When the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed.
Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.
And I told them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot. While the guards are on duty, keep the doors shut and securely fastened. And appoint the residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some at their own homes.”
Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.
Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. I found the genealogical register of those who had first returned, and I found the following written in it:
These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar its king. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town,
accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:
The gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai, 138 in all.
The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth,
The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Perida,
the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil, the descendants of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the descendants of Amon.
The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove that their families were descended from Israel:
And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).
These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
in addition to their 7,337 menservants and maidservants, as well as their 245 male and female singers.
Some of the heads of the families contributed to the project. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments.
And some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the project 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver.
The rest of the people gave a total of 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priestly garments.