The number of descendants of Perez who settled in Jerusalem after the return from exile
The number 468 appears in Nehemiah 11:6, where it indicates the number of descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem after returning from the Babylonian exile. The context is the repopulation of the holy city, where it was decided that one-tenth of the people should live in Jerusalem, while the rest settled in other towns. That exactly 468 men from the line of Perez are described as "able men" underscores the importance of this lineage in rebuilding the city. Beyond this specific occurrence, the number 468 has no well-established symbolic meaning in biblical or Jewish tradition, and it does not appear as a prominent number in rabbinic texts with attributed special symbolism. Perez (Hebrew: פֶּרֶץ) was the son of Judah and Tamar (Gen 38:29). The Perez clan was one of the most prominent families in the tribe of Judah, and King David—and thus the messianic line—descends from Perez (Ruth 4:18–22). Nehemiah chapter 11 describes the organized repopulation of Jerusalem after the exile, likely around 445 BC under the leadership of governor Nehemiah. This process was necessary because the city was large but had few inhabitants (Neh 7:4). The term "valiant men" (Hebrew: אַנְשֵׁי חַיִל, anshei chayil) refers to men with strength, capability, and character, and can also be translated as "mighty men" or "worthy men". The same expression is used for Ruth in the feminine form (Ruth 3:11).*