Ezra 2: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

This chapter lists the Jewish exiles who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem and Judah, counted family by family and town by town. It records the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants, along with people who could not prove their Israelite ancestry and priests who were kept from priestly food until a priest with Urim and Thummim could decide their case. It ends with the total number of the assembly, their servants, singers, and animals, the gifts some family heads gave toward rebuilding the house of the LORD, and the note that they settled in their own towns.

Claim by Claim

1. 2:1
   • These are the people of the province who went up out of the captivity.
   • They had been carried away into exile.
   • Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried them away to Babylon.
   • They returned to Jerusalem and Judah.
   • Each one returned to his own city.
2. 2:2
   • They came with Zerubbabel.
   • Jeshua came with them.
   • Nehemiah came with them.
   • Seraiah came with them.
   • Reelaiah came with them.
   • Mordecai came with them.
   • Bilshan came with them.
   • Mizpar came with them.
   • Bigvai came with them.
   • Rehum came with them.
   • Baanah came with them.
   • What follows is the number of the men of the people of Israel.
3. 2:3
   • The sons of Parosh numbered two thousand one hundred seventy-two.
4. 2:4
   • The sons of Shephatiah numbered three hundred seventy-two.
5. 2:5
   • The sons of Arah numbered seven hundred seventy-five.
6. 2:6
   • The sons of Pahath-moab, belonging to the sons of Jeshua and Joab, numbered two thousand eight hundred twelve.
7. 2:7
   • The sons of Elam numbered one thousand two hundred fifty-four.
8. 2:8
   • The sons of Zattu numbered nine hundred forty-five.
9. 2:9
   • The sons of Zaccai numbered seven hundred sixty.
10. 2:10
    • The sons of Bani numbered six hundred forty-two.
11. 2:11
    • The sons of Bebai numbered six hundred twenty-three.
12. 2:12
    • The sons of Azgad numbered one thousand two hundred twenty-two.
13. 2:13
    • The sons of Adonikam numbered six hundred sixty-six.
14. 2:14
    • The sons of Bigvai numbered two thousand fifty-six.
15. 2:15
    • The sons of Adin numbered four hundred fifty-four.
16. 2:16
    • The sons of Ater, of the line of Hezekiah, numbered ninety-eight.
17. 2:17
    • The sons of Bezai numbered three hundred twenty-three.
18. 2:18
    • The sons of Jorah numbered one hundred twelve.
19. 2:19
    • The sons of Hashum numbered two hundred twenty-three.
20. 2:20
    • The sons of Gibbar numbered ninety-five.
21. 2:21
    • The sons of Bethlehem numbered one hundred twenty-three.
22. 2:22
    • The men of Netophah numbered fifty-six.
23. 2:23
    • The men of Anathoth numbered one hundred twenty-eight.
24. 2:24
    • The sons of Azmaveth numbered forty-two.
25. 2:25
    • The sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth numbered seven hundred forty-three.
26. 2:26
    • The sons of Ramah and Geba numbered six hundred twenty-one.
27. 2:27
    • The men of Michmas numbered one hundred twenty-two.
28. 2:28
    • The men of Bethel and Ai numbered two hundred twenty-three.
29. 2:29
    • The sons of Nebo numbered fifty-two.
30. 2:30
    • The sons of Magbish numbered one hundred fifty-six.
31. 2:31
    • The sons of the other Elam numbered one thousand two hundred fifty-four.
32. 2:32
    • The sons of Harim numbered three hundred twenty.
33. 2:33
    • The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono numbered seven hundred twenty-five.
34. 2:34
    • The sons of Jericho numbered three hundred forty-five.
35. 2:35
    • The sons of Senaah numbered three thousand six hundred thirty.
36. 2:36
    • What follows is the count of the priests.
    • The sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, numbered nine hundred seventy-three.
37. 2:37
    • The sons of Immer numbered one thousand fifty-two.
38. 2:38
    • The sons of Pashhur numbered one thousand two hundred forty-seven.
39. 2:39
    • The sons of Harim numbered one thousand seventeen.
40. 2:40
    • What follows is the count of the Levites.
    • The sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the line of Hodaviah, numbered seventy-four.
41. 2:41
    • What follows is the count of the singers.
    • The sons of Asaph numbered one hundred twenty-eight.
42. 2:42
    • What follows is the count of the sons of the gatekeepers.
    • The gatekeepers included the sons of Shallum.
    • The gatekeepers included the sons of Ater.
    • The gatekeepers included the sons of Talmon.
    • The gatekeepers included the sons of Akkub.
    • The gatekeepers included the sons of Hatita.
    • The gatekeepers included the sons of Shobai.
    • The gatekeepers numbered one hundred thirty-nine in all.
43. 2:43
    • What follows is the count of the temple servants.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Ziha.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Hasupha.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Tabbaoth.
