Nethinim

The Nethinim (Hebrew nethinim, meaning those given or dedicated ones) were a class of temple servants in Israel, assigned to assist the Levites in the lower and more menial work of the sanctuary. Their origin is traced to the Gibeonites, whom Joshua made hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar (Joshua 9:27), and to a group of 320 servants that David and the princes appointed to assist the Levites (Ezra 8:20). By the time of the return from Babylon, the Nethinim were a recognized and hereditary class of temple workers.

Ezra lists 392 Nethinim who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:58; Nehemiah 7:60), and 220 more came with Ezra himself (Ezra 7:7; 8:17–20). They lived in a dedicated quarter of Jerusalem called Ophel, adjacent to the temple mount (Nehemiah 3:26), and Ezra 7:24 records that Artaxerxes exempted them from taxation. Their role illustrates how non-Israelite peoples could be incorporated into Israel's worship system in subordinate but recognized capacities.