Nehemiah 7:9

Study note

Setting — Nehemiah records a census of the returned exiles, listing the descendants of Shephatiah alongside other family groups in Jerusalem.

The words — The Hebrew בְּנֵי (benei) means "descendants of," introducing the name שְׁפַטְיָה (Shephatiah) and the exact count שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת שִׁבְעִים וּשְׁנַיִם (three hundred seventy-two).

The thread — This registry matches Ezra 2:4, which records the identical 372 men, while Ezra 8:8 notes that Zebadiah son of Michael later led eighty men from this same lineage.

Why it lands — The text demands precise recognition of the preserved family lines, requiring the reader to acknowledge the exact continuity of Israel's genealogical records without alteration.

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.