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Texts -- Ezra 2:1-65 (NET)

Context
The Names of the Returning Exiles
2:1 These are the people of the province who were going up , from the captives of the exile whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile in Babylon . They returned to Jerusalem and Judah , each to his own city . 2:2 They came with Zerubbabel , Jeshua , Nehemiah , Seraiah , Reelaiah , Mordecai , Bilshan , Mispar , Bigvai , Rehum , and Baanah . The number of Israelites was as follows: 2:3 the descendants of Parosh : 2,172 ; 2:4 the descendants of Shephatiah : 372 ; 2:5 the descendants of Arah : 775 ; 2:6 the descendants of Pahath-Moab (from the line of Jeshua and Joab ): 2,812 ; 2:7 the descendants of Elam : 1,254 ; 2:8 the descendants of Zattu : 945 ; 2:9 the descendants of Zaccai : 760 ; 2:10 the descendants of Bani : 642 ; 2:11 the descendants of Bebai : 623 ; 2:12 the descendants of Azgad : 1,222 ; 2:13 the descendants of Adonikam : 666 ; 2:14 the descendants of Bigvai : 2,056 ; 2:15 the descendants of Adin : 454 ; 2:16 the descendants of Ater (through Hezekiah ): 98 ; 2:17 the descendants of Bezai : 323 ; 2:18 the descendants of Jorah : 112 ; 2:19 the descendants of Hashum : 223 ; 2:20 the descendants of Gibbar : 95 . 2:21 The men of Bethlehem : 123 ; 2:22 the men of Netophah : 56 ; 2:23 the men of Anathoth : 128 ; 2:24 the men of the family of Azmaveth : 42 ; 2:25 the men of Kiriath Jearim , Kephirah and Beeroth : 743 ; 2:26 the men of Ramah and Geba : 621 ; 2:27 the men of Micmash : 122 ; 2:28 the men of Bethel and Ai : 223 ; 2:29 the descendants of Nebo : 52 ; 2:30 the descendants of Magbish : 156 ; 2:31 the descendants of the other Elam : 1,254 ; 2:32 the descendants of Harim : 320 ; 2:33 the men of Lod , Hadid , and Ono : 725 ; 2:34 the men of Jericho : 345 ; 2:35 the descendants of Senaah : 3,630 . 2:36 The priests : the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua ): 973 ; 2:37 the descendants of Immer : 1,052 ; 2:38 the descendants of Pashhur : 1,247 ; 2:39 the descendants of Harim : 1,017 . 2:40 The Levites : the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel (through the line of Hodaviah ): 74 . 2:41 The singers : the descendants of Asaph : 128 . 2:42 The gatekeepers : the descendants of Shallum , the descendants of Ater , the descendants of Talmon , the descendants of Akkub , the descendants of Hatita , and the descendants of Shobai : 139 . 2:43 The temple servants : the descendants of Ziha , the descendants of Hasupha , the descendants of Tabbaoth , 2:44 the descendants of Keros , the descendants of Siaha , the descendants of Padon , 2:45 the descendants of Lebanah , the descendants of Hagabah , the descendants of Akkub , 2:46 the descendants of Hagab , the descendants of Shalmai , the descendants of Hanan , 2:47 the descendants of Giddel , the descendants of Gahar , the descendants of Reaiah , 2:48 the descendants of Rezin , the descendants of Nekoda , the descendants of Gazzam , 2:49 the descendants of Uzzah , the descendants of Paseah , the descendants of Besai , 2:50 the descendants of Asnah , the descendants of Meunim , the descendants of Nephussim , 2:51 the descendants of Bakbuk , the descendants of Hakupha , the descendants of Harhur , 2:52 the descendants of Bazluth , the descendants of Mehida , the descendants of Harsha , 2:53 the descendants of Barkos , the descendants of Sisera , the descendants of Temah , 2:54 the descendants of Neziah , and the descendants of Hatipha . 2:55 The descendants of the servants of Solomon : the descendants of Sotai , the descendants of Hassophereth , the descendants of Peruda , 2:56 the descendants of Jaala , the descendants of Darkon , the descendants of Giddel , 2:57 the descendants of Shephatiah , the descendants of Hattil , the descendants of Pokereth-Hazzebaim , and the descendants of Ami . 2:58 All the temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon : 392 . 2:59 These are the ones that came up from Tel Melah , Tel Harsha , Kerub , Addon , and Immer (although they were unable to certify their family connection or their ancestry , as to whether they really were from Israel ): 2:60 the descendants of Delaiah , the descendants of Tobiah , and the descendants of Nekoda : 652 . 2:61 And from among the priests : the descendants of Hobaiah , the descendants of Hakkoz , and the descendants of Barzillai (who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name ). 2:62 They searched for their records in the genealogical materials , but did not find them. They were therefore excluded from the priesthood . 2:63 The governor instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult the Urim and Thummim . 2:64 The entire group numbered 42,360 , 2:65 not counting their male and female female servants , who numbered 7,337 . They also had 200 male and female singers

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • The title in the English text comes from the main character in the second part of the book (chapters 7-10). In the Septuagint translation this book also bore the name of Ezra or Esdras, the Greek transliteration of "Ezra.""Ez...
  • Due to the ancient tradition that the same writer composed both parts of the book (chapters 1-6 and 7-10), many scholars believe Ezra produced all of it.5A passage in the Talmud credits Ezra with the authorship of Ezra-Nehemi...
