Ezra 2 Study Notes: The Exiles Who Returned
A register lists the families, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers and temple servants who came back from Babylon with Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Priests lacking family records are barred from serving until God’s will can be sought, family leaders give freewill gifts for the temple, and all settle in their towns.
General
When some family heads reached the LORD’s house in Jerusalem, what did they do (Ezra 2:68-69)?
Answer: Gave freewill gifts, as each was able, to rebuild God’s house where it stood
Once they arrived, some family leaders brought freewill offerings (voluntary gifts beyond anything required) to rebuild God’s house on the very spot where it had stood, each giving according to his means (2:68-69). Their giving was willing, like the freewill gifts Israel brought for the tabernacle from everyone whose heart prompted them (Exodus 35:29). Gifts measured by what a person has are the kind God accepts (2 Corinthians 8:12), and He delights in the one who gives gladly from the heart rather than under pressure (2 Corinthians 9:7).
- Ezra 2:68-69 (BSB)“When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings to rebuild the house of God on its original site. According to their ability, they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priestly garments.”Some family heads give freewill offerings, according to their ability, to rebuild God’s house on its original site.
- Exodus 35:29 (BSB)“So all the men and women of the Israelites whose hearts prompted them brought a freewill offering to the LORD for all the work that the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.”Israel’s gifts for the tabernacle were freewill offerings from those whose hearts prompted them.
- 2 Corinthians 8:12 (BSB)“For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”A gift is acceptable according to what one has, as the family heads gave according to ability.
- 2 Corinthians 9:7 (BSB)“Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.”God loves giving that comes freely from the heart, not from compulsion.
Theological
What do Ezra 2:68-69 record about the family heads on their arrival at the site of the LORD’s house?
Answer: Gave freewill gifts, as each was able, to rebuild God’s house where it stood
On arrival, some family heads made freewill offerings for rebuilding God’s house on its former site, each in proportion to his means (2:68-69). Their giving mirrors the voluntary offerings for the tabernacle from all whose hearts moved them (Exodus 35:29), and it fits the New Testament principle that a gift is welcomed in proportion to what the giver has (2 Corinthians 8:12), freely and cheerfully given rather than extracted (2 Corinthians 9:7). Restored worship was built on willing generosity, not compulsion.
- Ezra 2:68-69 (BSB)“When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings to rebuild the house of God on its original site. According to their ability, they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priestly garments.”Some family heads give freewill offerings, according to their ability, to rebuild God’s house on its original site.
- Exodus 35:29 (BSB)“So all the men and women of the Israelites whose hearts prompted them brought a freewill offering to the LORD for all the work that the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.”Israel’s gifts for the tabernacle were freewill offerings from those whose hearts prompted them.
- 2 Corinthians 8:12 (BSB)“For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”A gift is acceptable according to what one has, as the family heads gave according to ability.
- 2 Corinthians 9:7 (BSB)“Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.”God loves giving that comes freely from the heart, not from compulsion.
General
Why were some priestly families kept out of the priesthood (Ezra 2:61-62)?
Answer: They were unable to locate records proving their descent
Under the law of Moses, only Aaron’s descendants could serve as priests, and any outsider who came near to do priestly work faced death (Numbers 3:10; Numbers 18:7). So when three priestly families looked for their genealogies (written records of their family line) and came up empty, they were treated as unclean and kept out of the priesthood (2:61-62). The returned community took God’s holy service seriously and would not let anyone serve without a proper claim to it. The New Testament points to a greater priest, Jesus, who holds His priesthood not by family descent but through the power of a life that cannot be destroyed (Hebrews 7:16).
- Ezra 2:62 (BSB)“These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.”The priestly families search for their records, fail to find them, and are excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
- Numbers 3:10 (BSB)“So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.””The priesthood was given to Aaron and his sons, and outsiders were barred from it.
- Numbers 18:7 (BSB)“But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.””Only Aaron’s line could serve at the altar; an outsider who came near faced death.
- Hebrews 7:16 (BSB)“one who has become a priest not by a law of succession, but by the power of an indestructible life.”Christ became priest not by descent but by the power of an indestructible life.
Theological
On what ground were certain priestly families excluded from priestly service (Ezra 2:61-62)?
Answer: They were unable to locate records proving their descent
Priesthood under the Mosaic covenant was strictly hereditary to Aaron’s line, and unauthorized approach was a capital offense (Numbers 3:10; Numbers 18:7). Families who claimed priestly descent but could not document it in the genealogical records were therefore treated as unclean and excluded (2:61-62), a sign of the remnant’s concern for holiness in restored worship. Hebrews sets this hereditary order beside Christ’s priesthood, which rests not on hereditary succession but on an indestructible life (Hebrews 7:16).
