The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 7:1-5

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

THE GENEALOGY OF EZRA (Ezra 7:1-5). It is plain that this genealogy is incomplete. It gives no more than sixteen generations between Ezra and Aaron, whereas the number of generations between Zerubbabel and Nashon, prince of Judah in Aaron's time (Numbers 1:7; Numbers 2:3), was twenty-six (1 Chronicles 2:10-15; 1 Chronicles 3:5-19), and that between Aaron himself and Eliashib at least as many (1 Chronicles 6:3-15; 1 Chronicles 9:11; Nehemiah 12:10).

Six names are omitted between the Azariah and Memioth of verse 3, which will be found in 1 Chronicles 6:7-10; and at least three must be wanting between Ezra himself and Seraiah, who was the great-great-grandfather of Eliashib, Ezra's contemporary (Nehemiah 3:1; Nehemiah 13:4).

The curtailment of genealogies by the omission of names was a common practice of the Jews. A notable instance is the omission of three royal names in St. Matthew's genealogy of our Lord (Matthew 1:8).

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