· Translation: KJV

Ezra 2:34The children of Jericho, three hundred forty-five.

The setting

Jericho, ~538 BC. 345 descendants of families originally from this ancient city prepare to return home. The walls Joshua destroyed 900 years earlier have been rebuilt, near modern-day Palestinian West Bank.

The emotion here: amazed at God's restoration power

The original word

yerêḥô (יְרֵחוֹ) — moon city, named for its crescent shape, the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth

Why it matters

Jericho is the world's oldest known walled city, dating back 11,000 years - these families were returning to humanity's first urban center

Read with care

What most readers miss in Ezra 2:34

Jericho was cursed by Joshua, yet God's people return there - showing God's redemption overcomes even ancient curses

Common misconceptionPeople think this is just administrative record-keeping, but it documents families choosing to return to a city that was once under God's curse - showing His complete restoration.

Bible Genome reading

Ezra 2:34 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerNarrator
EraPost-Exile
Primary emotionresting
Literary typegenealogy

Emotional genome

Comfort power20%
Quotability10%
Memorability20%
Crisis relevance10%
Standalone20%
Themes:returnrestoration

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Ezra 2

Ezra 2:34 comes from the book of Ezra, written during the Post-Exile period. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is resting, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is reflective. It belongs to the genealogy genre of biblical literature. Key themes include return, restoration. Notable phrases: children of Jericho.

Your reflection

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