CHAPTER 2 Nov.8 
List of Those Who Returned from Exile
Now these are the children of the province, who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each one to his city; 2who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: 3The children of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two. 4The children of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two. 5The children of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five. 6The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve. 7The children of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four. 8The children of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five. 9The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty. 10The children of Bani, six hundred and forty-two. 11The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three. 12The children of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two. 13The children of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six. 14The children of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six. 15The children of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four. 16The children of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety-eight. 17The children of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three. 18The children of Jorah, one hundred and twelve. 19The children of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three. 20The children of Gibbar, ninety-five. 21The children of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three. 22The men of Netophah, fifty-six. 23The men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight. 24The children of Azmaveth, forty-two. 25The children of Kiriath Arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three. 26The children of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one. 27The men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two. 28The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three. 29The children of Nebo, fifty-two. 30The children of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six. 31The children of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four. 32The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty. 33The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five. 34The children of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five. 35The children of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty. 36The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three. 37The children of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two. 38The children of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven. 39The children of Harim, one thousand and seventeen. 40The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy-four. 41The singers: the children of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight. 42The children of the porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all one hundred and thirty-nine. 43The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth, 44the children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon, 45the children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub, 46the children of Hagab, the children of Shamlai, the children of Hanan, 47the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah, 48the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, 49the children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai, 50the children of Asnah, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephisim, 51the children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, 52the children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, 53the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah, 54the children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha. 55The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Hassophereth, the children of Peruda, 56the children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, 57the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth Hazzebaim, the children of Ami. 58All the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred and ninety-two. 59These were those who went up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not show their fathers’ houses, and their genealogy, whether they were of Israel: 60the children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two. 61Of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name. 62These sought their place among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they deemed polluted and put from the priesthood. 63The governor told them that they should not eat of the most holy things, until there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim. 64The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, 65besides their male servants and their female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven: and they had two hundred singing men and singing women. 66Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six; their mules, two hundred and forty-five; 67their camels, four hundred and thirty-five; their donkeys, six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
More Offerings for the Temple
68Some of the heads of fathers’ households, when they came to the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for God’s house to set it up in its place: 69they gave after their ability into the treasury of the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, five thousand minas of silver and one hundred priests’ garments. 70So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, lived in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.    

Commentary

2:1 The majority of Jews preferred to stay in Babylon. “Theprovince” (singular) suggest that only a few Jews who lived in the province of Babylon returned (one out of 127 provinces; see 7:16 too), even though there were significant numbers of Jews in all the provinces, as the book of Esther makes clear (as also does Neh. 1:8, which says that the Babylonian captivity fulfilled God’s prophecy to scatter Israel amongst all nations). Those who did return were very significant to God, and He has therefore recorded their names and numbers to the individual, even how many donkeys went with them- each one who returned was so special to Him, just as we will be if we respond to the call of the restored Kingdom and come out from ‘Babylon’.
2:52 Comparing the list of names in the list of returnees in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7, we find that a number of names recur in both lists, e.g. Bazluth (Ezra 2:52; Neh. 7:54). It could be that some went from Babylon to Judah with Ezra, then returned to Babylon, and returned with Nehemiah. This hardly sounds like the glorious, positive, confident return of the captives to Zion prophesied in the restoration prophecies. Many respond to the call to leave the good life in Babylon but then falter; the vision of the restored Kingdom on earth and our working with God’s blessing to bring it about just doesn’t motivate us as it should. 
2:64 Haggai's criticism of the returnees is more understandable if we understand that most of them were the poor, who hadn't 'made it' in Babylon and who went to Judah hoping to get nice houses, great harvests and material blessings- rather than to rebuild God’s house. It would be fair to infer that only the poor Jews returned from Babylon. The record here in :64-70 speaks of 42,360 people returning, along with 7,337 servants and 200 singers, making a total of 49,837. And yet only 8,100 animals went with them to transport them. This means that many would have walked. They carried 5,400 vessels for use in the temple- so the picture could be that their more wealthy brethren laded them with goods, but only the poor returned. Further, the list of towns of origin in Ezra 2 suggests it was mainly those who had originally lived in peripheral villages who returned, rather than the inhabitants of Jerusalem and larger cities. It's stressed twice that only "some" of the returned exiles supported the work of the temple (:68-70)- which was supposed to be the main reason for their return. We too can leave ‘Babylon’ by responding to the call of the Kingdom when actually our motivation is simply a disillusion with our present life, with life in ‘Babylon’, rather than a serious desire to work for the establishment of God’s Kingdom.