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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadInternational Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Ira
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ı̄´ra (עיר×, ‛ı̄raÌ„); ΕἲÏας, EıÌras):
(1) A person referred to in as “priest†(so the Revised Version (British and American) correctly; the King James Version “a chief ruler,†the American Standard Revised Version “chief ministerâ€) unto David. The translation of the Revised Version (British and American) is the only possible one; but, according to the text, Ira was “a Jairite,†and thus of the tribe of Manasseh () and not eligible to the priesthood. On the basis of the Peshitta some would correct “Jairite†of into “Jattirite,†referring to Jattir, a priestly city within the territory of Judah (). Others point to margin, “David's sons were priests,†as an indication that in David's time some non-Levites were permitted to serve - in some sense - as priests.
(2) An “Ithrite,†or (with a different pointing of the text) a “Jattirite,†one of David's “thirty†( parallel ); possibly identical with (1).
(3) Another of David's “thirty,†son of Ikkesh of Tekoa (; ) and a captain of the temple guard ().