Who was Shobai in the Bible?

Shobai was the ancestor of a family of gatekeepers who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile. His descendants were among the Levites entrusted with guarding the temple gates (Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45).

What was Shobai's role or significance?

Shobai's significance lies in his family's role as dedicated temple servants. As gatekeepers, his descendants were responsible for the security and order of the temple, a vital duty in the restored worship community after the exile.

What key event is Shobai associated with?

The key event associated with Shobai is the return from the Babylonian exile. He is listed among the families who journeyed back to Judah with Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple and restore worship in Jerusalem (Ezra 2:1-2, 42).

Shobai

Old TestamentExile & ReturnMaleReturned from exile

Shobai was the ancestor of a family of gatekeepers who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile.

Shobai

Biography

Shobai was the progenitor of a family of Levitical gatekeepers whose descendants returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua, as documented in Ezra 2:42 and Nehemiah 7:45. In both lists, 139 members of the house of Shobai are recorded as having made the return journey to the land of promise. The gatekeepers in ancient Israel held an important cultic function, guarding the entrances to the temple precincts and ensuring the sanctity of sacred space. By establishing that Shobai's family maintained this hereditary role upon return from exile, the text affirms the reconstitution of legitimate Levitical service as a cornerstone of the restored community.

Significance

Shobai's descendants represent the vital institutional continuity that the returning exiles sought to restore in Jerusalem. The detailed census of gatekeeper families in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 reflects the theological conviction that the renewed community must be ordered according to the pattern of the first temple era, with each family fulfilling its divinely appointed role. Gatekeepers symbolize the importance of maintaining the holiness of sacred space, a principle that runs throughout biblical theology from the cherubim guarding Eden to the heavenly gates of Revelation 21:12. Shobai's family, in resuming their post, participated in the tangible restoration of God's dwelling presence among his people.

Authority Records

Wikidata

Verse Appearances (2)

Ezra

Ezra 2:42

Nehemiah

Nehemiah 7:45

References

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

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