What proof is there that Jews returned with Nehemiah?

Answer:

The list of those who returned with Zerubbabel is found in Ezra 2:2-67. The total was 42,360 male Israelites plus 7,337 servants and 200 singers, for a grand total of 49,897 people. This group went during the first year of King Cyrus of Persia.

During the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, 1,769 male Jews went with Ezra (Ezra 7:7; 8:1-20).

Nehemiah 2:12 mentions a few men who were with him when he inspected the walls. He specifically states that he did not tell the local Jews about his night visit in Nehemiah 2:16. Whether those men were Jews or not is not stated. Nehemiah 2:8 also mentions that Nehemiah came to Jerusalem with an army escort. That would hint that there were more people in the traveling party than just Nehemiah, but how many is not possible to determine. Likely it was not that many.

Nehemiah found a book of genealogies about 100 years later (Nehemiah 7:5-67). There are a few differences in numbers from the list in Ezra. Some can be explained by differences in the spelling of names, or some might be scribal errors. But what should be noted is that it is a list of who arrived while Ezra's list was a list of who left. Still, the total comes out the same: 42,360 plus 7,337 servants and 245 singers.