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Ezra 2:61-63

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

61. And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name: 62. 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. 63. And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.

Ezra 2:61-63 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Ezra 2:61

Theological / Devotional

Priests. Three returning families claimed to belong to the priesthood but were unable to present valid credentials. Admission to priestly office was denied them by the governor until a high priest would be able to procure a divine decision by means of the Urim and Thummim. It is strange that the number of these priests is not given either in this list or in that of Neh. 7.

Koz. It is possible that this family was later able to establish its priestly rights, because we find a certain “Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz” taking part in the building of the city wall in Nehemiah’s time (Neh. 3:4, 21). Ezra (ch. 8:33) simply calls him “Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest.” The members of this family seem either to have found their credentials or to have secured other evidence that their ancestors were priests, or, the Urim and Thummim had revealed God’s will with respect to them.

By SdaBc