Ezra 2 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~538-536 BC, the first wave of returns under Cyrus
Location
The road from Babylonia to Judah, roughly nine hundred miles by the northern route around the desert, ending in Jerusalem and the surrounding towns
Audience
Jews in Persian-period Judah, for whom proof of ancestry determined property claims and eligibility for the priesthood
Situation
A register lists the people who returned with Zerubbabel, counted by family and by hometown, along with priests, Levites, temple servants, singers, and gatekeepers, totaling 42,360 plus servants and animals.
Key Background
Ancient administrations kept detailed population registers for taxation and military service, and this list functions the same way, establishing who belonged to the restored community and who could claim ancestral land. Three priestly families who could not produce their genealogical records were suspended from priestly food and duties until a priest could consult the sacred lots, showing how much weight documentary proof carried. The organization by both family line and town of origin reflects a group trying to reoccupy specific villages their grandparents had left, not simply resettle wherever there was room.
These are the people from the who came up from the captivity of the exiles — those Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had deported to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to their own town.
They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. Here is the count of the men of the people of Israel:
The descendants of Parosh: 2,172.
The descendants of Shephatiah: 372.
The descendants of Arah: 775.
The descendants of Pahath-Moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab): 2,812.
The descendants of Elam: 1,254.
The descendants of Zattu: 945.
The descendants of Zaccai: 760.
The descendants of Bani: 642.
The descendants of Bebai: 623.
The descendants of Azgad: 1,222.
The descendants of Adonikam: 666.
The descendants of Bigvai: 2,056.
The descendants of Adin: 454.
The descendants of Ater (through Hezekiah): 98.
The descendants of Bezai: 323.
The descendants of Jorah: 112.
The descendants of Hashum: 223.
The descendants of Gibbar: 95.
The people of 123.
The men of Netophah: 56.
The men of 128.
The descendants of Azmaveth: 42.
The descendants of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth: 743.
The descendants of Ramah and Geba: 621.
The men of Mikmash: 122.
The men of Bethel and Ai: 223.
The descendants of Nebo: 52.
The descendants of Magbish: 156.
The descendants of the other Elam: 1,254.
The descendants of Harim: 320.
The descendants of Lod, Hadid, and Ono: 725.
The descendants of Jericho: 345.
The descendants of Senaah: 3,630.
The the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua): 973.
The descendants of Immer: 1,052.
The descendants of Pashhur: 1,247.
The descendants of Harim: 1,017.
The the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel (through the line of Hodaviah): 74.
The singers: the descendants of Asaph: 128.
The descendants of the the descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai: 139 in all.
The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
Keros, Siaha, Padon,
Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub,
Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan,
Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah,
Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam,
Uzza, Paseah, Besai,
Asnah, Meunim, Nephusim,