The singers: the children of Asaph, an hundred forty and eight.
The listing counts one hundred forty-eight descendants of Asaph who came back from exile to serve as singers. That enrollment belongs to the seventh chapter's numbering of the Jews, taken after the wall had been finished and officers and watches had been set in place. It is part of the account of the Jews at Jerusalem in the rebuilding and restoration of the city, standing within the record of the conflicts, setbacks, and victories of that work. It belongs to the narrative of life connected with Babylon in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, a narrative confirmed by discoveries in ancient lands adjoining Israel that had dealings with that people.
The listing counts one hundred forty-eight descendants of Asaph who came back from exile to serve as singers. That enrollment belongs to the seventh chapter's numbering of the Jews, taken after the wall had been finished and officers and watches had been set in place. It is part of the account of the Jews at Jerusalem in the rebuilding and restoration of the city, standing within the record of the conflicts, setbacks, and victories of that work. It belongs to the narrative of life connected with Babylon in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, a narrative confirmed by discoveries in ancient lands adjoining Israel that had dealings with that people.