Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 9:2
Now the first to resettle their own property in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Chronicler records the initial post-exilic return, listing the first groups to reclaim their ancestral cities after Judah's exile for unfaithfulness. The account addresses readers of the genealogical register by establishing the demographic foundation of the restored community.
The words — וְהַיּוֹשְׁבִים הָרִאשֹׁנִים (ve-hay-yošəḇîm hā-rîšōnîm) literally renders "and the first inhabitants." אֲחֻזָּתָם (ʾaḥuzzāṯām) translates directly to "their possession" or "their property."
The thread — This resettlement roster runs parallel to the returning community lists in Ezra 2:58, Ezra 2:70, and Nehemiah 7:73, which similarly document priests, Levites, and temple servants reclaiming the land.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to note that civic and religious restoration began with specific, named groups reclaiming their ancestral holdings rather than with a generalized national renewal.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims.
Cross-references
- Nehemiah 7:73 So the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with some of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns. And by the seventh month the Israelites had settled in their towns.
- Ezra 2:58 The temple servants and descendants of the servants of Solomon numbered 392 in all.
- Ezra 2:70 So the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants, along with some of the people, settled in their own towns; and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.
- Ezra 8:20 They also brought 220 of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites.
- Ezra 2:43 The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth,
- Nehemiah 7:60 The temple servants and descendants of the servants of Solomon numbered 392 in all.
- Joshua 9:21 They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation.” So the leaders kept their promise.
- Nehemiah 11:3 These are the heads of the provinces who settled in Jerusalem. (In the villages of Judah, however, each lived on his own property in their towns—the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants—