Lexical Definition

‎שַׁבְּתַי‎ Shabbᵉthay (shab-beth-ah'-ee) Shabbethai ^N:N-M-P
from ‎שַׁבָּת‎; restful

Shabbethai.

• § Shabbethai = "sabbatical"
• Shabbethai, the name of three Israelites

1) a Levite in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah

Extended Information

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Ezr.10.15

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎שַׁבְּתַי‎ proper name Levite: — Ezra 10:15; Neh 8:7; Neh 11:16 Σαβ(β)αθαι, etc.

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Male • Ezra's opponent • Levite who opposed Ezra's marriage reforms

Man living at the time of Exile and Return

Shabbethai, a Levite, opposed Ezra's efforts to address the issue of intermarriage among the returned exiles.

• A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Ezr.10.15;
• only referred to as Shabbethai שַׁבְּתַי.

Shabbethai, mentioned in Ezra 10:15, was a Levite who, along with Meshullam and Jahzeiah, opposed Ezra's efforts to address the problem of intermarriage among the Jewish people who had returned from the Babylonian exile. Ezra had called for a assembly of all the returned exiles in Jerusalem to confront the issue of marriages with foreign women, which was contrary to God's law. Shabbethai and the others stood against this decision, possibly arguing for a more gradual or lenient approach to the situation. Despite their opposition, the assembly agreed with Ezra, and steps were taken to put away the foreign wives and their children.

All entries for Shabbethai: שַׁבְּתַי