These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town…Nehemiah 7:6

            As governor, Nehemiah would want to know who lived in his city and how many.  Also, for the genealogical records, the temple would need to know who to designate as priests.  The presence of these names makes this incident more real, involving real people.  Though few would actually take the time to read over 50 verses with names and numbers, the inclusion of this list fills out the truthfulness of the Bible.