Cherub

Cherub was one of several named Babylonian settlements from which Jewish exiles attempted to return to Judah under Zerubbabel, but whose families could not produce the genealogical records proving descent from Israel (Ezra 2:59, Nehemiah 7:61). Together with Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Addon (or Addan), and Immer it is listed as a place "from which they could not show their fathers' houses and their lineage, whether they were of Israel." The unverified families had to wait until a priest with Urim and Thummim could rule on their status. The exact location of Cherub in Mesopotamia is unknown, but its preservation in the returnees' census reflects the careful Babylonian administrative practice of settling deportees in named colonies that retained their corporate identity across generations of exile.