In all, 612 Nethinim came back from the Exile and were lodged near the "House of the Nethinim" at Ophel, towards the east wall of Jerusalem so as to be near the Temple, where they served under the Levites and were free of all tolls, from which they must have been supported.
To explain this combination of sacred service and exceptional degradation, it has been suggested by Joseph Jacobs that the Nethinim were the descendants of the Kedishoth, i.e.
The above explanation of the special degradation of the Nethinim, though they were connected with the Temple service, seems to be the only way of explaining the Talmudic reference to their tabooed position, and is an interesting example of the light that can be reflected on Biblical research by the Talmud.
For the nethinim ("` given") and "children of the slaves of Solomon" (whose hereditary service would give them a pre-eminence over the temple slaves), see art.