Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 2:70
So the priests, and the Levites, and [some] of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
70. This verse runs more smoothly as it appears in Neh 7:73 ‘So the priests and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities’.
The verse sums up the whole list.
The words ‘and some of the people’ seem to be in the wrong place between ‘the Levites’ and ‘the singers’; but the mention of ‘the singers’ before ‘the porters’ agrees more closely with the order of the list given in the present chapter than the order given in Neh 7:73.
An awkwardness is presented by the words ‘in their cities’ occurring twice, especially as the distinction drawn between ‘some of the people with the priests and Levites’ and ‘all Israel’ is not obvious. Some have seen in the words ‘all Israel’ an expression intended to combine those who had returned from captivity in Babylon with those who had remained behind in Palestine and had never been carried away captive. Others have seen in it an allusion to representatives of the 10 Tribes who were to be found among the new community, and compare it with the mention of the 12 leaders of the people in Ezr 2:2 (cf. 1Ch 9:3).
Perhaps the most probable explanation is that the text has suffered corruption and that the verse originally ran ‘So the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, and some of the people, even all Israel, dwelt in their cities’, or as 1Es 8:45 .
dwelt in their cities. Cf. ‘returned every one unto his city’ Ezr 2:1. The document from which this list was extracted contemplates the work of settling into their cities, which must have been a slow and gradual process, as one that had been for some time accomplished. At first only Jerusalem and the towns in the immediate neighbourhood could thus have been occupied.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
All Israel – That the Israelites of the ten tribes returned to Palestine with Zerubbabel is apparent:
(1) from 1Ch 9:3;
(2) from the enumeration of twelve chiefs (Neh 7:7; 1 Esd. 5:8); and
(3) from various expressions in Ezra Ezr 2:2, Ezr 2:59; Ezr 3:1.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 70. Dwelt in their cities] They all went to those cities which belonged originally to their respective families.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
So the priests and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities,…. Which were assigned to them out of the several tribes, and in which they or their forefathers had dwelt before the captivity:
and all Israel in their cities; as those of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, so of the other ten, as many as returned and joined those who were left in the land.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
9. Their location in the land is stated.
TEXT, Ezr. 2:70
70
Now the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
COMMENT
Their dwelling within (walled) cities was probably required by the need for mutual defense, assistance, and encouragement. Note that they think of themselves as all Israel, and not a remnant of a few tribes.
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!
SUMMARY
There you see the brave band of marchers: small in number, of meagre resources, threatened by many dangers on the trip and even after they arrived; yet there is no denying that they made the trip. They will be joined by others who will come in small groups as time goes on; but even when the N.T. opens, they are still a pitifully small nation. A disproportionate number of them, about one in ten, are priests, and we can understand why priests would be more likely to treasure hopes of returning to the service of God in the temple at Jerusalem. But for now, they must all unite in the physical work of rebuilding.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(70) Some of the people.Those of the people; placed by Nehemiah after all the others.
All Israel in their cities.The emphasis lies in the fact that, though Judah and Benjamin contributed the largest part, it was a national revival; and the constant repetition of in their cities has in it the same note of triumph.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
70. In their cities The cities assigned them as their future homes. With many these cities were ancestral homes.
All Israel The entire community of returned exiles who now represented the Israelitish nation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Their residence is noticed inasmuch as it implied, amidst all the desolations of their cities, that they were delighted to be in Jerusalem once more. The prophet had said, that the Lord’s servants should take pleasure in the very stones of Zion, and favor the dust thereof. And here we see it fulfilled. Psa 102:14 . But Reader! think with what holy joy and rapture will the redeemed of Zion return to their Jerusalem, which is above, when the captivity of sin, and Satan, and death, and the grave, is forever over! Oh! what unknown, inexpressible, inconceivable delight will break in upon the soul when they shall come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon their heads; w hen all those enemies shall be known, and felt, and feared no more. In the blessed prospect of it I would say, Haste, my beloved, and be thou like a roe, or a young hart, upon the mountains of Bether. Son 2:17 .
REFLECTIONS
VERY precious, and very highly interesting, are the thoughts which arise out of this chapter under the blessed Spirit’s teaching. And Reader! let you and I see that we do not lose sight of them.
