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(The views expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Chronicles 9:1–13, “So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression. Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims. And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh; Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the children of Pharez the son of Judah. And of the Shilonites; Asaiah the firstborn, and his sons. And of the sons of Zerah; Jeuel, and their brethren, six hundred and ninety. And of the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hasenuah, And Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephathiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; And their brethren, according to their generations, nine hundred and fifty and six. All these men were chief of the fathers in the house of their fathers. And of the priests; Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, and Jachin, And Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God; And Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasiai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.”
After the people of Judah went into Exile some of them came back, seventy years later, as prophesied by Jeremiah the prophet. The first of the people, who came back, to live in their own inheritance were the Levites and the Nethinims. These people were assigned to serve the priests and Levites and were probably foreigners who had been assigned taken as prisoners of war and assigned to serve the priests. (compare Num 31: 28, 30, 47, 49) Judah was king David’s tribe and Jerusalem was his city so his descendants lived in that city, along with people from Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. The Israelis, from the northern kingdom were taken into exile by the Assyrians but the Babylonians conquered the Assyrians so all those exiles were incorporated into the new empire. As we read this, we can see that some people from the northern tribes came back as well. By the grace of God, some priests came back as well so that there would be people qualified to serve in the Temple when it was rebuilt.
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