עזרא, פרק י׳, פסוק מ״ד

The conclusion of the effort to expel foreign wives reveals the deep human and family complexity caused by intermarriage, as many of these unions had already produced offspring. A number of the men involved had fathered children with their foreign wives [אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The specific language used to describe the arrival of these children, rather than the standard term for giving birth, points to a significant reality. It emphasizes that a child born to a foreign woman assumes her status and is considered a foreigner just like her [מלבי״ם].

Regarding the ultimate fate of these children, the primary approach among commentators is that the men sent away not only the women but also the children born to them. By returning both the mothers and the children to their original families, the men completely purified the nation from the effects of intermarriage [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, another perspective suggests a more deliberative process. Rather than immediate expulsion, the fathers brought their children before the national leaders to seek guidance. They presented the situation to the leadership to decide the proper course of action, weighing whether to send the children away with their mothers or to find a way to bring them close and allow them to stay [אבן עזרא].