2:61 And from among 1 the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that 2 name). 2:62 They 3 searched for their records in the genealogical materials, but did not find them. 4 They were therefore excluded 5 from the priesthood. 2:63 The governor 6 instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult 7 the Urim and Thummim.
2:64 The entire group numbered 42,360, 8 2:65 not counting 9 their male and female servants, who numbered 7,337. They also had 200 male and female singers 2:66 and 736 horses, 245 mules, 2:67 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. 2:68 When they came to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders 10 offered voluntary offerings for the temple of God in order to rebuild 11 it on its site. 2:69 As they were able, 12 they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 drachmas 13 of gold, 5,000 minas 14 of silver, and 100 priestly robes. 15
1 tc The translation reads וּמִן (umin, “and from”) rather than the reading וּמִבּנֵי (umibbÿney, “and from the sons of”) found in the MT.
2 tn Heb “their.”
3 tn Heb “these.”
4 tn Heb “their records were searched for in the genealogical materials, but were not found.” This passive construction has been translated as active for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Heb “they were desecrated.”
6 tn The Hebrew word תִּרְשָׁתָא (tirshata’) is an official title of the Persian governor in Judea, perhaps similar in meaning to “excellency” (BDB 1077 s.v.; HALOT 1798 s.v.; W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 395).
7 tn Heb “to stand.”
8 sn The same total is given in Neh 7:66, but it is difficult to understand how this number is reached, since the numbers of people listed in the constituent groups do not add up to 42,360. The list in vv. 3-60 apparently is not intended to be exhaustive, but the basis of the selectivity is unclear.
9 tn Heb “besides” or “in addition to.”
10 tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”
11 tn Heb “cause it to stand.”
12 tn Heb “according to their strength.”
13 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word דַּרְכְּמוֹנִים (darkÿmonim, cf. Neh 7:69, 70, 71) is uncertain. It may be a Greek loanword meaning “drachmas” (the view adopted here and followed also by NAB, NASB, NIV) or a Persian loanword “daric,” referring to a Persian gold coin (BDB 204 s.v. דַּרְכְּמוֹן; HALOT 232 s.v. נִים(וֹ)דַּרְכְּמֹ; cf. ASV, NRSV). For further study, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 206-9.
14 sn The מָנִים (manim, cf. Neh 7:71, 72) is a measuring weight for valuable metals, equal to 1/60 of a talent or 60 shekels (BDB 584 s.v. מָנֶה; HALOT 599 s.v. מָנֶה). For further study, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 203-6.
15 tn Or “garments.”