Text -- Ezra 9:1-3 (NET)

A Prayer of Ezra

9:1 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 9:2 Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!” 9:3 When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and my robe and ripped out some of the hair from my head and beard. Then I sat down, quite devastated.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Ezr 9:3

Both mine inner and my upper garment.

JFB: Ezr 9:1-2

The first days after Ezra's arrival in Jerusalem were occupied in executing the different trusts committed to him. The nature and design of the office with which the royal authority had invested him was publicly made known to his own people by the formal delivery of the contribution and the sacred vessels brought from Babylon to the priests to be deposited in the temple. Then his credentials were privately presented to the provincial governors; and by this prudent, orderly proceeding he put himself in the best position to avail himself of all the advantages guaranteed him by the king. On a superficial view everything contributed to gratify his patriotic feelings in the apparently flourishing state of the church and country. But a further acquaintance discovered the existence of great corruptions, which demanded immediate correction. One was particularly brought under his notice as being the source and origin of all others; namely, a serious abuse that was practised respecting the law of marriage.

JFB: Ezr 9:1-2

The information they lodged with Ezra was to the effect that numbers of the people, in violation of the divine law (Deu 7:2-3), had contracted marriages with Gentile women, and that the guilt of the disorderly practice, far from being confined to the lower classes, was shared in by several of the priests and Levites, as well as of the leading men in the country. This great irregularity would inevitably bring many evils in its train; it would encourage and increase idolatry, as well as break down the barriers of distinction which, for important purposes, God had raised between the Israelites and all other people. Ezra foresaw these dangerous consequences, but was overwhelmed with a sense of the difficulty of correcting the evil, when matrimonial alliances had been formed, families had been reared, affections engaged, and important interests established.

JFB: Ezr 9:3

The outer and inner garment, which was a token not only of great grief, but of dread at the same time of the divine wrath;

JFB: Ezr 9:3

Which was a still more significant sign of overpowering grief.

Clarke: Ezr 9:1

The people of Israel - These were they who had returned at first with Zerubbabel, and were settled in the land of Judea and whom Ezra found on his arrival to be little better than the Canaanitish nations from whom God had commanded them ever to keep separate.

Clarke: Ezr 9:2

Hath been chief in this trespass - They who are the first men have been the most capital offenders; so Virgil, Aen. ix. 783: -

Unus homo, vestris, o cives, undique septu

Aggeribus, tantas strages impune per urbem Ediderit

Juvenum primos tot miserit orco

"Shall one, and he enclosed within your walls

One rash imprisoned warrior, vanquish all

Calm you look on, and see the furious fo

Plunge crowds of heroes to the shades below!

Pitt

The first of the Trojan youth were the chief, the most illustrious; so we say the first men of the kingdom for the nobles, etc.

Clarke: Ezr 9:3

I rent my garment and my mantle - The outer and inner garment, in sign of great grief. This significant act is frequently mentioned in the sacred writings, and was common among all ancient nations

Clarke: Ezr 9:3

Plucked off the hair - Shaving the head and beard were signs of excessive grief; much more so the plucking off the hair, which must produce exquisite pain. All this testified his abhorrence, not merely of the act of having taken strange wives, but their having also joined them in their idolatrous abominations.

TSK: Ezr 9:1

the princes : Ezr 10:8; Jer 26:10, Jer 26:16

have not separated : Ezr 6:21, Ezr 6:22, Ezr 10:10, Ezr 10:11; Exo 33:16; Num 23:9; Neh 9:2, Neh 13:3; Isa 52:11; 2Co 6:14-18

doing according : Lev 18:3, Lev 18:24-30; Deu 12:30, Deu 12:31, Deu 18:9; 2Ch 33:2; Psa 106:35; Rom 2:17-25

of the Canaanites : Gen 15:16, Gen 15:19-21; Exo 23:23; Deu 20:17, Deu 20:18

Ammonites : Deu 23:3-5; 1Ki 11:1, 1Ki 11:5-7; Neh 4:3, Neh 4:7, Neh 13:1-3

Moabites : Num 25:1-3

TSK: Ezr 9:2

taken of their : Ezra 10:18-44; Exo 34:16; Deu 7:1-4; Neh 13:23, Neh 13:24; Mal 2:11

the holy seed : Exo 19:6, Exo 22:31; Deu 7:6, Deu 14:2; Isa 6:13; Mal 2:15; 1Co 7:14

mingled : Gen 6:2; Neh 13:3, Neh 13:23, Neh 13:24; 2Co 6:14

the hand : Ezra 10:18-44; Neh 13:4, Neh 13:17, Neh 13:28

TSK: Ezr 9:3

rent : Jos 7:6; 2Ki 18:37, 2Ki 19:1; Job 1:20; Jer 36:24

off : Lev 21:5; Neh 13:25; Isa 15:2; Jer 7:29, Jer 48:37, Jer 48:38; Eze 7:18; Mic 1:16

sat : Neh 1:4; Job 2:12, Job 2:13; Psa 66:3, Psa 143:4; Eze 3:15; Dan 4:19, Dan 8:27

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Ezr 9:1

Abominations - The mixed marriages had prevented that complete separation of the people of God from the idolatrous rites, or "abominations,"which the Law required, and which was necessary for purity of religion. See 1Ki 11:2 note.

