Nehemiah 7:25
“The children of Gibeon, ninety-five.”
What does Nehemiah 7:25 mean?
This brief line is part of Nehemiah's census of people who returned to Jerusalem after exile in Babylon. The Gibeonites were a group with an interesting history in Israel, having made a peace treaty with Joshua centuries earlier that was still honored in Nehemiah's time. The number ninety-five tells us they were a modest-sized community among those rebuilding the city and their lives after captivity. Even this simple record matters because it shows that God's work of restoration included people from all backgrounds and histories, not just the most prominent families.