Nehemiah 7:22

The children of Hashum, three hundred twenty and eight.

Nehemiah 7:22 (KJV)

Context

Nehemiah 7 records the registration of the people who returned from Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem and Judah under Zerubbabel and Jeshua. This verse is one line in that census list, naming the descendants of Hashum who came back. The list closely parallels the one in Ezra 2, which records the same return.

Meaning

The verse states that the number of the children of Hashum who returned was three hundred twenty and eight. It preserves a precise family count and a specific name. The text gives no motives or character judgments; it simply records the people and their number. Such accuracy mattered because each family’s heritage and place in the restored community depended on it.

Biblical connections

In Ezra 2:19, the same family group is listed with a different number, two hundred twenty and three. The difference between the two records is a known textual observation. The name Hashum also appears as Esam in the Greek Septuagint and as Hasem in the Douay-Rheims translation. These variations do not change the main point: the descendants of Hashum were part of the restored nation.

Application

Such records establish continuity across generations and locate families within Israel’s history. Their brevity does not make them unimportant. The value lies in the accuracy of the names, relationships, and numbers preserved. A faithful response is careful attention to the record as written, without inventing details beyond it.

Reflection

Every person named in this list had a place in God’s plan for restoring His people. The same God who kept count of the returning exiles knows each of His people by name today. This verse invites readers to trust that their own place in God’s purposes is known and recorded.