Ezra 2:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ezra 2:1
Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
province
הַמְּדִינָ֗הha.me.di.Nah
H4082
properly · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
up
הָֽעֹלִים֙ha.'o.Lim
H5927
to ascend · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
captivity
מִשְּׁבִ֣יmi.she.Vi
H7628
exiled · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
away
הַגּוֹלָ֔הha.go.Lah
H1473
exile · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Nebuchadnezzar
נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֥רne.vu.khad.ne.tzor
H5019
Nebukadnetstsar (or -retstsar · proper noun, a man's name
king
מֶֽלֶךְMe.lekh-
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Babylon
בָּבֶ֖לba.Vel
H894
Babel (i.e. Babylon) · proper noun, a place name
away
הֶגְלָ֛הheg.Lah
H1540
to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense) · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Babylon
לְבָבֶ֑לle.va.Vel
H894
Babel (i.e. Babylon) · preposition + proper noun, a place name
again
וַיָּשׁ֛וּבוּvai.ya.Shu.vu
H7725
to turn back (hence · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Jerusalem
לִירוּשָׁלִַ֥םli.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · preposition + proper noun, a place name
Judah
וִֽיהוּדָ֖הvi.hu.Dah
H3063
Jehudah (or Judah) · conjunction + proper noun, a place name
one
אִ֥ישׁ'ish
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
city
לְעִירֽוֹle.'i.Ro
H5892
a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Kings 25:11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the mult…
2 Kings 24:14-16 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen…
Nehemiah 7:6-73 These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king…
2 Chronicles 36:1-23 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s stead in Jerusalem.
Ezra 5:8 Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and t…
Ezra 6:2 And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written:
Esther 1:1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and…
Esther 1:3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezra 2:1-35
We may observe here, 1. That an account was kept in writing of the families that came up out of captivity, and the numbers of each family. This was done for their honour, as part of their recompence for their faith and courage, their confidence in God and their affection to their own land, and to stir up others to follow their good example. Those that honour God he will thus honour. The names of all those Israelites indeed that accept the offer of deliverance by Christ shall be found, to their honour, in a more sacred record than this, even in the Lamb's book of life. The account that was kept of the families that came up from the captivity was intended also for the benefit of posterity, tha…
These are the children of the province - That is, of Judea; once a kingdom, and a flourishing nation; now a province, subdued, tributary, and ruined! Behold the goodness and severity of God! Some think Babylon is meant by the province; and that the children of the province means those Jews who were born in Babylon. But the first is most likely to be the meaning, for thus we find Judea styled, Ezr 5:8. Besides, the province is contradistinguished from Babylon even in this first verse, The children of the province - that had been carried away unto Babylon.
John Gill on Ezra 2:1
Now these are the children of the province,.... Either of the province of Babylon, as Aben Ezra, where they were either born, or had dwelt for many years; or else rather, according to Jarchi, of the province of Judea, as it is called, Ezra 5:8 once a flourishing kingdom, but reduced to a province of the Babylonian monarchy, now in the hands of the Medes and Persians, of which province they and their fathers originally were:
that went out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon; who either in person, or in their parents, were carried captive by him, and who were the tribes of Judah and Benjamin; and they are on…
Now these are the children of the province, who went up from the captivity, etc. He calls them the children of the province of Judea, not of Babylon. For to this belonged not only those who were transferred from it to Babylon, but also those who were born in Babylon from their stock. Even though they were born physically in Babylon, they longed with their whole mind for Judea and Jerusalem. Their notable leader Zerubbabel bore their figure, who by name indeed indicates that he was born in Babylon; but by intention and actions shows that he is a citizen of Jerusalem. In another sense, they are children of the Church, children of the heavenly fatherland, not only those who are already imbued with the sacraments of the Church, but also those who, although wandering outside, that is among the impious for some time, are yet by divine election preordained to life before the ages, to be consecrated in their time by the mysteries of divine grace. About whom it is aptly added:
And they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, etc. For when those who have strayed from the faith are freed from the power of Satan, along with those who have recently learned the faith, they return to Jerusalem of desired peace and to Judah of devoted confession or praise. Soon each one enters and returns to his own city, that is, he devoutly performs the keeping and practice of virtues, which divine largess has bestowed upon him according to the measure of faith. And it is well said, with general reference, that they have returned to Jerusalem and Judah, he immediately added: Each to his own city, because indeed each individual dwelt in their own cities, yet all generally pertained to Jerusalem and Judah. Therefore, Jerusalem signifies the universal state of the holy Church, which is throughout the world. The cities pertaining to it designate each of the virtues of the faithful, in which, as if by the protection of cities, they are fortified against the temptations and incursions of evil spirits. The cities in which those who came from captivity to Jerusalem and Judah dwelt can also be understood as the various Churches of Christ throughout the world, from all of which one Catholic Church is completed. In these Churches, whoever resides, each one professes himself as a child of the Catholic Church, as a citizen of Jerusalem. Moreover, they were led before others by Zerubbabel and Jesus, one from royal lineage, the other from priestly lineage, as is shown in many places of sacred history; both of them represented one and the same person of our Redeemer, namely the true King and High Priest. For He alone is the one through whom we ought to come to salvation. Hence He says: No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14). He gathers each of the elect, either through His own hidden inspiration or through the manifest teaching by holy preachers, from the confusion of present life to the vision of eternal peace and the confession of divine praise, as if from Babylon to Jerusalem and Judah. This vision of peace and this confession of thanksgiving, given by Him, begin indeed in the present but are perfected in the future.
Dictionary and topics
Captivity — (1.) Of Israel. The kingdom of the ten tribes was successively invaded by several Assyrian kings. Pul (q.v.) imposed a tribute on Menahem of a thousand talents of silver (2 Kings 15:19, 20; 1 Chr.…
Ozias — Son of Joram (Matt. 1:8); called also Uzziah (2 Kings 15:32, 34).
Sadoc — Just, mentioned in the genealogy of our Lord (Matt. 1:14).
Temple, the Second — After the return from captivity, under Zerubbabel (q.v.) and the high priest Jeshua, arrangements were almost immediately made to reorganize the long-desolated kingdom. The body of pilgrims, forming…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Keil & Delitzsch on Ezra 2:1-2
The title. - "These are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of the carrying away (i.e., of those which had been carried away), whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, every one to his city." In Neh 7:6 לבבל is omitted, through an error of transcription caused by the preceding בּבל; and וליהוּדה stands instead of ויהוּדה, which does not, however, affect the sense. המּדינה is the province whose capital was Jerusalem (Neh 11:3), i.e., the province of Judaea as a district of the Persian empire; so Ezr 5:8; Neh 1:2. The Chethiv נבוכדנצור is similar to the form Nebucadrezor, Jer 49:28, and is nearer to…
This chapter is the first of Ezra’s major digressions from the main story line. The returning exiles needed to keep track of who the true Jews were so that the community could maintain its identity (by knowing whom they could marry) and theological purity (by knowing who could worship at the Temple). This list is not an initial list (cp. Neh 7:6-73) of all the Jews who returned to Jerusalem but a slightly later list (after Sheshbazzar had died) of people who had settled in their towns.
Rashi on Ezra 2:1
And these are the people of the province These are the Children of Israel who are from the province of the land of Israel, who are now coming up to Jerusalem from the captivity that is in the exile.
and they returned And now they returned to Jerusalem.
and Judea And the people of Judea returned, each one to his city.