The children of Bethlehem, an hundred twenty and three.

EZRA 2:21KJV
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Ezra 2:21 (KJV)

What does Ezra 2:21 mean?

Ezra 2:21 records that 123 people from the town of Bethlehem returned to Judah after the Babylonian exile. This verse is part of a list naming the families and numbers of those who came back to rebuild their homeland.

Ezra, a Jewish leader and scribe, is documenting the returnees for the community. The list shows who came back from exile, family by family and town by town. Mentioning Bethlehem specifically highlights the careful record-keeping and the importance of each group in restoring the nation.

The Hebrew behind Ezra 2:21

  • בֵּית לֶחֶם (Beit Lechem, "Bethlehem"): This is the name of the well-known town, meaning "house of bread." Its mention here ties the returning group to a specific, historic location in Judah.
  • בֵּן (ben, "children"): This word means "sons" or "descendants," emphasizing family lineage rather than just young people.
  • מֵאָה (me'ah, "hundred"), עֶשְׂרִים (esrim, "twenty"), שָׁלוֹשׁ (shalosh, "three"): These are the Hebrew words for the numbers 100, 20, and 3, used together to precisely count the group from Bethlehem.

Why Ezra 2:21 matters

  • The verse shows the careful documentation of those returning from exile, underlining the value placed on each family and community.
  • By naming Bethlehem, Ezra 2:21 connects the returnees to their ancestral land, reinforcing their identity and heritage.
  • This verse helps readers see the continuity between the pre-exile and post-exile communities, showing that the restoration involved real people from real places.

Where else these words appear

“Bethlehem” Hebrew H1035 · used in 39 verses

  • Genesis 35:19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
  • Ruth 1:2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
  • 2 Samuel 23:16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.