Text -- Ezra 3:13 (NET)

3:13 People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard a long way off.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Ezr 3:13

The mixture of sorrow and joy here, is a representation of this world. In heaven all are singing and none sighing; in hell all are wailing, and none rejoicing: but here on earth we can scarce discern the shouts of joy from the noise of the weeping, let us learn to rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Meantime let us ourselves rejoice as though we rejoiced not, and weep as though we wept not.

JFB: Ezr 3:13

Among Eastern people, expressions of sorrow are always very loud and vehement. It is indicated by wailing, the howl of which is sometimes not easily distinguishable from joyful acclamations.

TSK: Ezr 3:13

So that : This sight must have been very affecting; a whole people, one part weeping aloud with sorrow, the other shouting aloud for joy; and on the same occasion too, in which both sides felt an equal interest. The prophet Haggai (Hag 2:1-9) comforted them on this occasion, by assuring them that the glory of this latter house should exceed that of the former, because the Lord would come to this temple, and fill it with His glory.

the noise : Jdg 2:5

shouted : Neh 12:43; Psa 5:11; Jer 33:11; Zec 4:7; Luk 19:37-40

and the noise : Exo 32:17, Exo 32:18; 1Sa 4:5; 1Ki 1:40, 1Ki 1:45; Psa 100:1, Psa 100:2

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Gill: Ezr 3:13

So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people,.... That is, not clearly and distinctly, they were so mixed and confounded together, and made such a jarring and discord:

for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off; the shouting being of young people, whose voice was strongest, and they the most numerous, the noise of shouting prevailed over the noise of weeping; and it was heard further, and at a distance appeared more distinctly to be the noise of shouting, that of weeping not reaching so far; though Jarchi is of opinion that the noise of weeping was heard further than the noise of shouting, which is not likely.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Ezr 3:13

¹ tn Heb “a great shout.”

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Ezr 3:1-13

1 The altar is set up.

4 Offerings renewed.

7 Workmen employed in preparing materials.

8 The foundations of the temple are laid in great joy and mourning.

Maclaren: Ezr 3:1-13

Altar And Temple

And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. 2. Then stood up Joshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. 3. And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the People of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord. even burnt offerings morning and evening. 4. They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty' of every day required; 5. And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord. 6. From the first day of I he seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord. But the foundation of the Temple of the Lord was not yet laid. 7. They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters: and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia. 8. Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from. twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the Lord. 9. Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. 10. And when the builders laid the foundation of the Temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their appall with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. 11. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had- seen the first house. when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: 13. So that the people could not discern the anise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.'--Ezra 3:1-13.

WHAT an opportunity of picturesque' writing the author of this book has missed by his silence about the incidents of the march across the dreary levels from Babylon to the verge of Syria! But the very silence is eloquent. It reveals the purpose of the book, which is to tell of the re-establishment of the Temple and its worship. No doubt the tone of the whole is somewhat prosaic, and indicative of an age in which the externals of worship bulked largely; but still the central point of the narrative was really the centre-point of the events. The austere simplicity of biblical history shows the real points of importance better than more artistic elaboration would do.

This passage has two main incidents, the renewal of the sacrifices, and the beginning of rebuilding the Temple.

The date given in Ezra 3:1 is significant. The first day of the seventh month was the commencement of the great festival of tabernacles, the most joyous feast of the year, crowded with reminiscences from the remote antiquity of the Exodus, and from the dedication of Solomon's Temple. How long had passed since Cyrus' decree had been issued we do not know, nor whether his first year' was reckoned by the same chronology as the Jewish year, of which we here arrive at the seventh month. But the journey across the desert must have taken some months, and the previous preparations could not have been suddenly got through, so that there can have been but a short time between the arrival in Judea and the gathering together as one man to Jerusalem.'

There was barely interval enough for the returning exiles to take possession of their ancestral fields before they were called to leave them unguarded and hasten to the desolate city. Surely their glad and unanimous obedience to the summons, or, as it may even have been, their spontaneous assemblage unsummoned, is no small token of their ardour of devotion, even if they were somewhat slavishly tied to externals. It would take a good deal to draw a band of new settlers in our days to leave their lots and set to putting up a church before they had built themselves houses.

The leaders of the band of returned exiles demand a brief notice. They are Jeshua, or Joshua, and Zerubbabel. In Ezra 3:2 the ecclesiastical dignitary comes first, but in Ezra 3:8 the civil. Similarly in Ezra 2:2, Zerubbabel precedes Jeshua. In Haggai, the priest is pre-eminent; in Zechariah the prince. The truth seems to be that each was supreme in his own department, and that they understood each other cordially, or, Zechariah says, the counsel of peace' was between them both.' It is sometimes bad for the people when priests and rulers lay their heads together; but it is even worse when they pull different ways, and subjects are torn in two by conflicting obligations.

Jeshua was the grandson of Seraiah, the unfortunate high-priest whose eyes Nebuchadnezzar put out after the fall of Jerusalem. His son Jozadak succeeded to the dignity, though there could be no sacrifices in Babylon, and after him his son Jeshua. He cannot have been a young man at the date of the return; but age had not dimmed his enthusiasm, and the high-priest was where he ought to have been, in the forefront of the returning exiles. His name recalls the other Joshua, likewise a leader from captivity and the desert; and, f we appreciate the significance attached to names in Scripture, we shall scarcely suppose it accidental that these two, who had similar work to do, bore the same name as the solitary third, of whom they were pale shadows, the greater Joshua, who brings His people from bondage into His own land of peace, and builds the Temple.

Zerubbabel (Sown in Babylon') belonged to a collateral branch of the royal family. The direct Davidic line through Solomon died with the wretched Zedekiah and Jeconiah, but the descendants of another son of David's, Nathan, still survived. Their representative was one Salathiel, who, on the failure of the direct line, was regarded as the son of Jeconiah' (1 Chron. 3:17). He seems to have had no son, and Zerubbabel, who was really his nephew (1 Chron. 3:19), was legally adopted as his son. In this makeshift fashion, some shadow of the ancient royalty still presided over the restored people. We see Zerubbabel better in Haggai and Zechariah than in Ezra, and can discern the outline of a strong, bold, prompt nature. He had a hard task, and he did it like a man. Patient, yet vigorous, glowing with enthusiasm, yet clear-eyed, self-forgetful, and brave, he has had scant justice done him, and ought to be a very much more familiar and honoured figure than he is. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.' Great mountains only become plains before men of strong wills and fixed faith.

There is something very pathetic in the picture of the assembled people groping amid the ruins on the Temple hill, to find the bases,' the half-obliterated oat-lines, of the foundations of the old altar of burnt offerings. What memories of Araunah's threshing-floor, and of the hovering angel of destruction, and of the glories of Solomon's dedication, and of the long centuries during which the column of smoke had gone up continually from that spot, and of the tragical day when the fire was quenched, and of the fifty years of extinction, must have filled their hearts! What a conflict of gladness and sorrow must have troubled their spirits as the flame again shot upwards from the hearth of God, cold for so long!

But the reason for their so quickly rearing the altar is noteworthy. It was because fear was upon them because of the people of the countries.' The state of the Holy Land at the return must be clearly comprehended. Samaria and the central district were in the hands of bitter enemies. Across Jordan in the east, down on the Philistine plain in the west, and in the south where Edom bore sway, eager enemies sulkily watched the small beginnings of a movement which they were interested in thwarting. There was only the territory of Judah and Benjamin left free for the exiles, and they had reason for their fears; for their neighbours knew that if restitution was to be the order of the day, they would have to disgorge a good deal. What was the defence against such foes which these frightened men thought most impregnable? That altar!

