Parosh

Parosh, also called Pharosh, is the ancestor of one of the families that returned to Jerusalem from the captivity in Babylon. The name appears in the post-exilic registers of Ezra and Nehemiah as the head of a substantial clan whose sons figure in the first return, the second return under Ezra, the dissolution of mixed marriages, the rebuilding of the wall, and the sealing of the renewed covenant.

The Family in the First Return

Parosh heads one of the largest contingents in the register of those who came up out of the captivity with Zerubbabel. The roster places "the sons of Parosh" first among the lay families enumerated by ancestral house: "The sons of Parosh, two thousand a hundred seventy and two" (Ezr 2:3). Nehemiah's parallel register repeats the same total: "The sons of Parosh, two thousand a hundred and seventy and two" (Ne 7:8).

The Second Return Under Ezra

A later contingent of the family came up with Ezra. Among those whose genealogies are recorded for the journey, "Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty" (Ezr 8:3).

The Dissolution of Mixed Marriages

When Ezra called for the separation from foreign wives, members of the Parosh clan were named in the list of those who had married foreign women. From the lay Israelites the record begins: "And of Israel: Of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, and Izziah, and Malchijah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah" (Ezr 10:25).

Rebuilding the Wall

A son of the Parosh family is named among the workers on Jerusalem's wall. In the section beside the court of the guard, "Palal the son of Uzai [repaired] across from the turning [of the wall], and the tower that stands out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh [repaired]" (Ne 3:25).

Sealing the Covenant

When the people sealed the covenant under Nehemiah, Parosh appears at the head of the lay chiefs who set their seal: "The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani," (Ne 10:14).