Nehemiah wanted Jerusalem to grow and prosper. But before that could happen, he must first know who he had already. Just as when he toured the broken-down walls in Nehemiah 2:11-16, he needed to see the problem well. So, he took a census and looked at the registry first written by Ezra in Ezra 2:1-70. This list was essential because each of these people was important to God. They did what so few of their fellow Jews did – they took the trouble to return to the promised land after they had already set down roots for seventy years in the Babylonian empire.