No doubt, much superstition mingled with their religion. Haggai leaves us under no illusions as to their moral and spiritual condition. They were no patterns of devoutness or of morality. But still, what they did carries an eternal truth; and they were reverting to the original terms of Israel's tenure of their land when they acted on the conviction that their worship of Jehovah according to His commandment was their surest way of finding shelter from all their enemies. There are differences plain enough between their condition and ours; but it is as true for us as ever it was for them, that our safety is in God, and that, if we want to find shelter from impending dangers, we shall be wiser to betake ourselves to the altar and sit suppliant there than to make defences for ourselves. The ruined Jerusalem was better guarded by that altar than if its fallen walls had been rebuilt.

The whole ritual was restored, as the narrative tells with obvious satisfaction in the enumeration. To us this punctilious attention to the minutiae of sacrificial worship sounds trivial. But we equally err if we try to bring such externalities into the worship of the Christian Church, and if we are blind to their worth at an earlier stage.

There cannot be a temple without an altar, but there may be an altar without a temple. God meets men at the place of sacrifice, even though there be no house for His name. The order of events here teaches us what is essential for communion with God. It is the altar. Sacrifice laid there is accepted, whether it stand on a bare hill-top, or have round it the courts of the Lord's house.

The second part of the passage narrates the laying of the foundations of the Temple. There had been contracts entered into with masons and carpenters, and arrangements made with the Phoenicians for timber, as soon as the exiles had returned; but of course some time elapsed before the stone and timber were sufficient to make a beginning with. Note in Ezra 3:7 the reference to Cyrus' grant as enabling the people to get these stores together. Whether the whole preparations, or only the transport of cedar wood, is intended to be traced to the influence of that decree, there seems to be a tacit contrast, in the writer's mind, with the glorious days when no heathen king had to be consulted, and Hiram and Solomon worked together like brothers. Now, so fallen are we, that Tyre and Sidon will not look at us unless we bring Cyrus' rescript in our hands!

If the years' in Ezra 3:1, 8 are calculated from the same beginning, some seven months were spent in preparation, and then the foundation was laid. Two things are noted, the humble attempt at making some kind of a display on the occasion, and the conflict of feeling in the onlookers. They had managed to get some copies of the prescribed vestments; and the narrator emphasises the fact that the priests were in their apparel,' and that the Levites had cymbals, so that some approach to the pomp of Solomon's dedication was possible. They did their best to adhere to the ancient prescriptions, and it was no mere narrow love of ritual that influenced them. However we may breathe a freer air of worship, we cannot but sympathise with that earnest attempt to do everything according to the order of David king of Israel.' Not only punctiliousness as to ritual, but the magnetism of glorious memories, prescribed the reproduction of that past. Rites long proscribed become very sacred, and the downtrodden successors of mighty men will cling with firm grasp to what the greater fathers did.

The ancient strain which still rings from Christian lips, and bids fair to be as eternal as the mercies which it hymns, rose with strange pathos from the lips of the crowd on the desolate Temple mountain, ringed about by the waste solitudes of the city: For He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever toward Israel.' It needed some faith to sing that song then, even with the glow of return upon them. What of all the weary years? What of the empty homesteads, and the surrounding enemies, and the brethren still in Babylon? No doubt some at least of the rejoicing multitude had learned what the captivity was meant to teach, and had come to bless God, both for the long years of exile, which had burned away much dross, and for the incomplete work of restoration, surrounded though they were with foes, and little as was their strength to fight. The trustful heart finds occasion for unmingled praise in the most mingled cup of joy and sorrow.

There can have been very few in that crowd who had seen the former Temple, and their memories of its splendour must have been very dim. But partly remembrance and partly hearsay made the contrast of the past glories and the present poverty painful. Hence that pathetic and profoundly significant incident of the blended shouts of the young and tears of the old. One can fancy that each sound jarred on the ears of those who uttered the other. But each was wholly natural to the years of the two classes. Sad memories gather, like evening mists, round aged lives, and the temptation of the old is unduly to exalt the past, and unduly to depreciate the present. Welcoming shouts for the new befit young lips, and they care little about the ruins that have to be carted off the ground for the foundations of the temple which they are to have a hand in building. However imperfect, it is better to them than the old house where the fathers worshipped.

But each class should try to understand the other's feelings. The friends of the old should not give a churlish welcome to the new, nor those of the new forget the old. It is hard to blend the two, either in individual life or in a wider sphere of thought or act. The seniors think the juniors revolutionary and irreverent; the juniors think the seniors fossils. It is possible to unite the shout of joy and the weeping. Unless a spirit of reverent regard for the past presides over the progressive movements of this or any day, they will not lay a solid foundation for the temple of the future. We want the old and the young to work side by side, if the work is to last and the sanctuary is to be ample enough to embrace all shades of character and tendencies of thought. If either the grey beards of Solomon's court or the hot heads of Rehoboam's get the reins in their hands, they will upset the chariot. That mingled sound of weeping and joy from the Temple hill tells a more excellent way.

MHCC: Ezr 3:8-13

There was a remarkable mixture of affections upon laying the foundation of the temple. Those that only knew the misery of having no temple at all, praised the Lord with shouts of joy. To them, even this foundation seemed great. We ought to be thankful for the beginnings of mercy, though it be not yet perfect. But those who remembered the glory of the first temple, and considered how far inferior this was likely to be, wept with a loud voice. There was reason for it, and if they bewailed the sin that was the cause of this melancholy change, they did well. Yet it was wrong to cast a damp upon the common joys. They despised the day of small things, and were unthankful for the good they enjoyed. Let not the remembrance of former afflictions drown the sense of present mercies.

Matthew Henry: Ezr 3:8-13

There was no dispute among the returned Jews whether they should build the temple or no; that was immediately resolved on, and that it should be done with all speed; what comfort could they take in their own land if they had not that token of God's presence with them and the record of his name among them? We have here therefore an account of the beginning of that good work. Observe,

I. When it was begun-in the second month of the second year, as soon as ever the season of the year would permit (Ezr 3:8), and when they had ended the solemnities of the passover. They took little more than half a year for making preparation of the ground and materials; so much were their hearts upon it. Note, When any good work is to be done it will be our wisdom to set about it quickly, and not to lose time, yea, though we foresee difficulty and opposition in it. Thus we engage ourselves to it, and engage God for us. Well begun (we say) is half ended.

II. Who began it - Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and their brethren. Then the work of God is likely to go on well when magistrates, ministers, and people, are hearty for it, and agree in their places to promote it. It was God that gave them one heart for this service, and it boded well.

III. Who were employed to further it. They appointed the Levites to set forward the work (Ezr 3:8), and they did it by setting forward the workmen (Ezr 3:9), and strengthening their hands with good and comfortable words. Note, Those that do not work themselves may yet do good service by quickening and encouraging those that do work.