Barnes: Ezr 9:3

Plucking out the hair with the hands, so common among the Classical nations, is, comparatively speaking, rarely mentioned as practiced by Asiatics.

Poole: Ezr 9:1

The princes who feared God, and understood that Ezra was come with large commission from the king, and with this design, to reform all disorders, whereof this was not the least. From the people of the lands i.e. from the heathen nations round about them, which God had expressly commanded them to do, Deu 7:2,3 . Doing according to their abominations to wit, either,

1. Marrying promiscuously whomsoever they liked, as the heathens used to do; or,

2. Imitating them in their idolatrous or other wicked practices, into which they were drawn by their heathenish affinities; although they are not charged with any other crime besides their marriage in the following account of it.

Poole: Ezr 9:2

This they had done, either,

1. In the land of their captivity, into which these people were carried as well as others, as appears from Jer 25:9 , &c. Or rather,

2. Since their return, as may be gathered from Ezr 9:8,9,10,14 .

The princes and rulers who should have restrained the people from this sin by their authority and example; and, by doing otherwise, made the sin more general, and involved themselves and the nation in the guilt of it.

Poole: Ezr 9:3

My garment and my mantle both my inner and my upper garment.

Plucked off the hair of my head, and of my beard in testimony of my great grief and indignation; which was usual among all these eastern and ancient people, wherein he did not transgress that law, Lev 19:27 Deu 14:1 , because he did not shave off all the hair, but only plucked off some hairs.

Sat down astonied partly for grief and shame at the sin; and partly for fear of some great and dreadful judgment which he expected and feared for it.

Haydock: Ezr 9:1

Abominations, or sins, (Menochius) marrying with infidels, contrary to the law, Exodus xxxiv. 15., and Deuteronomy vii. 3. (Du Hamel) ---

Malachy[Malachias] (ii. 11.) reprehends this conduct, and threatens both rulers and people who tolerate it, with God's indignation. (Worthington)

Haydock: Ezr 9:2

First. Or "was in this first transgression," incurred by those who returned with Zorobabel; or "was concerned in this very heinous transgression;" in transgressione hac prima. (Calmet) ---

Protestants, "hath been chief." 3 Esdras, "and the leaders and grandees partook in this illegal affair, from its commencement." Septuagint, "and the hand of the chiefs was in this transgress, in the beginning." This would greatly increase the difficulty of reformation. Some of the princes were however ready to undertake the work, and had preserved themselves from the two general contagion. (Haydock) ---

All marriages with the Moabites, &c., were prohibited, if the women remained infidels, Exodus xxxiv. (Tirinus)

Haydock: Ezr 9:3

Coat, ( tunicam ) or inner garment. (Haydock) ---

Mourning. Hebrew, "astonished." (Syriac) (Montanus) (Calmet) (Protestants) ---

Septuagint, "alone." 3 Esdras, "pensive and in grief." (Haydock) ---

Arabic, "not uttering a word." See Job i. 20., and ii. 8. This was the ordinary posture of people in sorrow, Isaias iii. 26. (Calmet)

Gill: Ezr 9:1

Now when these things were done,.... When the captives with Ezra had refreshed themselves, and weighed the money and vessels they brought, and put them into the hands of proper persons, and offered sacrifices, and delivered the king's commissions to his lieutenants and governors, and shown his own:

the princes came to me; some of the nobles of Israel, the most religious of them, who were concerned at the corruptions that were among them, though not a sufficient number to reform them:

saying the people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the land: but joined with them, though not in idolatrous practices, yet by marrying with them, which might lead them into them:

doing according to their abominations; not serving idols as they did, but imitating them in their marriages: even

of the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites; affinity with many of these was forbidden by an express law, Deu 7:1 all but the Moabites, Ammonites, and Egyptians, and from these for the same reason they were to abstain; namely, lest they should be drawn into idolatry; that the priests and Levites should do this, who ought to have known the law, and instructed the people better, was very sad and shocking.

Gill: Ezr 9:2

For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sorts,.... Some that were widowers not only took wives to themselves of the above nations, either when they were of Babylon, where many of these nations also were, or rather since their return; but they took for their sons also; yea, some that had wives took Heathenish ones to them, see Mal 2:13,

so that the holy seed; such as the Lord had separated from other nations, chosen them to be an holy people above all others, and devoted them to his service and worship:

have mingled themselves with the people of those lands; before mentioned, by marrying with them:

yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass; they were the first that went into it, were ringleaders of it, who should by their authority and example have restrained others; or they were

in this first trespass ⁱ; which was the first gross and capital one the people fell into after their return from the captivity.

Gill: Ezr 9:3

And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle,.... Both inward and outward garments, that which was close to his body, and that which was thrown loose over it; and this he did in token of sorrow and mourning, as if something very dreadful and distressing, see Job 1:20

and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard; did not shave them, and so transgressed not the law in Lev 19:27 but plucked off the hair of them, to show his extreme sorrow for what was told him: which has frequently been done by mourners on sorrowful occasions in various nations, see Isa 15:2. So in the apocryphal "addition" to Esther,"And laid away her glorious apparel, and put on the garments of anguish and mourning: and instead of precious ointments, she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she humbled her body greatly, and all the places of her joy she filled with her torn hair.'' (Esther 14:2)she is said to fill every place of joy with the tearing of her hair; and Lavinia in Virgil ^k; several passages from Homer ^l, and other writers, both Greek and Latin, are mentioned by Bochart ^m as instances of it:

and sat down astonished; quite amazed at the ingratitude of the people, that after such favours shown them, in returning them from captivity unto their own land, and settling them there, they should give into practices so contrary to the will of God.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Ezr 9:1

¹ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.” So also in v. 2.

