Zabbud is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Zabbud was one of the men who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile, listed in the Book of Ezra among the company that came up with Ezra in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. He is identified specifically as a son of Bigvai, meaning he belonged to the family or clan of Bigvai, one of the groups of returning exiles. He is named alongside Uthai, another man of the same family line, and the two of them led a contingent of seventy males who traveled with them.
The setting is the great return from Babylon described in Ezra 8. Ezra had gathered these pilgrims at the river Ahava, where they camped three days before setting out for Jerusalem. This was a journey of faith and restoration, carrying the people of God back to the land of their fathers and to the house of the LORD. Zabbud’s place in that company was small but real: he was one of the named leaders of a family group, responsible for seventy men on the road.
Scripture says nothing further about Zabbud beyond this single verse. We are told no word he spoke, no deed he performed, no later role he filled. He appears once in the King James Bible, in a list, and then passes from the record. What we know of him is that he answered the call to return, and that he did not go alone but brought others with him.
The Name
The name Zabbud is a Hebrew name, and its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the biblical text. Some have suggested a connection to a root carrying the sense of “given” or “endowed,” but this is not established with confidence, and the name appears only here in Scripture. It is best to say plainly that the meaning of this name is uncertain rather than to assign it a definition the text does not support.
A Closing Thought
Most of us will never be remembered in a list. Zabbud’s entire legacy in Scripture is one line among many names. Yet that line records something true: he came back. He left exile, he brought seventy others with him, and he set his face toward the house of God. Faithfulness is often quiet and unnamed in the eyes of the world, but God keeps the record. If your life is hidden and your part seems small, take heart. The One who numbered the returning exiles has not forgotten your name either.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Ezra 8:14 — Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.