What Does Ezra 2:56 Mean?
The children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
The children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,THE KEY
The repeated “children of” makes belonging visible as a named line carried forward.
THE MEANING
Jaalah, Darkon, and Giddel are named as distinct family lines within the larger people. Their names remain in the record, showing how belonging is carried through relationships and remembered across generations.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Only famous names deserve a place in the record.
THE ROOT
בְּנֵי
bənê
GROWS FROM
בנה
Build, establish.
The Hebrew word for “children” is linked to the root meaning “build.” A family line is pictured not only as descent but as something built and carried forward through its children.
ALSO GROWS
bānāh: To build.
בָּנָה
The shared root lets “children” and “building” echo one another: a named line helps carry a household forward.
bēn: Son; child.
בֵּן
This singular form shares the root with בְּנֵי, the word repeated in the verse, keeping the focus on descent as a living connection.
גִּדֵּל
Giddēl
GROWS FROM
גדל
Grow, become great.
Giddel’s name is commonly understood in relation to גדל, “to grow” or “become great.” Set among the repeated family lines, the name carries a sense of growth within the record of belonging.
ALSO GROWS
gādōl: Great; large.
גָּדוֹל
This adjective grows from the same root as Giddel’s name, giving the name an echo of enlargement.
gedullāh: Greatness; grandeur.
גְּדֻלָּה
This noun shows the root’s movement from growing to the state of greatness, adding depth to Giddel’s name.
THE PATTERN
A people’s continuity is made visible through named family lines.
These are the births of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and sons were born to them after the flood.These sought their register among those who were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found. Therefore were they, as soiled, put from the priesthood.And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years old, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, who was the son of Heli.THE THREAD
A Song of degrees for Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders toil in emptiness. Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in emptiness.The Hebrew word בְּנֵי (bənê, “children”) is linked to בנה (banah, “build”), the root used here for “build.” The shared root lets a family line be heard as part of a house built across generations.
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