NET Notes: Ezr 9:2

¹ tn Heb “the holy seed,” referring to the Israelites as God’s holy people.

Geneva Bible: Ezr 9:1

Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not ^{( a )} separated themselves from the people of the lands, [doing] according to their abominations, [even] of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

^{( a )} From the time they came home under Zerubbabel until the coming of Ezra, they had degenerated contrary to the law of God, and married where it was not lawful, (Deu 7:3).

Geneva Bible: Ezr 9:2

For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of [those] lands: yea, the hand of the ^{( b )} princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

^{( b )} That is, the governors are the chief beginners of it.

Geneva Bible: Ezr 9:3

And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down ^{( c )} astonied.

^{( c )} As one doubting whether God would continue his benefits toward us, or else destroy what he had begun.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Ezr 9:1-15

1 Ezra mourns for the affinity of the people with strangers.

5 He prays unto God, with confession of sins.

MHCC: Ezr 9:1-4

Many corruptions lurk out of the view of the most careful rulers. Some of the people disobeyed the express command of God, which forbade all marriages with the heathen, Deuteronomy 7. Disbelief of God's all-sufficiency, is at the bottom of the sorry shifts we make to help ourselves. They exposed themselves and their children to the peril of idolatry, that had ruined their church and nation. Carnal professors may make light of such connexions, and try to explain away the exhortations to be separate; but those who are best acquainted with the word of God, will treat the subject in another manner. They must forebode the worst from such unions. The evils excused, and even pleaded for; by many professors, astonish and cause regret in the true believer. All who profess to be God's people, ought to strengthen those that appear and act against vice and profaneness.

Matthew Henry: Ezr 9:1-4

Ezra, like Barnabas when he came to Jerusalem and saw the grace of God to his brethren there, no doubt was glad, and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave to the Lord, Act 11:23. He saw nothing amiss (many corruptions lurk out of the view of the most vigilant rulers); but here is a damp upon his joys: information is brought him that many of the people, yea, and some of the rulers, had married wives out of heathen families, and joined themselves in affinity with strangers. Observe,

I. What the sin was that they were guilty of: it was mingling with the people of those lands (Ezr 9:2), associating with them both in trade and in conversation, making themselves familiar with them, and, to complete the affinity, taking their daughters in marriages to their sons. We are willing to hope that they did not worship their gods, but that their captivity had cured them of their idolatry: it is said indeed that they did according to their abominations; but that (says bishop Patrick) signifies here only the imitation of the heathen in promiscuous marriages with any nation whatsoever, which by degrees would lead them to idolatry. Herein, 1. They disobeyed the express command of God, which forbade all intimacy with the heathen, and particularly in matrimonial contracts, Deu 7:3. 2. They profaned the crown of their peculiarity, and set themselves upon a level with those above whom God had by singular marks of his favour, of late as well as formerly, dignified them. 3. They distrusted the power of God to protect and advance them, and were led by carnal policy, hoping to strengthen themselves and make an interest among their neighbours by these alliances. A practical disbelief of God's all-sufficiency is at the bottom of all the sorry shifts we make to help ourselves. 4. They exposed themselves, and much more their children, to the peril of idolatry, the very sin, and introduced by this very way, that had cone been the ruin of their church and nation.

II. Who were the persons that were guilty of this sin, not only some of the unthinking people of Israel, that knew no better, but many of the priests and Levites, whose office it was to teach the law, and this law among the rest, and in whom, by reason of their elevation above common Israelites, it was a greater crime. It was a diminution to the sons of that tribe to match into any other tribe, and they seldom did except into the royal tribe; but for them to match with heathen, with Canaanites, and Hittites, and I know not whom, was such a disparagement as, if they had had any sense, though not of duty, yet of honour, one would think, they would never have been guilty of. Yet this was not the worst: The hand of the princes and rulers, who by their power should have prevented or reformed this high misdemeanour, was chief in this trespass. If princes be in a trespass, they will be charged as chief in it, because of the influence their examples will have upon others. Many will follow their pernicious ways. But miserable is the case of that people whose leaders debauch them and cause them to err.

III. The information that was given of this to Ezra. It was given by the persons that were most proper to complain, the princes, those of them that had kept their integrity and with it their dignity; they could not have accused others if they themselves had not been free from blame. It was given to the person who had power to mend the matter, who, as a ready scribe in the law of God, could argue with them, and, as king's commissioner, could awe them. It is probable that these princes had often endeavoured to redress this grievance and could not; but now they applied to Ezra, hoping that his wisdom, authority, and interest, would prevail to do it. Those that cannot of themselves reform public abuses may yet do good service by giving information to those that can.