- Ezra 2:62 (BSB)“These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.”The priestly families search for their records, fail to find them, and are excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
- Numbers 3:10 (BSB)“So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.””The priesthood was given to Aaron and his sons, and outsiders were barred from it.
- Numbers 18:7 (BSB)“But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.””Only Aaron’s line could serve at the altar; an outsider who came near faced death.
- Hebrews 7:16 (BSB)“one who has become a priest not by a law of succession, but by the power of an indestructible life.”Christ became priest not by descent but by the power of an indestructible life.
General
How does Ezra 2:1 describe the people listed in this chapter?
Answer: Captives of Babylon who returned home to their own towns
Ezra 2 is a register of those who came home. Verse 1 describes them as residents of the province returning from the captivity Nebuchadnezzar had imposed, each going back to his hometown in Judah or Jerusalem, with Zerubbabel, Jeshua and other leaders at their head (2:1-2). The long list of families and towns shows real households reclaiming the land God had given their ancestors, and the chapter closes with priests, Levites and all the other Israelites making their homes in their towns (2:70). God had promised through Moses and through Jeremiah that after exile He would gather His scattered people and bring them back to their land (Deuteronomy 30:3-5; Jeremiah 29:14).
- Ezra 2:1-2 (BSB)“Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar its king. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:”The register introduces the exiles who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, with their leaders.
- Deuteronomy 30:3-5 (BSB)“then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there. And the LORD your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply more than your fathers.”Moses promised that after exile the LORD would gather His people and bring them into the land.
- Jeremiah 29:14 (BSB)“I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD. I will restore you to the place from which I sent you into exile.””The LORD promised through Jeremiah to bring His people back from captivity to their place.
Theological
Whom does the register of Ezra 2 record, according to its opening verse?
Answer: Captives of Babylon who returned home to their own towns
The register records the province’s exiles who returned from Babylonian captivity, each resettling in Jerusalem and Judah in his own town under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Jeshua and others (2:1-2). Its families, towns, priests and Levites show the remnant as a real, ordered community reconstituted in the land, and the chapter ends with all Israel resettled in its towns (2:70). The list stands as evidence that God kept the covenant promise of restoration after exile given through Moses (Deuteronomy 30:3-5) and through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:14).
- Ezra 2:1-2 (BSB)“Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar its king. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:”The register introduces the exiles who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, with their leaders.
- Deuteronomy 30:3-5 (BSB)“then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there. And the LORD your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply more than your fathers.”Moses promised that after exile the LORD would gather His people and bring them into the land.
- Jeremiah 29:14 (BSB)“I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD. I will restore you to the place from which I sent you into exile.””The LORD promised through Jeremiah to bring His people back from captivity to their place.
General
True or False: The governor barred these priests from the most holy food until a priest could seek God’s answer through Urim and Thummim.
Answer: True
This is true. Rather than settle the matter by guesswork, the governor barred these men from eating the most holy portions (food from the offerings reserved for priests) until a priest was available to seek God’s decision through Urim and Thummim (2:63). These were objects kept in the high priest’s breastpiece and used to seek the LORD’s judgment (Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21). The sacred food belonged only to a priest’s household (Leviticus 22:10), so the men were held back from it while the final word was left to God Himself.
- Ezra 2:63 (BSB)“The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.”The governor forbids these men the most holy things until a priest can consult the Urim and Thummim.
- Exodus 28:30 (BSB)“And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD.”The Urim and Thummim were placed in the high priest’s breastpiece of judgment before the LORD.
- Numbers 27:21 (BSB)“He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.””The priest sought counsel for Israel before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim.
- Leviticus 22:10 (BSB)“No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it.”Only a priest’s family could eat the sacred offering.
Theological
True or False: The governor withheld the most holy portions from the undocumented priests until a priest could inquire of God by Urim and Thummim.
Answer: True
This is true. The governor withheld the most holy portions from these men pending an inquiry of God through Urim and Thummim (2:63), the means of divine judgment carried in the high priest’s breastpiece (Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21). Since holy food was reserved for the priestly household (Leviticus 22:10), the ruling protected the sanctity of the offerings while leaving the final verdict to the LORD rather than to human judgment.
- Ezra 2:63 (BSB)“The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.”The governor forbids these men the most holy things until a priest can consult the Urim and Thummim.
- Exodus 28:30 (BSB)“And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD.”The Urim and Thummim were placed in the high priest’s breastpiece of judgment before the LORD.
- Numbers 27:21 (BSB)“He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.””The priest sought counsel for Israel before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim.
- Leviticus 22:10 (BSB)“No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it.”Only a priest’s family could eat the sacred offering.