2:1–2a The initial verses of chapter 2 fit their context as they expand upon the major geographical shift from Babylonia to Jerusalem that concluded the prior chapter. Using verbal repetition, “Now these were the people of the province who came up” links back to “when the exiles were brought up,” which concluded the prior chapter (1:11). This clause also looks forward to the detailed list of persons that follows. The prior chapter interpreted its events as undergirded by God, who “had stirred” the spirit of these people (1:5), motivating their willingness to bear further hardship by returning to Jerusalem. A new day dawns, with future inhabitants given a new place and a new status under new leaders.

A new start in life may require actual geographical movement from one place to another, from one provincial location to another. The term “province” (medinah) is an Aramaic loanword referring to smaller administrative divisions, of which there were 127 in the Persian Empire (cf. Est. 1:1). In Ezra-Nehemiah the term “province” applies not only to Babylonia (Ezra 7:16) but to the province of Judah (i.e., Yehud) as well (Ezra 5:8; Neh. 1:3). The latter province lies in a wider region called “Beyond the River.”28 Although not always consistently applied in academic discussion, the technical term satrapy was used for the wider region. In light of Ezra 1:11, the immediate literary context of 2:1–2 so emphasizes the movement from Babylonia to Jerusalem that “province” likely refers to the province of Babylonia as the place of origin. Alternatively, Judah as a destination province may be in view. In either case, the movement from Babylon back to Judah is clear.

Beyond the geographical shift to a new place, the people further assume a new status as those released from the “captivity of [the] exiles.” Those Nebuchadnezzar had exiled (“carried captive”) were the displaced inhabitants of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:14; Jer. 29:1) who are now freed “from the captivity” (Ezra 3:8; 8:35; Neh. 1:2, 3; 8:17).29

The astonishing ascent of so many from an old province to a new one and from a place of captivity to one of freedom testifies to God’s loving-kindness. Restoration to home and freedom demands a further response of obedience to the task issued in the proclamation of Cyrus. The prior chapter clarified that central task as the rebuilding of the house of God. New leaders, listed by name, provide further evidence of the Lord’s loving-kindness in his continual provision for his people to help them accomplish their restored mission. Therefore, past provision of leaders to represent and instruct the Lord’s people persists in the postexilic period. Undermining an expected mention of twelve leaders to complement the twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Ezra 6:17; 8:24, 35), the text of Ezra 2:2 lists only eleven names. However, numerical expectations are met by the parallel list in Nehemiah 7:7, which, while diverging at a number of points, most obviously differs with the inclusion of a twelfth name, Nahamani.30 Among those listed, Zerubbabel and Jeshua hold primacy of place by virtue of their position at the head of this list, their role within the Ezra-Nehemiah narrative, and further mention of them by the postexilic prophets Haggai and Zechariah.

Zerubbabel’s name (“seed of Babylon”) heads the list. He features in the OT only in the postexilic books, being mentioned twenty times in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah. The biblical texts assert his Davidic lineage as son of Shealtiel (Ezra 3:2, 8; 5:2; Neh. 12:1) and grandson of Jehoiachin (i.e., Jeconiah, 1 Chron. 3:16–19).31 His descent reveals a royal ancestry and history inextricably tied to both Israel’s past and her future (cf. Ezek. 1:2). This makes him first in line for the Davidic throne. Nebuchadnezzar had exiled Jehoiachin in 597 BC at only eighteen years of age (2 Kings 24:12), while Nebuchadnezzar’s son Evil-merodach (562–560) released him from prison in 561 (2 Kings 25:27–30). Now, only twenty-three years after his grandfather’s release from prison, Zerubbabel leads this early group liberated from captivity.

The whole trajectory of the return to Jerusalem revolves around heeding the decree to rebuild the temple. References to Zerubbabel in Ezra only confirm this purpose, typically focusing on his leadership in the return (Ezra 2:2) and more particularly on his role in renewing the worship of the Lord. He does so by building the altar (3:2, 8), resisting opposition to the rebuilding (4:2–3), and submitting to the prophetic call to renew the work on the temple (5:1–2; 6:14; cf. Hag. 1:12). By using a title given later to Nehemiah (Neh. 5:14), the book of Haggai clarifies Zerubbabel’s leadership role by applying to him the designation “governor” (Hb. pekhah; Hag. 1:1, 14; 2:2, 21). References to Zerubbabel in Zechariah’s fifth vision (Zechariah 4) promise divine assurance in completing the temple even though opposition threatens. Within the NT, the name Zerubbabel appears solely in the genealogies of Jesus Christ, the son of David (Matt. 1:12–13; Luke 3:27).

