נחמיה, פרק י״א, פסוק ז׳

The record of those returning from exile to resettle in Jerusalem highlights the tribe of Benjamin, guided by their leader, Sallu the son of Meshullam [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. A closer look at Sallu’s family line reveals a broader picture when compared to the parallel records in the Book of Chronicles. Nehemiah chose to expand this specific lineage, adding prominent figures from Joed to Jeshaiah, individuals who were left out of Ezra’s account in Chronicles. At the same time, Nehemiah omitted the names of other families that were already recorded in Chronicles. He assumed the reader was already familiar with them and focused solely on providing new information that had not been documented before.

Comparing the two books also completes the mathematical picture of the community. The Book of Chronicles records a total of 956 people across all the returning families. Nehemiah, however, focuses specifically on the extended family of Sallu, which numbered 928 people. From this, it becomes clear that the other families Nehemiah chose to skip consisted of exactly 28 individuals [מלבי״ם].