Ezra 2:66
What does Ezra 2:66 mean?
A plain-English look at Ezra 2:66 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Ezra 2:66 means
Their horses were seven hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred forty and five. These animals reflect mobility, status, and capacity for travel and transport. Horses and mules would be vital for communication, defense, and moving goods. The numbers are modest but meaningful, suggesting that while the returnees were not wealthy as a whole, they had enough resources to sustain settlement efforts and to facilitate rebuilding projects. Recording them provides a concrete sense of the community’s logistical capabilities.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Their horses were seven hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred forty and five;
KJV
King James Version · 1611Their horses were seven hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred forty and five;
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Their horses were seven hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred forty and five;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949They had seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five transport beasts,
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Their horses <FI>are<Fi> seven hundred thirty and six, their mules, two hundred forty and five,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Their horses seven hundred thirty-six, their mules two hundred forty-five,
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six; their mules two hundred and forty-five;
Context
Continuing the resource accounting, this verse lists the numbers of horses and mules. Together with the next verse’s camels and asses, it presents a snapshot of the returnees’ transportation and agricultural support. This practical inventory precedes the report of voluntary offerings made for the temple’s reconstruction (vv. 68–69), after which the chapter concludes with the community settling in their cities (v. 70).