Behold, then, how careful the fathers were to preserve, amidst the most calamitous times, a faithful record that they were of the stock of Israel, and had Abraham for their father. Though living in Babylon, they had not incorporated with the seed of Babylon; but though cast down for their sins, they considered themselves not finally cast off. God was still their God, and his covenant engagements not broken. Let us interpret this of gospel-times, and see how highly it speaks to the true children of promise in Jesus. We are not simply recorded in the genealogy of families if we are children of God in Christ Jesus, but our record is on high, and our names written in the Lamb’s book of life. And though we, like the church of old, live in the Babylon of this world, yet, blessed be God, Jesus tells us we are not of this world. And if Israel were saved and brought home, because of God’s covenant promises to Abraham, think how everlastingly certain and sure must be the covenant engagements of Jehovah with his dear Son, purchased and confirmed by his blood, and all his people justified in his righteousness. Oh! the precious, precious privileges Jesus hath secured to his church to insure their final triumphs over all the captivity of sin and Satan. And oh! Reader! let us be highly jealous of these vast privileges. See, day by day, that we do not lose sight of our interest in them, but live in the constant use of them; and not like some of the priests and people, unable to prove their pedigree. Oh, dearest Jesus! may it be my daily delight, with the first of the morn and the last of the night, to look again and again over the love-tokens of thy favor. Surely I may say of thee as the church of old, Oh! that thou wert (for thou art) as a brother to me, that sucked the breasts of my mother; when I should find thee without I would kiss thee, yea, I should not be despised.
And while I am upon these sweet thoughts, suggested b y the view of the church as here numbered in their return from Babylon, do I not behold in it also a blessed and a glorious type of the whole nation of the redeemed on earth returning at the last day, when Babylon, the great mother of harlots, shall be cast down, and the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, shall fall to rise no more. Precious, precious Lord Jesus! ride forth now thou Almighty Lord of all, and win the nations to the sceptre of thy grace. Proclaim, as Cyrus thy type did, for thy people to return. Let the enemies of thy cross fall before thee, and dare no longer to retain thy captives. Bring them, Lord, to thine home, to build thee a spiritual temple, in thy strength, riches, and power. In every age make up the register of those whose names are written in thy book, until at length all that the Father hath given thee are gathered to thee, and the millions whose bodies sleep under the altar in heaven in hope, shall at thy call arise to all the wonders of futurity, and the whole purposes of creation and redemption being fully answered in the union of thy glorious body being brought to thee, the song of everlasting, unceasing praise and hallelujahs, shall fill the realms of bliss to the Holy Three in One, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, forevermore.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ezr 2:70 So the priests, and the Levites, and [some] of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
Ver. 70. And some of the people ] For not half of them, as may be probably thought, returned; but condemned the rest of rashness and weakness, to their no small prejudice.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Ezr 2:70
70Now the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers and the temple servants lived in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
Ezr 2:70 This three-fold division of the people (priests, Levites, the people [other tribes]) is consistent throughout the book. The other three groups (singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants) designate both Jews and foreign servants who serve the cultus.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. Why did Cyrus let the children of Israel return to Judah?
2. Why are the Persian decrees so Jewish (cf. Ezra 1, 6)?
3. What is the relationship between Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel?
4. Why is such a detailed register of returnees made in chapter 2 and what is its relationship to Ezra 7 and Nehemiah 7?
5. List the temple workers and describe their functions.
6. Is Ezr 3:6 in contradiction to Ezr 5:16?
7. How many different returns to Jerusalem were there and under whom?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
all Israel. See note on Ezr 2:2, and 1Ki 12:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Ezr 6:16, Ezr 6:17, 1Ch 11:2, Neh 7:73, Neh 11:3-36
Reciprocal: 1Ch 9:2 – the first Neh 10:28 – the rest Isa 44:26 – that saith Jer 33:26 – I will Eze 37:12 – and bring
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ezr 2:70. And all Israel in their cities In the cities which their families had inhabited before their captivity. As to those who could not prove themselves Israelites by any genealogical register, they probably settled in those lands which were not claimed, or followed handicraft employments, of one sort or other, in the cities. Although their cities were out of repair, yea, in a ruinous state, yet, because they were their cities, such as God had assigned them, they were content to dwell in them; and were thankful for liberty and property, though they had little of pomp, plenty, or power. Their poverty was an afflictive cause, but their unity and unanimity were happy effects of it. Here was room enough for them all, and all their substance, so that there was no strife among them, but perfect harmony: a blessed presage of their comfortable settlement, as their discords in the latter times of that state were of their ruin.