Ezra 2:31

Study note

Setting — This verse functions as a line item in Ezra’s census of the first wave of exiles returning to Jerusalem. It records the headcount of a specific family group within a broader administrative list.

The words — עֵילָם ('ei.Lam) denotes the region of Elam, while אַחֵר ('a.Cher) translates literally as "other" or "second." The phrasing separates this group from the earlier-listed descendants of Elam in the same register.

The thread — The identical entry appears in Ezra 2:7 under the unmodified name Elam and in Nehemiah 7:34 with the same qualifying phrase. These parallel passages preserve the same numerical count across two distinct biblical records of the return.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition of the precise genealogical accounting required to reconstitute the post-exilic community. It calls the reader to observe how restored identity is tracked through documented lineage rather than vague tradition.

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.