21
I announced a fast by the waterway that flows toward Ahava. I told the people not to eat any food. In that way, we made ourselves low in the sight of God. We prayed that he would give us and our children a safe journey. We asked him to keep safe everything we owned.
Reference
📍 Ahava
Greek: μέ (mé)
me
Hebrew: ʼănâʼ
I
Hebrew: ʼechâd
properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first
Greek: νηστεύω (nēsteúō)
to abstain from food (religiously)
Hebrew: ʼoçparnâʼ
diligently
Hebrew: ʻim
{adverb or preposition, with (i.e. in conjunction with), in varied applications; specifically, equally with; often with prepositional prefix (and then usually unrepresented in English)}
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Hebrew: zôw
this or that
Hebrew: neged
opposite
Hebrew: ʼAhăvâʼ
Ahava, a river of Babylonia
Greek: μέ (mé)
me
Hebrew: ʼănâʼ
I
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Greek: δῆμος (dēmos)
the public (as bound together socially)
Hebrew: ʻam
{a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock}
Greek: οὐδαμῶς (oudamōs)
by no means
Hebrew: ʼîyn
is it not?
Greek: γεύομαι (geúomai)
to taste; by implication, to eat; figuratively, to experience (good or ill)
Greek: ἕκαστος (hékastos)
each or every
Hebrew: nephesh
properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
Greek: διατροφή (diatrophḗ)
nourishment
Hebrew: bûwl
produce (of the earth, etc.)
Hebrew: zôw
this or that
Greek: πάροδος (párodos)
a by-road, i.e. (actively) a route
Hebrew: ʼôrach
a road
Hebrew: ʼănûw
we
Hebrew: ʼănachnûw
we
Hebrew: gâʻâh
to bellow (as cattle)
Greek: ὁ (ho)
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)
Hebrew: ʼillêyn
these
Greek: θεωρία (theōría)
spectatorship, i.e. (concretely) a spectacle
Hebrew: chăzôwth
a view
Greek: κύριος (kýrios)
supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller; by implication, Master (as a respectful title)
Hebrew: ʼĕlâhh
God
Hebrew: ʼănûw
we
Hebrew: zôw
this or that
Greek: ὅδε (hóde)
the same, i.e. this or that one (plural these or those); often used as a personal pronoun
Hebrew: hûwʼ
he (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same; sometimes (as demonstrative) this or that; occasionally (instead of copula) as or are
Greek: χορηγέω (chorēgéō)
to be a dance-leader, i.e. (generally) to furnish
Greek: ἡμεῖς (hēmeîs)
we (only used when emphatic)
Greek: καίγε (kaíge)
and at least (or even, indeed)
Hebrew: kîy
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
Greek: ἡμῖν (hēmîn)
to (or for, with, by) us
Hebrew: ʼechâd
properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first
Greek: ὁδεύω (hodeúō)
to travel
Hebrew: mahălâk
a walk, i.e. a passage or a distance
Hebrew: ʼănûw
we
Greek: τοῦτον (toûton)
this (person, as objective of verb or preposition)
Greek: διατηρέω (diatēréō)
to watch thoroughly, i.e. (positively and transitively) to observe strictly, or (negatively and reflexively) to avoid wholly
Hebrew: ʼâtsal
to separate; hence, to select, refuse, contract
Hebrew: ʼănûw
we
Parallel theme
2 Chronicles 20:3
Isaiah 30:21
1 Samuel 7:6
Leviticus 23:29
Leviticus 16:29
Isaiah 42:16
Psalm 5:8
Ezra 8:15
References God
Joel 1:14
Jonah 3:5
Verse Explanation
Ezra proclaimed a fast beside the Ahava Canal so the people could humble themselves before God and ask Him for protection during their journey. Ezra had told the king that God's hand was upon those who sought Him, so he did not want to rely solely on military protection.
History
c. 458 BC. The journey from Babylon to Judah was long and potentially dangerous, making protection an important concern.