Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 2:36
The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.
36. the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua ] In the 24 Priestly houses enumerated in 1Ch 24:7-18, the house of Jedaiah stands second.
The words ‘of the house of Jeshua’ have been differently explained. ( a) It has been considered to refer to a very ancient house from which sprang two branches, the family of Jedaiah mentioned here and 1Ch 24:7, and the family of Jeshua mentioned as the ninth priestly house in 1Ch 24:11. ( b) The Jeshua here spoken of is considered to be the High-priest; ‘the sons of Jedaiah were a portion of the house to which J. the high-priest belonged Jedaiah is not the name of the second order of priests, but of the head of a family of the high-priestly race (Keil).
( c) But as the name of Jedaiah is followed by that of Immer, the sixteenth priestly house (1Ch 24:14), it is more natural to suppose that ‘the children of Jedaiah’ were members of the second priestly house. The explanation of the passage is supplied by the similar twofold genealogical reference given in Ezr 2:6; Ezr 2:16. The house is mentioned first and then follows its limitation to a special branch or family.
Here the house is the priestly house of Jedaiah; the branch or family is that of Jeshua. This Jeshua belonged probably to some former generation, but gave his name to a particular branch of the house of Jedaiah.
The difficulty occasioned by this verse has arisen from the desire to identify this Jeshua with the High-priest and from the mistake of supposing that the names of the heads of families were necessarily the companions of Zerubbabel instead of being rather the distinctive names of clans.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
36 39. The names and numbers of the houses of the priests correspond exactly in the three registers.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 36. The priests] The preceding list takes in the census of Judah and Benjamin.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
36-39. The priestsEach oftheir families was ranged under its prince or head, like those of theother tribes. It will be remembered that the whole body was dividedinto twenty-four courses, one of which, in rotation, discharged thesacerdotal duties every week, and each division was called after thename of its first prince or chief. It appears from this passage thatonly four of the courses of the priests returned from the Babylonishcaptivity; but these four courses were afterwards, as the familiesincreased, divided into twenty-four, which were distinguished by thenames of the original courses appointed by David [1Ch23:6-13]. Hence we find the course of Abijah or Abia (1Ch24:10) subsisting at the commencement of the Christian era (Lu1:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ver. 36-39. The priests,…. An account of them is given in this and the three following verses, and only four families are mentioned, those of Jedaiah, Immer, Pashur, and Harim, and the number of them amounted to 4289; these, according to the Jews, were heads of four courses, which were all that returned from Babylon u.
u T. Hieros. Taanioth, fol. 68. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The list of the priests is identical, both in names and numbers, with that of Neh 7:39-42. These are:
The sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua 973 The sons of Immer 1052 The sons of Pashur 1247 The sons of Harim 1017 Total 4289
Jedaiah is the head of the second order of priests in 1Ch 24:7. If, then, Jedaiah here represents this order, the words “of the house of Jeshua” must not be applied to Jeshua the high priest; the second order belonging in all probability to the line of Ithamar, and the high-priestly race, on the contrary, to that of Eleazar. We also meet the name Jeshua in other priestly families, e.g., as the name of the ninth order of priests in 1Ch 24:11, so that it may be the old name of another priestly house. Since, however, it is unlikely that no priest of the order from which the high priest descended should return, the view that by Joshua the high priest is intended, and that the sons of Jedaiah were a portion of the house to which Joshua the high priest belonged, is the more probable one. In this case Jedaiah is not the name of the second order of priests, but of the head of a family of the high-priestly race. Immer is the name of the sixteenth order of priests, 1Ch 24:14. Pashur does not occur among the orders of priests in 1 Chron 24; but we find the name, 1Ch 9:12, and Neh 11:12, among the ancestors of Adaiah, a priest of the order of Malchijah; the Pashur of Jer 20 and Jer 21:1-14 being, on the contrary, called the son of Immer, i.e., a member of the order of Immer. Hence Bertheau considers Pashur to have been the name of a priestly race, which first became extensive, and took the place of an older and perhaps extinct order, after the time of David. Gershom of the sons of Phinehas, and Daniel of the sons of Ithamar, are said, Dan 8:2, to have gone up to Jerusalem with Ezra, while the order to which they belonged is not specified. Among the priests who had married strange wives (Ezr 10:18-22) are named, sons of Jeshua, Immer, Harim, Pashur; whence it has been inferred “that, till the time of Ezra, only the four divisions of priests here enumerated had the charge of divine worship in the new congregation” (Bertheau). On the relation of the names in Ezr 2:36-39 to those in Neh 10:3-9 and 12:1-22, see remarks on these passages.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
36 The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three. 37 The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. 38 The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven. 39 The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen. 40 The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy and four. 41 The singers: the children of Asaph, a hundred twenty and eight. 42 The children of the porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all an hundred thirty and nine. 43 The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth, 44 The children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon, 45 The children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub, 46 The children of Hagab, the children of Shalmai, the children of Hanan, 47 The children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah, 48 The children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, 49 The children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai, 50 The children of Asnah, the children of Mehunim, the children of Nephusim, 51 The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, 52 The children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, 53 The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Thamah, 54 The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha. 55 The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Peruda, 56 The children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, 57 The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Ami. 58 All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred ninety and two. 59 And these were they which went up from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not show their father’s house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel: 60 The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two. 61 And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name: 62 These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood. 63 And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.
