Ahava

Ahava, a location near Babylon where Ezra gathered the exiles before their return to Jerusalem.

The name Ahava means “essence; being; generation”

PlaceOld Testament1 book3 verses

Summary

A location first mentioned at Ezra 8:15; only referred to as Ahava (אַהֲוָא).

Location

Identified as
within 250 km of Babylon 1
Certainty
Likely (71% of scholarship) · 4 other possible locations
Coordinates
32.543° N, 44.422° E
Ahava
See it on the map of biblical places

Glossary entries

Ahava

Alternative names

Mentions

  1. Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there.
  2. And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
  3. On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands of the enemies and bandits along the way.