Lexical Summary Tel Charsha: Tel-harsha Original Word: תֵּל חַרְשָׁא Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Tel-haresha, Tel-harsa From tel and the feminine of Charashiym; mound of workmanship; Tel-Charsha, a place in Babylonia -- Tel-haresha, Tel-harsa. see HEBREW tel see HEBREW Charashiym NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom tel and charash Definition "mound of a craftsman," a city in Bab. NASB Translation Tel-harsha (2). Brown-Driver-Briggs תֵּל חַרְשָׁא proper name, of a location in Babylonia; — Ezra 2:59 = Nehemiah 7:16; Θααρησα, (Θελ)αρησα, etc., ᵐ5L Ezra Θαλαα καὶ Πησα. Topical Lexicon Geographical Setting Tel-harsha is listed among several towns in the eastern dispersion, almost certainly situated in Mesopotamia near the Tigris–Euphrates floodplain. The initial element “Tel” signals an artificial mound or tell, a common feature marking long-inhabited sites in that region. Though its precise coordinates are lost to history, its placement beside Tel-melah, Kerub, Addon, and Immer (Ezra 2:59; Nehemiah 7:61) points to a cluster of Jewish communities that had taken root far from Judah during the Babylonian captivity. Biblical Occurrences Ezra 2:59 records: “The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove that their families and ancestry were Israelite.” Nehemiah 7:61 restates the same report when Nehemiah recounts the returned exiles. In both passages Tel-harsha is not a person but the name of a locality from which certain deportees journeyed back to Judah in the days of Zerubbabel. The repetition in Ezra and Nehemiah emphasizes the meticulous preservation of post-exilic records. Historical Background 1. Post-Exilic Registration. After Cyrus’s decree, repatriated Jews were organized by family and hometown for the allotment of land, temple service, and civic responsibility. Those from Tel-harsha arrived lacking adequate genealogical documentation, perhaps because imperial relocations or the passage of generations erased archives that earlier households had maintained. Theological and Ministry Implications 1. Identity and Covenant Fidelity. Tel-harsha reminds readers that covenant membership carried historical continuity as well as personal faith. Genealogies safeguarded the messianic line and the proper administration of temple worship. Related Themes • Exile and Return – God’s discipline and restoration of His people. Tel-harsha therefore serves as a quiet but instructive witness: God knows every mound of exile, calls His people by name, and gathers them into His unfolding redemptive plan. Forms and Transliterations חַרְשָׁ֔א חרשא charSha ḥar·šā ḥaršāLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Ezra 2:59 HEB: מֶ֙לַח֙ תֵּ֣ל חַרְשָׁ֔א כְּר֥וּב אַדָּ֖ן NAS: up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, KJV: from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, INT: came Tel-melah Tel-harsha Cherub Addan Nehemiah 7:61 2 Occurrences |
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