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H1784 · Hebrew · Old Testament
דִּינַי
Dinaiy
Proper noun, plural
the Dinaites; a people group in Samaria

Definition

Dinaiy (the Dinaites) appears in Ezra 4:9 as one of the groups that wrote to King Artaxerxes to oppose the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls. These were peoples transplanted into the former Northern Kingdom by Assyria, the syncretic population that became known as the Samaritans. Their opposition to the returning Jewish exiles was both political and religious.

Usage & Theological Significance

The opposition of the Dinaites and their compatriots represents a recurring biblical pattern: when God's people seek to rebuild what was destroyed, resistance arises. Nehemiah faces this; the early church faces it (Acts 4-5); missionaries face it today. The strategy of the adversary is to discourage, intimidate, and use official channels to halt God's work. Yet Jerusalem's walls went up despite every letter and opposition — because 'the people had a mind to work' (Nehemiah 4:6) and their God was greater than their opponents.

Key Verses

Ezra 4:9 Then Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River.
Nehemiah 4:6 So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
2 Kings 17:24 And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
Zechariah 4:6 Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

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