Person Old Testament
Kelaiah
Also known as Kelita
Kelaiah, also known as Kelita, was a Levite who had married a foreign woman and pledged to put her away during Ezra's reform. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Ezra 10:23.
Why it matters. A Levite who married a foreign woman
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Kelaiah
Kelaiah, also known as Kelita, is mentioned in Ezr.10.23 as one of the Levites who had married foreign women during the time of Ezra. The context of the passage is Ezra's reform, where he addressed the issue of intermarriage between the Israelites and the pagan peoples of the land (Ezra 9-10).
Kelaiah is listed among the Levites who had taken foreign wives (Ezr.10.23). As part of the covenant made by the people to put away their foreign wives and children, Kelaiah would have been required to separate from his foreign wife (Ezr.10.10-11).
The name Kelaiah is used interchangeably with Kelita in this passage, indicating that they refer to the same person. The use of both names may suggest that Kelaiah was his given name, while Kelita was a surname or an alternative name.
Apart from this mention in the context of Ezra's reform, no other information is provided about Kelaiah's background, specific role, or the circumstances surrounding his marriage to a foreign woman.
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)