the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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Bible Encyclopedias
Ethan
Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
or E´than (firm), one of four persons ('Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol') who were so renowned for their sagacity that it is mentioned to the honor of Solomon that his wisdom excelled theirs. In , Ethan is distinguished as 'the Ezrahite,' from the others, who are called 'sons of Mahol'—unless, indeed, this word Mahol be taken not as a proper name, but appellatively, for 'sons of music, dancing,' etc. in which case it would apply to Ethan as well as to the others. This interpretation is strengthened by our finding the other names associated with that of Ethan in , as 'sons of Zerah,' i.e.of Ezra, the same as Ezrahites. The evidence of identity afforded by this collocation of names is too strong to be resisted; and we must therefore conclude that Ethan and the others, the tradition of whose wisdom had descended to the time of Solomon, are the same who, in , appear as sons of Zerah, who was himself the son of the patriarch Judah. With this agrees the Jewish chronology, which counts them as prophets during the sojourn in Egypt.
Ethan, 2
Ethan, a Levite, the son of Kishi, and one of the masters of the Temple music (; ), to whom Psalms 89 is ascribed, and whom some interpreters suppose to be the Ethan of , to whose wisdom that of Solomon is compared.
Public Domain.
Kitto, John, ed. Entry for 'Ethan'. "Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature". https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/kbe/e/ethan.html.