IV. The impression this made upon Ezra (Ezr 9:3): He rent his clothes, plucked off his hair, and sat down astonished. Thus he expressed the deep sense he had, 1. Of the dishonour hereby done to God. It grieved him to the heart to think that a people called by his name should so grossly violate his law, should be so little benefited by his correction, and make such bad returns for his favours. 2. Of the mischief the people had hereby done to themselves and the danger they were in of the wrath of God breaking out against them. Note, (1.) The sins of others should be our sorrow, and the injury done by them to God's honour and the souls of men is what we should lay to heart. (2.) Sorrow for sin must be great sorrow; such Ezra's was, as for an only son or a first-born. (3.) The scandalous sins of professors are what we have reason to be astonished at. We may stand amazed to see men contradict, disparage, prejudice, ruin, themselves. Strange that men should act so inconsiderately and so inconsistently with themselves! Upright men are astonished at it.

V. The influence which Ezra's grief for this had upon others. We may suppose that he went up to the house of the Lord, there to humble himself, because he had an eye to God in his grief and that was the proper place for deprecating his displeasure. Public notice was soon taken of it, and all the devout serious people that were at hand assembled themselves to him, it should seem of their own accord, for nothing is said of their being sent, to, Ezr 9:4. Note, 1. It is the character of good people that they tremble at God's word; they stand in awe of the authority of its precepts and the severity and justice of its threatenings, and to those that do so will God look, Isa 66:2. 2. Those that tremble at the word of God cannot but tremble at the sins of men, by which the law of God is broken and his wrath and curse are incurred. 3. The pious zeal of one against sin may perhaps provoke very many to the like, as the apostle speaks in another case, 2Co 9:2. Many will follow who have not consideration, talent, and courage, enough to lead in a good work. 4. All good people ought to own those that appear and act in the cause of God against vice and profaneness, to stand by them, and do what they can to strengthen their hands.

Keil-Delitzsch: Ezr 9:1-2

Information given of the intermingling of Israel with the heathennations of the land by marriage (Ezr 9:1-4), and Ezra's prayer and confession(Ezr 9:5-15). - Ezr 9:1, Ezr 9:2. "When this was done, the princes came to me, andsaid, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, do not separatethemselves from the people of the lands, according to their abominations,(even) of the Canaanites; ... for they have taken (wives) of their daughtersfor themselves and for their sons, and the holy seed have mingledthemselves with the people of the lands."What now follows is placed inclose chronological sequence with what precedes by the formula אלּה וּככלּות , at the time of the completion of these things;comp. 2Ch 31:1; 2Ch 29:29; 2Ch 7:1. אלּה are the things related Ezr 8:33-36. Of these the delivery of the gifts took place on the fourth dayafter Ezra's arrival at Jerusalem, i.e., on the fourth or fifth day of the firstmonth (comp. Ezr 8:32, etc., with Ezr 7:9). The sacrifices (Ezr 8:35) would undoubtedly be offered immediately; andthe royal orders would be transmitted to the satraps and governors (Ezr 8:36)very soon after. As soon, then, as Ezra received intelligence concerning theillegal marriages, he took the matter in hand, so that all related (Ezr 9:3-10)occurred on one day. The first assemblage of the people with relation tothis business was not, however, held till the twentieth day of the ninthmonth (Ezr 10:9); while on the calling of this meeting, appearance thereat wasprescribed within three days, thus leaving apparently an interval of ninewhole months between Ezra 8 and Ezr 9:1-15. Hence Bertheau conjectures that thefirst proclamation of this assembly encountered opposition, becausecertain influential personages were averse to the further prosecution of thismatter (Ezr 10:15). But though Ezr 10:4-7 does not inform us what period elapsedbetween the adoption of Shecaniah's proposal to Ezra, and theproclamation for assembling the people at Jerusalem, the narrative doesnot give the impression that this proclamation was delayed for monthsthrough the opposition it met with. Besides, Ezra may have received the information concerning the unlawfulmarriages, not during the month of his arrival at Jerusalem, but somemonths later. We are not told whether it was given immediately, or soonafter the completion of the matters mentioned Ezr 8:33-36. The deliveryof the royal commands to the satraps and governors (Ezr 8:36) may haveoccupied weeks or months, the question being not merely to transmit theking's decrees to the said officials, but to come to such an understandingwith them as might secure their favour and goodwill in assisting the newlyestablished community, and supporting the house of God. The lastsentence (Ezr 8:36), "And they furthered the people and the house of God,"plainly shows that such an understanding with the royal functionaries waseffected, by transactions which must have preceded what is related Ezr 9:1-15.