Jeshua, the second figure in the list of leaders, shares a name common to various biblical figures, occasionally making it difficult to distinguish one individual from another. Surpassing the frequency of the name Zerubbabel, which always refers to the same person, the name Jeshua occurs twenty-eight times in Ezra-Nehemiah, always with the spelling “Jeshua.” A number of occurrences in Ezra-Nehemiah explicitly or implicitly point to the priest who, along with Zerubbabel, leads an early wave of exiles to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:2; 3:2, 8, 9; 4:3; 5:2; 10:18; Neh. 7:7; 12:1, 7, 10, 26). His ancestry is given as “the son of Jozadak” (Ezra 3:2; 5:2; 10:18; Neh. 12:26) or “Jehozadak” (Hag. 1:1, 12, 14; 2:2, 4; Zech. 6:11). Like Zerubbabel’s grandfather Jehoiachin, Jeshua’s predecessor Jozadak, also a priest, experienced exile at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar (1 Chron. 6:15). As the postexilic prophets clarified Zerubbabel’s function as governor, so Haggai and Zechariah, using the more common spelling “Joshua,” frequently call Jeshua “high priest” (Hag. 1:1, 12, 14; 2:2, 4; Zech. 3:1, 8; 6:11). Both Zerubbabel and Jeshua grew up with a deep experience of what exile meant.

The multiple mentions in the Bible of other names in the list warrant brief discussion. The Nehemiah listed in Ezra 2:2 differs from the later Nehemiah, who rebuilds the Jerusalem walls, and the Mordecai listed here differs from the one known from the book of Esther. (As in our day, it was not uncommon for more than one person to have the same name in ancient Israel.) The Seraiah of Ezra 2:2, later mentioned in the list of priests and Levites returning with Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Neh. 12:1), differs from other mentions of the name (Ezra 7:1; Neh. 10:2; 11:11; 12:12).32 Like Seraiah, Rehum is later listed with the initial return and is identified with the priests and Levites (Neh. 12:3).33 The names Bigvai and Baanah differ from persons of the same name who later sign the covenant document (Neh. 10:16, 27). Other names in the list receive mention only here or in the parallel text at Nehemiah 7:7 and so remain otherwise unknown.

2:2b–35 The initial comment and identification of leaders (vv. 1–2a) is followed by the first list comprising the returning laity named “the number of the men of the people of Israel” (v. 2b). Many cultures preserve family background and place of origin as important markers of identity and community belonging (cf. Jonah 1:8),34 and these two markers structure this list. Persons are grouped according to seventeen family names (Ezra 2:3–19) and twenty-two geographical locations (vv. 20–35). Many of the same names appear elsewhere in Ezra-Nehemiah, especially in the list of the people who seal the covenant document (Neh. 10:1–27). The geographical names are consistent with the prior mention of Judah and Benjamin (Ezra 1:5), as nearly all of the places mentioned fall in the province of Judah and a majority specifically within the former territory of Benjamin.35

2:36–39 Priests and Levites feature prominently in Ezra-Nehemiah.36 The primary responsibility for temple worship and sacrifice at the altar falls to the priests, a role restricted to descendants of Aaron (Num. 3:10). The names Jedaiah, Harim, and Immer also head three of the twenty-four priestly divisions organized by David according to 1 Chronicles 24:7–18. While the name Pashhur (Ezra 2:38) does not distinguish one of these priestly divisions, the name of Malchijah, his father, does (cf. 1 Chron. 24:9; Neh. 11:12). The priestly role, their foremost mention in the list of temple officials, and the equivalent numbers (4,289) in both Ezra 2:36–38 and Nehemiah 7:39–42 attest to priests’ importance in the corporate life of Israel.

2:40–42 The Levites are those members of the tribe of Levi not of Aaronic descent.37 In the corporate life of God’s people, the Levites functioned to guard and care for the physical transport and needs of the tabernacle. Beside this, they assisted the priests (Num. 3:6–9). Further, David had allocated some Levites for particular roles as gatekeepers and musicians in the Lord’s house and still others to care for temple vessels and worship preparation (1 Chron. 9:14–34).38 Even adding the seventy-four Levites to the numbers of gatekeepers and singers, the total number (341) is significantly lower than the number of priests. This shortage of Levites and speculated reasons for their lower numbers will be addressed in the comment on Ezra 8:15–20, where the problem confronts Ezra.

2:43–54 These verses distinguish the temple servants from the sons of Solomon’s servants that follow (vv. 55–58). Apart from 1 Chronicles 9:2, the Hebrew term translated “temple servants” (netinim, “given ones”) occurs only in Ezra-Nehemiah to classify a group separate from priests, Levites, singers, or gatekeepers.39 Their precise role and status remain uncertain. As Levites were given to support the priests in temple work (Num. 3:9; 8:19), so also had the temple servants been given by David and his officials to support the work of the Levites (Ezra 8:20), and they likely performed menial tasks. Perhaps they were descended from the Gibeonites and likewise enlisted as “cutters of wood and drawers of water” (Josh. 9:23, 27).40 The inclusion of numerous non-Israelite names among the thirty-five families listed makes it possible they are non-Israelites. The mention of Meunim (Ezra 2:50), defeated during the monarchy (1 Chron. 4:41; 2 Chron. 20:1; 26:7), may indicate a history for some as war captives. Certainly, the placement of both the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants among the “whole assembly” (Ezra 2:64), and yet separate from the male and female servants listed as property (v. 65), suggests that both of these groups are free rather than enslaved.41 They enjoy membership in the congregation, as evidenced in participation in the later covenant renewal (Neh. 10:28–29).

