The Book of Ezra

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- Chapter 8 -

This is a list of the names of the leaders of the clans who came with me up to Jerusalem from Babylonia when Artaxerxes was king of Persia:

Gershom, in the clan descended from Aaron’s grandson Phinehas. Daniel, in the clan descended from Aaron’s son Ithamar. Hattush, a descendant of Shecaniah in the clan descended from King David.

Zechariah and 150 other men in the clan descended from Parosh.

Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah and two hundred other men in the clan descended from Pahath-Moab.

Ben Jahaziel and three hundred other men in the clan descended from Shecaniah.

Ebed son of Jonathan and fifty other men in the clan descended from Adin.

Jeshaiah son of Athaliah and seventy other men in the clan descended from Elam.

Zebadiah son of Michael and eighty other men in the clan descended from Shephatiah.

Obadiah son of Jehiel and 218 other men in the clan descended from Joab.

Ben Josiphiah and one hundred sixty other men in the clan descended from Shelomith.

Zechariah son of Bebai and twenty eight other men in the clan descended from another man whose name was Bebai.

Johanan son of Hakkatan and one hundred ten other men in the clan descended from Azgad.

Also Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, who returned here later with sixty other men in the clan descended from Adonikam.

Uthai and Zaccur and seventy other men in the clan descended from Bigvai.

Ezra Sends for the Levites

Ezra said, “I gathered together all of the Jews at the canal that goes from Babylon to Ahava. We set up our tents there and stayed there for three days. During that time I read the lists of names and found out that there were priests going with us, but no other descendants of Levi who could help them in the temple.

So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, another man named Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were all leaders of the people. I also summoned Joiarib and yet another man named Elnathan (three in all), who were teachers.

I sent them all to Iddo, the leader of the descendants of Levi, who was living in Kasiphia, to request that he and his relatives and other men who had worked in the temple in Jerusalem send us some men who would go with us to work in God’s new temple.

Because God acted kindly toward us, they brought to us a man named Sherebiah and eighteen of his sons and other relatives. Sherebiah was a very wise man, a descendant of Mahli, who was a grandson of Levi.

They also sent to us Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, descendants of Levi’s son Merari, and twenty of their relatives.

They also sent 220 other men to work in the temple. Those men’s ancestors had been appointed by King David to assist the descendants of Levi. I listed the names of all those men.

Fasting for Protection

There alongside the Ahava Canal, I announced a time for us all to fast and pray. I told them that we should humble ourselves in the presence of our God. We prayed that God would protect us while we traveled, and also protect our children and our possessions.

Previously we had told the king that our God takes care of all those who truly trust in him, but that he becomes very angry with those who refuse to obey him. So I would have been ashamed to ask the king to send soldiers and men riding on horses to protect us from our enemies while we were traveling along the road.

So we fasted and requested God to protect us, and we prayed to him.

Priests to Guard the Offerings

I chose twelve of the leaders of the priests, Sherebiah and Hashabiah and ten others.

I assigned them to supervise the transport to Jerusalem of the gifts of silver and gold and the other valuable items that the king and his advisors and other officials, and the Israelite people who were living in Babylonia, had contributed for the temple of our God.

As I gave these various items to those priests, I weighed each of the items. This was the total: About twenty-one and one-half metric tons of silver, one hundred items made from silver that altogether weighed three and one-third metric tons, three and one-third metric tons of gold,

twenty gold bowls that altogether weighed about eight and one-half kilograms, and two items made of polished bronze that were as valuable as ones made of gold.

I said to those priests, ’You are specially set apart for Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors worshiped, and these valuable things are special to him in the same way. The people themselves gave these things to be offerings to Yahweh voluntarily.

So guard them carefully, and when we arrive in Jerusalem, weigh them in the presence of the priests, the descendants of Levi who will help the priests, and the other Israelite leaders there. They will then put them in the storerooms in the new temple.’

So the priests and descendants of Levi took from me all the gifts of silver and gold and the other valuable items, in order to carry them to the temple in Jerusalem.

On the twelfth day of the first month, we left the Ahava Canal and started to travel to Jerusalem. Our God took care of us, and while we traveled, he prevented our enemies and bandits from attacking us.

Arrival in Jerusalem

After we arrived in Jerusalem, we rested for three days.

Then on the fourth day we went to the temple. There the silver and gold and the other items were weighed and given to the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. Eleazar the son of Phinehas and two descendants of Levi, Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui, were with him.

They counted everything, and wrote down how much they weighed, and wrote a description of each item.

We who had returned from Babylonia offered to God sacrifices on the altar. We offered twelve bulls for all us Israelite people. We also offered ninety-six rams and seventy-seven lambs. We also sacrificed twelve goats to atone for the sins that all the people had committed. These were all completely burned on the altar.

Some of us who returned from Babylonia took to the governors and other officials of the province west of the Euphrates River the letter that the king had given to us. After they read the letter, they did all that they were able to do for us Israelite people and for the temple of God.”

Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:

Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush.

Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were listed by genealogy of the males one hundred fifty.

Of the sons of Pahathmoab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males.

Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males.

Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males.

Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males.

Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael; and with him eighty males.

Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred eighteen males.

Of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him one hundred sixty males.

Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai; and with him twenty-eight males.

Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan; and with him one hundred ten males.

Of the sons of Adonikam, who were the last, their names are: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and with them sixty males.

Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males.

Ezra Sends for the Levites

I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days. Then I looked around at the people and the priests, and found there were none of the sons of Levi.

Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, for Elnathan, for Jarib, for Elnathan, for Nathan, for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib and for Elnathan, who were teachers.

I sent them out to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I told them what they should tell Iddo and his brothers the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.

According to the good hand of our God on us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen;

and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty;

and of the temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred twenty temple servants. All of them were mentioned by name.

Fasting for Protection

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a straight way for us, for our little ones, and for all our possessions.

For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those who forsake him.”

So we fasted and begged our God for this, and he granted our request.

Priests to Guard the Offerings

Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them,

and weighed to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, his counselors, his princes, and all Israel there present, had offered.

I weighed into their hand six hundred fifty talents of silver,(a) one hundred talents of silver vessels, one hundred talents of gold,

twenty bowls of gold weighing one thousand darics,(b) and two vessels of fine bright bronze, precious as gold.

I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the vessels are holy. The silver and the gold are a free will offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers.

Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and the princes of the fathers’ households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the rooms of the LORD’s house.”

So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver, the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the bandits by the way.

Arrival in Jerusalem

We came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.

On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levites.

Everything was counted and weighed; and all the weight was written at that time.

The children of the captivity, who had come out of exile, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.

They delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s local governors and to the governors beyond the River. So they supported the people and God’s house.

Footnotes

(a)8:26 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces

(b)8:27 a daric was a gold coin issued by a Persian king, weighing about 8.4 grams or about 0.27 troy ounces each.