Mizpar

Mizpar (also spelled Mispereth in Nehemiah 7:7) was one of the leading men who returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua from the Babylonian exile in the first wave of restoration under Cyrus's decree (Ezra 2:2). He is listed among the eleven principal leaders of the return, a company that also included Nehemiah and Mordecai, who are named before and after him in the parallel lists. The name Mizpar means number or writing, though nothing beyond the genealogical register connects him to any specific action in the restoration narrative. His presence in both the Ezra and Nehemiah lists confirms the historical reliability of the roster of returnees and situates him among the founding generation of the Second Temple community.