Here is an account, I. Of the priests that returned, and they were a considerable number, about a tenth part of the whole company: for the whole were above 42,000 (v. 64), and four families of priests made up above 4200 (v. 36-39); thus was the tenth God’s part–a blessed decimation. Three of the fathers of the priests here named were heads of courses, 1Ch 24:7; 1Ch 24:8; 1Ch 24:14. The fourth was Pashur, v. 38. If these were of the posterity of that Pashur that abused Jeremiah (Jer. xx. 1), it is strange that so bad a man should have so good a seed, and so numerous.
II. Of the Levites. I cannot but wonder at the small number of them, for, taking in both the singers and the porters (v. 40-42), they did not make 350. Time was when the Levites were more forward to their duty than the priests (2 Chron. xxix. 34), but they were not so now. If one place, one family, has the reputation for pious zeal now, another may have it another time. The wind blows where it listeth, and shifts its points.
III. Of the Nethinim, who, it is supposed, were the Gibeonites, given (so their name signifies) by Joshua first (Josh. ix. 27), and again by David (Ezra viii. 20), when Saul had expelled them, to be employed by the Levites in the work of God’s house as hewers of wood and drawers of water; and, with them, of the children of Solomon’s servants, whom he gave for the like use (whether they were Jews or Gentiles does not appear) and who were here taken notice of among the retainers of the temple and numbered with the Nethinim, Ezr 2:55; Ezr 2:58. Note, It is an honour to belong to God’s house, though in the meanest office there.
IV. Of some that were looked upon as Israelites by birth, and others as priests, and yet could not make out a clear title to the honour. 1. There were some that could not prove themselves Israelites (Ezr 2:59; Ezr 2:60), a considerable number, who presumed they were of the seed of Jacob, but could not produce their pedigrees, and yet would go up to Jerusalem, having an affection to the house and people of God. These shamed those who were true-born Israelites, and yet were not called Israelites indeed, who came out of the waters of Judah (Isa. xlviii. 1), but had lost the relish of those waters. 2. There were others that could not prove themselves priests, and yet were supposed to be of the seed of Aaron. What is not preserved in black and white will, in all likelihood, be forgotten in a little time. Now we are here told, (1.) How they lost their evidence. One of their ancestors married a daughter of Barzillai, that great man whom we read of in David’s time; he gloried in an alliance to that honourable family, and, preferring that before the dignity of his priesthood, would have his children called after Barzillai’s family, and their pedigree preserved in the registers of that house, not of the house of Aaron, and so they lost it. In Babylon there was nothing to be got by the priesthood, and therefore they cared not for being akin to it. Those who think their ministry, or their relation to ministers, a diminution or disparagement to them, forget who it was that said, I magnify my office. (2.) What they lost with it. It could not be taken for granted that they were priests when they could not produce their proofs, but they were, as polluted, put from the priesthood. Now that the priests had recovered their rights, and had the altar to live upon again, they would gladly be looked upon as priests. But they had sold their birthright for the honour of being gentlemen, and therefore were justly degraded, and forbidden to eat of the most holy things. Note, Christ will be ashamed of those that are ashamed of him and his service. It was the tirshatha, or governor, that put them under this sequestration, which some understand of Zerubbabel the present governor, others of Nehemiah (who is so called, Neh 8:9; Neh 10:1, and who gave this order when he came some years after); but the prohibition was not absolute, it was only a suspension, till there should be a high priest with Urim and Thummin, by whom they might know God’s mind in this matter. This, it seems, was expected and desired, but it does not appear that ever they were blessed with it under the second temple. They had the canon of the Old Testament complete, which was better than Urim; and, by the want of that oracle, they were taught to expect the Messiah the great Oracle, which the Urim and Thummim was but a type of. Nor does it appear that the second temple had the ark in it, either the old one or a new one. Those shadows by degrees vanished, as the substance approached; and God, by the prophet, intimates to his people that they should sustain no damage by the want of the ark, Jer 3:16; Jer 3:17. In those days, when they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord, neither shall it come to mind, for they shall do very well without it.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Priests and Levites, Verses 36-54
