H7868 H7868
elder(s); Aramaic term for the grey-haired community leaders, used as a technical title in Ezra
An Aramaic verb meaning 'to be hoary, grey-haired,' used exclusively as a participle functioning as a noun — 'elders.' It serves as a technical administrative title in the Aramaic sections of Ezra, referring to the Jewish community leaders who oversaw the rebuilding of the Second Temple. These elders negotiated with Persian officials (Ezra 5:5, 9) and received royal authorization to continue building (6:7-8, 14). The term parallels the Hebrew zaqen but belongs to the Aramaic administrative vocabulary of the Persian period.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Elders — a technical administrative title for the senior leaders of the Jewish community during the Persian period, derived from the Aramaic root meaning 'to be grey-haired.' All five occurrences appear in Ezra's Aramaic correspondence sections (5:5, 9; 6:7, 8, 14), always in construct with 'of the Jews.' English and Spanish translate transparently ('elders,' 'ancianos'), while German and French transcriptions reflect the difficulty of the Aramaic form. The term designates the authoritative body that directed Temple reconstruction under Zerubbabel. 5×
AR["الشُّيُوخ-", "شُيُوخ", "وَ-شُيُوخ"]·ben["আর-প্রাচীনদের", "আর-প্রাচীনেরা", "প্রাচীনদের"]·DE["Gefangene", "[ולשבי]", "[לשביא]", "und-Gefangene"]·EN["and-the-elders-of", "elders-of", "the-elders-of", "to-elders"]·FR["[ולשבי]", "[ושבי]", "[לשביא]", "[שבי]"]·heb["ו-ל-שבי", "ו-שבי", "ל-שביא", "שבי"]·HI["और-प्राचीन", "और-प्राचीनों-ने", "प्राचीनों", "प्राचीनों-से"]·ID["Dan-para-tua-tua", "dan-para-tua-tua", "kepada-para-tua-tua", "para-tua-tua"]·IT["anziano", "e-anziano"]·jav["dhateng-para-pinituha", "lan-para-pinituha", "para-Yahudi", "para-pinituha"]·KO["그-장로들", "그리고-그-장로들", "그리고-에게-그-장로들", "에게-그-장로들", "장로들"]·PT["aos-anciãos", "e-os-anciãos-de", "os-anciãos-de"]·RU["И-старейшины", "и-старейшины", "старейшин", "старейшинами"]·ES["a-los-ancianos", "ancianos-de", "los-ancianos-de", "y-a-los-ancianos-de", "y-los-ancianos-de"]·SW["na-wazee", "wazee"]·TR["Ve-yaslilari", "ve-yaslilarini", "yaslilara", "yaslilarin", "yaslilarinin"]·urd["اور-بزرگ", "اور-لے-بزرگ", "بزرگوں", "لے-بزرگوں"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [שִׂיב] vb. be hoary (v. BH);— Pe. Pt. pl. as subst. = elders, term. techn., abs. שָׂבֵי יְהוּדָיֵא Ezr 5:5; 6:7, 8, 14; so emph. שָׂבַיָּא 5:9.