IV. How God was praised at the laying of the foundation of the temple (Ezr 3:10, Ezr 3:11); the priests with the trumpets appointed by Moses, and the Levites with the cymbals appointed by David, made up a concert of music, not to please the ear, but to assist the singing of that everlasting hymn which will never be out of date, and to which our tongues should never be out of tune, God is good, and his mercy endureth for ever, the burden of Ps. 136. Let all the streams of mercy be traced up to the fountain. Whatever our condition is, how many soever our griefs and fears, let it be owned that God is good; and, whatever fails, that his mercy fails not. Let this be sung with application, as here; not only his mercy endures for ever, but it endures for ever towards Israel, Israel when captives in a strange land and strangers in their own land. However it be, yet God is good to Israel (Psa 73:1), good to us. Let the reviving of the church's interests, when they seemed dead, be ascribed to the continuance of God's mercy for ever, for therefore the church continues.

V. How the people were affected. A remarkable mixture of various affections there was upon this occasion. Different sentiments there were among the people of God, and each expressed himself according to his sentiments, and yet there was no disagreement among them, their minds were not alienated from each other nor the common concern retarded by it. 1. Those that only knew the misery of having no temple at all praised the Lord with shouts of joy when they saw but the foundation of one laid, Ezr 3:11. To them even this foundation seemed great, and was as life from the dead; to their hungry souls even this was sweet. They shouted, so that the noise was heard afar off. Note, We ought to be thankful for the beginnings of mercy, though we have not yet come to the perfection of it; and the foundations of a temple, after long desolations, cannot but be fountains of joy to every faithful Israelite. 2. Those that remembered the glory of the first temple which Solomon built, and considered how far this was likely to be inferior to that, perhaps in dimensions, certainly in magnificence and sumptuousness, wept with a loud voice, Ezr 3:12. If we date the captivity with the first, from the fourth of Jehoiakim, it was about fifty-two years since the temple was burnt; if from Jeconiah's captivity, it was but fifty-nine. So that many now alive might remember it standing; and a great mercy it was to the captives that they had the lives of so many of their priests and Levites lengthened out, who could tell them what they themselves remembered of the glory of Jerusalem, to quicken them in their return. These lamented the disproportion between this temple and the former. And, (1.) There was some reason for it; and if they turned their tears into the right channel, and bewailed the sin that was the cause of this melancholy change, they did well. Sin sullies the glory of any church or people, and, when they find themselves diminished and brought low, that must bear the blame. (2.) Yet it was their infirmity to mingle those tears with the common joys and so to cast a damp upon them. They despised the day of small things, and were unthankful for the good they enjoyed, because it was not so much as their ancestors had, though it was much more than they deserved. In the harmony of public joys, let not us be jarring strings. It was an aggravation of the discouragement they hereby gave to the people that they were priests and Levites, who should have known and taught others how to be duly affected under various providences, and not to let the remembrance of former afflictions drown the sense of present mercies. This mixture of sorrow and joy here is a representation of this world. Some are bathing in rivers of joy, while others are drowned in floods of tears. In heaven all are singing, and none sighing; in hell all are weeping and wailing, and none rejoicing; but here on earth we can scarcely discern the shouts of joy from the noise of the weeping. Let us learn to rejoice with those that do rejoice and weep with those that weep, and ourselves to rejoice as though we rejoiced not, and weep as though we wept not.

Keil-Delitzsch: Ezr 3:8-13

The foundation of the temple laid. - Ezr 3:8 In the second year of their comingto the house of God at Jerusalem, i.e., after their arrival at Jerusalem ontheir return from Babylon, in the second month, began Zerubbabel andJoshua to appoint the Levites from twenty years old and upwards to theoversight of the work (the building) of the house of the Lord. That is tosay, the work of building was taken in hand. Whether this second year ofthe return coincides with the second year of the rule of Cyrus, so that thefoundations of the temple were laid, as Theophil. Antioch. ad Autolic . lib. 3, according to Berosus, relates, in the second year of Cyrus, cannot bedetermined. For nothing more is said in this book than that Cyrus, in thefirst year of his reign, issued the decree concerning the return of the Jewsfrom Babylon, whereupon those named in the list, Ezra 2, set out andreturned, without any further notice as to whether this also took place inthe first year of Cyrus, or whether the many necessary preparationsdelayed the departure of the first band till the following year. The former view is certainly a possible though not a very probable one,since it is obvious from Ezr 2:1 that they arrived at Jerusalem and betookthemselves to their cities as early as the seventh month of the year. Nowthe period between the beginning of the year and the seventh month, i.e.,at most six months, seems too short for the publication of the edict, thedeparture, and the arrival at Jerusalem, even supposing that the first yearof Cyrus entirely coincided with a year of the Jewish calendar. The secondview, however, would not make the difference between the year of the ruleof Cyrus and the year of the return to Jerusalem a great one, since it wouldscarcely amount to half a year. ויּעמידוּ ... החלּוּ , they began and appointed, etc., they began to appoint, i.e., theybegan the work of building the temple by appointing. Those enumeratedare-1. Zerubbabel and Joshua, the two rulers: 2. The remnant of theirbrethren = their other brethren, viz., a , the priests and Levites as brethrenof Joshua; b , all who had come out of captivity, i.e., the men of Israel, asbrethren of Zerubbabel. These together formed the community whoappointed the Levites to preside over, i.e., to conduct the building of thetemple. For the expression, comp. 1 Chron 23:4-24.

Ezr 3:9

The Levites undertook this appointment, and executed thecommission. The singular ויּעמד stands before a pluralsubject, as is frequently the case when the verb precedes its subject. Threeclasses or orders of Levites are named: 1. Jeshua with his sons andbrethren; 2. Kadmiel with his sons, the sons of Hodaviah; 3. The sons ofHenadad, their sons and brethren. Jeshua and Kadmiel are the two heads oforders of Levites already named (Ezr 2:40). From a comparison of thesepassages, we perceive that יהוּדה בּני is a clericalerror for הודויה (or הודיּה ) בּני . Thismore precise designation is not "a comprehensive appellation for allhitherto enumerated"(Bertheau), but, as is undoubtedly obvious fromEzr 2:40, only a more precise designation of the sons of Kadmiel. כּאחד , as one, i.e., all, without exception. The third class, the sons of Henadad, are not expressly named in Ezr 2:40among those who returned from Babylon; but a son of Henadad appears,Neh 3:24 and Neh 10:10, as head of an order of Levites. The naming of thisorder after the predicate, in the form of a supplementary notice, andunconnected by a ו cop., is striking. Bertheau infers therefrom that theconstruction of the sentence is incorrect, and desires to alter it according to1 Esdr. 5:56, where indeed this class is named immediately after the twofirst, but יהוּדה בּני is separated from whatprecedes; and of these בני יהודה is made a fourth class, υἱοὶ Ἰωδά τοῦ Ἡλιαδούδ . All this sufficiently shows that this text cannot be regarded asauthoritative. The striking position or supplementary enumeration of thesons of Henadad may be explained by the fact to which the placing of כּאחד after בני יהודה points , viz., that the two classes, Jeshuawith his sons and brethren, and Kadmiel with his sons, were more closelyconnected with each other than with the sons of Henadad, who formed athird class. The הלויּם at the end of the enumeration offers noargument for the transposition of the words, though this addition pertainsnot only to the sons of Henadad, but also to the two first classes. hm' עשׂה is plural, and only an unusual reading for עשׁי ; seeon 1Ch 23:24.

