Ban

BAN băn (A, Βάν; B, Βαινάν). A KJV and ASV name found in 1 Esdras 5:37, amended to TOBIAH in the RSV. His descendants were among the returning exiles who could not prove that “they were of Israel.” The parallel passages, Ezra 2:60 and Nehemiah 7:62, have Tobiah.

The Eng. word “ban” is found only in Ezra 10:8, as a tr. of בָּדַל, H976, (KJV separate). In this passage Ezra ordered all returned exiles to assemble in Jerusalem within three days and threatened that all who refused to do so would have their property confiscated and they themselves would be banned from the congregation of Israel. Some form of excommunication is evidently involved in this ban, but its exact form is unknown.

Bibliography

J. Pedersen, Israel, Its Life and Culture III-IV (1947), 26-32; P. Heinisch, Theology of the Old Testament (1950), 198, 199; W. F. Albright, From the Stone Age to Christianity (1957), 279-281; W. Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament, I (1961), 139-141; D. W. Thomas (Ed.), Documents from Old Testament Times (1962), 195-198.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

(A, Ban; B, Bainan; 1 Esdras 5:37 = Tobiah (Ezr 2:60; Ne 7:62); some manuscripts of the Septuagint read Boua): The descendants of Ban were not able to trace their ancestry to show "how they were of Israel."