Month: October 2023

There are at least three possibilities:

First, numbers were difficult for the Hebrew scribes to write accurately. Therefore, it is possible that this is a copyist error (see comments on Exodus 12:37).

Second, it is also possible that they wrote their lists at different times. Remember, Nehemiah began his ministry twelve years after Ezra. He could be describing a different wave of return to Israel. Historically, the Jews were deported from Israel in three separate waves; it is possible that they returned to Israel in multiple waves.

Third, it is also possible that Ezra recorded WHO LEFT and Nehemiah was recording WHO MADE IT. Consider, for example, if Ezra was just recording who left, and many family members joined up with them on their way to Israel. Others died. Thus these two figures would be different from one another.

Problem: God says, “I hate divorce” (Mal. 2:16). Paul writes, “If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her” (1 Cor. 7:12). However, in this passage, many men divorced their wives, and they even sent their children away too (v.44). How can this be morally justified?
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So far, in the book of Ezra, the book has been in the third person. Here, it switches to the third. This is probably the case because Ezra (the author) enters the story at this point. Much like the “we” passages of Luke, Ezra writes from the first person, because he is directly involved at this point in the narrative (where he hadn’t been before).

Problem: A number of observations can be made:
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Problem: Weren’t converts permitted to enter Judaism in the OT? While the Jews did not go out to seek converts, they certainly let them in. Why, then, do the people of Israel turn these men away?
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This passage shows that this entire event was bittersweet. The older men “who had seen the first temple” are the ones weeping, because they remember what the Temple had looked like back then. This new temple was just an ugly and pitiful version of the original. These men are glad that God has given them a temple, but they are sad that it pales in comparison to the former years. This is a picture of national repentance on behalf of the Jews. Repentance is bittersweet. While you appreciate the grace of God, you also realize the gravity of your sin. This can be a mixture of joy and tears.

In these days, possession was nine tenths of the law! A decree from the king (hundreds of miles away) didn’t mean too much to the men out on the frontier. The Jews were a minority. Even though they were scared, it is admirable that the Jews immediately acted on their fear, building the altar. It would have been easy to set up a low profile. For more information, read the book of Nehemiah, where we see an intense battle over reclaiming this territory.

Problem: There are at least three possibilities:

Why are the statistics in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 different? Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 are listings of numbered people from different families. The chapters represent the statistics of the same families, but they are not identical. I have produced a grid below that lists the families that do not match. If you would like to see the grid comparing all families in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7, go here.

Of 39 entries (verses), 17 do not match. They are listed below.

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Problem: The Jews had disobeyed God’s law of obeying the Sabbath. They had been in the Promised Land for roughly 800 years, and for 490 years, they disobeyed his Sabbath rest. The Sabbath rest was not only every seventh day; it was also every seventh year. The Jews were allowed to work the land for six years, but on the seventh year they had to let the land get a rest. God commanded this because the land needs to recuperate, gaining back its minerals. Also, this was an act of trust and obedience to God. The Jews were trusting God’s provision by not farming for an entire year. Judgment was promised if they disobeyed God’s Sabbath rest:
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