Ezra 2:34 Meaning and Explanation
“The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Of all the towns in this list, Jericho is the one most readers already know. Walls fell there, a curse was pronounced there, a prophet healed its spring, and Jesus walked through it more than once. Verse 34 adds a quieter moment to that history: three hundred forty-five people coming home to it after the captivity Jeremiah had measured at seventy years.
Three hundred forty-five people of Jericho are entered in the register. The first city Israel took in the land, later cursed and rebuilt, sends its families back among those who returned from Babylon.
The Context of Ezra 2:34
Jericho lies in the Jordan valley near the northern end of the Dead Sea, low and warm, called the city of palm trees. Joshua 6 records its fall and the curse Joshua pronounced on anyone who rebuilt it, and 1 Kings 16 reports Hiel of Bethel rebuilding it in Ahab's reign at the cost of his sons. Elisha's company of prophets was based there, and he healed the town's water. Nehemiah 3 places men of Jericho on the wall of Jerusalem, and Nehemiah 7 repeats the figure of three hundred forty-five.
What Does Ezra 2:34 Mean?
The children of Jericho are counted as a body of three hundred forty-five, a middling figure in this section, close to the three hundred twenty counted for Harim two lines above. The entry sits second to last among the places, just before Senaah's three thousand six hundred and thirty. Naming Jericho at all is worth noting, since the town carried a curse in Israel's memory and had been rebuilt at terrible cost. The register shows no hesitation. Families identified with Jericho are counted like everyone else, with the same formula and the same care.
Jericho's return to the record is part of a larger pattern in Ezra 2. The list gathers towns from across Judah and Benjamin, from the hill country, the lowland, the border passes, and now the Jordan valley. Territory that had been emptied is being reoccupied piece by piece. The chapter has been building toward its final sentence, which reports that the priests, the Levites, the singers, the porters, the temple servants, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. Jericho is one of those cities, and three hundred forty-five people are the reason the sentence can be written.
Jericho keeps turning up when God is doing something new. Israel entered the land through it, Elisha made its bitter water wholesome, and a company of exiles resettled it. Centuries later Jesus passed through and stopped for a blind beggar who would not be silenced, and stayed in the house of a tax collector everyone else avoided, saying that the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. A town remembered for judgment became a place where mercy was handed out in public. The line in Ezra belongs on that road.
Bible Verses Related to Ezra 2:34
“And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.”
- Joshua 6:26
“In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.”
- 1 Kings 16:34
“And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.”
- 2 Kings 2:21
“And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.”
- Nehemiah 3:2
Where Ezra 2:34 Echoes in Scripture
Hebrews 11:30 sets Jericho in the roll of faith, saying its walls fell down after being compassed about seven days. The letter treats the fall of that city as an act of trust rather than a feat of arms. Ezra 2:34 shows the other end of Jericho's story, with three hundred forty-five of its people walking home from Babylon. Faith brought Israel into the land at Jericho, and faith brought them back to it after the land was lost.
How to Apply Ezra 2:34 Today
Places with a bad reputation can be worth investing in. Jericho was associated with judgment and with a builder who lost his sons, and families still went back to farm its palms and springs. We can carry that into how we think about the difficult streets, schools, and workplaces near us. Writing a place off is easy and usually premature. Choosing to live, work, or serve where the history is discouraging puts us in a long line of people who did the same, and it leaves room for God to do something there that nobody expected.
Reflection & Prayer
What place near me have I quietly decided is beyond hope? Lord, you brought down the walls of Jericho, healed its waters, brought its families home, and later walked its streets looking for the lost. Change how we see the hard places. Give us hope worth acting on, and use us where we would rather not go. Amen.