This matter having been arranged, and Ezra being now about to enter uponthe execution of his commission to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalemaccording to the law of his God (Ezr 7:12), he received information of theillegal marriages. While he was in the temple, the princes ( השּׂרים , the princes, are those who give the information, the article beingused e.g., like that in הפּליט , Gen 14:13) came to him, saying:The people (viz., Israel, the priests, and the Levites; the three classes ofthe Israelite community) do not separate themselves from the people ofthe lands; comp. Ezr 6:21. כּתעבתיהם , with respect to theirabominations, i.e., as Israel should have done with respect to theabominations of these people. The ל to לכּנעני might beregarded as introducing the enumeration of the different nations, andcorresponding with מעמּי ; it is, however, more likely that it isused merely as a periphrasis for the genitive, and subordinates the namesto תּעבתיהם : their, i.e., the Canaanites', etc., abominations, thesuffix relating, as e.g., at Ezr 3:12 and elsewhere, to the names following. Give Canaanitish races are here named, as in Exo 13:5, with this difference,that the Perizzites are here substituted for the Hivites, while in Exo 3:8;Exo 23:23, both are enumerated, making six; to these are added in Deu 7:1 theGirgashites, making, generally speaking, seven nations. Ammonites,Moabites, and Egyptians are here cited besides the Canaanitish races. Thenon-severance of the Israelites from these nations consisted, according toEzr 9:2, in the fact of their having contracted marriages with them. In the law,indeed (Exo 34:16; Deu 7:3), only marriages with Canaanitish women wereforbidden; but the reason of this prohibition, viz., that Israel might not beseduced by them to idolatry, made its extension to Moabites, Ammonites,and Egyptians necessary under existing circumstances, if an effectual checkwas to be put to the relapse into heathenism of the Israelitish community,now but just gathered out again from among the Gentiles. For during thecaptivity idolaters of all nations had settled in the depopulated country,and mingled with the remnant of the Israelites left there. By "the people of the lands,"however, we are not to understand, with J. H. Michaelis, remnants of the races subjugated by Nebuchadnezzar andcarried to Babylon, - who were now, after seventy years, returning, as wellas the Jews, to their native lands under Cyrus; in support of which viewMich. incorrectly refers to Jer 25:9, etc. - but those portions, both of theancient Canaanitish races and of the Moabites and Ammonites, who,escaping the sentence of captivity, remained in the land. נשׂאוּ isnaturally completed by נשׁים from the context; comp. Ezr 10:44; 2Ch 11:21, and other passages. The subject of התערבוּ is the collective הקּדשׁ זרע , the holy seed, i.e.,the members of the nation called to holiness (Exo 19:5). The appellation istaken from Isa 6:13, where the remnant of the covenant people, preservedin the midst of judgments, and purified thereby, is called a holy seed. Thesecond part of Ezr 9:2 contains an explanatory accessory clause: and the handof the princes and rulers hath been first in this unfaithfulness ( מעל , comp. Lev 5:15), i.e., the princes were the first to transgress; onthe figurative expression, comp. Deu 13:10. סגנים is an Old-Persian word naturalized in Hebrew, signifying commander, prefect; butits etymology is not as yet satisfactorily ascertained: see Delitzsch on Isa 41:25.

Keil-Delitzsch: Ezr 9:3-4

This information threw Ezra into deep grief and moral consternation. Thetearing of the upper and under garments was a sign of heartfelt andgrievous affliction (Jos 8:6); see remarks on Lev 10:6. The plucking outof (a portion of) the hair was the expression of violent wrath or moralindignation, comp. Neh 13:25, and is not to be identified with the cuttingoff of the hair in mourning Job 1:20). "And sat down stunned;" משׁומם , desolate, rigid, stunned, without motion. While hewas sitting thus, there were gathered unto him all who feared the word ofGod concerning the transgression of those that had been carried away. חרד , trembling, being terrified, generally construed with על or אל (e.g., Isa 66:2, Isa 66:5), but here with ב (like verbs ofembracing, believing), and meaning to believe with trembling in the wordwhich God had spoken concerning this מעל , i.e., thinking withterror of the punishments which such faithless conduct towards acovenant God involved.

Constable: Ezr 7:1--10:44

II. THE SECOND RETURN UNDER EZRA chs. 7--10

A period of 58 years separates Ezra 6 from Ezra 7 (515-458 B.C.). During this time the events in the Book of Esther took place in Persia and, in particular, Susa, one of the Persian capitals.

Darius I (Hystaspes; 521-486 B.C.) became a very capable ruler who united the vast reaches of the Persian Empire under his control. He organized the empire effectively into 20 satrapies each of which functioned under a satrap appointed by the king. The satraps, who were usually from the Persian noble families, were virtual kings over their satrapies. They levied taxes and provided troops for the emperor.¹⁰⁰ Darius also built a huge palace at Persepolis, a canal that connected the Nile River with the Red Sea, and a system of roads that greatly facilitated travel and communication within the empire.¹⁰¹

". . . under Darius, Persia reached her zenith."¹⁰²

Darius' son, Xerxes I (486-464 B.C., known as Ahasuerus in Ezra 4:6 and the Book of Esther), succeeded this great king. He was not as successful as his father militarily. He was, however, able to subdue rebellions in Egypt and Babylon but lost a third of the Persian fleet to the Greeks and eventually had to withdraw Persian troops from Europe. He died at the hand of an assassin.

The next Persian king was Artaxerxes I (Longimanus; 464-424 B.C.), the younger son of Xerxes who killed his older brother to obtain the throne. During his reign the empire continued to decline in strength. The Greeks attacked Cyprus, Egypt rebelled, and parts of Asia Minor attained independence.

In Judah, the Persian providence of Yehud that was part of the larger satrapy of Eber Nari (lit. "beyond [i.e., west of] the [Euphrates] river"),¹⁰³ the Jews did not continue to fortify Jerusalem. They were content simply to worship at the temple. Their earlier zeal to return to the Mosaic ordinances that included separation from non-Jews waned. Over this 58-year period some of them intermarried with unbelieving Gentiles (9:1-2). Evidently the Levites neglected the teaching of the law (7:25; cf. Neh. 8:1-12), and temple worship became formal rather than sincere (7:23).

