Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezra 8:15

"And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we encamped three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi." — Ezra 8:15 (ASV)

Ahava. —Both river and town. Nine days’ journey brought them there; and there is a place now called Hit, about eighty miles from Babylon, which has been identified with it.

None of the sons of Levi. —Only seventy-four had returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:40); and here we have evidence that the disinclination continued. The importance of Levitical service in the Temple accounts for the anxiety of Ezra.