The Sons of Bani - Ezra 10:29

In the book of Ezra, Ezra began to name the offspring of the children of Israel who put away their strange wives by listing, “the sons of Immer; Harim and Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah; Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer; Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; and of the sons of Elam; and of the sons of Zattu; of the sons also of Bebai”, and in chapter ten and verse twenty-nine of Ezra, Ezra added “the sons also of Bani”, where we read,

And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.

The verse reads, “Of the sons of Bani;” Ezra began with the words, “and of the sons” or “and pertaining to the male offspring and progeny” “of Bani” which means “belonging to Bani whose name means built”. Ezra shared how the male offspring of “Bani” were included in the group of men in Israel who married foreign wives and became separated from them. 

The verse continues, “Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.” Ezra added the word, “Meshullam” whose name means “friend”, “Malluch” or “counselor”, “and Adaiah” whose name means “Jehovah has adorned himself”, “Jashub” or “he will return”, “and Sheal” which means “asking”, “and Ramoth” or “He is Most High”. Ezra shared how the men whose names mean, “friend, counselor, Jehovah has adorned himself, he will return, asking and He is Most High” were among the men of Israel who put away their pagan wives.

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Ezra about more of the men of Israel who were guilty of marrying women from foreign nations. “Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Ramoth” were the male offspring of “Bani”, and they repented and changed their ways at the charge of Ezra. God wants the same for us. He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we yield our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and teach us the value of every person to Him. 

Next time Ezra mentions, “the sons of Pahathmoab”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".