Constable: Ezr 9:1-15

1. The problem of mixed marriages ch. 9

Ezra soon discovered that some of the Jews who had been living in Judah for some time had begun to intermarry with Gentiles. This practice had led the Israelites into idolatry in the past. God had sent their forefathers into exile for their idolatry. This is the reason the mixed marriages disturbed Ezra. The underlying issue was purity of religion.

Constable: Ezr 9:1-4

The news of apostasy 9:1-4

The Mosaic Law strictly forbade intermarriage with the native Canaanites (Exod. 34:11-16; Deut. 7:1-5). Furthermore intermarriage with other non-Israelites had resulted in tragic consequences in Israel's earlier history (cf. 1 Kings 11:1-8).

"Thus the action in Ezra 10 is not directed against inter-Israelite marriages between the returnees and the peoples of the land' but specifically against Israel's old wilderness and early conquest enemies, namely, the Canaanite, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Amorites, Egyptians and Moabites (Ezra 9:1). It is upon this note of the conquest re-established' that the Book of Ezra ends."¹²⁷

"Under these circumstances the spirit of the law demanded an application broader than its original application. Hence Ezra was justified in applying a law limited to Canaanites to all pagan foreigners, even the Egyptians who were originally explicitly excluded."¹²⁸

Pulling out one's hair (v. 3) was and is an expression of extreme grief, violent wrath, or intense moral indignation (cf. Isa. 50:6). Ezra was not alone in his distress (v. 4). Ezra pulled out his own hair, but Nehemiah later pulled out the hair of his enemies (Neh. 13:25).

"A man's attitude toward God's Word is one of the ultimate criteria of his spirituality."¹²⁹

Guzik: Ezr 9:1-15

Ezra 9 - Israel's Sin and Ezra's Confession

A. The problem is exposed.

1. (1-2) The leaders report to Ezra.

When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass."

a. The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands: After his arrival and the proper accounting of all the gifts brought from Babylonia, Ezra was presented with bad news. The spiritual condition of the post-exile community was bad and this was evident in their failure to separate from the pagan peoples that still populated the region.

i. "Feeble and isolated, the Jews were quite unable to resist the attacks of their jealous neighbors. Would it not be better to come to terms with them, and from enemies convert them into allies? Then the policy of exclusiveness involved commercial ruin; and men who knew how their brethren in Chaldea were enriching themselves by trade with the heathen were galled by a yoke which held them back from foreign intercourse." (Adeney)

b. For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons: Their failure to separate resulted in intermarriage with the surrounding pagan communities.

i. It wasn't that this intermarriage was the only problem; but as these communities intermarried, there would be no areas left untouched by pagan associations - business, government, social life. To allow intermarriage with idolaters was to allow all these other areas of compromise.

c. With respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites: This shows that the problem was not primarily ethnic. The problem was they did not separate themselves from these abominations, specifically the idolatry of these people.

i. "All this testified abhorrence, not merely of the act of having taken strange wives, but their having also joined them in their idolatrous abominations." (Clarke)

ii. With this forsaking of Jewish identity and the at least partial embrace of idolatry (or its toleration in the Jewish community), in a few generations there would cease to be any distinctive Jewish community in the Promised Land.

iii. Ezra 9:1-2 seems to recall passages from the Law of Moses against intermarriage with the surrounding Canaanite tribes - in particular, Exodus 34:11-16 and Deuteronomy 7:1-4. We may see this conviction of sin on the part of the people and their leaders, and the way that the conviction of sin was phrased, to indicate (spiritually speaking) that Ezra's arrival to bring the ministry of teaching God's word was bearing fruit. The people heard the word, looked at their lives, and saw that the two did not match.

iv. "During the obscure period that followed the dedication of the temple - a period of which we have no historical remains - the rigorous exclusiveness which had marked the conduct of the returned exiles when they rudely rejected the proposal of their Gentile neighbours to assist them in rebuilding the temple was abandoned, and freedom of intercourse went so far was to permit intermarriage with the descendants of the Canaanites." (Adeney)

d. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass: Worst of all, the leaders of the community were leaders (foremost) in this sin. They were leaders, but in the wrong direction.

i. "Leading aristocratic families were foremost in contracting the foreign alliances. It is such as they who would profit most, as it is such as they who would be most tempted to consider worldly motives and to forgo the austerity of their fathers." (Adeney)

2. (3) Ezra's complete astonishment.

