Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezra 2

The children of the province that went up out of the captivity. — They came from the captivity, which was now as it were a generic name—Children of the captivity in Babylon (Daniel 2:2), in Judah (Ezra 4:1)—and became children of the province, the Judean province of Persia.

Every one unto his city. — So far, that is, as his city was known. The various cities, or villages, are more distinctly enumerated in Nehemiah.

Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua. —The leaders of the people, perhaps the twelve tribes, are represented by twelve names, one of which, Nahamani, is here missing; three others are given in slightly different forms.

The children of Parosh ... —Then comes the enumeration of the family and local names. In the following instances, we note when two of the three authorities agree. In Ezra 2:6, Ezra is confirmed by 1 Esdras as against Nehemiah’s 2,818; in Ezra 2:8, against his 945; in Ezra 2:11, against his 628; in Ezra 2:15, against his 655; in Ezra 2:17, against his 324; and in Ezra 2:33, against his 721.

In Ezra 2:10, the children of Bani (or Binnui) are 642, but 1 Esdras agrees with Nehemiah in making them 648. In Ezra 2:14, the latter two correct 666 to 667. In Ezra 2:20, heads of families become places, and Nehemiah substitutes Gibeon for Gibbar. Ezra 2:30 has no representative in Nehemiah. In Ezra 2:31, “the other Elam” has the same number as Elam in Ezra 2:7. The Nebo of Ezra 2:29 is called “the other Nebo” in Nehemiah—though it is the only one—as if the word “other” had slipped in from what is found in the next verse in Nehemiah. In a few cases, all the authorities differ, but the differences are not important.

The priests: the children of Jedaiah. —The priests are then given by family names, their numbers being very large in proportion to each of the other classes. Three only of David’s priestly courses are represented (1 Chronicles 24:7–8; 1 Chronicles 24:14); Pashur, a name mentioned elsewhere as the name of a priestly race, not being among the twenty-four in the Chronicles.

Of the house of Jeshua. —A peculiar expression, seeming to indicate merely that the present high priest belonged to the race of Jedaiah, who, in that case, is not the same as the head of the second order in the Chronicles, unless indeed he sprang from the high-priestly family of Eleazar.

The Levites: the children of Jeshua. —Then follow the Levitical families, not priests: that is, the Levites proper, the singers, the door-keepers or porters.

Of the first, there were only two families, and these are both traced up to one, that of Hodaviah or Judah (Ezra 3:9) or Hodevah (Nehemiah 7:43). The hereditary choristers are also few: of the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the first alone is represented. Nehemiah makes their number twenty more, but 1 Esdras agrees with the text of Ezra.