Ezra 2:1–35

The lay leaders

Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, 2 in company with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah):

The list of the men of the people of Israel:

3 the descendants of Parosh                                               2,172

4 of Shephatiah                                                                        372

5 of Arah                                                                                   775

6 of Pahath-Moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab) 2,812

7 of Elam                                                                                1,254

8 of Zattu                                                                                   945

9 of Zaccai                                                                                760

10 of Bani                                                                                  642

11 of Bebai                                                                                623

12 of Azgad                                                                            1,222

13 of Adonikam                                                                        666

14 of Bigvai                                                                           2,056

15 of Adin                                                                                 454

16 of Ater (through Hezekiah)                                                  98

17 of Bezai                                                                               323

18 of Jorah                                                                               112

19 of Hashum                                                                          223

20 of Gibbar                                                                              95

21 the men of Bethlehem                                                      123

22 of Netophah                                                                        56

23 of Anathoth                                                                       128

24 of Azmaveth                                                                        42

25 of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah and Beeroth                       743

26 of Ramah and Geba                                                         621

27 of Micmash                                                                       122

28 of Bethel and Ai                                                               223

29 of Nebo                                                                              52

30 of Magbish                                                                       156

31  of the other Elam                                                         1,254

32 of Harim                                                                           320

33 of Lod, Hadid and Ono                                                   725

34 of Jericho                                                                        345

35 of Senaah                                                                      3,630

It’s easy to pass over long lists of names like this, because we have a hard time understanding them or seeing any significance in them. This list of names was undoubtedly more meaningful to Ezra and his contemporaries than it is to us. But like all Scripture, this list is written for our learning too.

This list is a testimony to God’s goodness in preserving the identity of his chosen people in spite of a 70-year captivity in a far-off land. With Zerubbabel and Jeshua as their leaders, the people remained under the leadership of David’s royal line and of the high priests descended from Aaron. Zerubbabel was the grandson of Jehoiachin, one of the last kings of Judah, who had been carried into captivity in Babylon. The text of Ezra chapter 2 lists only 11 leaders of the return, but the parallel passage in Nehemiah chapter 7 lists 12 leaders, probably to indicate the completeness of this group as a true restoration of Israel.

There are some difficulties in the list itself. From Parosh through Gibbar, the returnees seem to be classified by the names of their ancestors. From Bethlehem through Senaah, they appear to be classified by their hometowns. Some of the terms, such as Elam and Immer, seem to be the names both of towns and individuals. Most of these towns are in the vicinity of Jerusalem (see the map entitled “Judah after the return" below). There are also differences between the lists of Ezra and Nehemiah in some of the names and some of the numbers. We will discuss this problem in the commentary on Nehemiah chapter 7.