Nehemiah 7:57; Ezra 2:55
Perida—rendered as Jaala in the parallel registry of Ezra—stands in the post-exilic scriptural record as a prominent patriarchal head among “the children of Solomon’s servants.” Though his name is preserved within the dense logistics of the return from Babylon, his identity is firmly established through the fierce, intergenerational loyalty of his descendants who returned to Jerusalem to restore the physical operations of the land.
The children of Solomon’s servants were a distinct, highly organized class of temple administrators and skilled craftsmen originally organized by King Solomon during the construction of the first temple. When the Babylonian Empire destroyed Jerusalem and carried the nation into captivity, Perida’s household was uprooted and exiled. Decades later, when Cyrus issued the decree allowing a remnant to return, Perida’s lineage stepped forward, refusing to compromise their ancient calling or remain in the comfort of Babylon.
The text details their inclusion in the official genealogical audit conducted by Nehemiah to establish true citizenship and structural order in the ruined capital:
“The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Amon. All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred ninety and two.” (Nehemiah 7:56-60)
To be recorded in this precise ledger meant that Perida’s descendants possessed the documented pedigree required to re-establish the defensive, economic, and logistical foundations of the temple site. Operating alongside the priests and Nethinim, they took up their ancestral responsibilities under constant threat from surrounding pagan adversaries. Through their uncompromised dedication to the physical restoration of Zion, the house of Perida stands as an enduring historical witness to the generational continuity and structural fidelity needed to rebuild the inheritance of the faithful.