Nehemiah 7:5

5 Then my God caused me to gather the important men, the leaders, and the common people so I could register them by families. I found the family history of those who had returned first. This is what I found written there:

Nehemiah 7:5 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 7:5

And my God put into mine heart
Every good motion in him, and whatever he thought of that was conducive to the good and welfare of Jerusalem, Nehemiah always ascribed it to God; see ( 2 Corinthians 3:5 )

to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that
they might be reckoned by genealogy;
that their number might be known, and of what families they were, and in what cities they formerly dwelt; and this was not only of use for the present purpose of Nehemiah, but was of service hereafter to show the pedigree of families, and that it might be clearly known from whence the Messiah sprung:

and I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the
first;
from Babylon to Jerusalem, along with Zerubbabel, as appears from ( Nehemiah 7:7 ) , and this was of great use to him, whereby he would know not only their names and number, but to what city they belonged, and who to the city of Jerusalem, that they might be called upon to come, and rebuild their houses, and take up their residence there:

and found written therein;
the names of the persons and families after mentioned.

Nehemiah 7:5 In-Context

3 I said to them, "The gates of Jerusalem should not be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut and bolt the doors. Appoint people who live in Jerusalem as guards, and put some at guard posts and some near their own houses."

4 The city was large and roomy, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.

5 Then my God caused me to gather the important men, the leaders, and the common people so I could register them by families. I found the family history of those who had returned first. This is what I found written there:

6 These are the people of the area who returned from captivity, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken away. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each going back to his own town.

7 These people returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. These are the people from Israel: