Bible Strands
Ezra 2:36
The priests: The descendants of Jedaiah (through the house of Jeshua), 973;
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records a census of the first post-exilic returnees, cataloging them by clan and religious office to document who repatriated and assumed sanctuary duties.
The words — כֹּהֲנִים (kohanim) translates literally to "priests," marking the consecrated class assigned to altar service. בְּנֵי (benei) means "descendants" or "sons," indicating biological or clan lineage rather than formal appointment.
The thread — Jedaiah appears in priestly succession lists at 1 Chronicles 9:10 and 1 Chronicles 24:7, while Jeshua appears in Ezra 3:9 as a Levitical overseer, not a priest. The verse situates this returnee count within the wider biblical record of temple administration and lineage tracking.
Why it lands — The text states that worship service required verified ancestry, recording the exact number 973 to establish who qualified for priestly duty. It asks the reader to observe how religious office and community identity were bound to documented genealogy.
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 priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 9:10 From the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin;
- 1 Chronicles 24:7 The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,
- Ezra 3:9 So Jeshua and his sons and brothers, Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Yehudah), and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.
- Nehemiah 7:39 The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah (through the house of Jeshua), 973;