Ezr 3:10-11

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of theLord, they (Zerubbabel and Joshua, the heads of the community) set thepriests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaphwith cymbals, to praise the Lord after the ordinance of David. The perf. ויסּדוּ , followed by an imperf. connected by a Vav consecutive,must be construed: When they laid the foundations, then. מלבּשׁים , clothed, sc. in their robes of office; comp. 2Ch 5:12; 2Ch 20:21. ידי על as 1Ch 25:2. On Ezr 3:11, comp. remarks on 1Ch 16:34, 1Ch 16:41; 2Ch 5:13; 2Ch 7:3, and elsewhere. Older expositors(Clericus, J. H. Mich.), referring to Exo 15:21, understand בהלּל ויּענוּ of the alternative singing of two choirs, one of whichsang, "Praise the Lord, for He is good;"and the other responded, "And Hismercy endureth for ever."In the present passage, however, there is nodecided allusion to responsive singing; hence (with Bertheau) we take יענוּ in the sense of, "They sang to the Lord with hymns ofthanksgiving."Probably they sang such songs as Ps 106-107, or Ps 118,which commence with an invitation to praise the Lord because He is good,etc. All the people, moreover, raised a loud shout of joy. גּדולה תּרוּעה is repeated in Ezr 3:13 by השּׂמחה תּרוּעת . הוּסד על , on account of the founding, of thefoundation-laying, of the house of the Lord. הוּסד as in 2Ch 3:3.

Ezr 3:12

But many of the priests and Levites, and chief of the people, theold men who had seen (also) the former temple, at the foundation of thishouse before their eyes (i.e., when they saw the foundation of this houselaid), wept with a loud voice. Solomon's temple was destroyed b.c. 588,and the foundation of the subsequent temple laid b.c. 535 or 534: hencethe older men among those present at the latter event might possibly haveseen the former house; indeed, some (according to Hagg. Ezr 2:2) werestill living in the second year of Darius Hystaspis who had beheld theglory of the earlier building. Upon these aged men, the miserablecircumstances under which the foundations of the new temple were laidproduced so overwhelming an impression, that they broke into loudweeping. בּיסדו is connected by its accents with the wordspreceding: the former temple in its foundation, i.e., in its stability. But thiscan scarcely be correct. For not only does no noun יסד , foundation,occur further on; but even the following words, "of this house before theireyes,"if severed from בּיסדו , have no meaning. Hence (withAben Ezra, Cler., Berth., and others) we connect בּיסדו withthe parenthetical sentence following, "when the foundation of this housewas laid before their eyes;"and then the suffix of the infinitive יסדו expressly refers to the object following, as is sometimes the case inHebrew, e.g., 2Ch 26:14; Ezr 9:1, and mostly in Chaldee; comp. Ew. §209, c , "But many were in rejoicing and joy to raise their voice,"i.e.,many so joyed and rejoiced that they shouted aloud.

Ezr 3:13

And the people could not discern (distinguish) the loud cry ofjoy in the midst of (beside) the loud weeping of the people; for the peoplerejoiced with loud rejoicings, and the sound was heard afar off. Themeaning is not, that the people could not hear the loud weeping of theolder priests, Levites, and heads of the people, because it wasoverpowered by the loud rejoicings of the multitude. The verse, on thecontrary, contains a statement that among the people also (the assemblyexclusive of priests, Levites, and chiefs) a shout of joy and a voice ofweeping arose; but that the shouting for joy of the multitude was so loud,that the sounds of rejoicing and weeping could not be distinguished fromeach other. הכּיר , with the acc. and ל , to perceive something in thepresence of (along with) another, i.e., to distinguish one thing fromanother. "The people could not discern"means: Among the multitude thecry of joy could not be distinguished from the noise of weeping. למרחוק עד as 2Ch 26:15.

Constable: Ezr 1:1--6:22

I. THE FIRST RETURN UNDER SHESHBAZZAR chs. 1--6

"This whole section (Ezra 1-6) emphasizes God's sovereignty and his providence; God works in history to fulfill his will."¹⁵

Constable: Ezr 3:1--6:22

B. The Rebuilding of the Temple chs. 3-6

Construction of the temple began soon after the exiles returned to Jerusalem. However problems threatened the completion of the project. First, the immigrants contemplated abandoning their religious distinctives to get along with their neighbors (ch. 4). Then opposition from their enemies threatened to terminate construction.

"The temple was the basis for the postexilic community's fellowship with God."⁵⁸

"In a sense the standing of the furnished Temple of God symbolizes the existence of his covenant with his people. This is why the rebuilding of the Temple occupies so central a place in the Book of Ezra."⁵⁹

Constable: Ezr 3:10-13

The completion of the temple foundation 3:10-13

The people celebrated God's faithfulness when they had completed phase one of the temple reconstruction.

"Principles of praise to be gleaned from these verses include the following: (1) Praise is the act of publicly exalting God's person and work. (2) Praise can be enhanced through the use of music and songs. (3) Praise is a participating activity, not a spectator sport; it is worship people join in, not a program people watch. Praise involves God's people in singing and playing, boasting and testifying to the greatness and goodness of the Lord!"⁶³

Compared with the "first temple" (v. 12) this second temple was much less impressive. The term "second temple" as biblical scholars commonly use it today refers to both this restoration temple and the Herodian temple that followed it. The second temple underwent changes occasionally, the major changes taking place as a result of Herod's renovations. These improvements were still in progress in our Lord's day (John 2:20). This second temple stood from 515 B.C. (6:15) until the Romans destroyed it in A.D. 70.⁶⁴

Guzik: Ezr 3:1-13

Ezra 3 - A Foundation for the New Temple

A. The restoration of regular worship in Jerusalem.

1. (1) Beginning in the seventh month.

And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

a. When the seventh month had come: This was an important month on the spiritual calendar of Israel. In the seventh month they celebrated the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Trumpets, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

b. The people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem: This was an encouraging sign of obedience among the returned exiles. In a time of small resources and great work to be done, they took the time and money to observe the commands to gather in Jerusalem for the major feasts.

2. (2-3) The altar is rebuilt on its ancient foundation.

Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its bases; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening burnt offerings.

a. Jeshua . . . and Zerubbabel: These were the two main leaders in this rebuilding project, beginning their work with building the altar that stood outside the temple on the temple mount in Jerusalem. Out of the rubble of the destroyed temple and its courts, an altar now stood ready to receive sacrifices both on behalf of the people as a whole and individuals who brought their offerings.

i. It is significant that they built the altar in Jerusalem, on the same ground where it had once stood. They might have reasoned that the altar (and conceivably also the temple) could go anywhere, because Yahweh was God of the entire earth. Yet in the Jewish mind, there was only one place where the altar and the temple could stand: on God's holy hill (Psalm 2:6, 99:9), in His holy land (Zechariah 2:12).

ii. Jeshua "was the grandson of Seraiah the high priest, who was put to death by Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 25:18, 21. This Jeshua or Joshua was the first high priest after the captivity." (Clarke)

b. Arose and built the altar of the God of Israel: Long before they could rebuild the temple, they wisely started with building the altar for burnt offerings and other sacrifices.

i. They built the altar first because it something they could do relatively quickly and easily. We begin a great work by doing first what we can.

ii. They built the altar first because they understood its spiritual significance. Fundamentally, the altar was where sin was dealt with and where the common man met with God (the temple was only for the priests to enter). They started with the altar because it was a wise spiritual priority, showing they understood their need to have atonement from sin and acts of dedication to God.

iii. They built the altar first because it was an act of obedience to do so. They needed to resume the burnt offerings for the atonement of sin and the morning and evening burnt offerings because all this was written in the Law of Moses the man of God.

