Bible Strands
Ezra 2:28
the men of Bethel and Ai, 223;
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text records a census of post-exilic returnees, listing the number of men from specific towns who resettled Jerusalem.
The words — אַנְשֵׁי ('an.Shei) translates literally to "men of," and בֵּית־אֵל (beit-'el) combines "house" and "El" to name the town. The numeral מָאתַ֖יִם עֶשְׂרִים וְשָׁלֹשָׁה (ma.Ta.yim 'es.Rim ve./she.lo.Shah) literally counts "two hundred twenty three."
The thread — Bethel and Ai appear earlier as geographic markers in Genesis 12:8 and Joshua 7:2, and as a tactical location in Joshua 8:9.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition of how displaced communities preserved their ancestral geography and numbers during restoration. It frames identity as a recorded, countable reality rather than an abstract ideal.
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 men of Beth–el and Ai, two hundred twenty and three.
Cross-references
- Genesis 12:8 From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.
- Joshua 7:2 Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
- Joshua 8:9 So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people.
- Joshua 8:17 Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel.
- Nehemiah 7:33 the men of the other Nebo, 52;