road between Babylon and Jerusalem; site uncertain

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎כָּסִפְיָא‎ proper name, of a location in Babylonia, site un-known: — ‎הַמָּקוֺם‎ ‎׳‎‎בְּכ‎ Ezra 8:17 (twice in verse) ᵐ5 B ἐν ἀργυρίῳ, ᵐ5^L ἐν Μασφεν Esdr a, τῶν γαζοφυλακίων, γαζοφύλαξιν Esdr β. ‎כֶּסֶת‎ see below II. ‎כסה‎.

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

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Casiphia • Place where Levites were recruited for temple service

Casiphia was a place in Babylon where Ezra sent for Levites to join the returning exiles in Jerusalem.

• A location near Hamath חֲמָת first mentioned at Ezr.8.17;
• only referred to as Casiphia כָּסִפְיָא.
  

Casiphia is mentioned only once in the Bible, in Ezra 8:17, as a place in Babylon where Levites were recruited to join the exiles returning to Jerusalem. During the reign of the Persian king Artaxerxes, Ezra led a group of Jews back to Jerusalem to restore worship at the temple. At the river Ahava, Ezra discovered that there were no Levites among the returning exiles (Ezra 8:15).

Ezra then sent a delegation to Casiphia, where a man named Iddo was the leader, to request that Levites be sent to join the returning group (Ezra 8:17). In response to this request, a number of Levites and temple servants were sent from Casiphia to accompany Ezra and the other exiles to Jerusalem (Ezra 8:18-20).

The exact location of Casiphia is unknown, but it was likely a settlement in Babylon where a community of Levites lived during the exile. This passage highlights the importance of the Levites in the restoration of temple worship and the care taken by Ezra to ensure that all the necessary personnel were present for the proper functioning of the temple in Jerusalem.

All entries for Casiphia: כָּסִפְיָא