iv. "This is the first thing that must be done before our temple-building or other undertakings can be crowned with success. . . . The new start that God Himself was giving would have been invalidated without the altar, which meant forgiveness for the past, and renewed consecration for the future." (Meyer)

v. "Thus, we see, the full establishment of religious services precedes the building of the temple. A weighty truth is enshrined in this apparently incongruous fact. The worship itself is felt to be more important than the house in which it is to be celebrated." (Adeney)

vi. "There cannot be a temple without an altar, but there may be an altar without a temple. God meets men at the place of sacrifice, even though there be no house for His name." (Maclaren)

c. Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries: When they built the altar unto the LORD on the temple mount in Jerusalem, they probably destroyed a crude altar that had been built on that spot by the scattered remnant who inhabited the area during the two generations of exile. In building this altar they formally announced their presence and proclaimed their intention to rebuild the temple.

i. Morgan suggests they also were afraid of the spiritual threat from the peoples of those countries: "They were conscious of how, in the neglect of the altar of God in the past, they had become contaminated by the idolatrous practices of surrounding peoples, and in order to prevent a repetition of such failure, they immediately set up the true altar."

ii. "The ruined Jerusalem was better guarded by that altar than if its fallen walls had been rebuilt." (Maclaren)

d. They set the altar on its bases: This means that they found the old foundations for the previous altar and built the new upon the exact place as the old, which dated back to David's altar on the threshing floor of Araunah (2 Samuel 24:16-19).

i. "The altar was set in its place, i.e. its traditional and proper place." (Kidner) "Rebuilt it on the same spot on which it had formerly stood." (Clarke)

ii. "There is something very pathetic in the picture of the assembled people groping amid the ruins on the Temple hill, to find 'the bases,' the half-obliterated outlines, of the foundations of the old altar of burnt offerings." (Maclaren)

iii. The centrality of the altar, set upon its ancient foundations, was essential for them - as it is for us. We have an altar (Hebrews 13:10, the cross of Jesus Christ, set upon its ancient foundations. The altar was to them what the cross is to us.

3. (4-6) The feast is observed and regular sacrifice is resumed.

They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day. Afterwards they offered the regular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD. From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid.

a. They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles: This great feast (one of the three major feasts of Israel) celebrated God's faithfulness to Israel during the wilderness journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.

i. During this feast the families of Israel were commanded to "camp out" in temporary shelters, meant to remind them of how their forefathers lived during the exodus. In this context - when in returning to destroyed cities, they were forced to live this way until they could properly rebuild - the Feast of Tabernacles held a special meaning for these returned Jews to Judah.

b. They offered the regular burnt offering . . . all the appointed feasts of the LORD . . . freewill offering to the LORD: This describes the regular resumption of sacrifice at the altar, and all this was done before the foundation of the temple had been laid.

i. "During their long stay in Babylon, the Jews were not able to offer any sacrifices, as this could only be done in Jerusalem. Instead they were surrounded by a myriad of pagan temples. About fifty temples are mentioned in Babylonian texts together with 180 open-air shrines for Ishtar, three hundred daises for the Igigi gods, and twelve hundred daises for the Anunnaki gods." (Yamauchi)

ii. "The new moon marked the first day of the month and was a holy day (Numbers 28:11-15)." (Yamauchi)

4. (7) Preparations for rebuilding the temple.

They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

a. They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters: Once the work of restoration began at the altar of sacrifice, they followed through by assembling and hiring the workers they needed to build the temple.

b. Cedar longs from Lebanon: The cedar trees of Lebanon were legendary for their excellent timber. This meant that they wanted to use the best materials they could in construction and the same materials that Solomon used in building the first temple (1 Kings 5:6), though they had far fewer resources than Solomon had.

c. According to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia: This permission was not only the legal allowance to build the temple, but it also included financial support from the royal treasury (permission can also be translated grant).

i. "Since permission to buy materials would hardly need specifying, it is reasonable to take the work to include provision as well as permission, as with our own word 'grant'." (Kidner)

ii. This shows that they used Gentile money to purchase the supplies (from Gentile Lebanon) to build the second temple. Solomon's temple used Gentile supplies and laborers; God directed the building of the second temple to likewise be built with Gentile cooperation.

B. Work begins on the temple.

1. (8-11) Great joy and worship as the work begins.

Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the LORD. Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites. When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: "For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel." Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

a. In the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem: The work seemed to begin as soon as it could, allowing for the logistical preparations described in Ezra 3:7. Significantly, the site was called the house of God at Jerusalem before the temple was built and while the former temple was still a ruin.

i. "This would hardly have escaped their notice - the second was the month in which Solomon's Temple had been started (1 Kings 6:1)." (Kidner)

b. Appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work: The Law of Moses commanded that the Levites begin their service at thirty years of age (Numbers 4:1-3, 4:3-47). David changed the starting point for Levitical service to twenty years of age (1 Chronicles 23:24). Under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua, they adopted David's revised practice.

c. When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD: This was a memorable scene. The priests were dressed in their ceremonial apparel, the musicians were ready to praise the LORD with instruments and song, and they sang responsively in an arranged presentation.

i. In general, the description matches the massive and elaborate dedication ceremony for Solomon's temple (2 Chronicles 5:13), except this was held in far humbler circumstances.

d. They praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid: It was an appropriately joyful occasion. Since the destruction of the temple under the Babylonian conquest there had been no proper place for sacrifice and worship for the people of Israel. Another important step was made in the long and difficult process of the restoration of Biblical worship and service to God.

i. "This time there is no ark, no visible glory, indeed no Temple; only some beginnings, and small beginnings at that. But God is enthroned on the praises of Israel, and these could be as glorious as Solomon's." (Kidner)

2. (12-13) The mixed reaction among the people.

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.

a. Old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes: The older men knew that his temple would never match up to the glory of the first. After all, King Solomon spent the modern equivalent of $5 to $8 billion on building the first temple. They also remembered the horrible end of the first temple, and these combined with the joy of the restoration to make profound mixed feelings in the old men.

i. "Possibly some of them had stood on this very spot half a century before, in an agony of despair, while they saw the cruel flames licking the ancient stones and blazing up among the cedar beams, and all the fine gold dimmed with black clouds of smoke." (Adeney)

ii. "They saw that the glory had departed from Israel; in their circumstances it was impossible to build such a house as the first temple was; and had this been even possible, still it would have been greatly inferior, because it wanted the ark of the covenant, the heavenly fire, the mercy-seat, the heavenly manna, Aaron's rod that budded, the divine shechinah, the spirit of prophecy and most probably the Urim and Thummim." (Clarke)

iii. There was a danger in their weeping. "The backward look which discounts present activity is always a peril. Regrets over the past which paralyse work in the present are always wrong. Moreover all such regrets, as in this case, are in danger of blinding the eyes to the true value and significance of the present." (Morgan)

iv. The prophets warned against despising this temple for its humble beginnings (Haggai 2:1-9, Zechariah 4:8-10).

b. Yet many shouted aloud for joy: The younger, who had no remembrance of the prior temple, felt nothing but joy in seeing this important step in the restoration of the temple and its worship.

c. So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: This profound scene showed the depth of the mixed feelings among the people.

i. "The sight must have been very affecting: a whole people, one part crying aloud with sorrow; the other shouting aloud for joy; and on the same occasion too, in which both sides felt an equal interest!" (Clarke)

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Ezra (Book Introduction)

EZRA was, along with Nehemiah, reckoned one book by the ancient Jews, who called them the First and Second Books of Ezra, and they are still designated by Roman Catholic writers the First and Second Books of Esdras. This book naturally divides itself into two parts or sections, the one contained in the first six chapters, and which relates the circumstances connected with the return of the first detachment of Babylonish exiles under Zerubbabel with the consequent rebuilding of the temple and the re-establishment of the divine service. The other part, embraced in the four concluding chapters, narrates the journey of a second caravan of returning captives under the conduct of Ezra himself, who was invested with powers to restore, in all its splendor, the entire system of the Jewish ritual. The general opinion of the Church in every succeeding age has been that Ezra was the author of this book. The chief objection is founded on Ezr 5:4, where the words, "Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?" have occasioned a surmise that the first portion of the book was not written by Ezra, who did not go to Jerusalem for many years after. But a little attention will show the futility of this objection, as the words in question did not refer to the writer, but were used by Tatnai and his associates [Ezr 5:3]. The style and unity of object in the book clearly prove it to have been the production of but one author. The canonical authority of this book is well established; but another under the name of Ezra is rejected as apocryphal.

