Nehemiah 7:8-38

A City Remembered by Families

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8the descendants of Parosh, 2,172;

9the descendants of Shephatiah, 372;

10the descendants of Arah, 652;

11the descendants of Pahath-moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab), 2,818;

12the descendants of Elam, 1,254;

13the descendants of Zattu, 845;

14the descendants of Zaccai, 760;

15the descendants of Binnui, 648;

16the descendants of Bebai, 628;

17the descendants of Azgad, 2,322;

18the descendants of Adonikam, 667;

19the descendants of Bigvai, 2,067;

20the descendants of Adin, 655;

21the descendants of Ater (through Hezekiah), 98;

22the descendants of Hashum, 328;

23the descendants of Bezai, 324;

24the descendants of Hariph, 112;

25the descendants of Gibeon, 95;

26the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188;

27the men of Anathoth, 128;

28the men of Beth-azmaveth, 42;

29the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;

30the men of Ramah and Geba, 621;

31the men of Michmash, 122;

32the men of Bethel and Ai, 123;

33the men of the other Nebo, 52;

34the descendants of the other Elam, 1,254;

35the descendants of Harim, 320;

36the men of Jericho, 345;

37the men of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721;

38and the descendants of Senaah, 3,930.

Berean Standard Bible

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The genealogy continues with families and the numbers of people who returned. The list reaches from Parosh and Shephatiah through the men of Jericho and Senaah. It is a long record, but its repeated structure keeps the restored community from becoming an unnamed crowd.

the descendants of Parosh, 2,172;

The numbers are different from one family to another. Some groups are large, some are small, and each is still recorded as part of the people who returned. The list does not describe a city rebuilt by one famous leader. It remembers families whose names and histories belong to the community's future.

This record also creates continuity with the earlier return from exile. The people rebuilding Jerusalem are not inventing a new identity without a past. Their history includes exile and return. God has preserved a people whose families and towns can still be named; Nehemiah's work belongs within that larger restoration.

Questions

1 What does the genealogy record?

AnswerThe register Nehemiah found lists families and numbers from the earlier return from exile. The list preserves the restored community through names and households rather than describing only its leaders.

2 Which towns can you find in this part of the record?

AnswerAmong them are Bethlehem, Netophah, Anathoth, Bethel, Ai, and Jericho. Some groups are identified by a family ancestor, others by a place.

3 Why does the repeated list matter?

AnswerThe repeated names preserve the actual families and numbers that made up the returning community. The record keeps restoration from becoming an anonymous statistic and shows who was available to inhabit and serve the land.

4 Does the record include only large groups?

AnswerNo. It includes the forty-two men of Beth-azmaveth as well as the 3,930 descendants of Senaah. Small groups have a place in the record too.

What This Means for Us

Remember the people who make a neighborhood or church more than an institution. Keep names and histories from disappearing, and ask who is willing to take responsibility for particular places rather than only for general plans.

Prayer

Father, thank you for families, places, and histories. Help us remember the people who built before us and serve faithfully where you have placed us now. Amen.