Ezra 2:41

Enrolling Of The Singers/Musicians (Ezra 2:41).

The singers were a special order of Levites (seen as such in Ezra 3:10; Nehemiah 11:15, but seemingly not designated as such here) who according to 1 Chronicles 6:31 had been responsible for leading the singing and musical accompaniment in Tabernacle and Temple worship. Asaph is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 6:39. It would appear that of the singers/musicians, only the sons of Asaph, i.e. members of the musical group of Asaph, returned at this stage. Thus in Ezra 3:10 we read that at the laying of foundations of the new Temple ‘they set --- the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals to praise YHWH, after the order of David the King of Israel' (see 1 Chronicles 15:16).

In Nehemiah 11:17 three singers are mentioned, Mattaniah, a ‘son of Asaph', who was the leading one to give thanksgiving in prayer, Bakbukiah, who was the second, and Abda, a ‘son of Jeduthun'. Many see this as indicating that there were by that stage three orders of singers in view of the fact that in 2 Chronicles 5:12 in the time of Solomon the three orders of musicians were stated to be Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun. This would make Bakbukiah a ‘son of Heman', although in 1 Chronicles 9:15 his ancestry is ignored, as here. So as with the later twenty fours orders of priests this may well have been an artificial arrangement. In Israel/Judah adoption was a common form of descent (indeed a large proportion of Israel and Judah were only children of Abraham by adoption).

Ezra 2:41

‘The Singers.'

Possibly more accurately we must see them as the musicians, for part of their privilege was to play the cymbals and other instruments (1 Chronicles 15:16).

Ezra 2:41

‘The sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty eight.'

It would appears that of the three orders in the time of Solomon (2 Chronicles 5:12) only ‘sons of Asaph' had returned at this stage. It is, of course, always possible that of the musicians only sons of Asaph had been exiled. In Ezra 3:10 the lead in singing and playing was taken by Mattaniah, a ‘son of Asaph'. In Nehemiah 11:22 we learn of ‘the sons of Asaph, the singers, over the house of God', and they were seen as so important that ‘the king' gave commandment concerning them, and they had a settled provision as every day required.