Commentary - Ezra 2:64-67

Bird's-eye view

At the end of this long muster roll, the Chronicler gives us the totals. After listing the returning exiles by family, by city, and by priestly or Levitical lineage, we now get the grand summary. These verses are not an appendix for the bookkeepers; they are the crescendo of the chapter. God promised to bring His people back from Babylon, and here they are, every last one accounted for. This is the new congregation, the seed of the restored kingdom. The numbers are not just statistics; they are a testament to God's covenant faithfulness. He did not lose a single one He intended to save. This section provides the total number of the assembly, and then breaks down the additional members of the community, the servants and the singers, and finally inventories the resources they brought with them, their livestock. It is a picture of a people reconstituted and equipped by God for the great task of rebuilding the house of the Lord and, by extension, a godly society.

This accounting is profoundly important. Reformation and rebuilding require a sober assessment of what you have to work with. Zerubbabel and Jeshua are leading a people who have been in bondage for seventy years. What does this new Israel look like? It is a remnant, to be sure, but it is a sizable and well-equipped one. God has not only preserved a people for His name, but He has also provided for them. The inclusion of servants, singers, and a significant number of working animals shows us that this is a real community, a functioning economy, ready to undertake a massive construction project. This is the beginning of the restoration, and God is the one who has furnished His people for the task.

Outline

God's Arithmetic of Grace

When God accomplishes a great work of salvation, He wants it recorded. He is not sloppy. The long lists in Ezra 2 are a testament to the fact that God knows His people by name. He counts them. This is not the cold, impersonal counting of a bureaucracy, but the loving attentiveness of a Father. After the Flood, God had Noah's family. After Egypt, He had a great multitude. And after the Babylonian exile, He has this assembly, this qahal, of over forty thousand souls. This is the church of the restoration. The numbers here differ slightly from the parallel account in Nehemiah 7, and the sum total is greater than the sum of the individual families listed. Far from being a contradiction, this is likely an indication that the grand total includes people not itemized in the preceding lists, perhaps women and children, or men from tribes not explicitly named. The point is the final tally. This is the army God has mustered for His purposes. Every soul is precious, and every soul has a place in the project of rebuilding.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 64 The whole assembly together was 42,360,

Here is the sum. After all the detailed accounting of the various clans and families, we are given the total number of the congregation. The word for assembly is qahal, the Old Testament word for the church. This is the remnant, the people God has preserved through the fires of judgment in Babylon. The number itself, 42,360, is significant not for any mystical meaning, but because it is a hard number. These are real people. God's promises are not ethereal vapors; they result in actual bodies returning to an actual land. This is the fruit of God's promise to Cyrus, and the fruit of Daniel's prayers. This is the new Israel, small in comparison to the nation that went into exile, but it is the seed from which the people of God would grow until the coming of Messiah. This is a story of grace. They were sent into exile for their rampant idolatry and covenant-breaking, and now they are brought back, not because they earned it, but because God is faithful to His own name and His own promises.

v. 65 besides their male and female slaves of whom there were 7,337; and they had 200 male and female singers.

The community was larger than just the freeborn Israelites. The census includes over seven thousand male and female slaves, or servants. This was an accepted part of the social structure of the ancient world, and the Mosaic law provided extensive regulations for the humane treatment of slaves, far surpassing anything in the surrounding cultures. Their inclusion here demonstrates that the returning community was a complete, functioning society. These were not just refugees; they were households. These servants were part of the economic engine that would be necessary for the rebuilding effort. They were part of the total community that God was restoring.

And then we have the singers. Two hundred of them. Before they lay a single stone for the temple, they have the choir ready. This is profoundly instructive. The central task of the returning exiles was the restoration of right worship. They were exiled in the first place because their worship became corrupt. Now, on their return, the singers are numbered right alongside the priests and Levites. Worship is not an afterthought; it is the point of the whole endeavor. The rebuilding of the temple and the city is for the sake of re-establishing the glorious, God-centered praise that is the duty and delight of His people. These 200 singers are a clear statement of priorities. The first thing to be rebuilt is the sound of praise to Yahweh in Jerusalem.

v. 66 Their horses were 736; their mules, 245;

Now we move from the people to their possessions, specifically their livestock. This is not just an inventory for tax purposes. This is a demonstration of God's rich provision. He did not send them back empty-handed. Horses and mules were essential for transportation, for labor, and for security. Horses were often used in warfare and by nobility. Mules were sturdy beasts of burden. The numbers are precise because God's provision is precise. He has given them exactly what they need to begin the work. This is the start-up capital for the new commonwealth of Israel, provided by the King of heaven. The exiles had been stripped of everything when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, but now, as they return, God replenishes their store. This is a reversal of the curse.

v. 67 their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720.

The inventory continues. Camels were the long-haul trucks of the ancient world, capable of carrying heavy loads over long distances. Donkeys were the all-purpose work animals, essential for farming, construction, and local transport. The sheer number of donkeys, over six thousand seven hundred, indicates that this was a people ready to get to work. They were equipped to plow fields, haul timber, and carry stones. God is a practical God. He does not call His people to a task without giving them the means to accomplish it. The return from exile was a massive logistical undertaking, and these animals were a crucial part of God's plan. He moved the heart of a pagan king to release them, He stirred up the spirits of the people to go, and He provided the material resources for the journey and the work that lay ahead. This detailed list of animals is a sermon in itself on the doctrine of God's providence.

Application

We are often tempted to think of the church's work in purely "spiritual" terms, but this passage reminds us that God builds His kingdom with real people and real resources. The church is a qahal, an assembly, and God knows every member. He has a place for the leaders, the priests, the Levites, but also for the servants and the singers. Every person has a role. And the work of the kingdom requires resources, the modern equivalent of horses, mules, camels, and donkeys. God provides these things for the advancement of His purposes.

The central lesson for us is the priority of worship. Before the first foundation was laid, the singers were ready. Our first work in any effort of reformation or rebuilding, whether in our families, our churches, or our communities, must be the restoration of true and joyful worship. Everything else flows from that. When God is rightly praised, the work of our hands is established. This passage is a call to take stock of what God has given us, the people in our pews, the talents in our midst, and the resources in our bank accounts, and to dedicate all of it to the great task of building for His glory, with the sound of praise as our constant motivation and goal.