44. 2:44
    • The temple servants included the sons of Keros.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Siaha.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Padon.
45. 2:45
    • The temple servants included the sons of Lebanah.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Hagabah.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Akkub.
46. 2:46
    • The temple servants included the sons of Hagab.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Shalmai.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Hanan.
47. 2:47
    • The temple servants included the sons of Giddel.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Gahar.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Reaiah.
48. 2:48
    • The temple servants included the sons of Rezin.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Nekoda.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Gazzam.
49. 2:49
    • The temple servants included the sons of Uzza.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Paseah.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Besai.
50. 2:50
    • The temple servants included the sons of Asnah.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Meunim.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Nephusim.
51. 2:51
    • The temple servants included the sons of Bakbuk.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Hakupha.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Harhur.
52. 2:52
    • The temple servants included the sons of Bazluth.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Mehida.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Harsha.
53. 2:53
    • The temple servants included the sons of Barkos.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Sisera.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Temah.
54. 2:54
    • The temple servants included the sons of Neziah.
    • The temple servants included the sons of Hatipha.
55. 2:55
    • What follows is the count of the sons of Solomon's servants.
    • They included the sons of Sotai.
    • They included the sons of Sophereth.
    • They included the sons of Peruda.
56. 2:56
    • They included the sons of Jaalah.
    • They included the sons of Darkon.
    • They included the sons of Giddel.
57. 2:57
    • They included the sons of Shephatiah.
    • They included the sons of Hattil.
    • They included the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim.
    • They included the sons of Ami.
58. 2:58
    • All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon's servants together numbered three hundred ninety-two.
59. 2:59
    • These were the ones who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer.
    • They could not show their father's house.
    • They could not show their descent.
    • They could not show whether they were of Israel.
60. 2:60
    • The sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda numbered six hundred fifty-two.
61. 2:61
    • Some of these were of the sons of the priests.
    • They included the sons of Habaiah.
    • They included the sons of Hakkoz.
    • They included the sons of Barzillai.
    • Barzillai had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite.
    • He was called by their name.
62. 2:62
    • These men searched for their written genealogical record among those enrolled by genealogy.
    • Their record was not found.
    • They were therefore excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
63. 2:63
    • The Tirshatha said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things.
    • The prohibition was to last until a priest stood up with Urim and Thummim.
64. 2:64
    • The whole assembly together numbered forty-two thousand three hundred sixty.
65. 2:65
    • This count did not include their male and female servants.
    • Their male and female servants numbered seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven.
    • They had two hundred male and female singers.
66. 2:66
    • Their horses numbered seven hundred thirty-six.
    • Their mules numbered two hundred forty-five.
67. 2:67
    • Their camels numbered four hundred thirty-five.
    • Their donkeys numbered six thousand seven hundred twenty.
68. 2:68
    • Some of the heads of the fathers' houses came to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.
    • They gave freewill offerings for the house of God.
    • The offerings were given to set the house of God up on its site.
69. 2:69
    • They gave according to their ability to the treasury of the work.
    • They gave sixty-one thousand drams of gold.
    • They gave five thousand minas of silver.
    • They gave one hundred priests' garments.
70. 2:70
    • The priests settled in their cities.
    • The Levites settled in their cities.
    • Some of the people settled in their cities.
    • The singers settled in their cities.
    • The gatekeepers settled in their cities.
    • The temple servants settled in their cities.
    • All Israel settled in their cities.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

