1Now these are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city. 2Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: 3the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; 4the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; 5the sons of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five; 6the sons of Pahath-Moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve; 7the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 8the sons of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five; 9the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; 10the sons of Bani, six hundred and forty-two; 11the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three; 12the sons of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two; 13the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six; 14the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six; 15the sons of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four; 16the sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; 17the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three; 18the sons of Jorah, one hundred and twelve; 19the sons of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three; 20the sons of Gibbar, ninety-five; 21the sons of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three; 22the men of Netophah, fifty-six; 23the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; 24the sons of Azmaveth, forty-two; 25the sons of Kirjath Arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; 26the sons of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; 27the men of Michmash, one hundred and twenty-two; 28the men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three; 29the sons of Nebo, fifty-two; 30the sons of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six; 31the sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 32the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; 33the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five; 34the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; 35the sons of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty. 36The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; 37the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; 38the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; 39the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen. 40The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, seventy-four. 41The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight. 42The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all. 43The temple slaves: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 44the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon, 45the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, 46the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan, 47the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, 48the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, 49the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, 50the sons of Asnah, the sons of Mehunim, the sons of Nephusim, 51the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 52the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 53the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah, 54the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha. 55The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Peruda, 56the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 57the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of Ami. 58All the temple slaves and the sons of Solomon's servants were three hundred and ninety-two. 59And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not identify their father's house or their seed, whether they were of Israel: 60the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two; 61and of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, and the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. 62These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were considered desecrated, and excluded from the priesthood. 63And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the set apart, holy, things till a priest should stand with Urim and Thummim. 64The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, 65besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and there were two hundred singing men and singing women. 66Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, 67their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty. 68Some of the heads of the fathers, when they came to the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God, to erect it in its place: 69According to their ability, they gave to the treasury for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly garments. 70So the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple slaves, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE THAT TURNED. (Ezra 2:1-70)
children of the province--that is, Judea (
Ezra 5:8), so called as being now reduced from an illustrious, independent, and powerful kingdom to an obscure, servile, tributary province of the Persian empire. This name is applied by the sacred historian to intimate that the Jewish exiles, though now released from captivity and allowed to return into their own land, were still the subjects of Cyrus, inhabiting a province dependent upon Persia.
came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city--either the city that had been occupied by his ancestors, or, as most parts of Judea were then either desolate or possessed by others, the city that was rebuilt and allotted to him now.
2 Which came with Zerubbabel--He was the chief or leader of the first band of returning exiles. The names of other influential persons who were associated in the conducting of the caravans are also mentioned, being extracted probably from the Persian archives, in which the register was preserved: conspicuous in the number are Jeshua, the high priest, and Nehemiah.
3 The children--This word, as used throughout this catalogue, means "posterity" or "descendants."
5 children of Arah, seven hundred seventy and five--The number is stated in
Neh 7:10 to have been only six hundred fifty-two. It is probable that all mentioned as belonging to this family repaired to the general place of rendezvous, or had enrolled their names at first as intending to go; but in the interval of preparation, some died, others were prevented by sickness or insurmountable obstacles, so that ultimately no more than six hundred fifty-two came to Jerusalem.
23 The men of Anathoth--It is pleasant to see so many of this Jewish town returning. It was a city of the Levites; but the people spurned Jeremiah's warning and called forth against themselves one of his severest predictions (
Jer 32:27-
Jer 32:35). This prophecy was fulfilled in the Assyrian conquest. Anathoth was laid waste and continued a heap of ruins. But the people, having been brought during the captivity to a better state of mind, returned, and their city was rebuilt.
36 The priests--Each of their families was ranged under its prince or head, like those of the other tribes. It will be remembered that the whole body was divided into twenty-four courses, one of which, in rotation, discharged the sacerdotal duties every week, and each division was called after the name of its first prince or chief. It appears from this passage that only four of the courses of the priests returned from the Babylonish captivity; but these four courses were afterwards, as the families increased, divided into twenty-four, which were distinguished by the names of the original courses appointed by David [
1Chr 23:6-13]. Hence we find the course of Abijah or Abia (
1Chr 24:10) subsisting at the commencement of the Christian era (
Luke 1:5).
55 The children of Solomon's servants--either the strangers that monarch enlisted in the building of the temple, or those who lived in his palace, which was deemed a high honor.
61 the children of Barzillai--He preferred that name to that of his own family, deeming it a greater distinction to be connected with so noble a family, than to be of the house of Levi. But by this worldly ambition he forfeited the dignity and advantages of the priesthood.
63 Tirshatha--a title borne by the Persian governors of Judea (see also
Neh 7:65-
Neh 7:70;
Neh 8:9;
Neh 10:1). It is derived from the Persian torsh ("severe"), and is equivalent to "your severity," "your awfulness."
64 The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore--This gross amount is twelve thousand more than the particular numbers given in the catalogue, when added together, come to. Reckoning up the smaller numbers, we shall find that they amount to 29,818 in this chapter, and to 31,089 in the parallel chapter of Nehemiah [see
Neh 7:66-
Neh 7:69]. Ezra also mentions four hundred ninety-four persons omitted by Nehemiah, and Nehemiah mentions 1765 not noticed by Ezra. If, therefore, Ezra's surplus be added to the sum in Nehemiah, and Nehemiah's surplus to the number in Ezra, they will both become 31,583. Subtracting this from 42,360, there will be a deficiency of 10,777. These are omitted because they did not belong to Judah and Benjamin, or to the priests, but to the other tribes. The servants and singers, male and female, are reckoned separately (
Ezra 2:65), so that putting all these items together, the number of all who went with Zerubbabel amounted to fifty thousand, with eight thousand beasts of burden [ALTING, quoted in DAVIDSON'S Hermeneutics].
68 some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the Lord offered freely for the house of God, &c.--The sight of a place hallowed by the most endearing and sacred associations, but now lying in desolation and ruins, made the wellsprings of their piety and patriotism gush out afresh. Before taking any active measures for providing accommodation to themselves and their families, the chief among them raised a large sum by voluntary contributions towards the restoration of the temple.
69 drams of gold--rather, "darics," a Persian coin (see on
1Chr 29:7).
priests' garments--(compare
Neh 7:70). This--in the circumstances--was a very appropriate gift. In general, it may be remarked that presents of garments, or of any other usable commodities, however singular it may seem to us, is in harmony with the established notions and customs of the East.