After the exile, thousands of Jews returned to Jerusalem after the decree of Cyrus the Great (~539 B.C.) which allowed them to leave Babylon. Upon returning, exiles were catalogued and organized according to families, identified by a familial head or common ancestor. Jeshua was the familial head of one such family. 923 descendants of Jeshua returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (6th century B.C.).

c. Son of Jozadak (1 Chronicles 24:11; Ezra 2:2, 6, 3:8, 10:18; Nehemiah 7:7, 39, 9:5, 12:1 ff.; Haggai 1-2; Zechariah 3, 6)

Jeshua the son of Jozadak (also called Joshua the son of Jehozadak) was a priest who led a group of exiles out of Babylon with Zerubbabel. He was a prominent figure in the post-exile community and he and his family are mentioned frequently in post-exilic Scriptures. Jeshua is mentioned in Haggai’s prophecies (Haggai 1-2) and he plays a particularly central role in two of Zechariah’s (Zechariah 3 and 6).

d. A temple assistant (2 Chronicles 31:15)

Jeshua is mentioned as an assistant to Kore, a Levitical priest who oversaw temple offerings under Hezekiah, the 13th king of Judah (late 8th or early 7th century B.C.). As was the law, an allotment of temple offerings would be apportioned to the priests. Jeshua’s job was apparently to assist in distributing these portions.

e. Son of Azaniah (Ezra 2:40, 3:9; Nehemiah 8:7, 9:4-5, 10:9, 12:8, 24)

Jeshua, the son of Azaniah, was a prominent Levite in the post-exile community. Mentioned frequently in Ezra and Nehemiah, he was one of the signatories of Nehemiah’s written agreement to keep the law in post-exile Judah.

f. Father of Ezer (Nehemiah 3:19)

Ezer was one of the builders who helped repair the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. His father was Jeshua, the governor of a village in the territory of Benjamin called Mizpah.