2:1

"The province" is Judah as it now existed inside the Persian empire, no longer an independent kingdom but a small administrative district. Nebuchadnezzar had deported the population of Jerusalem in stages, ending with the destruction of the city and its temple in 587/586 BC. Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BC, and Cyrus then permitted deported peoples to return home; this list belongs to that first return.

2:2

Zerubbabel was a grandson of one of Judah's last kings and led the returning group as Persia's appointee; Jeshua was the leading priest. The Nehemiah and Mordecai named here are different men from the Nehemiah and the Mordecai who have books of their own, both were common names.

2:3

For the next thirty-odd verses people are counted in blocks. Down to verse 20 the blocks are family groups, each named for a distant ancestor: "the descendants of Parosh" means an extended clan that traced itself to a man called Parosh, not his literal children. From verse 21 the blocks switch to towns, people identified by where their families had lived before the exile. The numbers count adult men.

2:6

Pahath-moab is not a personal name but a title that hardened into a family name: it means "governor of Moab," a post some ancestor of the clan presumably once held.

2:9

The King James counts in scores. A score is twenty, so "threescore" is sixty and "threescore and ten" is seventy. That is why the numbers all through this chapter read as "seven hundred and threescore" instead of 760.

2:21

From here the list stops naming ancestors and starts naming places. These are returning families identified by the town their line came from, a claim to the land there as much as a label.

2:25

Kirjath-arim is the same place elsewhere called Kiriath-jearim. These three towns lay west and north-west of Jerusalem.

2:31

This figure, 1,254, is identical to the one given for Elam in verse 7. Some take it as a second, distinct family that happened to be counted alike; others as a copyist's duplication. The text itself simply says "the other Elam."

2:35

Senaah is the largest single entry in the list and no one is certain where it was. Some think it was a town near Jericho; others think the word describes a group rather than a place.

2:36

Priests were descendants of Aaron, the only men permitted to serve at the altar and handle the offerings. Their families are counted separately, and by descent, because the office was inherited and could not be entered any other way.

2:40

Levites were members of the tribe of Levi who were not of Aaron's priestly line. They did the supporting work of the sanctuary, carrying, cleaning, guarding, assisting at sacrifices. Only 74 came back, a strikingly small number beside the 4,289 priests just listed, and the shortage becomes a problem later in the book.

2:41

The singers were the temple's professional musicians, an inherited office like the priesthood. Asaph was a musician appointed in David's time, and the clan kept his name.

2:42

Gatekeepers guarded the temple entrances, controlling who and what could come in, and had charge of the gates, storerooms and treasuries. This too was a hereditary post, not casual work.

2:43

The King James word is "Nethinims," from a Hebrew term meaning "the given ones", men assigned to the Levites to do the heavy manual work of the sanctuary: hauling water and wood, and similar labor. Many of the names in this list are foreign, and the group is generally understood to have descended from war captives or non-Israelite peoples dedicated to that service.

2:55

Solomon had conscripted a permanent labor force for his building projects. Their descendants still formed a recognized group centuries later, counted alongside the temple servants.

2:59

Tel-melah, Tel-harsa and the rest were settlements in Babylonia where deportees had been placed. Proving descent mattered practically: it decided who could claim ancestral land in Judah and, for the families in the next verses, who could serve as a priest.

2:61

Normally a wife joined her husband's family line. Here the reverse happened, a man married into the family of Barzillai of Gilead, a wealthy supporter of David, and took their name. That is exactly what made his descendants' priestly claim hard to document.

2:62

"Unclean" here is a ritual status, not a moral judgment: without documentary proof of descent they were disqualified from handling holy things. The "official family records" were genealogical registers kept as legal documents.

2:63

The King James "Tirshatha" is a Persian title for the provincial governor. The "most holy things" were the portions of the offerings reserved for priests to eat, a share of the food, and so a livelihood, not just a privilege. The Urim and Thummim were objects kept in the high priest's breastpiece and used to obtain a decision on a question that human judgment could not settle; how they worked is nowhere described. The ruling leaves these families in suspense rather than rejecting them outright.

2:64

The individual figures given above add up to roughly 30,000, not 42,360. The parallel list in Nehemiah 7 differs in many of its individual numbers yet reaches the same grand total. No explanation is offered in the text; the discrepancy has been noticed and debated since antiquity.

2:65

These singers are not the temple singers of verse 41. They were performers hired for feasts, funerals and public occasions, a mark of a household with money.

2:66

Horses and mules were expensive animals that most families never owned. Listing them, along with the camels and donkeys, is a way of recording the group's total assets, the same way an inventory would.

2:67

The King James word is "asses," which simply means donkeys. Donkeys were the ordinary pack animal, and nearly seven thousand of them carried the group's belongings on the long road home.

2:68

"The house of the LORD" is the temple, which Nebuchadnezzar's army had burned. "On its own site" matters: they intended to rebuild on the original foundations rather than start elsewhere. The gifts were voluntary, over and above any required contribution.

2:69

A daric was a Persian gold coin of about a quarter of an ounce, named after King Darius; the King James calls them "drams." A mina of silver weighed roughly a pound and a quarter. Priestly garments were specially made and costly, which is why a hundred sets count as a donation alongside precious metal.