Ezra 2:1 – 70 The List of Returning Exiles (Nehemiah 7:4-69)
“Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar its king. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, 2accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
This is the count of the men of Israel: the descendants of Parosh, 2,172; the descendants of Shephatiah, 372; the descendants of Arah, 775; the descendants of Pahath-moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab), 2,812; the descendants of Elam, 1,254; the descendants of Zattu, 945; the descendants of Zaccai, 760; the descendants of Bani, 642; the descendants of Bebai, 623; the descendants of Azgad, 1,222; the descendants of Adonikam, 666; the descendants of Bigvai, 2,056; the descendants of Adin, 454; the descendants of Ater (through Hezekiah), 98; the descendants of Bezai, 323; the descendants of Jorah, 112; the descendants of Hashum, 223; the descendants of Gibbar, 95; the men of Bethlehem, 123; the men of Netophah, 56; the men of Anathoth, 128; the descendants of Azmaveth, 42; the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743; the men of Ramah and Geba, 621; the men of Michmash, 122; the men of Bethel and Ai, 223; the descendants of Nebo, 52; the descendants of Magbish, 156; the descendants of the other Elam, 1,254; the descendants of Harim, 320; the men of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725; the men of Jericho, 345; and the descendants of Senaah, 3,630.
The priests: The descendants of Jedaiah (through the house of Jeshua), 973; the descendants of Immer, 1,052; the descendants of Pashhur, 1,247; and the descendants of Harim, 1,017.
The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel (through the line of Hodaviah), 74.
The singers: the descendants of Asaph, 128.
The descendants of the gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai, 139 in all.
The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth, the descendants of Keros, the descendants of Siaha, the descendants of Padon, the descendants of Lebanah, the descendants of Hagabah, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hagab, the descendants of Shalmai, the descendants of Hanan, the descendants of Giddel, the descendants of Gahar, the descendants of Reaiah, the descendants of Rezin, the descendants of Nekoda, the descendants of Gazzam, the descendants of Uzza, the descendants of Paseah, the descendants of Besai, the descendants of Asnah, the descendants of Meunim, the descendants of Nephusim, the descendants of Bakbuk, the descendants of Hakupha, the descendants of Harhur, the descendants of Bazluth, the descendants of Mehida, the descendants of Harsha, the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Tamah, the descendants of Neziah, and the descendants of Hatipha.
The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Peruda, the descendants of Jaala, the descendants of Darkon, the descendants of Giddel, the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil, the descendants of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the descendants of Ami. The temple servants and descendants of the servants of Solomon numbered 392 in all.
The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, but could not prove that their families were descended from Israel: the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah, and the descendants of Nekoda, 652 in all.
And from among the priests: the descendants of Habaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name). These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
The whole assembly numbered 42,360, in addition to their 7,337 menservants and maidservants, as well as their 200 male and female singers. They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.
Offerings by the Exiles (Nehemiah 7:70-73) When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings to rebuild the house of God on its original site. According to their ability, they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priestly garments. (1,129.7 pounds or 512.4 kilograms of gold coins, 5,000 minas are approximately 3.14 tons or 2.85 metric tons of silver.)
So the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants, along with some of the people, settled in their own towns; and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.”
Ezra is describing the first group of Jews to return to Jerusalem – “The whole assembly numbered 42,360, in addition to their 7,337 menservants and maidservants, as well as their 200 male and female singers. They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.”
Pity Ezra the scribe! Ezra was attempting to record every family that returned from Persia to Jerusalem. Why were these detailed records so important? Tracing one’s family was essential if one were to be allowed to participate in temple worship, particularly as a priest. Notice that one group of men descended from the daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite, David’s friend, were unable to trace their ancestry convincingly and therefore were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. The priests postponed this decision until they could consult the Urim and Thummim.
Why didn’t all the Jews leave Babylon to return to Israel? Well, these people had been settled in Babylon for generations and were now comfortable. Those returning to Israel faced an uncertain future while those who remained in Babylon felt safe. When Ezra was listing families willing to take that risk, he was recording the names of pioneers, people willing to fulfill the Will of God by leaving the comforts of Babylon and risking their lives on a journey of several hundred miles to return to cities that lay in ruins. It was no small thing for a family to be listed here.
When the delegation reached Jerusalem, the heads of families donated a staggering amount of wealth to help rebuild the temple. Then all these people settled in their own towns.
APPLICATION: These days, tracing one’s ancestry has become big business. In some parts of the world, people can recite their ancestry for several generations. Ezra was carefully recording all these families because later their descendants would want verification of the contributions their families made to the rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem.
For priestly families, it was critically important to assure that only those who were fully qualified would minister in the temple. Priestly families also enjoyed certain perks, including sharing meat from offerings, etc. The children of priests had to be careful to marry into the proper families so that they would not accidently forfeit their privileges.
For those of us who serve the One True Living God, we are doubly blessed. No matter who our fathers are, we have a Heavenly Father who is the King of Heaven. While the priests had to continue to offer sacrifices, our sins have been paid for by the blood sacrifice Jesus made on the cross at Calvary. So while it’s nice to know where we have come from, what’s more important is our eventual destination: heaven.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You for sending Jesus to die for our sins so that we aren’t dependent on where we have come from or who our families are. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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