v1: Judah was no longer an independent state, but a province of the Persian (once Babylonian) empire.

v2: A list of the main leaders of Judah.

v3-35: The list of people returning; the two lists of Judah and Benjamin break down the people into families or cities. The variation in numbers, from 52 (Nebo, v29) to 3630 (Senaah, v35), indicates the genuineness of the figures.

v36-58: Further lists of priests, Levites, singers, gate-keepers, temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants.

There were only four lines of priests, compared to 24 in 1 Chr 24.1-19. It is said that these four families drew lots to represent the other 'missing' families. So, Zechariah was not of the family of Abijah (Luke 1.5) but of one of these four (See The Temple, its Ministry and Services at the time of Jesus Christ. By Dr Edersheim,.

v59-63: Without proof of their ancestry, some were excluded from the priesthood; we need to discern that those who want to serve the Lord truly belong to the Lord.

The situation could not be overlooked, so the governor had a decision to make; these people were kept from the sacred food, until further enquiries could be made. The intention was to consult the Urim and Thummim, with which the priest would seek the mind of the Lord.

We note that the majority of the people had maintained their identity and ancestry, even in a difficult environment in Babylon. The test of faith comes in difficult times; will we trust in the Lord when things are hard?

v64-70: The people returned to Jerusalem, some 50,000 in total. Some settled in Jerusalem itself, and others in their own towns.