Ezra 8:24

24 Then I separated twelve of the principals of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,

Ezra 8:24 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 8:24

Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests
That were in company with him; so that it seems there were more than the two mentioned, ( Ezra 8:2 ) , very probably their families, or some of their brethren, were with them:

Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them;
these men named were Levites, and not priests, ( Ezra 8:18 Ezra 8:19 ) and therefore the copulative "and" must be supplied:

and Sherebiah
or with the twelve priests, Sherebiah, &c. and ten Levites more with them; so that the number of priests and Levites were equal, and in all twenty four.

Ezra 8:24 In-Context

22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to defend us against the enemy in the way because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those that seek him for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those that forsake him.

23 So we fasted and besought our God for this, and he was intreated of us.

24 Then I separated twelve of the principals of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,

25 and weighed unto them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counsellors and his princes and all those that were of Israel had offered.

26 I weighed, therefore, unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver and silver vessels of one hundred talents and of gold one hundred talents;