Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men.
Ezra 8:8 sits inside a roll call of the families who left Babylon with Ezra. Zebadiah is one name of fourteen, and the writers ask why God kept this list, why so few came, and what the journey cost.
Why the list exists
The register runs to the end of verse 14. One writer reads the whole list as proof of how God values those who answer Him.
Edward DennettThis genealogy reaches to the end of verse 14. It shows how precious to God were the very names of those who answered His call at such a moment. The response itself is the fruit of His grace. Yet by that same grace He is pleased to credit to His people what He Himself had produced in their hearts.
The same writer, commenting on the earlier register in chapter 2, draws out what such a record is for:
Edward DennettHe looks with joy on the smallest fruits of His Spirit's work. The very names of His people are known and announced. This encourages everyone to walk in His ways, to stand with His interests, and to stay faithful in times of corruption and falling away.
A second wave from the same family
Some houses in Ezra's list are new. Others, like this one, sent a fresh group from a family that had already gone up before.
The Bible TreasuryAt first no Levites offered themselves to Ezra; but this drew out his zeal, and not without fruit. Of the people, some fresh families now returned; of other families, a fresh part.
Named by father, not by city
The verse names Zebadiah, his father Michael, and his family head Shephatiah — three generations in half a line. The earlier return grouped many people by their home towns instead.
H. L. RossierIn this new exodus, part of the people who had stayed in the province of Babylon go with Ezra. Like their leader, these people have an exact genealogical record. Scripture lists every one of them by family, not by city as it did for part of the group in Ezra 2. In the first great movement of restoration, there had been little doubt about the right of individuals to belong to the people of God. Here it seems necessary to be even stricter than at the beginning.
What the eighty gave up
Leaving was the harder choice. One writer names the easier option these men turned down.
Michael HardtThe men listed in the first 14 verses, together with their families, went with Ezra. It would have been much easier for them to settle in Mesopotamia, where they had grown up. But they return to the place of God's choice (Deut 12) and God is with them.
Small numbers, real faith
The totals in this list are small. One writer sets them beside the king's generous decree.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinArtaxerxes gave a magnificent decree and was very generous, yet the company was very small. The majority preferred Babylon and stayed there. God knows the faithful ones, and their names are written here forever in His Word. The Gentile king had given the decree, and the people had all the supplies they needed. Even so, the undertaking was one of faith.
Only the men are counted
Each entry in this register, verse 8 included, counts males. Commentators differ on what that silence means. Gaebelein takes it at face value and links it to the crisis that breaks out in the next chapter: "It must be especially noticed that only males are mentioned. The mixed marriages of which we read in the next chapter most likely were the result of the fact that no women had joined Ezra's expedition." Another writer reads the omission as a matter of public record rather than absence:
Leslie M. GrantWomen must also have been there, though the list does not mention them. This is not because God thinks less of the faith of women. He often commends them for their devotion. But the emphasis here is on publication, and women do not hold a public place, so there was no reason to refer to them.
Summary
- Called — the return started with God's call. The answer in these men's hearts was His own work before it was their choice.
- Counted — God kept a record of who answered: family, father, and number. Zebadiah's eighty are not a footnote but a record He chose to keep.
- Costly — these men grew up in Mesopotamia. Every one of them walked away from the easier option, and the small totals show most of their countrymen did not.
- Continued — some families had already gone up years before. Verse 8 is a fresh part of one of them answering later, so a slow start is not a closed door.
- Credited — God sees the smallest fruit of His own work with joy. He publishes it to encourage anyone staying faithful when everything around has gone wrong.