The families of those who were to officiate at the rebuilt temple
and its service are named separately in the verses above. They are broken down into families of priests, Levites, singers, porters, Nethinim. Jeshua represented the family of Jedaiah, who was carried away in the captivity. lie will be the high priest when the temple is erected again. Over three thousand souls belonged to the families of the returning priests.
The families of the Levites are subdivided into the singers, porters, and Nethinim. The family of the famous father of the singers and great psalmist of David’s time, Asaph, are well represented, to the number of one hundred twenty-eight. The porter’s families numbered one hundred thirty-nine souls. There were more of the children of the Nethinim, or temple servants. They are listed in verses 43 through 54, but their numbers are not given. They were doubtless considered a less prestigious group than the regular orders of the Levites.
The name “Nethinim” comes from the word, na-than, meaning “gift, or dedication.” Thus it indicated those appointed to the service of the Lord’s house. At first this was the sole occupation of the Levites, but as captives were taken in the wars of conquest, some were dedicated to the service of the priests. These took over the menial tasks. The Midianites (Num 31:47) were probably the earliest. Later the Gibeonites were also assigned to the tabernacle, but Saul had almost exterminated them (1Sa 22:19; 2Sa 21:2), so that it is doubtful that many of them remained. It is also likely that many individuals were given by parents, or dedicated themselves, to this service.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
4. Also important enough to be mentioned were certain people connected with the Temple and religious worship.
TEXT, Ezr. 2:36-58
36
The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973;
37
the sons of Immer, 1,052;
38
the sons of Pashhur, 1,247;
39
the sons of Harim, 1,017.
40
The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, 74.
41
The singers: the sons of Asaph, 128.
42
The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, in all 139.
43
The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,
44
the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon,
45
the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub,
46
the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan,
47
the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah,
48
the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam,
49
the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai,
50
the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephisim,
51
the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,
52
the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,
53
the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah,
54
the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.
55
The sons of Solomons servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda,
56
the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,
57
the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Ami.
58
All the temple servants, and the sons of Solomons servants, were 392.
COMMENT
The priests (Ezr. 2:36-39) are the first in rank among those connected with the Temple. Of the four clans or households which follow, three are identifiable as being among the twenty-four courses appointed in Davids time to serve in rotation at the altar: 1Ch. 24:7-8; 1Ch. 24:14 mention Jedaiah, Immer, and Harim. (Pashur may have been a replacement for one of the other groups, or an alternative name of one of them; it is identified with the priesthood elsewhere.)
This gives a clue to the source of the names in this list; it is possible that many are the names of clans, or family names, going back to the time of David and the organization of the Kingdom of Israel. We may wish for names more easily identified, which can be traced to specific tribes; but that may not be necessary since all the priests would be of the tribe of Levi, and since we have been told previously (Ezr. 1:5) that the other returnees were of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, at this time.
Jeshua, the high priest, is identified with the clan of Jedaiah (Ezr. 2:36). More extensive mention of him is made by Haggai (Ezr. 1:1) and by Zechariah (Ezr. 3:1): both spell his name Joshua. He was the priest whose leadership, along with the governor Zerubbabels, brought about the reconstruction of the Temple.
