Ezra 5:8

5:8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, ¹  and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.

Ezra 6:2

6:2 A scroll was found in the citadel ²  of Ecbatana which is in the province of Media, and it was inscribed as follows:

“Memorandum:

Nehemiah 7:6-73

7:6 These are the people ³  of the province who returned ⁴  from the captivity of the exiles, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile. ⁵  They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his own city. 7:7 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.

The number of Israelite men ⁶  was as follows:

7:8 the descendants ⁷  of Parosh, 2,172;

7:9 the descendants of Shephatiah, 372;

7:10 the descendants of Arah, 652;

7:11 the descendants of Pahath-Moab (from the line ⁸  of Jeshua and Joab), 2,818;

7:12 the descendants of Elam, 1,254;

7:13 the descendants of Zattu, 845;

7:14 the descendants of Zaccai, 760;

7:15 the descendants of Binnui, 648;

7:16 the descendants of Bebai, 628;

7:17 the descendants of Azgad, 2,322;

7:18 the descendants of Adonikam, 667;

7:19 the descendants of Bigvai, 2,067;

7:20 the descendants of Adin, 655;

7:21 the descendants of Ater (through Hezekiah), 98;

7:22 the descendants of Hashum, 328;

7:23 the descendants of Bezai, 324;

7:24 the descendants of Harif, 112;

7:25 the descendants of Gibeon, 95;

7:26 The men of Bethlehem ⁹  and Netophah, 188;

7:27 the men of Anathoth, 128;

7:28 the men of the family ¹⁰  of Azmaveth, 42;

7:29 the men of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth, 743;

7:30 the men of Ramah and Geba, 621;

7:31 the men of Micmash, 122;

7:32 the men of Bethel ¹¹  and Ai, 123;

7:33 the men of the other Nebo, 52;

7:34 the descendants of the other Elam, 1,254;

7:35 the descendants of Harim, 320;

7:36 the descendants of Jericho, 345;

7:37 the descendants of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721;

7:38 the descendants of Senaah, 3,930.

7:39 The priests:

the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family ¹²  of Jeshua), 973;

7:40 the descendants of Immer, 1,052;

7:41 the descendants of Pashhur, 1,247;

7:42 the descendants of Harim, 1,017.

7:43 The Levites:

the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel, through the line of Hodaviah), 74.

7:44 The singers:

the descendants of Asaph, 148.

7:45 The gatekeepers:

the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai, 138.

7:46 The temple servants:

the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth, 7:47 the descendants of Keros, the descendants of Sia, the descendants of Padon, 7:48 the descendants of Lebanah, the descendants of Hagabah, the descendants of Shalmai, 7:49 the descendants of Hanan, the descendants of Giddel, the descendants of Gahar, 7:50 the descendants of Reaiah, the descendants of Rezin, the descendants of Nekoda, 7:51 the descendants of Gazzam, the descendants of Uzzah, the descendants of Paseah, 7:52 the descendants of Besai, the descendants of Meunim, the descendants of Nephussim, 7:53 the descendants of Bakbuk, the descendants of Hakupha, the descendants of Harhur, 7:54 the descendants of Bazluth, the descendants of Mehida, the descendants of Harsha, 7:55 the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah, 7:56 the descendants of Neziah, the descendants of Hatipha.

7:57 The descendants of the servants of Solomon:

the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Perida, 7:58 the descendants of Jaala, the descendants of Darkon, the descendants of Giddel, 7:59 the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil, the descendants of Pokereth-Hazzebaim, and the descendants of Amon.

7:60 All the temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon, 392.

7:61 These are the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer (although they were unable to certify ¹³  their family connection ¹⁴  or their ancestry, ¹⁵  as to whether they were really from Israel):

7:62 the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah, and the descendants of Nekoda, 642.

7:63 And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a woman from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name). 7:64 They searched for their records in the genealogical materials, but none were found. They were therefore excluded ¹⁶  from the priesthood. 7:65 The governor ¹⁷  instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult ¹⁸  the Urim and Thummim.

