Nehemiah 12:1
Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
The Hebrew word goh-rahl, rendered lot, denotes casting lots or a portion determined by lot rather than specifically an inheritance. The verse lists the priests and the Levites that went up from Babylon with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua, beginning with Seraiah, Jeremiah, and Ezra. That return from captivity provides the setting for the celebration described later in the chapter, locating it in the restored Jerusalem.
The verse stands in the book of Nehemiah, which covers about 446 to 408 and records the last reform at Nehemiah's return to Jerusalem. It belongs to the account of who Nehemiah was and the work he did, for he always worked with the highest good of Jerusalem in mind. He grew impatient at the people's slackness in God's work and indignant at those who sinned against God by uniting with heathen peoples and even bringing them into the temple itself. Since he stood for God and regarded the city as the Lord's city and the people as the Lord's people, his zealous manner, though not to be copied, is not to be condemned when all his circumstances are considered.