BILGAH (bĭl'ga, cheerfulness)

Head of the fifteenth course of priests in David’s time (1Chr.24.14).A priest who returned with Zerubbabel in 536 b.c. (Neh.12.5).


BILGAH bĭl’ gə (בִּלְגָּֽה, brightness). 1. The head of the fifteenth course of priests in the time of David (1 Chron 24:14).

2. A leading priest who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel (Neh 12:5, 18).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

bil’-ga-i (bilgah; bilgay, "cheerfulness"): A priest or priestly family in the time of the Return (Ne 12:5), and (under the form of "Bilgai," Ne 10:8) in the time of Nehemiah. According to 1Ch 24:14, Bilgah is the 15th of the 24 divisions of the priests who officiated in the Temple. In the Septuagint, the names read Belgai, Belga and Balgas. The traditional explanation of the name is "rejuvenation"; modern exegetes explain it as "cheerfulness."