Lives of Scripture

Iddo appears in Ezra's account of organizing the second return of exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem. Reviewing the group gathered at the Ahava canal before departure, Ezra found no Levites among them (Ezra 8:15). To remedy this, he sent a delegation of leading men to "Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia," along with specific instructions about what to say, asking him to send "attendants for the house of our God" (8:16-17). Iddo responded well: "by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of insight... and Levites," along with 220 temple servants, a class of workers assigned to assist the Levites in temple service (8:18-20). Nothing else is recorded about Iddo -- not his tribe, his exact office, or his life story -- only that he was a recognized leader among the Jewish community remaining in Babylon, with the standing and resources to supply skilled personnel on Ezra's request. His brief, cooperative role ensured that when Ezra's caravan reached Jerusalem, it arrived properly staffed to resume temple worship, a small but necessary link in the larger story of the exiles' return and restoration.