Ezr. 2:40. Of the Levities in addition to the priests, only seventy-four are mentioned. The Jeshua in this verse is apparently a second man by that name, rather than the priest mentioned previously. It is likely that the Levites, not being as directly involved in religious duties as the priests, were not as a group as excited about returning. It is also possible that, since Eze. 44:9-16 predicts the demotion of the Levites from some of their responsibilities because of their previous sins, this reduction of their size is a consequence. It is further possible that, since their functions were primarily teaching instead of ministry through ritual, many of them would remain in Persia to furnish needed instruction to the majority of their brethren who remained there.
Singers (Ezr. 2:41) are mentioned next. These would be important to ancient worship, as attested by Egyptian plaques found at Megiddo in Israel.[15] The name of Asaph in this list also goes back to the organization of the worship in Davids time (1Ch. 15:17; 1Ch. 15:19). The name, either of the individual or his descendants, is identified with the authorship of twelve of the Psalms (50, 7383).
[15] J. B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 263.
The sons of the gatekeepers (Ezr. 2:42) may not have had a lofty calling, but they had their significance. A holy man once expressed his preference to stand at the threshold of my God, Than dwell in the tents of wickedness (Psa. 84:10).
The temple servants (Ezr. 2:43-54) would have even a humbler task. Perhaps these would include descendants of people whom Israel had subjected either by war or by treaty; two examples are given in Numbers 31 (Midianites) and Joshua 9 (Gibeonites); note especially Jos. 9:27.
Solomons servants (Ezr. 2:55-57) were apparently a similar group added later to the temple servants, with whom they are classed (Ezr. 2:58). Solomons activities (1Ki. 9:20-21) reduced some of Canaans former tribesmen to servitude. If the pattern set in Numbers 31 was followed, then a percentage of these also, along with other war captives added from time to time, ended up in the service of the Temple, and their descendants would be included among the voluntary returnees from captivity.
Does this seem ironic, that many free citizens of Israel now choose to stay in the land of their captivity, while some who had been enslaved by Israel are now freely choosing to return to the land which had enslaved them? This speaks well of the treatment they had received from Israel, and of the Spiritual appeal of service in the Temple, that they still want to maintain their identity with them though it began as forced servitude. There are surely parallels today among children compelled to attend religious services against their will, or of young lovers enduring religious obligations to be near the object of their affections, and then finding something in the services which calls them to full voluntary dedication to the things of God.
5. There follows a list of those whose ancestral records had been lost.
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 (Ezr. 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 Dan. 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!
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(36) 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 Davids priestly courses are represented (1Ch. 24:7-8; 1Ch. 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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Enrolling Of The Priests ( Ezr 2:36-39 ).
The priests were divided up into four courses, as opposed to the twenty four courses pertaining under David (1Ch 24:1-19). But these four courses would eventually in the future be divided up into twenty four under the names of the old courses. The number of priestly families as a whole amount to four thousand, two hundred and eighty nine, roughly a tenth of the total of forty two thousand, three hundred and sixty who returned, and an even larger percentage of the named families. This was to be expected as they had a greater incentive for returning to Jerusalem. There would be a further addition to priestly numbers when some returned along with Ezra (Ezr 8:2 ff).
Ezr 2:36
‘The Priests.’
The Priests are separately designated as a group. These were able to demonstrate their ancestry, and therefore their legitimacy to act in the forthcoming Temple.
Ezr 2:36
‘The sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy three.’
Jedaiah (‘Yah knows’) was the head of the second order of priests in the time of David (1Ch 24:7). On the other hand ‘of the house of Jeshua’ possibly indicates that a different Jedaiah was in mind, one who was descended from Jeshua, the head of the ninth order of priests (1Ch 24:11). Jedaiah was a very popular name among the priests. For example, two Jedaiahs are named as priests who came with Zerubbabel from Babylon (Neh 12:1; Neh 12:6-7), who were chiefs of priests in the days of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, the High Priest under Zerubbabel (Neh 12:1; Neh 12:7). Furthermore two Jedaiahs as family names are found in the list of priests who were ‘heads of fathers’ houses’ in the days of Joiakim who succeeded Jeshua as High Priest (Neh 12:12; Neh 12:19; Neh 12:21). In this regard we should note that there was a tendency for names to be passed on to grandsons. A Jedaiah is also named as one of the priests who later took up dwelling in Jerusalem (Neh 11:10; 1 Chronicles 9/10). A Jedaiah (presumably one of those mentioned in Neh 12:6-7) was involved in the symbolic crowning of Jeshua the High Priest as ‘the Branch’ in Zec 6:10; Zec 6:14.
