Ezra 2:36

THE LIST OF THE PRIESTS WHO RETURNED

"The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three. The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. The children of Pashhur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven. The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen."

It is very significant that the priests listed here numbered 4,287, a tenth of the entire number who returned. Why was this? "It reflects the fact that they had most to gain from it."[10] Furthermore, "In the post-exilic period, there was a steady development of the priestly hierarchy,"[11] resulting finally in that godless concentration of evil men who controled and exploited the temple and all who worshipped there, who engineered the crucifixion of the Son of God, rebelled against Rome, and brought total ruin upon Jerusalem and their entire system.