Bible Dictionary
Bezai
Bezai was the head of a family whose descendants returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. A man of the same name also sealed the covenant with Nehemiah.
Definition
Bezai is associated with a family whose descendants returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. The name is also borne by a chief who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah.
Biblical Usage
Bezai appears in postexilic lists of returning families and among those associated with the covenant sealed with Nehemiah. The descendants returning with Zerubbabel numbered slightly more than three hundred, according to the supplied accounts.
Historical Background
The family connected with Bezai returned from the Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel. A man named Bezai was also present in the community that subscribed the covenant in Nehemiah’s time.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(conqueror). “Children of Bezai,” to the number of 328, returned from captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:17; Nehemiah 7:23; 10:18)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>be'-za-i (betsay, "shining"(?)):</p><p>(1) A chief who with Nehemiah sealed the covenant (Ne 10:18).</p><p>(2) The descendants of Bezai returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem (323, Ezr 2:17; 324, Ne 7:23 = Bassai, 1 Esdras 5:16).</p>