ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Ezra 2

2:1–70 The Exiles Live Again in Their Ancestral Homes. This long chapter tells of the exiles’ return from Babylon to resettle in their former homes in Jerusalem and Judah. (The information in ch. 2 is given again in Neh. 7:6–73 in connection with a covenant renewal under Nehemiah.) It shows that the exiled Judeans responded to Cyrus’s decree and saw it as a fulfillment of prophecy. The return is not just the end of the exile but also a reoccupation of the ancient Israelite homeland.

Ezra 2:2a Zerubbabel descended from King Jehoiachin (see 1 Chron. 3:16–19, where Jehoiachin is called Jeconiah). Jehoiachin was exiled in 597 b.c. and was later given a place in the Babylonian court (2 Kings 24:15; 25:27–30; see also Hag. 2:23). The Nehemiah named here is not the one who later rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls; he came to Jerusalem almost a century after these first returnees. The Mordecai of Esther was also much later, and did not return to Jerusalem.

Ezra 2:2b–35 The laity is described partly by kinship (vv. 2b–19) and partly by place (vv. 20–35), without a real distinction (the men of and the sons of seem interchangeable). The places named are in Judah and Benjamin (see 1:5), north and south of Jerusalem, with a larger group in Benjamin (see Josh. 18:21–27).

Ezra 2:36–58 Temple officials are divided by function, headed by the priests and Levites. The priests (vv. 36–39) are most important, set apart for worship at the altar. The Levites are attendants, some of them singers and gatekeepers (vv. 40–42; see also 1 Chron. 6:33–43; 9:17–18).

Ezra 2:43–54 The temple servants were officials appointed by King David to help the Levites (see 8:20).

Ezra 2:55–58 The sons of Solomon’s servants may be connected with foreigners whom Solomon drafted for building the temple (1 Kings 9:20–21). They are not regarded as slaves.

Ezra 2:59–63 whether they belonged to Israel. People were coming back after a long exile to claim inheritance and property, so credentials needed to be established. excluded from the priesthood. Only priests from the correct lineage could serve at the altar. a priest to consult. The claims entered here are not permanently refused, but are investigated further before a ruling is made.

Ezra 2:68 The location of the former temple is regarded as a holy place, so it can already be called the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 2:69 Darics were gold coins used throughout the Persian Empire. Archaeologists have found darics bearing the name of the Persian province Yehud, probably indicating that the returned Jews were allowed to mint their own coins. Yehud was the Persian name for Judah (or Judea; see 9:9); it was within a larger province called Beyond the River (see 4:10; and note on 4:1–2).