Introduction
‘These are the family heads and those registered with them who came up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes: of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom; of the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel; of the descendants of David, Hattush of the descendants of Shekaniah; of the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men; of the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men of the descendants of Zattu, Shekaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men; of the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men; of the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men; of the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men; of the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men; of the descendants of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men; of the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men; of the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men; of the descendants of Adonikam, the last ones, whose names were Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men; of the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai and Zakkur, and with them 70 men.’ Ezra 8:1-14
List Of The Family Heads Returning With Ezra
You will notice that only the heads of the families are listed here, that is the fathers. The actual number of people returning with Ezra, including the Levites and the temple servants varies from one commentator to the next.
Some suggest a total of 1,773 males, others suggest a total of 9,000, which is an average of five people per family and others suggest a total of 5,000.
We must remember that most of the names listed here were very common Jewish names, names such as David, Daniel, Jonathan, Joab and Zechariah. Although these names may be listed in different lists, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are the same person. The names listed here are referring to those who arrived with Ezra during this period.
One name worth noting from this list is, ‘Hattush of the descendants of Shekaniah’. He was a descendant of David, 1 Chronicles 3:22, through Shemaiah, he was Zerubbabel’s great-great-grandson.
The Return To Jerusalem
‘I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there. So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of learning, and I ordered them to go to Iddo, the leader in Kasiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his fellow Levites, the temple servants in Kasiphia, so that they might bring attendants to us for the house of our God. Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah’s sons and brothers, 18 in all; and Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and nephews, 20 in all. They also brought 220 of the temple servants—a body that David and the officials had established to assist the Levites. All were registered by name.’ Ezra 8:15-20
After camping for three days at a canal, you will notice that Ezra found no Levites among the people. A similar problem came up at the time of the first return. While more than 4,000 priests returned with Zerubbabel, only 341 Levites did, including singers and gatekeepers, Ezra 2:36-42.
Perhaps they reckoned the Levitical role as lacking in prestige as compared with the priestly office, Malachi 2:1-2. And maybe, with settled lives in Babylon, they did not want to go embark on a life of service and hard work in a faraway, undeveloped land. Yet, as noted above, about 40 Levites did answer the recruiting efforts initiated by Ezra, Ezra 8:16-19.
After making another appeal, many Levites did join Ezra, along with the ‘temple servants’ who were originally Gibeonites, Joshua 9:23.
‘There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, ‘The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.’ So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, namely, Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers, and I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God. I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold. I said to them, ‘You as well as these articles are consecrated to the LORD. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the LORD in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel.’ Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.’ Ezra 8:21-30
Ezra now proclaims a fast, this was a common way of seeking God’s favour, Matthew 6:15 / Matthew 8:14, especially when the leaders wanted the people to focus their minds on the spiritual, Acts 13:1-3.
Notice that Ezra was ‘ashamed to ask the king’ for an escort of soldiers to protect them. The reason he didn’t ask the king for protection was probably to prove to the king that God’s people didn’t need any protection because God was with them.
After the fast, Ezra says that God answered their prayers, which possibly means they received some kind of confirmation of His protection.
It’s possible they came across Scriptural promises of protection during the fast. It’s also possible that God helped them to pick out a safer route. We don’t know exactly how God protected them, but Ezra tells us that God did, Ezra 8:31.
Notice how much money they were carrying with them, the 650 talents of silver weighed nearly 25 tons and the 100 talents of gold weighed over three tons. This would have been a staggering amount of money and weight, not to mention the value of all those other articles.
The proof that God was with them is seen in the fact that they made it safely to Judea without being ambushed by robbers and thieves. Also notice that Ezra says, ‘You as well as these articles are consecrated to the LORD.’ This is a fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy, Isaiah 52:11. This again was proof that God indeed was with them and protecting them.
‘On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days. On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and the sacred articles into the hands of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, and so were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time. Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs and, as a sin offering, twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. They also delivered the king’s orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and the house of God.’ Ezra 8:31-36
The journey which Ezra and his company made was around 900 miles and would have taken four months, Ezra 7:9. It’s not surprising that when they arrived in Jerusalem they rested for three days because the journey was long and filled with many dangers. It’s worth noting that Nehemiah did the same thing, Nehemiah 2:11.
After resting for three days, they got with the task ahead of them, they weighed out everything they brought with them from Babylon. They were very careful what they did with all the contributions they brought with them and weighed it all out in front of witnesses, as well as recording everything in writing.
After placing all the items in the temple, they then offered sacrifices. Matthew Henry, in his commentary, suggests that these offerings ‘for all Israel’ indicated that, ‘the union of the two Israels’ was then accomplished, as prophesied by Ezekiel 37:22.
Ezra also delivered the royal orders to the regional governors, which would have taken some time. But Ezra didn’t just deliver Artaxerxes’ decree, he secured the support of Artaxerxes’ satraps and governors, Ezra 7:11-24 / Ezra 9:1.
