Ezra 2:61

61 and of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, ^[a] and the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.

Ezra 2:61 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 2:61

And of the children of the priests
Who could not make out their pedigree, for those that could are mentioned before:

the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of
Barzillai;
how the latter came by this name follows:

which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was
called after their name;
this man married a woman that descended from the famous Barzillai the Gileadite, in the times of David; and the priesthood being in disuse, and mean and despicable, in Babylon, he chose to take the name of his wife's family, and pass for a descendant from that, and perhaps destroyed, or at least neglected, to take care of the genealogy of his own family.

Ezra 2:61 In-Context

59 And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not identify their father's house or their genealogy, whether they were of Israel:

60 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two;

61 and of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, and the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.

62 These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.

63 And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.

Footnotes

• [a] Or Hakkoz