Lexical Definition

‎מַתְּנַי‎ Mattᵉnay (mat-ten-ah'ee) Mattenai ^N:N-M-P
from ‎מַתָּן‎; liberal

Mattenai.

• § Mattenai = "gift of Jehovah"
• Mattenai, the name of three Israelites

1) a priest, son of Joiarib, in the time of Joiakim
2) an Israelite who had and put away his foreign wife in the time of Ezra
3) another Israelite who had and put away his foreign wife in the time of Ezra

Extended Information

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.12.19

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎מַתְּנַי‎ proper name, masculine (abbreviated from foregoing); — ᵐ5 Μαθ(θ)ανια, Μαθθαναι; —

1. a priest Neh 12:19.

2. name of two who took strange wives:
a. Ezra 10:33.
b. vEzra 10:37.

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Male • Returned priest • Priest during the time of Joiakim.

Man living at the time of Exile and Return

Mattenai was a priest who served during the time of Joiakim (Neh.12.19).

• A priest living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.12.19;
• only referred to as Mattenai מַתְּנַי.

Mattenai was a priest who lived during the time of Joiakim, the high priest who served after the Babylonian exile. In the list of priests and Levites who returned to Jerusalem, Mattenai is mentioned as the head of the priestly family of Joiarib (Nehemiah 12:19). This suggests that Mattenai was a prominent figure among the priests during this period of Jewish history, as the Israelites sought to reestablish their religious practices and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

All entries for Mattenai: מַתְּנַי