Sometimes, it takes a village. And when it came to the time when the Israelite captives had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, it took a village to rebuild the walls, read the law, and go about right living again. Priests, leaders, and artisans alike took a stand in solidarity to turn back to God, including two people who went by the name Anaiah (sometimes Ananias) in the Bible.
Today, we will uncover the two people named Anaiah in the Bible and what they did during the book of Nehemiah when Israel returned from its captivity.
Anaiah’s name means “Yahweh has answered.” Many of the Israelites felt like their prayers hadn’t been answered during the 70-year captivity.
For those unfamiliar with the history of the captivity, I will uncover it below.
Israel had split into two kingdoms during the time of the kings. The very evil northern kingdom and the mostly evil southern kingdom. They turned after idols, engaged in child sacrifice, and even committed acts of cannibalism when their cities lay under siege.
God had mercy on both kingdoms, especially the southern kingdom, when they had a few good kings.
Kings such as Josiah and Hezekiah had allowed God’s anger to be abated for some time.
God’s justice eventually spilled over, and both kingdoms were taken into captivity (722 BC for the northern kingdom and 586 BC for the southern kingdom).
Babylon attacked the southern kingdom, taking out the best of the best (the rich and powerful) and transplanting them into its kingdom. For 70 years, Babylon was apart from Jerusalem, limited in how it could go about its religious activities.
Eventually, however, God allowed them back into their kingdom after seven decades. Some prominent figures in the return and rebuilding of Jerusalem included Nehemiah (their leader), Ezra, and Zerubbabel.
When they returned, a number of things took place. They built a wall to protect the city, rebuilt the temple, and read the law—joining together in a covenant that they would return to God and not allow themselves to fall away again.
Our first person, Anaiah, most likely a Levite priest, enters the picture here. As Ezra stands on a wooden platform to read the Law, Anaiah stands to his right in solidarity and religious duty.
The Levites would have carried out all the priestly duties in Israel, while Anaiah would have performed the sacrifices and led the people in worship of God.
Unfortunately, the passage doesn’t tell us much about Anaiah—only that he happened to be present during a very important occasion.
Ezra, during this time, reads the Law. It serves as a reminder to the people how far they strayed from God. And yet, it also reminded them of the times when God had mercy when his people turned to him again. It was a revival, and Anaiah participated in it.
Just two chapters later, in Nehemiah 10, the second instance of the name Anaiah appears. Anaiah is one of the people's leaders.
With the religious people and governors, Anaiah seals an important document—a covenant between Israel and God. Israel promises not to turn away from God again and to remember the law.
If this covenant were broken, they would understand that God could allow them to be taken into captivity again. To allow foreign nations to invade them again.
Anaiah, the leader, probably believed very strongly in the cause. Unfortunately, Israel did not uphold its end of the deal. Foreign nations eventually took them over. We see that Rome had taken over during the time of Christ.
Hence why, Israel so desperately wanted Christ to overthrow the Romans.
In extra-biblical books such as Esdras, other figures are named Anaiah or Ananias. We should always take them with a grain of salt.
But one that we should note is a man who gave up his Gentile wife.
When the Israelites returned from Babylon, they saw what had happened to the northern kingdom. Several Israelite people had married foreign wives and formed what was known as the Samaritans in Jesus’ time.
The Jewish people had viewed the Samaritans as traitors since they blended Jewish practices with Gentile ones.
To avoid following in their footsteps, during the time of Ezra, men of Israel were commanded to part with their Gentile wives to pursue, instead, Jewish ones.
We can imagine that the Ananias mentioned in the extra-biblical canon did the same thing.
We should note that God never condones this particular practice in the book of Ezra or Nehemiah. We see plenty of examples of interracial marriage throughout the Bible, including for those who had married into the Israelite nation (Ruth, Rahab, Moses’ wife, etc.).
Nevertheless, this also gives us a backdrop for the political tensions we see at play during Jesus's time. It explains why the Israelites hated the Gentiles so much, including the Samaritans, and why Jesus’ radical plan to bring the Jewish people and Gentiles together under one kingdom would’ve been so wild to the people at the time.
Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t provide much information about Ananiah. It never says, “Anaiah the Levite had a really nice temper,” or “Anaiah the ruler didn’t know how to control his anger.” We see no character, very little background, and very little of anything about either of these men.
And unfortunately, even in the extra-canonical books, we don’t get much to go off of.
With that said, we can still glean three strong life lessons from the lives of these men.
First, revival is a group effort.
We can now picture the number of people who stood on Ezra’s right side as he read the Law. They stood in solidarity.
Furthermore, several names were on the sealed document in Nehemiah 10, not just Anaiah’s.
If we want a revival, we must know it takes more than one person. It takes unity and an entire village.
Second, things happen in Scripture that God doesn’t condone.
We never see God condone marriage splitting up in the Books of Ezra or Nehemiah.
Many times, people look at the Bible and say, “Well, see, this happened. And God didn’t do anything about it, so he must be okay with XYZ.”
When in reality, we have a merciful God who allows us to live when we all ought to deserve death.
I can’t imagine God would’ve been happy with the splitting up of marriages, including that of Anaiah. God hates divorce, after all.
Finally, God will answer us.
I love the meaning of the name Anaiah because it is a beautiful answer that God hears us and will eventually answer us.
I can only imagine how much the Israelites hurt during the 70-year captivity. They probably often felt like their prayers had gone unanswered.
And maybe you’ve entered a similar period of life where God feels a million miles away. And yet, Anaiah—God answers. God will not let you endure your trial forever. He has heard your prayer and is working behind the scenes for your good, just like he was for Israel all those years ago.
Photo Credit:©Getty Images/pcess609
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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