Another group returned at this time from the towns of Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Kerub, Addan, and Immer. However, they could not prove that they or their families were descendants of Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB These were those who went up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but they could not show their fathers’ houses, nor their offspring, whether they were of Israel:
- KJV And these were they which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not shew their father’s house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.
- BSB The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but could not prove that their families were descended from Israel:
- NKJV And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not identify their father’s house nor their lineage, whether they were of Israel:
- NASB These were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but they could not provide evidence for their fathers’ households or their descendants, whether they were of Israel:
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Some returnees from certain Babylonian towns could not prove their Israelite descent. Questions of true belonging now come into focus.
Overview
These returnees came up from various places in Babylon but lacked documentation of their family lineage in Israel. The concern over verifiable descent reveals how seriously the community guarded the integrity of the covenant people. While their genealogy was uncertain, the episode highlights that true belonging to God's people matters, a question ultimately resolved not by bloodline but by faith in Christ (Galatians 3:7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Ezra 2:59These were those who went up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not show their fathers’ houses, and their offspring, whether they were of Israel:
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Christ at the center
The rebuilt walls and renewed covenant community foreshadow the greater builder who gathers and secures a people for God, the one who declares 'I will build my church.'
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Original language
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