What Does Ezra 2:31 Mean in the King James?
The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The second Elam has the same count as the first, yet the text keeps its lineage distinct.
THE MEANING
A people becomes visible through its distinct lines: this branch is named as another Elam and counted as 1,254. The number gives the returning community shape without making its families interchangeable.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A matching count does not make two lineages the same: Ezra 2:7 also counts 1,254 under Elam, while this verse names the other Elam separately.
THE ROOT
בְּנֵי
bənê
GROWS FROM
בנה
b-n-h
Build, establish.
The word for children belongs to the ben family, traditionally associated with banah, “to build.” Here the counted children are more than a headcount: they are the living continuation through which a people is built across generations.
ALSO GROWS
ben: Son, child.
בֵּן
The singular form shows the family line carried by each child in the count.
banah: Build, establish.
בָּנָה
This branch reveals the image beneath lineage: a people takes shape through the lives that continue it.
binyan: Building, structure.
בִּנְיָן
The shared word family gives the count a structural meaning: these lives form part of a continuing people.
THE PATTERN
A people becomes visible as its members are gathered, named, and counted into a shared life.
The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.THE THREAD
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.“Children” here and “children” in Ezra belong to the ben word family, traditionally linked with banah, “to build.” Ezra counts a lineage; this verse shows why that continuity carries weight: children are part of how a people is built forward.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us