Ezra 2:21-35

3. Next it includes people identified mainly by their towns.

TEXT, Ezra 2:21-35

21

the men of Bethlehem, 123;

22

the men of Netophah, 56;

23

the men of Anathoth, 128;

24

the sons of Azmaveth, 42;

25

the sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;

26

the sons of Ramah and Geba, 621;

27

the men of Michmas, 122;

28

the men of Bethel and Ai, 223;

29

the sons of Nebo, 52;

30

the sons of Magbish, 156;

31

the sons of the other Elam, 1,254;

32

the sons of Harim, 320;

33

the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725;

34

the men of Jericho, 345;

35

the sons of Senaah, 3,630.

COMMENT

Note that the phrases, the men of, and the sons of, are used interchangeably. The proper names are all, or nearly all, the names of communities, though Elam in Ezra 2:31 presents a puzzle. The same name, with the same number of persons, is mentioned in verse seven, among the individuals. This may be only a remarkable coincidence, though some regard it as a repetition; the Bible writer himself indicates that he is aware of the similarity of the name at least, for he uses the phrase, the other Elam, in Ezra 2:31.

We are particularly interested in the mention of some of the towns in this list. Here is Bethlehem (Ezra 2:21), never very large, but memorable as the ancestral home of David and his royal descendants.

And Anathoth (Ezra 2:23), once the home of Jeremiah. Here the prophet had bought a piece of property at God's direction (Jeremiah 32), in the face of his own predictions of the destruction and captivity of his nation. This was his way of showing his faith, and God's assurance, that the land would be valuable again. So he had invested in the future for his nephews and nieces; now his faith and his obedience is being vindicated!

Here is Ramah (Ezra 2:26); Samuel had judged his people at Ramah (1 Samuel 7:17).

And Geba (Ezra 2:26). At least once this is another spelling of Gibeah,[14] just a few miles from Ramah. At Gibeah Saul had set up the kingdom of Israel. Most likely Geba and Ramah are grouped together because they were close to each other, as were Bethel and Ai in Ezra 2:28.

[14] Judges 20:10 in Hebrews; also Judges 20:33, where Maareh-geba may be translated field (or plain) of Geba. Note that the surrounding verses all deal with Gibeah.

Bethel (Ezra 2:28) would recall the lives of Abraham and Jacob; both of them had built altars there (Genesis 12:7; Genesis 35:1).

Nebo (Ezra 2:29), across the Jordan, afforded Moses his only view of the Promised Land before he died (Deuteronomy 34:1). Here, however, it probably denotes a small town in Judah.

The walls of Jericho (Ezra 2:34) had echoed the march of Joshua and all Israel shortly after (Joshua 6).

So the people who returned would have remembered many other hallowed events from their past, as they took up residence once more in the land of their ancestors.

WORD STUDIES

ZERUBBABEL: a seed of Babylon: a reminder that God preserved a seed of His people through the Babylonian Captivity, from which His nation would once again spring to life,

TEMPLE SERVANTS (Ezra 2:43): literally, the Nethinim: those given. The word is a plural form; it comes from the word Nathan. These were the persons given to the priests to assist with the menial tasks of preparing for sacrifice and worship.

JESHUA, or its variant, JOSHUA: Jehovah is Salvation, or Salvation from Jehovah. This is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name, Jesus.

MINA: the basic meaning is to divide out, or measure out, or number. Money originally had to be measured, or weighed, at each transaction. This is the word Mene in the handwriting on the wall, in Daniel 5:25 f. Note that the consonants are the same as those in our word money, and in reverse order, the first two consonants in number. Can you find the two letters hidden in the denomination of a bill? In numismatics? Now you are looking at the building blocks of language!