‘Of the house of Jeshua.’ This would usually indicate that he was a descendant of Jeshua (compare Exo 2:1; 1Sa 25:3 ; 1Ch 2:55; 2Ch 31:10). Jeshua (‘Yah saves’) was such a popular name that certain identification of this one is impossible to us, although it probably in this context looks back to the Jeshua who headed the ninth order of priests in 1Ch 24:11.
Jeshua was a very popular name. Jeshua was the name of a Levite who lived in Hezekiah’s time (2Ch 31:15). Jeshua the son of Jozadak was the name of the High Priest alongside Zerubbabel (e.g. Ezr 3:2; Zechariah 3; etc), and in this very same list a Jeshua is the son of Pahath-Moab (Ezr 2:6), whilst another is a head of a Levite family (Ezr 2:40). Another Jeshua had, along with others, oversight of workmen restoring the Temple in the early days of the return (Ezr 3:9), whilst still another, a Levite, was among those who helped the people to understand the Law in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (Neh 8:7). It was this latter who, along with others, led worship, and called on the people to worship (Neh 9:4-5), and may have been the father of ‘Jozabad, the son of Jeshua’, whom, along with others, received the silver, gold and vessels for use in the Temple (Ezr 8:33). Jeshua, the son of Azaniah, was one of those who sealed the sure covenant of Nehemiah (Neh 10:9). Neh 12:10 refers to a Jeshua who came up with Zerubbabel (see Ezr 2:40 above), while a further Jeshua, the son of Kadmiel, is referred to in Neh 12:24 as present at the dedication of the walls in the time of Nehemiah. The famous Jeshua the son of Nun is mentioned in Neh 8:17.
Ezr 2:37
‘The sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty two.’
Immer was the name of the sixteenth order of priests in David’s time (1Ch 24:14). Two ‘sons of Immer’, Hanani and Zebediah married foreign wives (Ezr 10:20). Zadok, the ‘son’ of Immer’, who lived in Jerusalem, helped in the building of the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (Neh 3:29). Also living in Jerusalem was Amashsai, the son of Azazel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, a line (which probably only included prominent ancestors) that evidences the fact that Immer was long dead (Neh 11:13; compare 1Ch 9:12). Jer 20:1 speaks of a ‘Pashhur, the son of Immer’ living before the Babylonian Exile. In Ezr 2:59 we learn of a place in Babylonia which was called Immer, the returnees from which could not prove their genealogy.
Ezr 2:38
‘The sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty seven.’
Pashhur, which means ‘one who splits, one who cleaves’, was a common Jewish name. This is the only name among the four which does not directly tie up with the courses of priests in David’s time. Six ‘sons of Pashhur’ married foreign wives (Ezr 10:22). A Pashhur, or someone who signed in the clan name, also sealed the sure covenant of Nehemiah in Neh 10:3.
We have already seen that a Pashhur who was ‘the son of Immer’ lived before the Babylonian Exile, and treated Jeremiah the prophet very badly (Jer 20:1-3). There was also at that time a Pashhur, the son of Malchijah (Jer 21:1; Jer 38:1; Neh 11:12), and a Gedaliah the son of a different Pashhur (Jer 38:1) who were also antagonistic towards Jeremiah. However, none of these indicate the Pashhur who was the source of the clan name. All that they demonstrate is that Pashhur was a common Jewish name likely to have been borne by a clan chief.
Ezr 2:39
‘The sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.’
Harim was the name of the third order of priests in the days of David (1Ch 24:8), and this probably indicates their descent from him. In Ezr 10:21 the ‘sons of Harim’ covenant to put away foreign wives, and in Neh 12:15 they are listed among the priests who ‘went up with Zerubbabel’. A priestly Harim seals the covenant of Nehemiah, or someone does it in the family name (Neh 10:27).
