Bebai turns up in the lists of families who came home after exile, and those lists are careful about small things. Ezra records “The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and three”, while Nehemiah’s roll gives six hundred twenty and eight. Later, a Zechariah son of Bebai travels with twenty-eight males, the sons of Bebai are named again in Ezra 10, and Bebai himself is among the names in Nehemiah 10. Scripture keeps these ordinary family details, differences and all, and each name stands for a household that mattered enough to be counted.
5 verses
The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and three.
And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males.
Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight.
Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
William Smith, 1884
(fatherly).
(1.) "Sons of Bebai," 623 (Nehe 6:28) in number, returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, (2:11; Nehemiah 7:16) (B.C. 536), and at a later period twenty-eight more under Zechariah, son of Bebai, returned with Ezra. (Ezra 8:11) Four of this family had taken foreign wives. (Ezra 10:28) The name occurs also among those who sealed the covenant. (Nehemiah 10:15)
(2.) Father of Zechariah, who was the leader of the twenty-eight men of his tribe mentioned above.