Serar
Identity
Serar appears in 1 Esdras 5:32 as the head of a family that returned from Babylonian captivity with Zerubbabel. In the King James Version of 1 Esdras, the name is rendered as Aserer. The canonical parallels in Ezra 2:53 and Nehemiah 7:55 list this family under the name Sisera, a name more familiar to Bible readers from the Canaanite military commander defeated by Deborah and Barak (Judges 4-5).
Connection to the Name Sisera
The name Sisera in the context of the Nethinim lists is unrelated to the famous Canaanite general. It is possible that the family descended from captives or foreigners who were given the name and eventually became dedicated servants of the temple. The variation between Serar (Greek) and Sisera (Hebrew) reflects the different textual traditions in which the return lists were transmitted.
Temple Servant Families
Serar's family belonged to the Nethinim class, temple servants who performed essential support functions for Israel's worship. These families are listed in Ezra 2:43-54 and Nehemiah 7:46-56 alongside the "sons of Solomon's servants," another group of dedicated temple workers. Together, these groups numbered 392 individuals in the returning community (Ezra 2:58).
The Return and Restoration
The return from Babylon under Zerubbabel around 538-536 BC was the first wave of exiles to come back to Jerusalem following Cyrus's decree (Ezra 1:1-4). The careful cataloging of every family, including servant families like Serar, shows that the restoration of proper worship required the full range of personnel who had served in the pre-exilic temple. Each family's return contributed to rebuilding not just the physical structure but the entire system of worship that the temple represented.
Biblical Context
Serar appears in 1 Esdras 5:32 among the families of temple servants returning from exile. The canonical parallels are found in Ezra 2:53 and Nehemiah 7:55, where the family is called Sisera. These lists form part of the comprehensive census of the returning exilic community under Zerubbabel.
Theological Significance
The preservation of Serar's family name across multiple biblical texts demonstrates the value God places on faithful service, even in the most humble roles. The return from exile was itself a fulfillment of prophetic promise (Jeremiah 25:11-12; Isaiah 44:28), and the inclusion of every family in the return lists affirms that all of God's people had a part in the restoration of worship.
Historical Background
The return from Babylon was made possible by the decree of Cyrus the Great of Persia in 538 BC, following his conquest of Babylon. The journey from Babylon to Jerusalem covered approximately 900 miles. The Nethinim and Solomon's servants represented a distinct social class in post-exilic Judah, likely descended in part from non-Israelite peoples who had been assimilated into temple service over the centuries.