JFB: Ezra (Outline)

• PROCLAMATION OF CYRUS FOR BUILDING THE TEMPLE. (Ezr 1:1-6)
• CYRUS RESTORES THE VESSELS. (Ezr 1:7-11)
• NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE THAT TURNED. (Ezra 2:1-70)
• THE ALTAR SET UP. (Ezr 3:1-13)
• OFFERINGS RENEWED. (Ezr 3:4-7)
• THE FOUNDATION OF THE TEMPLE LAID. (Ezr 3:8-13)
• THE BUILDING HINDERED. (Ezr 4:1-6)
• LETTER TO ARTAXERXES. (Ezra 4:7-24)
• ZERUBBABEL AND JESHUA SET FORWARD THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE IN THE REIGN OF DARIUS. (Ezra 5:1-17)
• DARIUS' DECREE FOR ADVANCING THE BUILDING. (Ezr 6:1-12)
• THE TEMPLE FINISHED. (Ezr 6:13-15)
• FEASTS OF THE DEDICATION. (Ezr 6:16-18)
• AND OF THE PASSOVER. (Ezr 6:19-22)
• EZRA GOES UP TO JERUSALEM. (Ezr 7:1-10)
• GRACIOUS COMMISSION OF ARTAXERXES. (Ezra 7:11-26)
• EZRA BLESSES GOD FOR THIS FAVOR. (Ezr 7:27-28)
• EZRA'S COMPANIONS FROM BABYLON. (Ezr 8:1-14)
• HE SENDS TO IDDO FOR MINISTERS FOR THE TEMPLE SERVICE. (Ezr 8:15-20)
• A FAST PROCLAIMED. (Ezra 8:21-36)
• EZRA MOURNS FOR THE AFFINITY OF THE PEOPLE WITH STRANGERS. (Ezr 9:1-4)
• EZRA REFORMS THE STRANGE MARRIAGES. (Ezra 10:1-17)
• THOSE THAT HAD TAKEN STRANGE WIVES. (Ezra 10:18-44)

TSK: Ezra (Book Introduction)

This book details the events of a very interesting period of the Sacred History, when, according to the decree of Providence, the Jewish people were to be delivered from their captivity, at the expiration of seventy years, and restored to the land of their fathers. This book informs us how the Divine goodness accomplished this most gracious design, and the movers and agents He employed on the occasion. Ezra was undoubtedly the chief agent under God in effecting this arduous work; and his zeal, piety, knowledge, and discretion, appear here in a most conspicuous point of view, and claim our utmost admiration. Descended from Seraiah, in a direct line from Aaron, he seems to have united all the requisites of a profound statesmen with the functions of the sacerdotal character. He appears to have made the Sacred Scriptures, during the captivity, his peculiar study; and, perhaps assisted by Nehemiah and the great synagogue, he corrected the errors which had crept into the Sacred Writings, through the negligence or mistake of transcribers; he collected all the books of which the Sacred Scriptures then consisted, disposed them in their proper order, and settled the canon of Scriptures for his time; he occasionally added, under the dictation of the Holy Spirit, whatever appeared necessary for the purpose of illustrating, completing, or connecting them; he substituted the modern for the ancient names of some places, which had now become obsolete; and transcribed the whole of the Scriptures into the Chaldee character. He is said to have lived to the age of 120 years, and, according to Josephus, was buried in Jerusalem; but the Jews believe he died in Persia, in a second journey to Artaxerxes, where his tomb is shown in the city of Zamusa. Though not styled a prophet, he wrote under the Divine Spirit; and the canonical authority of his book has never been disputed. It is written with all the spirit and fidelity that could be displayed by a writer of contemporary times; and those parts which chiefly consist of letters, decrees, etc., are written in Chaldee, because it seemed more suitable to the fidelity of a sacred historian to give these official documents, as they may be termed, in the original language, especially as the people, recently returned from the captivity, were familiar, and perhaps more conversant with the Chaldee, than with the Hebrew.

TSK: Ezra 3 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Ezr 3:1, The altar is set up; Ezr 3:4, Offerings renewed; Ezr 3:7, Workmen employed in preparing materials; Ezr 3:8, The foundations of the temple are laid in great joy and mourning.

Poole: Ezra (Book Introduction)

THE ARGUMENT

THAT this book of EZRA is part of the canonical Scripture is evident, partly from the testimony of the Jewish church, to which were committed the oracles of God , Rom 3:2 , who also did carefully keep them, and faithfully transmit them to us, and are not once charged either by Christ or his apostles with breach of that trust; and partly by the unanimous consent of all, both Jews and Christians, at this day. And that Ezra was thee writer of this book, is also, and ever was, the opinion of the Jews, who had thee best means of knowing this, and is most agreeable to his quality, for he was the son, or grandson , (as the word is elsewhere used,) of Seraiah , Ezr 7:1 , who was the high priest, 2Ki 25:18 1Ch 6:14 ; and he was a ready scribe of the law of Moses , Ezr 7:6 , and endowed with a more than ordinary measure of God’ s Spirit, as is evident from this book; and was himself an eye-witness of these transactions. In his time also there lived divers other holy men of God, as Daniel, and Nehemiah, and Mordecai, and Zorobabel, and Joshua; which makes that probable which the Jews report, that these prophets and other holy and learned men did review thee canonical books of the Old Testament, and added here and there some few passages in the historical books, and digested them into that order in which now we have them in our Hebrew Bibles; this being a work most suitable to the prudence, and piety, and sacred function of these persons, and to the present estate of the Jewish nation, who had been long in captivity in Babylon, where it was to be feared that many of them were ignorant or corrupt in the principles of religion, and who were yet in a broken condition, and likely to be exposed to further calamities and dispersions; which also might be signified to some of them; and it was suitable also to that care which the wise and gracious God hath ever used for the guidance of his church, according to their several occasions and necessities.

Poole: Ezra 3 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 3

The altar set up, Ezr 3:1-3 . The feast of the tabernacles kept, Ezr 3:4 . Their continual offerings, Ezr 3:5,6 . Workmen hired, Ezr 3:7 . Priests and Levites are appointed to set forward the work, Ezr 3:8,9 . The foundation of the temple is laid with great joy and mourning, Ezr 3:10-13 .

MHCC: Ezra (Book Introduction)

The history of this book is the accomplishment of Jeremiah's prophecy concerning the return of the Jews out of Babylon. From its contents we especially learn, that every good work will meet with opposition from enemies, and be hurt by the misconduct of friends; but that God will make his cause to prevail, notwithstanding all obstacles and adversaries. The restoration of the Jews was an event of the highest consequence, tending to preserve religion in the world, and preparing the way for the appearance of the Great Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ.

MHCC: Ezra 3 (Chapter Introduction)

(Ezr 3:1-7) The altar and festivals.

(Ezr 3:8-13) The foundations of the temple laid.

Matthew Henry: Ezra (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Ezra

The Jewish church puts on quite another face in this book from what it had appeared with; its state much better, and more pleasant, than it was of late in Babylon, and yet far inferior to what it had been formerly. The dry bones here live again, but in the form of a servant; the yoke of their captivity is taken off, but the marks of it in their galled necks remain. Kings we hear no more of; the crown has fallen from their heads. Prophets they are blessed with, to direct them in their re-establishment, but, after a while, prophecy ceases among them, till the great prophet appears, and his fore-runner. The history of this book is the accomplishment of Jeremiah's prophecy concerning the return of the Jews out of Babylon at the end of seventy years, and a type of the accomplishment of the prophecies of the Apocalypse concerning the deliverance of the gospel church out of the New Testament Babylon. Ezra preserved the records of that great revolution and transmitted them to the church in this book. His name signifies a helper; and so he was to that people. A particular account concerning him we shall meet with, ch. 7, where he himself enters upon the stage of action. The book gives us an account, I. Of the Jews' return out of their captivity, Ezr 1:1-11, 2. II. Of the building of the temple, the opposition it met with, and yet the perfecting of it at last, ch. 3-6. III. Of Ezra's coming to Jerusalem, ch. 7, 8. IV. Of the good service he did there, in obliging those that had married strange wives to put them away, Ezr 9:1-15, 10. This beginning again of the Jewish nation was small, yet its latter end greatly increased.

Matthew Henry: Ezra 3 (Chapter Introduction)

In the close of the foregoing chapter we left Israel in their cities, but we may well imagine what a bad posture their affairs were in, the ground untilled, the cities in ruins, all out of order; but here we have an account of the early care they took about the re-establishment of religion among them. Thus did they lay the foundation well, and begin their work at the right end. I. They set up an altar, and offered sacrifices upon it, kept the feasts, and contributed towards the rebuilding of the temple (Ezr 3:1-7). II. They laid the foundation of the temple with a mixture of joy and sorrow (Ezr 3:8-13). This was the day of small things, which was not to be despised, Zec 4:10.

Constable: Ezra (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The title in the English text comes from the main character in the second part of the book (chapters 7-10). In the Septuagint translation this book also bore the name of Ezra or Esdras, the Greek transliteration of "Ezra." "Ezra" is a short form of Azariah, which means "Yahweh has helped." The Hebrew Bible has the same title.

Early Hebrew copyists placed Ezra together with Nehemiah because Nehemiah continues the history of Ezra.¹ Another reason they may have done this was to make the total number of canonical books agree with the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.² Another view is that they were written originally as one book and than divided later.³ Even today the Hebrew Bible links Ezra and Nehemiah as did the Septuagint translators. However the repetition of Ezra 2 in Nehemiah 6:7-70 suggests that these two books were not originally one. Evidently Origen (third century A.D.) was the first to divide Ezra-Nehemiah into two books, and Jerome followed this precedent in his Latin (Vulgate) translation.⁴

Writer and Date

Due to the ancient tradition that the same writer composed both parts of the book (chapters 1-6 and 7-10), many scholars believe Ezra produced all of it.⁵ A passage in the Talmud credits Ezra with the authorship of Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles.⁶ Ezra speaks in the first person in Ezra 7:28-8:34 and in chapter 9. This may suggest that he drew from a source such as the so-called "Ezra Memoirs" that recorded Ezra's personal recollections in the first person.⁷

Another popular view is that Ezra and Nehemiah each wrote the books that bear their names.⁸ A third view is that the joint book was a compilation that a "chronicler" made long after the events recorded took place.⁹

As a scribe (7:21), Ezra had the qualifications needed to write this book. He was a general contemporary of Nehemiah (Neh. 8:1-9; 12:36). Another reference in the Talmud claimed that Ezra was a disciple of Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe.¹⁰

The last historical reference in the book is in 4:21-23. In view of other chronological references in the book this event must have occurred about 446 B.C. Therefore Ezra could have written the book about 446 B.C. or shortly after that.

"Regardless of one's view of the authorship of Ezra-Nehemiah and its relationship to Chronicles, the theological viewpoint of the whole collection is essentially the same. The message is addressed to the postexilic community of Jews who wonder if there is any hope of political and religious restoration. Its central thrust is that there indeed is hope but that hope must be incarnated in the rebuilding of the Temple, the cultus, and the priesthood. Only as the remnant people became the theocratic nation, founded on and faithful to the covenant Yahweh made with their fathers, could they revive the Davidic house and anticipate the resumption of their mediatorial role among the nations of the earth. Ezra and Nehemiah are therefore burdened to clarify (1) the Person and works of God, (2) Israel's own identity and function as a covenant people, and (3) the nature of that covenant in postexilic times."¹¹

Scope

The earliest historical reference in Ezra is to the decree of Cyrus that he issued in his first year on the throne (1:1), 538 B.C.¹² The latest historical reference was just prior to Nehemiah's first trip to Jerusalem (4:21-23; cf. Neh. 1:1-3), 446 B.C. Therefore this book spans a period of 92 years of history.¹³

However most of the events recorded took place in 538-515 B.C. (chapters 1-6) and 458 B.C. (chapters 7-10). Between these two separate series of events the Book of Ezra records nothing. The events in the Book of Esther transpired during those years (482-473 B.C.).

Message¹⁴

Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther have much in common. Among other things, they all deal with God's dealings with Israel following the captivity. Jeremiah had spoken of these years before the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem (Jer. 25:11-14; 29:10-14). Now 70 years had passed, Babylon had fallen, and Cyrus was on the throne of Medo-Persia. The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther all reveal God overruling human failure. They show God remaking the vessel that had proven obstinate, Israel (cf. Jer. 18:1-6).

The Book of Ezra reveals four things about God's dealings with Israel that are of permanent value.

1. God's instruments are very diverse. In shaping Israel again God used instruments outside the nation as well as inside it.

His primary instruments outside were Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. Each one issued a decree that God had inspired just as much as any message of Isaiah or any of the other prophets of Israel (e.g., 1:1-4). God turned the hearts of these kings in the direction He wanted them to go (cf. Prov. 21:1). God directed the marching of their armies as well as the praying of the captives to accomplish His will.

His primary instruments inside the nation of Israel were Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and Ezra. Zerubbabel was a descendant of King Jehoiachin, and Jeshua was a descendant of Aaron. Thus God raised up a member of the kingly family and a member of the priestly family to resume His dealings with the nation as formerly. They began to inspire other Israelites, and the movement to return was under way. The third Israelite instrument was Ezra who was a scribe. We begin here to read of the scribes who are prominent in the Gospels. A scribe was a student, interpreter, teacher, and expositor of the Word of God. God uses both people who do not know Him and people who do know Him to carry out His plans.

2. God's might is awesome, another clear revelation in this book. We see this not only in the way God uses the two kinds of people just differentiated. We see it in the way He qualifies His workers to accomplish their tasks, as I have noted. We also see it in God's gathering His people from all over the ancient world to bring them back into Palestine. Most of the exiles did not return. Ezra's revelation provided the original readers with hope for the future.

3. God's people are changeable, another significant revelation. God gathered people from all the tribes, not just Judah, back to the land (2:70; 6:16-17). In exile the Israelites had renounced idolatry. They had returned to the worship of the one true God. The Lord's severe punishment of them for idolatry, as well as their own observation of idolatry for 70 years, took away their appetite for it. God had purged out this dross and could now fashion the nation anew.

4. God's work is proceeding, another important revelation. Note what God did to the nation. When the people returned to Palestine they had lost their national influence. They could not demonstrate how glorious it is to live under God's government as they had formerly. They also lost their independence. However they gained a place for themselves as a nation again. Furthermore God had saved them from racial extinction and absorption. The Pharisees (lit. separated ones) came into existence during the captivity. They wanted to prevent the Jews from intermixing with others. That attitude was good then, but it became bad later. In all these respects we can see God's work of reshaping the nation.

The message of the book arises from these observations on its emphases. I could state it this way. God does not discard what He has chosen but remakes it when it fails.

With people if one fails, he is out. With God if a person fails, he gets other opportunities. This is how God dealt with Jonah. It is how He dealt with Israel. Moreover it is how He deals with us. This is a great testimony to the eternal security of the believer. When the vessel is unyielding, God crushes it and begins to fashion it into a useful vessel again. That is a greater evidence of God's sovereignty than if He discarded it as hopeless. God's reason for doing this is His loyal love, compassion, and pity.

This revelation brings hope to everyone who fails. It gives hope when our good causes fall to pieces. It gives hope when God's servants fail. It also gives hope when we make a mess. God is still on His throne (cf. Hag. 2:4-5). No matter how you may have failed in the past God will use you if you renounce your sin, re-commit yourself to Him, and return to His Word.

Constable: Ezra (Outline)

Outline

I. The first return under Sheshbazzar chs. 1-6

A. The return from Babylon chs. 1-2

1. The edict of Cyrus and its consequences ch. 1

2. The exiles who returned ch. 2

B. The rebuilding of the temple chs. 3-6

1. The beginning of construction ch. 3

2. The opposition to construction ch. 4

3. The delay of construction ch. 5

4. The completion of construction ch. 6

II. The second return under Ezra chs. 7-10

A. The return to Jerusalem ch. 7-8

1. The decree of Artaxerxes and its consequences ch. 7

2. The journey itself ch. 8

B. The restoration of the people chs. 9-10

1. The problem of mixed marriages ch. 9

2. The solution to the problem ch. 10

Constable: Ezra

Ezra

Bibliography

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Ezra (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST BOOK OF ESDRAS.

INTRODUCTION.

This Book taketh its name from the writer, who was a holy priest and doctor of the law. He is called by the Hebrews Ezra, (Challoner) and was son, (Tirinus) or rather, unless he lived above 150 years, a descendant of Saraias, 4 Kings xxv. 18. It is thought that he returned first with Zorobabel; and again, at the head of other captives, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus, with ample authority. Esdras spent the latter part of his life in exhorting the people, and in explaining to them the law of God. He appeared with great dignity at the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem, 2 Esdras xii. 26, 35. We have four books which bear his name. (Calmet) --- This and the following book of Nehemias, originally made but one in Hebrew, (St. Jerome, &c.) as the transactions of both those great men are recorded. The third and fourth are not in Hebrew nor received into the canon of the Holy Scriptures, though the Greek Church hold the third as canonical, and place it first; (Worthington) and Genebrard would assert that both ought to be received, as they were by several Fathers. But they contain many thing which appear to be erroneous, and have been rejected by others of great authority, and particularly by St. Jerome. The third book seems to have been written very early, by some Hellenist Jew, who was desirous of embellishing the history of Zorobabel; and the fourth was probably composed by some person of the same nation, who had been converted to Christianity, before the end of the second century; and who injudiciously attempted to convert his brethren, by assuming the name of a man who was so much respected. Many things have been falsely attributed to Esdras, on the same account. It is said that he invented the Masora; restored the Scriptures, which had been lost; fixed the canon of twenty-two books; substituted the Chaldaic characters instead of the ancient Hebrew, Samaritan, or Phœnician. But though Esdras might sanction the latter, now become common, the characters might vary insensibly, (Bianconi; Kennicott, Dis. ii.) as those of other languages have done, (Haydock) and the sacred books never perished wholly; nor could the canon be determined in the time of Esdras. (Calmet) --- As for the Masoretic observations and points, they are too modern an invention. (Elias Levita; Capel.; Houbigant, &c.) --- What we know more positively of Esdras, is, (Worthington) that he was empowered by Artaxerxes to bring back the Jews, and that he acted with great zeal. (Haydock) --- This book contains the transactions of 82 years, till the year of the world 3550. The letter of Reum, and the king's answer, (chap. iv. 7., till chap. vi. 19., and well as chap. vii. 12, 27.) are in Chaldean; the rest of the work is in Hebrew. (Calmet) --- We may discover various mysteries concealed under the literal sense of this and the following book. (St. Jerome, ep. ad Paulin.) (Worthington) --- Esdras is supposed by this holy doctor, as well as by some of the Rabbins, &c., to have been the same person with the prophet Malachy[Malachias]; (Button) and several reasons seems to support this conjecture, though it must still remain very uncertain. (Calmet) --- Some think that (Haydock) Esdras wrote only the four last chapters, and the author of Paralipomenon the six preceding ones. (Du Hamel) --- But it is most probable that he compiled both from authentic documents. (Haydock) --- Some few additions may have been inserted since, by divine authority, 2 Esdras xii. 11, 22. (Tirinus)

Gill: Ezra (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA

This book, in the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions, is called the "First" Book of Ezra, Nehemiah being reckoned the "second"; but with the Jews both were accounted but one book ^a; in the Syriac version, it is called the Writing or Book of Ezra the Prophet; and this title is given him, both by Jews ^b and Christians ^c; in the Arabic version, it is called the First Book of Ezra the Priest, skilful in the Law; and that he was a priest is clear, since he was the son of Seraiah the high priest, who was slain by Nebuchadnezzar, and the younger brother of Josedech, who succeeded his father as high priest, and uncle to Joshua that succeeded him; and he was also a ready scribe in the law of Moses, see Ezr 7:1. That Ezra was the writer of this book is believed by the Jews ^d, and by the generality of Christians; only Huetius ^e thinks that the six first chapters were written by another hand, but his reasons are not satisfactory; and it has been universally received as canonical by all; it agrees with the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, and serves to illustrate them; it is of use for the continuation of the sacred history, to point at the fulfilment of prophecies concerning the return of the Jews from captivity, and the rebuilding of the temple; and to give us an account of the state of the church in those times, the troubles and difficulties it met with, and what care was taken to keep the tribes and families distinct, that it might be known from whom the Messiah sprung; this book contains an history of seventy years, according to the calculation of Bishop Usher ^f, from A. M. 3468, to A. M. 3538.

Gill: Ezra 3 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 3

This chapter relates how that the people of Israel returned from captivity, gathered to Jerusalem, and set up the altar, where sacrifices were offered, Ezr 3:1, and kept the feast of tabernacles, and offered the sacrifices of that, besides the daily sacrifice, and of other festivals; and contributed to the workmen that prepared for the building of the temple, Ezr 3:4 and began it by laying the foundation of it; which to some was matter of joy, to others of grief, on different accounts, Ezr 3:8.