vital records

Week 20 Ezra

I don’t know how many verses of name-lists there are in the OT.
And I don’t know how many bible-readers wish there were more.
What I’m pretty sure about is how many of us read the lists carefully (it’s some number close to zero).
But in Ezra 2 there’s a story of a small group of people who were keenly, personally interested in combing through the lists.
The exiles-from-Babylon had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Temple-related workers were in demand, and priests were a big part of that mix. Some people claimed that they were priests, claimed they were born in the bloodline of Levi. Because lineage wasn’t on an honour-system these people had to prove their claim. If they had been Albertans they would have gone to the Office of Vital Statistics, but since they weren’t they went to the genealogical name-lists. Unfortunately for them, they: were not able to give evidence of their father’s households, and their descendants, whether they were of Israel…These (people) searched among their ancestral registration, but they could not be located.
They couldn’t be documented, so they couldn’t be priests.
Which meant they had to find other employment.
This story’s a good reminder to me that there are different kinds of materials in the bible, and they have different purposes. Which means I need to ask: if they’re not there just to entertain me, why are they?

Notes: the story is in Ezra 2:59-63; the quote is from Ezra 2:59, 62 (NASB version)