Bebai בֵּבַי

Bebai is mentioned in Ezr.8.11 as the ancestor of a group of exiles who returned to Jerusalem with Ezra. The passage lists the men who joined Ezra in his journey from Babylon to Jerusalem, along with the numbers of their family members. Zechariah, a descendant of Bebai, is specifically named as the leader of this group, which consisted of 28 men. This return took place during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, who had authorized Ezra to lead a group of Israelites back to their homeland. The mention of Bebai's descendant and the size of the group indicates that Bebai's family had grown during the exile and that they were among those who chose to return to Jerusalem to support the restoration of the Jewish community and the temple.