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Elioenai

Old TestamentExile & ReturnMaleReturned divorcee

Elioenai was an Israelite who married a foreign woman during the Babylonian exile (Ezr.10.27).

Elioenai illustration
Elioenai

Biography

This Elioenai was an Israelite layman, a descendant of the clan of Zattu, who was listed among those identified in Ezra's reform as having taken a foreign wife during the period following the return from Babylonian exile (Ezra 10:27). The clan of Zattu was one of the returning family groups documented in Ezra 2:8, and several of its members appear in the lists of those affected by the intermarriage crisis. As part of the assembly called by Ezra, those identified pledged to send away their foreign wives, an act of covenant renewal that carried profound personal and social cost. Elioenai's compliance with the reform represented a choice to prioritize communal covenant fidelity over personal domestic arrangements.

Significance

Elioenai of Zattu represents the laypeople of the post-exilic community who faced the difficult call to covenant renewal at significant personal cost. Ezra's reform (Ezra 9–10) is theologically complex, it involved painful personal sacrifice in service of communal holiness and the preservation of Israel's distinct covenant identity. The inclusion of laypersons like Elioenai alongside priests and Levites in the reform lists demonstrates that the call to holiness extended to every stratum of the community. His story reflects the broader biblical theme that belonging to God's covenant people carries obligations that sometimes require surrendering legitimate personal attachments in deference to the community's calling and God's commands.

Authority Records
FatherNeariahChildHodaiahChildEliashibChildPelaiahChildAkkubChildJohananChildDalaiahChildAnani

Verse Appearances (1)

References

  1. Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
  2. Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
  3. Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
  4. Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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