2:55–58 Ten family names classify the “sons of Solomon’s servants,” a group of limited occurrences outside of the lists in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 (cf. Neh. 11:3). Like the temple servants, their beginning and function is uncertain, though some scholars trace their source to Solomon’s forced labor of the Canaanite remnant (1 Kings 9:20–21).42 Perhaps their mention at the end of the temple personnel in Ezra 2 encourages the view that they perform temple duties even more basic than the temple servants’. The single number of 392 for both temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants (v. 58) shows a connection between them, though the specific nature of that connection remains unclear.

2:59–62 The Bible claims consistently that the earth is the Lord’s (Ex. 9:28; Ps. 24:1; 1 Cor. 10:26). As such, God had granted a particular place as a land inheritance, the space where his redeemed people would live out their calling to reflect his glory to the world (Gen. 12:7; Ex. 32:13; Lev. 20:24; Josh. 1:6). For this reason, the legitimacy of membership among returnees arises in the postexilic period in light of claims to property and land (Ezra 2:70; Neh. 11:3). Particularly for the laity, those unable to confirm descent will lose not only land inheritance; they will also forfeit the full rights and privileges of community membership. Three families among the laity (Ezra 2:59–60) and three among the priesthood (vv. 61–63) are unable to prove by genealogical record “whether they belonged to Israel.”43 As for those among the priesthood, the stakes are even higher. The high calling, qualifications, and previous failure of the preexilic priesthood reawakens in the postexilic community the necessity of a consecrated priesthood. The need for renewed priestly service rendered at the altar in a reconstructed temple makes this all the more important. Until further inquiry, these priests are declared ritually unsuitable for priestly duties and privileges.

2:63 The explicit identity of the “governor” (Hb. tirshataʼ; cf. KJV) is uncertain. Three main options are usually given: (1) In a different historical context, the term applies to Nehemiah (Neh. 8:9; 10:1; cf. 1 Esd. 5:40), so the same could be true here. (2) In the parallel passage noting offerings of the community, the governor provides a gift (Neh. 7:70), suggesting his identity as a Jew.44 The title may therefore refer to Zerubbabel who, though never called “governor” in Ezra-Nehemiah (cf. Neh. 12:47), is identified elsewhere as “governor” using the more common term pekhah (Hag. 1:1, 14; 2:2, 21). (3) If reflective of the earliest period of return, when divine inquiry is limited (see further below), it best points to Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1:11), likewise called “governor” using pekhah (5:14).

In any case, the governor establishes a waiting period until a priest can seek divine knowledge in this matter by means of Urim and Thummim, one of three legitimate means of discerning God’s will (the other means being prophets and dreams; 1 Sam. 28:6). The Lord had commanded Moses that the Urim and Thummim be carried in the “breastpiece of judgment” worn by the high priest who entered into the Lord’s presence (Ex. 28:28–30; Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8). It appears from 1 Samuel 14:41–42 that their use provided a “yes” or “no” answer to direct inquiry, comparable to lot-casting. Therefore, proper use demanded not merely a priest but a high priest with Urim and Thummim and a rebuilt temple where God’s presence is manifest such that the priest can go before the Lord with the breastpiece.45 These conditions await fulfillment, because the return of Jeshua the priest and the completion of the temple has not yet occurred.

2:64–67 Variations exist between these verses, the parallel list in Nehemiah, and the deuterocanonical 1 Esdras 5:41. However, all three number 42,360 as the quantity of returning exiles (Ezra 2:64; cf. Neh. 7:66). Obviously, the community of God’s people contains numerous individuals. As a multitude of cells combine to form one body, so also the individual persons listed in this chapter form a single entity known as the “whole assembly.” The Lord knows each one by name, and, as members of the wider covenant community, each plays a role in God’s restorative plan.

2:68–69 This chapter addresses the central task: reestablishing the worship of the Lord in a rebuilt house “on its site.” With the temple in ruins, and despite personal economic concerns, the “heads of families” act in faith and determination in a manner consistent with parallel biblical events from the past. Throughout the biblical story the giving of “freewill offerings” reveals individual and corporate spiritual health and makes possible the raising of both the tabernacle (Ex. 35:29) and the first temple (1 Chron. 29:5–6, 9). Contributions toward God’s ongoing mission flow not from demand or taxation (2 Chron. 24:6) but freely and with the goal that he might dwell once more among them. Debate persists on how to understand the currency offered; however, the total weight of gold would be approximately 1,133 pounds (514 kg) and of silver 6,250 pounds (2,835 kg).46

2:70 The chapter begins by describing the return of a corporate entity, the “people of the province” returning “each to his own town” (v. 1). The final verse functions to frame this movement. Participants in this new redemptive moment include leaders and those associated with temple service (priests, Levites, etc.), as well as “all the rest of Israel in their towns.” Abraham’s offspring has now returned from Mesopotamia to the Promised Land.