Person Old Testament
Bezalel
Also known as Bezalel =ESV, NIV; Bezaleel =KJV
Bezalel, one of the descendants of Pahath-moab, married a foreign wife during the time of Ezra. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Ezra 10:30.
Why it matters. Israelite who married a foreign wife
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Bezalel
Bezalel was an Israelite mentioned among the descendants of Pahath-moab who had married foreign wives during the time of Ezra (Ezr. 10:30). After the return from Babylonian exile, Ezra discovered that many Israelites, including priests and Levites, had intermarried with the neighboring peoples, contrary to God's commands. This posed a threat to the spiritual purity and distinct identity of the Jewish community. Ezra called for a assembly, where the people confessed their sin and agreed to separate from their foreign wives. Bezalel was one of the individuals who had taken this step, demonstrating repentance and a commitment to follow God's laws. This event highlights the importance of maintaining religious and cultural purity among the returned exiles as they sought to rebuild their lives in the Promised Land.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Ezra (1 verse)