INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL (EZRA 2:1). The listing reproduced in this chapter is of male Jews ‘in the administrative district/province' who returned from Babylonia. Ezra 1:11 TO EZRA 2:2 ‘All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when they of the captivity were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem, and thes... [ Continue Reading ]
A LIST OF THOSE WHO RETURNED FROM BABYLON TO JERUSALEM IN THE INITIAL STAGES (EZRA 2:1). In this chapter we are provided with a list of those who returned from Babylon, taking advantage of Cyrus' edict. This list must have been recorded early on and deposited in a recognised official place (compare... [ Continue Reading ]
ENROLLED BY DOMICILE. We now come to those families who submitted their numbers in terms of domicile. This may simply have been as a consequence of the choice of the particular submitter, or it may have been though custom. Or, indeed, it may have been because it was easier to prove connection with a... [ Continue Reading ]
ENROLLING OF THE PRIESTS (EZRA 2:36). The priests were divided up into four courses, as opposed to the twenty four courses pertaining under David (1 Chronicles 24:1). But these four courses would eventually in the future be divided up into twenty four under the names of the old courses. The number... [ Continue Reading ]
ENROLLING OF THE LEVITES (EZRA 2:40). Compared with 4,289 priests who returned, only 74 Levites returned, to which we might add the 128 singers and the 139 gatekeepers, making 341 in all (although it would appear that the writer of the list did not include the singers and gatekeepers as Levites). Th... [ Continue Reading ]
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 a... [ Continue Reading ]
ENROLLING OF THE GATEKEEPERS (EZRA 2:42). The Gatekeepers were another special order of Levites. In 1 Chronicles 9:17 we are informed that in earlier pre-Exilic days the gatekeepers included ‘Shallum and Akkab and Talmon, and Ahiman and their brothers. Shallum was the chief'. These were the ones who... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ENROLLING OF THE NETHINIM (EZRA 2:43). The Nethinim (given ones) probably had their origin in the Gibeonites who were forced to become ‘hewers of wood and drawers of water' for the Tabernacle (Joshua 9:27). Whoever they were they were seen as ‘given to God'. (Compare the same description of the... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ENROLLING OF THE SONS OF SOLOMON'S SERVANTS (EZRA 2:55). The fact that the total of these was combined with the total of the Nethinim (Ezra 2:58) suggests that they had similar duties. We have no specific knowledge of whether they had different duties, although two of the names (the scribes and... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ENROLLING OF THE NON-PRIESTS WHO COULD NOT PROVE THEIR DESCENT FROM ISRAEL (EZRA 2:59). These appear to have been settled in the Babylonian cities described although the names of the cities mentioned are nowhere testified to in Babylonian records. This is not, however, surprising as few small ci... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ENROLLING OF THE PRIESTS WHO COULD NOT PROVE THEIR ANCESTRY (EZRA 2:63). Far more important was the situation of the priests who could not demonstrate their ancestry, for this excluded them from priestly office, and from reception of priestly benefits such as the tithe, and the parts of offerin... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SUM TOTAL OF THE ARRIVEES (EZRA 2:64). Ezra 2:64 ‘The whole assembly together was forty two thousand, three hundred and sixty,' The sum total of the arrivees who represented Israel comes to 42,360. The male arrivees enumerated above come to 29,818, plus whatever number the defrocked priests ca... [ Continue Reading ]
ENUMERATION OF THEIR SLAVES (EZRA 2:65). Ezra 2:65 ‘Besides their male slaves and their female slaves, of whom there were seven thousand, three hundred and thirty seven, and they had two hundred singing men and singing women.' These were additional to the assembly of Israel. This very much points... [ Continue Reading ]
ENUMERATION OF THE BEASTS OF BURDEN (EZRA 2:66). Ezra 2:66 ‘Their horses were seven hundred and thirty six; their mules, two hundred and forty five; their camels, four hundred and thirty five; their asses, six thousand, seven hundred and twenty.' These are possibly enumerated as evidence of wealth... [ Continue Reading ]
CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE (EZRA 2:68). The description of these differs considerably from that in Nehemiah 7:70, which does not mention the Temple, but gives greater detail concerning the gifts, especially distinguishing those made by the Tirshatha. The reference to the Temple... [ Continue Reading ]