Hashabiah (Descendant of Merari)

Biblical Account

Hashabiah was a Levite who belonged to the company of returnees led by Ezra. His name is often interpreted to mean "the LORD has taken account" in Hebrew. Several people with this name appear in the Bible; this article deals with the Hashabiah of Ezra 8.

According to Ezra 8:15–20, after Ezra gathered the people by the river Ahava, he found that there were no Levites among the returnees. He sent messengers to Iddo at the place Casiphia to request men to serve in the temple. In response, Sherebiah of the sons of Mahli came, and Hashabiah also came, together with Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari and his brethren and their sons, twenty in all (Ezra 8:19).

After fasting and seeking a safe journey (Ezra 8:21–23), Ezra set apart twelve of the chief of the priests, along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren. He then weighed out to them the offering that the king and his counselors had given for the temple (Ezra 8:24–27). The offering consisted of 650 talents of silver, silver vessels weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, twenty basins of gold, and two vessels of fine copper. Ezra told them, "Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also," and charged them to guard the offering until it was weighed again in the chambers of the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 8:28–29). The company arrived safely in Jerusalem, and on the fourth day the offering was delivered to the temple by number and by weight (Ezra 8:31–34).

Significance Within Scripture

Hashabiah illustrates the role that Levites played in the return from exile and the restoration of temple worship after the Babylonian exile. Ezra 8 emphasizes that men set apart as holy took charge of holy offerings and handed them over exactly as they had received them. He is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Issues

• The scope of "twelve of the chief of the priests": The KJV renders Ezra 8:24 as "I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them," which reads as though Sherebiah and Hashabiah were among the twelve priests. However, the two men are introduced as Levites in the preceding verses, and 8:30 records that "the priests and the Levites" received the offering. For this reason, many commentators and some English translations read the verse as "twelve of the chief priests, together with the Levites Sherebiah and Hashabiah and ten of their brethren."
• Relationship to others of the same name: Some identify this figure with the Hashabiah of Nehemiah 10:11 (a Levite who sealed the covenant) and of 12:24 (a chief of the Levites named alongside Sherebiah). The text alone, however, does not settle the question. The various men named Hashabiah in Chronicles, the ruler of the district of Keilah in Nehemiah 3:17, and the Hashabiah of a priestly family in 12:21 are different individuals.

In the Korean Church

Hashabiah is rarely the subject of a sermon in his own right. In sermons on Ezra 8 he is sometimes cited as an example of a faithful steward who guarded the offerings entrusted to him, and in such cases the passage may be applied to the handling of offerings and to transparency in church finances.