The number of descendants of Pahath-Moab (from the families of Joshua and Joab) who returned from the Babylonian exile.
The number 2812 appears in Ezra 2:6, where it indicates the number of descendants of Pahath-Moab – more specifically, the lineage of Joshua and Joab – who returned to Judah after the Babylonian exile. The family of Pahath-Moab was one of the largest groups among those who returned, highlighting their importance in rebuilding the Jewish community in Jerusalem. The context is the great census recorded in Ezra 2, where the returning families are listed as a testimony to God’s faithfulness in bringing His people back to the promised land. Numerically, the number consists of the components 2000, 800, and 12, with 12 being especially significant as a central biblical number associated with Israel’s twelve tribes and God’s ordered people. Pahath-Moab likely means "governor over Moab" and may refer to an ancestor who held a leadership role in connection with the region of Moab. The name also appears in Nehemiah 7:11, where the parallel list records 2818 descendants—a small variation that may be due to different times of registration. Ezra 2 contains a detailed census of those who returned with Zerubbabel from Babylon, likely around 538–520 BC. Such lists served to legitimize the families' rights to land and participation in temple worship. The number 12 as a component of 2812 has deep symbolic resonance in biblical tradition, linked to Israel's twelve tribes, the twelve apostles, and divine completeness in God's ordering of His people. In rabbinic tradition, the differences between the numbers in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 were discussed. Some rabbis explained the discrepancies by noting that the registrations took place at different times, or that certain family members were added to or removed from the lists along the way.*