The Bible, King James version, Book 15: Ezra — Themes and Context
Edition facts
The Bible, King James version, Book 15: Ezra — Themes and Context can be approached with a clearer sense of reading commitment from its source measurements: 10,575 words, 46 min estimated reading time, and 2 detected text sections.
The text analysis averages about 30.6 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.
Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Bible. Ezra,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.
Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.
How this score is calculated
- Description quality20 pts
- Title & short description10 pts
- Source metadata20 pts
- Text length15 pts
- Chapters / structure15 pts
- EPUB file integrity20 pts
Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.
Read the Text
God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.
15:001:006 And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.
15:001:007 Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;
15:001:008 Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
15:001:009 And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives,
15:001:010 Thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand.
15:001:011 All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.
15:002:001 Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;
15:002:002 Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mizpar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
15:002:003 The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred seventy and two.
15:002:004 The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two.
15:002:005 The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy and five.
15:002:006 The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve.
15:002:007 The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.
15:002:008 The children of Zattu, nine hundred forty and five.
15:002:009 The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and threescore.
15:002:010 The children of Bani, six hundred forty and two.
15:002:011 The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and three.
15:002:012 The children of Azgad, a thousand two hundred twenty and two.
15:002:013 The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six.
15:002:014 The children of Bigvai, two thousand fifty and six.
15:002:015 The children of Adin, four hundred fifty and four.
15:002:016 The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight.
15:002:017 The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and three.
15:002:018 The children of Jorah, an hundred and twelve.
15:002:019 The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three.
15:002:020 The children of Gibbar, ninety and five.
15:002:021 The children of Bethlehem, an hundred twenty and three.
15:002:022 The men of Netophah, fifty and six.
15:002:023 The men of Anathoth, an hundred twenty and eight.
15:002:024 The children of Azmaveth, forty and two.
15:002:025 The children of Kirjatharim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty and three.
15:002:026 The children of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred twenty and one.
15:002:027 The men of Michmas, an hundred twenty and two.
15:002:028 The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred twenty and three.
15:002:029 The children of Nebo, fifty and two.
15:002:030 The children of Magbish, an hundred fifty and six.
15:002:031 The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.
15:002:032 The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.
15:002:033 The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and five.
15:002:034 The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five.
15:002:035 The children of Senaah, three thousand and six hundred and thirty.
15:002:036 The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.
15:002:037 The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two.
15:002:038 The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven.
15:002:039 The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
15:002:040 The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy and four.
15:002:041 The singers: the children of Asaph, an hundred twenty and eight.
15:002:042 The children of the porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all an hundred thirty and nine.
15:002:043 The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
15:002:044 The children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon,
15:002:045 The children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub,
15:002:046 The children of Hagab, the children of Shalmai, the children of Hanan,
15:002:047 The children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah,
15:002:048 The children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam,
15:002:049 The children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai,
15:002:050 The children of Asnah, the children of Mehunim, the children of Nephusim,
15:002:051 The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,
15:002:052 The children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,
The Book of Ezra opens not with a prophetic call but with a Persian decree: Cyrus king of Persia proclaims that the LORD God of heaven has charged him to build a house at Jerusalem. This political authorization sets the tone for a narrative that intertwines divine providence with imperial bureaucracy. The catalog subject "Bible. Ezra" suggests a straightforward religious text, yet the excerpts reveal a work dense with inventories, genealogies, and official correspondence. The repeated phrase "the hand of the LORD my God was upon me" (Ezra 7:28) frames personal agency within a theological claim, while the meticulous listing of temple vessels—"thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver"—grounds the story in material accounting.
Administrative Details as Theological Narrative
The excerpts from Ezra are dominated by lists: the number of gold and silver vessels returned by Cyrus (5,400 items), the genealogies of those returning from exile, and the names of leaders such as Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and Nehemiah. These catalog-like passages might seem dry, but they serve a theological purpose. By recording exact counts and lineages, the text asserts continuity between the pre-exilic community and the restored one. The phrase "the children of the province that went up out of the captivity" (Ezra 2:1) frames the return as a collective, documented event. The catalog subject "Bible. Ezra" does not capture this bureaucratic texture; the book itself functions partly as an archival record, legitimizing the post-exilic community through precise enumeration.
The Role of Foreign Kings in Divine Plans
Ezra presents Persian monarchs as instruments of God's will. Cyrus's proclamation is explicitly tied to Jeremiah's prophecy: "the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia" (Ezra 1:1). Later, Artaxerxes issues a decree granting Ezra authority to appoint magistrates and judges, and to enforce the "law of thy God" and the "law of the king" (Ezra 7:25-26). The text does not critique foreign rule; instead, it shows imperial power enabling religious restoration. This dynamic complicates the catalog subject's implication of a purely internal religious narrative. The excerpts show a political theology where edicts, treasuries, and royal letters are as central as worship.
Genealogy as Identity and Exclusion
The genealogies in Ezra 2 and 8 are not mere lists; they define who belongs to the restored community. Names like "the children of Parosh" (2,172) and "the sons of Pahathmoab" (2,812) are counted, while those who could not prove their lineage were excluded from the priesthood (Ezra 2:62-63). The text emphasizes purity of descent: "these sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood" (Ezra 2:62). This concern with lineage reflects a post-exilic effort to reconstitute identity around ancestral lines. The catalog subject does not highlight this exclusionary mechanism, yet it is a driving force in the narrative.
Readers approaching Ezra through the catalog subject "Bible. Ezra" may expect a devotional or prophetic work. Instead, the excerpts present a text preoccupied with documentation: decrees, inventories, and genealogies. Pay attention to how the narrative uses administrative language to assert religious authority. The interplay between Persian imperial context and Jewish restoration offers a nuanced view of how a community rebuilds under foreign rule, blending faith with bureaucracy.
What stayed with me after reading Ezra was how quietly it trusts that small, bureaucratic obedience can be holy—lists, decrees, dusty returns. It made me think of an old reading note in The Bible, King James version, Book 2: Exodus — Reading Notes, where the same weight rests on counting and remembering. Some truths only linger when we keep careful track of them.
Olivia Nelson
4 weeks agoWyatt King
1 month agoYour personal reading reflection
Build a private reading journal entry for this title.
Oliver King
4 weeks ago