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1Now these are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.

8Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was over the thanksgiving songs, he and his brothers. 9Also Bakbukiah and Unno, their brothers, were close to them according to their offices. 10Jeshua became the father of Joiakim, and Joiakim became the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib became the father of Joiada, 11and Joiada became the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan became the father of Jaddua.

12In the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers’ households: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; 18of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

22As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, there were recorded the heads of fathers’ households; also the priests, in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23The sons of Levi, heads of fathers’ households, were written in the book of the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24The chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers close to them, to praise and give thanks according to the commandment of David the man of God, section next to section. 25Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storehouses of the gates. 26These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest and scribe.

27At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to keep the dedication with gladness, both with giving thanks and with singing, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and with harps. 28The sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; 29also from Beth Gilgal and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30The priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

31Then I brought the princes of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two great companies who gave thanks and went in procession. One went on the right hand on the wall toward the dung gate; 32and after them went Hoshaiah, with half of the princes of Judah, 33and Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, 34Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph; 36and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe was before them. 37By the spring gate, and straight before them, they went up by the stairs of David’s city, at the ascent of the wall, above David’s house, even to the water gate eastward.

38The other company of those who gave thanks went to meet them, and I after them, with the half of the people on the wall above the tower of the furnaces, even to the wide wall, 39and above the gate of Ephraim, and by the old gate, and by the fish gate, the tower of Hananel, and the tower of Hammeah, even to the sheep gate; and they stood still in the gate of the guard. 40So the two companies of those who gave thanks in God’s house stood, and I and the half of the rulers with me; 41and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer. 43They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even far away.

44On that day, men were appointed over the rooms for the treasures, for the wave offerings, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them according to the fields of the cities the portions appointed by the law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites who served. 45They performed the duty of their God and the duty of the purification, and so did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son. 46For in the days of David and Asaph of old there was a chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47All Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the portions of the singers and the gatekeepers, as every day required; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.

Place

Hebron

Type
City
Location
31.524, 35.109
 Site Study | Brian Kvasnica

Beyond the important connections between Abraham, the other patriarchs, and the matriarchs centered around the Machpelah Cave (see above at Gen 23:3), Hebron continued to be a central city in Biblical history, earning the place of one of the four most sacred cities in Jewish tradition. Hebron was a city of refuge and a Levitical city (Josh 21:11-13 and 1 Chr 6:55-57)  as well as the place where David first centered his reign: at the pool (traditionally connected with Birket es-Sultan), David executed the two sons of Rimmon who had murdered Saul’s son Ishboshet (2 Sam 4:12); and  where David was crowned king (2 Sam 2:3-4; 5:5)  and reigned for 7 ½ years where six sons were born to him before conquering Jerusalem where he had 13 more sons.  Even after the Exile in the sixth century BC, Jews returned to Hebron (Neh 11:25) probably living alongside Edomites.  In the second-century BC Simon Maccabeus took Hebron from the Edomites (1 Macc 5:65; Josephus, Antiquities, XII, viii, 6) and in the Great revolt of AD 70, first Simon bar-Gioras captured the city (Josephus, War, IV, ix, 7), and then Vespasian’s general Cerealis conquered it, slaughtering its inhabitants and burning it (War IV, ix, 9).

Copyright © 2026 Brian Kvasnica. All rights reserved.

Hebron in the Land of Canaan

 Site Study | Brian Kvasnica | Hebron

23:2 Hebron was first built as a Canaanite city seven years prior to Zoan (Greek Tanis) in Egypt (Num 13:22) and is located 3,040 ft. above sea-level in the southern tribal allotment of Judah.  The city is also called Kiriath-Arba (Gen 23:2, etc.) possibly after a forefather of the Anakim (Josh 14:15; 15:13), or as of the four cities, thus “City-of-Four” (Hebrew arba, “four”; see Josh 15:54; 2 Sam 2:3; Neh 11:25). Here Abram’s name was changed to Abraham (Gen 17:5) and here (in conjunction with Mamre), came the three angels with the promise of a son (18:1 ff.).  At Hebron, Isaac and Jacob often lived (35:27; 37:14).  From Hebron Jacob sent Joseph to seek his brothers (37:14).  There also Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt (46:1).  Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah from Ephron in order to bury Sarah (Genesis 23), and Abraham himself was buried there (Gen 25:9-10), as was Isaac (Gen 35:27-29), and all the patriarchs and their wives except Rachel (49:30ff; 50:13).  Today the site is known as Tel Hebron or Jebel Rumeidah and is inhabited by a few dozen Jewish families after excavations were carried out by P.C. Hammond in the 1960’s but not published and in the 1980’s by A. Ofer as well as M. Anbar and N. Na’aman.  More recently Emanuel Eisenberg excavated the north side of the tell and Jeffrey Chadwick is beginning to write up Hammond’s report.  In Arabic today, the town is known as el Khalil ("the friend” of God), a favorite name for Abraham, as seen also in James 2:23.  The gigantic edifice built by Herod the Great still stands and is a place for many pilgrimages even today.  For later Biblical and post-biblical connections see further site study on Hebron at 1 Chr 3:1.

Copyright © 2026 Brian Kvasnica. All rights reserved.
Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.