Person Old Testament
Kallai
Kallai was a priest who served during the time of Joiakim, the son of Jeshua, after the Babylonian exile. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Nehemiah 12:20.
Why it matters. A priest during the time of Joiakim
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Kallai
Kallai is mentioned in Neh.12.20 as one of the priests who served during the time of Joiakim, the son of Jeshua. The context of the passage is the list of priests and Levites who served in the temple after the Babylonian exile (Neh.12.1-26).
Kallai is listed as the head of the priestly family of Sallai (Neh.12.20). This suggests that he was a prominent priest who led his family in their service at the temple during the post-exilic period.
The mention of Kallai in this list highlights the importance of the priestly families and their organization in the restored community of Israel. It also demonstrates the continuity of priestly service and the significance of the temple in the religious life of the people after the exile.
Apart from this brief mention in Nehemiah, no other information is provided about Kallai's life, specific role, or the duration of his service as a priest.
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.
Nehemiah (1 verse)