We have already had ‘sons of Harim’ referred to in Ezr 2:32, but they were of a non-priestly family, and there Harim was possibly a town. Some of the sons of Harim also married foreign wives (Ezr 10:31), whilst one sealed the covenant of Nehemiah (Neh 10:27).
Malchijah, the son of Harim, was one of the wall-builders in Neh 3:11, but we do not know which of these two families that designation refers to.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Priests, Levites, and Servants of the Temple
v. 36. The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, v. 37. The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two.
v. 38. The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven.
v. 39. The children of Rarim, a thousand and seventeen. v. 40. The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah v. 41. The singers: the children of Asaph, v. 42. The children of the porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all an hundred thirty and nine.
v. 43. The Nethinim, v. 44. the children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon, v. 45. the children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub, v. 46. the children of Hagab, the children of Shalmai, the children of Hanan, v. 47. the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah, v. 48. the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, v. 49. the children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai, v. 50. the children of Asnah, the children of Mehunim, the children of Nephusim, v. 51. the children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, v. 52. the children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, v. 53. v. 54. the children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.
v. 55. The children of Solomon’s servants, v. 56. the children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, v. 57. the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Ami v. 58. All the Nethinim and the children of Solomon’s servants were three hundred ninety and two
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
This list is of the priests. And a very large proportion they were to the whole mass; somewhat about a tenth part.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Ezr 2:36-39
36The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973;
37 the sons of Immer, 1,052;
38 the sons of Pashhur, 1,247;
39 the sons of Harim, 1,017.
Ezr 2:36 the priest Ezr 2:36-58 lists a series of temple workers mentioned in order of their importance: priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, the temple servants, and special servants.
Three of the families of priests listed go back to the names of priests in David’s day (cf. 1 Chronicles 24).
1. Jedaiah (family of Joshua, the first post-exilic High Priest, cf. 1Ch 9:10; Neh 7:39)
2. Immer (cf. Jer 20:1)
3. Harim (cf. Ezr 10:21; Neh 3:11)
David had twenty-four groups of priests (cf. 1Ch 24:7-19), but only four of them returned. Pashhur is mentioned in 1Ch 9:12; Ezek. 2:38; Eze 10:22; Neh 7:41; Neh 11:12.
Ezr 2:38 Pashhur He is of the line of Zadok from Jedaiah (cf. 1Ch 9:10-12).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jedaiah. The head of the ninth course (1Ch 24:11).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Ezr 2:36-39
Ezr 2:36-39
THE LIST OF THE PRIESTS WHO RETURNED
“The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three. The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. The children of Pashhur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven. The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.”
It is very significant that the priests listed here numbered 4,287, a tenth of the entire number who returned. Why was this? “It reflects the fact that they had most to gain from it.” Furthermore, “In the post-exilic period, there was a steady development of the priestly hierarchy,” resulting finally in that godless concentration of evil men who controled and exploited the temple and all who worshipped there, who engineered the crucifixion of the Son of God, rebelled against Rome, and brought total ruin upon Jerusalem and their entire system.
E.M. Zerr:
Ezr 2:36-39. Any man who was a lineal descendant of Aaron was eligible for the priesthood. It had been so many centuries since the time of starting said priesthood that many branches of the family had come into existence. The men named in this paragraph were some of those branches.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Jedaiah: 1Ch 9:10, 1Ch 24:7
Jeshua: Ezr 3:9, Neh 7:39
Reciprocal: 1Ch 24:11 – Jeshuah Ezr 7:24 – touching any Neh 10:28 – the rest Neh 11:10 – Jedaiah
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ezr 2:36. The priests Having numbered the people that went of Judah and Benjamin, he proceeds now to the tribe of Levi, and first mentions the priests.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:36 The {g} priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.
(g) Before he has declared the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and now comes to the tribe of Levi and begins at the priests.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The priests 2:36-39
Only four of the 24 priestly families that David organized (1Ch 24:7-18) had representatives among the returning exiles. Nevertheless, these would have been sufficient to serve the worship needs of the other Israelites who returned. The priests comprised about 8.6 percent of the total returnee population at this time (cf. Ezr 2:64-65).