So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished.

a. When I heard this thing: Ezra had just finished a dangerous four-month journey from Babylonia to Jerusalem. He had perhaps over-romanticized the spiritual commitment of the return-from-exile pioneers and had expected to find something completely different than the culture of compromise that he found.

b. And sat down astonished: Certainly one of the reasons for his mourning (expressed in the tearing of the garment and the plucking of the beard) was that Ezra remembered that it was these sins of idolatry and compromise that caused the tribes of Israel to be exiled before. He no doubt wondered how the people could endanger themselves like this again.

i. Astonished: "Means 'to be appalled or stupefied' . . . rare is the soul who is so shocked at disobedience that he is appalled. (The English word originally meant 'to make pale.')" (Yamauchi)

ii. Both Ezra and Nehemiah were confronted with the sin of pagan intermarriage. Nehemiah responded by plucking out the hair of the guilty (Nehemiah 13:25); Ezra responded by plucking out his own hair.

iii. "It has been truly said that communion with the Lord dries many tears, but it starts many more." (Meyer)

4. (4) Ezra is joined by others who were also grieved at Israel's sin

Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice.

a. Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled: There were those in the community who were also horrified at the sin of their community. These (who were marked by their respect for God's word) assembled together with Ezra.

b. Because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive: This was an interesting title to give to those who had sinned. In a historical sense they were among the captives who returned from Babylonia (though many or most of them were actually born in Judea). Yet in a real spiritual sense they were carried away captive by their sin of partnership with idolaters and idolatry.

i. Sat down astonished: "Partly for grief and shame at the sin; and partly for fear of some great and dreadful judgment which he expected and feared for it." (Poole)

B. The prayer of Ezra.

1. (5-6) Ezra's sense of shame.

At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God. And I said: "O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens."

a. At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting: Ezra knew there was a time to mourn and he did that for a long time. He also knew that there was a time to pray, and now he would begin his prayer.

i. i. "The 'evening sacrifice' took place about three P.M. (cf. Exodus 12:6; Acts 3:1). The informants had probably visited Ezra in the morning, so that he must have sat in this position for many hours. The time of the evening sacrifice was also the appointed time for prayer and confession." (Yamauchi)

ii. As Ezra prayed, he alone prayed - yet because he stood before an assembly of the people of God, there was a sense in which he led them in prayer. "The officiating minister is not merely to pray before the congregation, while the people kneel as silent auditors. His prayer is designed to guide and help their prayers, so that there may be 'common prayer' throughout the whole assembly." (Adeney)

b. Fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God: Ezra was one of many in the Bible who prayed on his knees.

i. Solomon prayed on his knees (1 Kings 8:54), the Psalmist called us to kneel (Psalm 95:6), Daniel prayed on his knees (Daniel 6:10), people came to Jesus kneeling (Matthew 17:14, Matthew 20:20, Mark 1:40), Stephen prayed on his knees (Acts 7:60), Peter prayed on his knees (Acts 9:40), Paul prayed on his knees (Acts 20:36, Ephesians 3:14), and other early Christians prayed on their knees (Acts 21:5). Most importantly, Jesus prayed on His knees (Luke 22:41). The Bible has enough prayer not on the knees to show us that it isn't required, but it also has enough prayer on the knees to show us that it is good.

ii. Ezra also spread out his hands to the LORD. This was the most common posture of prayer in the Old Testament. Many modern people close their eyes, bow their head, and fold their hands as they pray, but the Old Testament tradition was to spread out the hands toward heaven in a gesture of surrender, openness, and ready reception. "With the palms open toward heaven, in a having, craving way, as beggars. This was the Jewish manner of praying, and it was very becoming." (Trapp)

c. I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You: Though Ezra's hands were raised his face was down in shame and humiliation before the LORD. He sense that the sins of the people of Israel had weighed his head down so much that he could not lift his head (our iniquities have risen higher than our heads).

i. Ashamed and humiliated: According to Yamauchi, there is a difference in these two ancient Hebrew words. The first speaks of being ashamed; the second of "the pain that accompanies shame."

ii. "God had been so often provoked, and had so often pardoned them and they had continued to transgress, that he was ashamed to go back again to the throne of grace to ask for mercy in their behalf. This is the genuine feeling of every reawakened backslider." (Clarke)

d. Our iniquities have risen higher than our heads: Significantly, Ezra prayed saying "our iniquities" instead of "their iniquities." Ezra had just arrived to this community and he had not shared any kind of life or conduct with them. Yet he knew that because they were bound together in the same covenant before God, their iniquities were in fact his.

2. (7-9) Ezra remembers God's past kindness to Israel in spite of their sins.

"Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem."

a. We have been very guilty: Ezra recognized the generally sinful past of the tribes of Israel, and how their exile was a righteous work of God against His sinful people.

b. And now for a little while grace has been shown: Ezra then reflected on the remarkable goodness of God in bringing a remnant of His people back from exile and allowing them to live in the Promised Land again.

c. To give us a peg in His holy place: The idea is that Israel once again had a safe position, a standing in God's favor and in His temple. In those days, houses didn't really have cupboards or storage closets as we think of them. Things were stored on pegs set up all around the room. If something was on its peg, it was safe and secure, stored properly and ready for use at the appropriate time.

i. Only a few days before this, Ezra had seen the temple for the first time in his life. He was impressed that God had given His people a peg in His holy place once again, and was therefore afraid that their casual disregard for this blessing would once again stir up the righteous anger of God.

d. And give us a measure of revival in our bondage: Ezra rejoiced to see even a measure of revival, and knew that this was an emblem of God's mercy and favor that should not be despised with disobedience and compromise.

e. To revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall: Ezra was impressed by all these signs of God's mercy and favor to His people, signs he had only seen a few days before for the first time. It made him appreciate how good God had been to His people, and how dangerous it was for them to sin and compromise in response to His goodness.

i. "Some critics take this reference to a wall as an argument for the priority of Nehemiah over Ezra, assuming an allusion to the wall the Nehemiah had repaired in his day. But most scholars agree that the reference here is not to be taken literally." (Yamauchi)

ii. To give us a wall: "They had the fence of the king of Persia's favour. They had also God's providence, as a hedge or wall of fire round about them." (Trapp)

iii. "The Jewish commentator Slotki (p. 166) observes poignantly: 'A little grace had been granted by God to his people; a small remnant had found its weary way back to its home and driven a single peg into its soil; a solitary ray of light was shining; a faint breath of freedom lightened their slavery. How graphically Ezra epitomizes Jewish experience in these few words!'" (Yamauchi)

3. (10-14) Ezra fears that God's people are testing His mercy.

