Bible Strands
Ezra 2:21
the men of Bethlehem, 123;
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text records a post-exilic census of returning families, listing each household by hometown without a named speaker or direct address.
The words — בְּנֵי (be.Nei) = descendants, paired with בֵּית־לֶחֶם (beit-lechem) = Bethlehem, followed by the exact count one hundred twenty-three.
The thread — This genealogical listing pattern continues in Ezra 2:20 and 2:22, while 1 Chronicles 2:50 separately tracks the descendants of Caleb through Hur and Shobal to Kiriath-jearim.
Why it lands — The record demands precise acknowledgment of named returnees and their exact numbers, treating each family's identity as a fixed historical datum.
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
The children of Beth–lehem, an hundred twenty and three.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 2:50 These were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim,