Ezra 2 rivals or beats out a couple of the early chapters of Chronicles for the most boring book in the Bible. It's mostly just a list of men's names and purported numbers of their descendants who returned from exile. Who cares? I will just note that it's highly unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar kidnapped anything like this number of people. He would have taken the royal household, the literate priesthood, and some other high status people who might have been able to challenge his viceroy's rule, but obviously most of the population remained.There are a couple of other problems here. This list is repeated in Nehemiah, but there are at least 19 discrepancies. The arithmetic in verse 64 is off by a lot. If you add all the people in verses 3-62 you get 29,818. Adding the 7,337 slaves plus the 200 singers (who for some reason didn't previously count as people) you get 37,335, not 42,360. It seems the inerrant word of God does not include the ability to do arithmetic. Also, as usual, the quantities of gold and silver are preposterous.
2 Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to their own town, 2 in company with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah):
The list of the men of the people of Israel:
3 the descendants of Parosh 2,172 4 of Shephatiah 372 5 of Arah 775 6 of Pahath-Moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab) 2,812 7 of Elam 1,254 8 of Zattu 945 9 of Zakkai 760 10 of Bani 642 11 of Bebai 623 12 of Azgad 1,222 13 of Adonikam 666 14 of Bigvai 2,056 15 of Adin 454 16 of Ater (through Hezekiah) 98 17 of Bezai 323 18 of Jorah 112 19 of Hashum 223 20 of Gibbar 95
21 the men of Bethlehem 123 22 of Netophah 56 23 of Anathoth 128 24 of Azmaveth 42 25 of Kiriath Jearim,[a] Kephirah and Beeroth 743 26 of Ramah and Geba 621 27 of Mikmash 122 28 of Bethel and Ai 223 29 of Nebo 52 30 of Magbish 156 31 of the other Elam 1,254 32 of Harim 320 33 of Lod, Hadid and Ono 725 34 of Jericho 345 35 of Senaah 3,630 36 The priests:
the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua) 973 37 of Immer 1,052 38 of Pashhur 1,247 39 of Harim 1,017 40 The Levites:
the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel (of the line of Hodaviah) 74 41 The musicians:
the descendants of Asaph 128 42 The gatekeepers of the temple:
the descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita and Shobai 139 43 The temple servants:
the descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, 44 Keros, Siaha, Padon, 45 Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, 46 Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan, 47 Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, 48 Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, 49 Uzza, Paseah, Besai, 50 Asnah, Meunim, Nephusim, 51 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, 52 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, 53 Barkos, Sisera, Temah, 54 Neziah and Hatipha 55 The descendants of the servants of Solomon:
the descendants of Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, 56 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel, 57 Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-Hazzebaim and Ami
58 The temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon 392 59 The following came up from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer, but they could not show that their families were descended from Israel:
60 The descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda 652 61 And from among the priests:
The descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name). 62 These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 63 The governor ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there was a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim.
64 The whole company numbered 42,360, 65 besides their 7,337 male and female slaves; and they also had 200 male and female singers. 66 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 67 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.
68 When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. 69 According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics[b] of gold, 5,000 minas[c] of silver and 100 priestly garments.
70 The priests, the Levites, the musicians, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.
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