"And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.' And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor?"

a. What shall we say after this? Ezra offers no excuses and not even an explanation. Their conduct was indefensible and a direct disobedience to what God command by His servants the prophets.

i. That you may be strong: "Although you may fancy that this way of making leagues and marriages with them is the only way to establish and settle you, yet I assure you it will weaken and ruin you and the contrary course will make you stronger." (Poole)

b. You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve: As severe as the exile was, Ezra recognized that it was less than what the people of God deserved. As he looked at their present disobedience, he understood that it was a way of despising the great mercy God had shown in the past and made them deserving of a complete and final judgment.

i. As the tribes of Israel piled sin upon sin before the fall of the northern and southern kingdoms, God still showed remarkable mercy to them. He did not have to preserve them at in exile; there could have been genocide instead. As well, He did not have to bring them back from exile into the Promised Land once again. Each of these was a wonderful example of God's mercy in the midst of judgment.

ii. "It is a fine revelation of the only attitude in which any man can become a mediator. There is first an overwhelming sense of sin. This is accompanied, and perhaps caused by, that deeper sense of the righteousness and grace of God. It finds expression in agonized and unsparing confession. The passion of the whole movement is evidence of its reality." (Morgan)

4. (15) Ezra calls upon the mercy of God.

"O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!"

a. O LORD God of Israel: Here Ezra wisely appealed to the LORD as the God of Israel. Though they had been unfaithful to Him, Ezra still hoped for covenant mercies from the LORD because He was their God.

b. You are righteous: Ezra also wisely appealed to God's righteousness, especially in leaving a remnant in fulfillment of His prior promises (2 Chronicles 30:6; Isaiah 10:20-22).

i. "Ezra is far too much in earnest simply to wish to help his people to escape from the consequences of their conduct. This would not be salvation. It would be moral shipwreck. The great need is to be saved from the evil conduct itself." (Adeney)

c. Here we are before You in our guilt: Ezra wisely did not claim an excuse or a reason for their sin. Israel had sinned and they were guilty. The appeal must be made for mercy to the guilty, not as a favor to the deserving (or semi-deserving).

i. We note here that Ezra also did not claim special circumstances or did not tell God that their difficult environment made their present compromise understandable, or that all their other good works or faithfulness somehow excused their idolatry. He simply realized that no one can stand before You because of this!

ii. "Ezra had not even the heart to plead, as Moses had, that God's name would suffer in such a case. His prayer was naked confession, without excuses, without the pressure of so much as a request." (Kidner)

© 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 9 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Ezr 9:1, Ezra mourns for the affinity of the people with strangers; Ezr 9:5, He prays unto God, with confession of sins.

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 9 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 9

Ezra and others, hearing of the unlawful marriage of the people with strangers, mourn for it, Ezr 9:1-4 . He prayeth unto God, and confesseth their sins, and particularly this, Ezr 9:5-15 .

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 9 (Chapter Introduction)

(Ezr 9:1-4) Ezra mourns for the Jews' conduct.

(Ezr 9:5-15) Ezra's confession of sins.

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 9 (Chapter Introduction)

The affairs of the church were in a very good posture, we may well suppose, now that Ezra presided in them. Look without; the government was kind to them. We hear no complaints of persecution and oppression; their enemies had either their hearts turned or at least their hands tied; their neighbours were civil, and we hear of no wars nor rumours of wars; there were none to make them afraid; all was as well as could be, considering that they were few, and poor, and subjects to a foreign prince. Look at home; we hear nothing of Baal, or Ashtaroth, nor Moloch, no images, nor groves, nor golden calves, no, nor so much as high places (not only no idolatrous altars, but no separate ones), but the temple was duly respected and the temple service carefully kept up. Yet all was not well either. The purest ages of the church have had some corruptions, and it will never be presented " without spot or wrinkle" till it is " a glorious church," a church " triumphant," Eph 5:27. We have here, I. A complaint brought to Ezra of the many marriages that had been made with strange wives (Ezr 9:1, Ezr 9:2). II. The great trouble which he, and others influenced by his example, were in upon this information (Ezr 9:3, Ezr 9:4). III. The solemn confession which he made of this sin to God, with godly sorrow, and shame (Ezr 9:5-15).

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 9 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 9

Ezra being informed, by some of the princes who complained unto him, of the marriages of many of the Israelites with the people of the land, the Canaanites and others, was greatly grieved and distressed, Ezr 9:1, upon which he made a confession of their sins to God, with great shame, sorrow, and contrition, and deprecated the evils which they deserved, Ezr 9:6.