Ezra 2:25 Meaning and Explanation
“The children of Kirjatharim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty and three.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Why would three towns share one entry? The answer reaches back to the book of Joshua, where Kirjathjearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth appear as a group with Gibeon, cities of a people who obtained a treaty by a trick and then served at the house of God for centuries. Families belonging to those towns came home from Babylon together, still counted as one company.
Three towns are counted together, sending seven hundred forty-three returnees. All three had belonged to the Gibeonites who made peace with Joshua, and one of them had housed the ark of God for twenty years.
The Context of Ezra 2:25
The register continues through the towns of Benjamin and the western hills. Kirjatharim is a shortened spelling of Kirjathjearim, which Joshua 9 lists with Chephirah, Beeroth, and Gibeon as the four cities of the Gibeonites. Joshua 18 assigns Chephirah and Beeroth to Benjamin, and Kirjathjearim sat on the border between Judah and Benjamin. First Samuel 7 records that the ark was brought to Kirjathjearim after the Philistines returned it, and First Chronicles 13 records David fetching it from there. Nehemiah 7 gives the same combined total of seven hundred forty-three.
What Does Ezra 2:25 Mean?
Three names, one number. The register does not break the figure down among the towns, which suggests they were reckoned as a district rather than as separate settlements. Kirjatharim here lacks the syllable it carries elsewhere, where it reads Kirjathjearim, and Nehemiah's copy spells it the longer way. Chephirah and Beeroth keep their usual forms. Seven hundred and forty and three is a substantial company by the standards of this section, larger than Bethlehem, Netophah, Anathoth, and Azmaveth combined. Whatever these towns had suffered, the families attached to them survived the exile in strength and came back in force.
Kirjathjearim holds a particular place in Israel's memory. After the ark came back from Philistine territory the men of that town fetched it and kept it in the house of Abinadab on the hill, and it stayed there for twenty years while the nation lamented after the LORD. David eventually went up with all Israel to bring it to Jerusalem. So one of these three towns had sheltered the presence of God during a long stretch when there was no central sanctuary. Now the descendants of that region return to help rebuild the house where that presence would be sought again.
The Gibeonite story adds another layer. Joshua's treaty with them was obtained by deception, and the response was to give them a permanent place at the altar as those who carried wood and drew water for the house of God. Outsiders were folded into Israel's worship and stayed there, and Nehemiah later names a Gibeonite among the men repairing the wall. Scripture keeps opening this door. The household of faith has always had room for people who arrived by an unlikely route, and the Lord who welcomed a Canaanite woman's faith and a Roman centurion's trust stands in the same line.
Ezra 2:25 in the Original Language
qiryath yearim (קִרְיַת יְעָרִים), 'Kirjatharim' -- the fuller spelling of the name found in Joshua and Samuel. Qiryath means town or city, and yearim means woods or forests, so the name describes a settlement in wooded hill country west of Jerusalem.
Bible Verses Related to Ezra 2:25
“And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.”
- Joshua 9:17
“And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.”
- 1 Samuel 7:1
“And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.”
- 1 Chronicles 13:6
“And Saul’s son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin.”
- 2 Samuel 4:2
Where Ezra 2:25 Echoes in Scripture
Psalm 132 recalls David's vow to find a place for the LORD, and verse 6 says they heard of it at Ephratah and found it in the fields of the wood. Readers have long heard Kirjathjearim in that phrase, since the name itself means town of the forests. The town that appears in Ezra's register as part of a tally of seven hundred forty-three is remembered in Israel's worship as the place where the ark was found.
How to Apply Ezra 2:25 Today
Communities often come as a set. Three towns here share a line because they shared a history, and their strength was in being reckoned together. We can look at the congregations, neighborhoods, and families around us the same way, since God frequently works with clusters rather than isolated units. There is practical freedom in this. We do not have to be the whole answer to anything. Joining our small number to others who are already going the same direction is a way of making the work possible, and it keeps us from the exhaustion of trying to carry a load meant for a district.
Reflection & Prayer
Who are the neighbors God has already joined to me, and how well do I know them? Lord, you gathered three towns into one line of your record and brought their families home together. Draw us out of isolation. Show us the people you have set beside us for the work, and make us glad to be counted with them rather than counted alone. Amen.