Ezra 8 recounts the trip to Jerusalem but first mentions the family heads of those who accompany Ezra (8:1–14). This is not the same list as in Ezra 2, though the two lists have many names in common. Instead of starting with the lay families, then listing the priests, Levites, and temple personnel, as in chapter 2, here the list begins with the priestly families, followed by a descendant of David, and then concludes with twelve lay families. Throughout the chapter we see an emphasis on the number twelve, certainly to represent all Israel. In the Ezra material Israel is mentioned twenty-four times, but Judah only four. In this list only the men are listed; in Ezra 2, the women are included in the numbers. Here the men counted in the twelve families number fifteen hundred. Therefore, with w…