Number of descendants from Lod, Hadid and Ono upon returning from exile
The number 725 appears in Ezra 2:33, indicating the number of descendants from the cities of Lod, Hadid and Ono who returned from the Babylonian exile. These three cities were located in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin near the coastal plain, and their inhabitants' return testifies to the rebuilding of Jewish settlement after the exile. Beyond this specific occurrence, the number 725 does not have a well-established symbolic meaning in biblical or Jewish tradition, nor is it highlighted with a specific numerological interpretation in gematria. The year 725 BC is historically linked to the Assyrian siege of Samaria under Shalmaneser V (2 Kings 17:5), which led to the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC. Although the year is significant in biblical history, the number 725 itself is not attributed any independent symbolic value. Lod (later Lydda) is known from both Old and New Testament times (Acts 9:32–35). Hadid and Ono are also mentioned in Nehemiah 7:37 and 11:35, and all three cities were strategically located in the Shephelah region. In Nehemiah 7:37, the number given is 721, reflecting common minor variations between parallel list traditions in Ezra and Nehemiah.*