Ezra 8:24

(b) Provision for the custody of the votive gifts and offerings during the march

24. twelve of the chief of the priests R.V. twelve of the chiefs of the priests. Literally -twelve of the princes of the priests". The R.V. margin adds, In Nehemiah 12:24, Levites.

Sherebiah, Hashabiah R.V. even Sherebiah, Hashabiah. Marg. besides. The exact meaning is not very evident.

(a) The A.V. follows the Vulgate, "et separavi de principibus sacerdotum duodecim, Sarabiam et Hasabiam et cum eis de fratribus eorum decem". The preposition which in the original stands before -Sherebiah" is then treated (as in Ezra 8:16) as the sign of the object. The objection to this is that Sherebiah and Hashabiah seem to have been Levites.

(b) The LXX. translates the preposition as the sign of the dative, "And I assigned of the chiefs of the priests twelve unto Sherebiah, &c." (καὶ διέστειλα … τῷ Σαραΐᾳ). The objection to be made to this rendering is that it represents the priests as placed in a subordinate position to those who were Levites.

(c) 1Es 8:54 and Eresibia (καὶ Ἐρεσιβίαν) suggests another reading (ו for ל), "And I separated … twelve and Sherebiah, &c."

(d) The same result is obtained by the rendering of the R.V. margin, which is to be preferred, "I separated twelve of the chiefs of the priests, besidesSherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brethren with them", i.e. 12 priests in addition to12 Levites (Sherebiah, Hashabiah and their 10 brethren). Accepting this rendering, we see that Ezra selected two groups of twelve, one of priests, the other of Levites, to act as guardians of the treasure, which agrees with Ezra 8:30. The names of Sherebiah and Hashabiah are for some reason specially mentioned, either being the best known of the twenty-four, or perhaps alone recorded in the chronicle employed by the compiler. The only other explanation possible, that of the R.V. text, is that Sherebiah and Hashabiah were two of -the chiefs of the priests" and not to be identified with the Levites of the same name in Nehemiah 12:24. This gives a satisfactory meaning, according to which Ezra selected twelve -chiefs of priests" to act as custodians. But (1) the clause -and ten of their brethren with them", after the previous mention of the -twelve", rather denotes a second group of the same number: (2) it is expressly stated in Ezra 8:30, -the priests and the Levitesreceived the weight of the silver, &c.", while according to the R.V. text the Levites were not of the number.