  • The earliest historical reference in Ezra is to the decree of Cyrus that he issued in his first year on the throne (1:1), 538 B.C.12The latest historical reference was just prior to Nehemiah's first trip to Jerusalem (4:21-23...
  • I. The first return under Sheshbazzar chs. 1-6A. The return from Babylon chs. 1-21. The edict of Cyrus and its consequences ch. 12. The exiles who returned ch. 2B. The rebuilding of the temple chs. 3-61. The beginning of cons...
  • "This whole section (Ezra 1-6) emphasizes God's sovereignty and his providence; God works in history to fulfill his will."15
  • "It is not strange according to the Semitic style to start a book with a waw["And"or "Now"], especially when the author intended to write a continuation of the history of his people. He connects the history which he wants to ...
  • This chapter contains a record of the people who responded to Cyrus' decree and returned to the Promised Land. It is a list of families rather than individuals and the towns in Babylon from which they came. Almost all of thes...
  • Only four of the 24 priestly families that David organized (1 Chron. 24:7-18) had representatives among the returning exiles. Nevertheless these would have been sufficient to serve the worship needs of the other Israelites wh...
  • These people seem to have been those who descended from the servants Solomon had appointed to serve in his temple during his administration. Other views are that they were the descendants of the Canaanites whom Solomon enslav...
  • There is a discrepancy between the total number of exiles the writer gave here (49,897) and the sum of the various groups he just mentioned (29,818). Perhaps the women and children made up the difference, though if this was t...
  • The Israelites contributed to the rebuilding of the temple as they had to the construction of the Mosaic tabernacle (Exod. 25:4-7; 35:2-9). Probably the Greek gold drachma is in view and the Babylonian silver mina (v. 69).55I...
  • Compared with the dedication of the first temple this one was very modest. Solomon had offered more than 200 times as many animals.96The Jews offered one sin offering, which involved slaying a goat, for each of the 12 tribes ...
  • "These things"(v. 1) refers to the events of the first return that the writer described in chapters 1-6.Ezra's genealogy (vv. 1-5) shows that he was a man of importance whom his fellow Jews would have respected. He was a desc...
  • This decree appears in Aramaic, the official language of the Persian Empire, in the Hebrew Bible.The king appointed Ezra as the person responsible to him for the affairs conducted in the Jewish community in Judah. He held a p...
  • The descendants of the priestly and royal families in Israel appear first in this list (vv. 2-3). Then the rest of the Jews follow. A comparison of verses 3-14 with 2:3-15 shows that Ezra's companions were mainly the relative...
  • The priests presented the evening offering (v. 5) between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. in Jesus' day.130Ezra's prayer contains four primary characteristics: solidarity, confession, readiness to change, and faith in God's mercy.131In hi...
  • The Book of Ezra records two major Jewish returns to the Promised Land from Babylon.The first of these took place in 537 B.C. under the leadership of Sheshbazzar and then Zerubbabel. About 50,000 Jews returned, rebuilt the te...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. London: SCM Press, 1973._____. "The Temple Vessels--A Continuity Theme."Vetus Testamentum Supplement23 (1972):166-81.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmilla...
  • This is not a list of the people who accompanied Nehemiah to Jerusalem in 444 B.C. but a record of those who returned with Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua in 537 B.C. (v. 7). It is almost identical to the list in Ezra 2.W...
  • The priests and Levites were the most important people who returned from exile because they reestablished worship in the land. Verses 1-7 give the names of 22 leaders among them who had returned in 537 B.C. with Zerubbabel an...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. London: SCM Press, 1973.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William F. The...
  • The events of the Book of Esther took place during the Persian period of ancient history (539-331 B.C.) and during the reign of King Ahasuerus in particular (486-464 B.C.).Chronology of the Book of Esther483Ahasuerus' militar...
  • This concluding exhortation contains a title for God unique in the Psalter. It highlights His sovereignty and was a favorite of the postexilic community (2 Chron. 36:23; Ezra 2:1; 5:11-12; 6:9-10; 7:12, 21, 23 [twice]; Neh. 1...
  • This section consists of a small collection of messianic prophecies.33:14 Future days would come, the Lord promised, when He would fulfill His promises concerning the restoration of all Israel."The predicted restoration (the ...
  • 13:8-9 The Lord told these false prophets that He opposed them for what they had done. He would act against them by removing them from positions of influence among His people, depriving them of the rights of citizenship in Is...
  • The Babylonians, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, including Solomon's temple, in 586 B.C. and took most of the Jews captive to Babylon. There the Israelites could not practice their formal worship ...
  • 1:1 Yahweh sent a message to Zerubbabel and Joshua through the prophet Haggai, though it went to all the Israelites too (vv. 2, 4). Zerubbabel was the political governor (overseer) of the Persian province of Judah who had led...
  • Zechariah began ministering among the Jews who had returned from captivity in Babylon (i.e., the restoration community) two months after Haggai began preaching (1:1; 7:1; cf. Neh. 12:10-16; Hag. 1:1). In a sense, Zechariah's ...
  • 7:1 Another prophetic message came to Zechariah from the Lord in 518 B.C. The fourth day of the ninth month would have been in early December. Chislev is the Babylonian name of the month. This message, which comprises the fol...
  • Malachi was one of the three post-exilic writing prophets along with Haggai and Zechariah, and he was quite certainly the last one chronologically, even though we cannot be dogmatic about a date for his writing.The first grou...
  • 7:1-2 The writer referred to Melchizedek (lit. righteous king, probably a title rather than a proper name) as the head of a priestly order. It was not uncommon for one individual to combine the roles of priest and king in ant...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. 2. Then stood up Joshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, an...
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