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Saturday, 10 September 2011

Day 255: Nehemiah checks the list

Riveting title today. Let’s hope the passages exceed expectations.
The Levites, singers and gatekeepers
Ezra 2:40-42
The Temple servants and children of Solomon’s servants
Ezra 2:43-58
No proof of ancestry
Ezra 2:59-63
The exiles’ arrival at the Temple
Ezra 2:64-70
Nehemiah checks the family records
Nehemiah 7:5-7
Another list of the exiles
Nehemiah 7:8-69
Many contribute to the cost of restoring the Temple
Nehemiah 7:70-72
List of priests and Levites
Nehemiah 12:1-23
Assignment of duties
Nehemiah 12:24-26

On the whole - expectations matched. Ezra is a grey sort of guy, who loves lists. Even Nehemiah, who is much more of a man of action, does things by the book. The Israelites had to be able to prove their ancestry if they wanted to be acceptable as priests to the Lord in the new Temple. Ezra and Nehemiah were taking no chances, they wanted everything to be right in the new beginning. They seem to have decided that the safest way to do this is to be thoroughly anal about the whole process.

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