7:66 The entire group numbered 42,360, 7:67 not counting their 7,337 male and female servants. They also had 245 male and female singers. 7:68 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 7:69 (7:68) ¹⁹  435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. 7:70 Some of the family leaders ²⁰  contributed to the work. The governor contributed to the treasury 1,000 gold drachmas, ²¹  50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments. 7:71 Some of the family leaders gave to the project treasury 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas. 7:72 What the rest of the people gave amounted to 20,000 gold drachmas, 2,000 silver minas, and 67 priestly garments.

7:73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all the rest of Israel lived in their cities.

The People Respond to the Reading of the Law

When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites ²²  were settled in their cities, ²³ 

Esther 1:1

The King Throws a Lavish Party

1:1 ²⁴ The following events happened ²⁵  in the days of Ahasuerus. ²⁶  (I am referring to ²⁷  that Ahasuerus who used to rule over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces ²⁸  extending all the way from India to Ethiopia. ²⁹ )

Esther 1:3

1:3 in the third ³⁰  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ³¹  of Persia and Media ³²  was present, ³³  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

Esther 1:8

1:8 There were no restrictions on the drinking, ³⁴  for the king had instructed all of his supervisors ³⁵  that they should do as everyone so desired. ³⁶ 

Esther 1:11

1:11 to bring Queen Vashti into the king’s presence wearing her royal high turban. He wanted to show the people and the officials her beauty, for she was very attractive. ³⁷ 

Esther 8:9

8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly ³⁸  summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. ³⁹  They wrote out ⁴⁰  everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia ⁴¹  – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

Acts 23:34

23:34 When the governor ⁴²  had read ⁴³  the letter, ⁴⁴  he asked ⁴⁵  what province he was from. ⁴⁶  When he learned ⁴⁷  that he was from Cilicia, ⁴⁸ 

[5:8]  ¹ tn Aram “stones of rolling.” The reference is apparently to stones too large to carry.

[6:2]  ² tc The translation reads בִירְתָא (birta’, citadel”) rather than the reading בְּבִירְתָא (bÿvireta’, “in the citadel”) found in the MT. The MT probably experienced dittography here.

[7:6]  ³ tn Heb “the sons of”; KJV, ASV “the children of”; NAB “the inhabitants of.”

[7:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “who were going up.”

[7:6]  ⁵ tc One medieval Hebrew manuscript has “to Babylon.” Cf. Ezra 2:1.

[7:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “the men of the people of Israel.” Some English versions translate as “the people from Israel” (NCV) or “the Israelite people” (NRSV), but “men” should be retained because the following numbers presumably include only adult males.

[7:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the sons of.”

[7:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “to the sons of.”

[7:26]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[7:28]  ¹⁰ tc The translation reads בְּנֵי (bÿne, “the sons of”) rather than the MT reading בֵית אַנְשֵׁי (’anshey vet, “men of the house of”). Cf. Ezra 2:24.

[7:32]  ¹¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:39]  ¹² tn Heb “to the house of.”

[7:61]  ¹³ tn Heb “relate.”

[7:61]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”

[7:61]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “their seed.”

[7:64]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “they were desecrated.”

[7:65]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term תִּרְשָׁתָא (tirshata’; KJV “Tirshatha”) is the official title of a Persian governor in Judea. In meaning it may be similar to “excellency” (cf. NAB). See further BDB 1077 s.v.; W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 395; HALOT 1798 s.v.

[7:65]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “stood.”

[7:69]  ¹⁹ tc Most Hebrew MSS omit 7:68 ET, which reads “They had 736 horses, 245 mules,” and thus have one less verse in chap. 7, ending the chapter at 7:72. This verse is included in the LXX and most English versions. Cf. Ezra 2:66.

[7:70]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[7:70]  ²¹ tn Heb “darics” (also in vv. 71, 72).

[7:73]  ²² tn Heb “the sons of Israel.” So also in vv. 14, 17; 9:1.

[7:73]  ²³ tn The traditional understanding of the chapter and verse division here is probably incorrect. The final part of v. 73 is best understood as belonging with 8:1.

[1:1]  ²⁴ sn In the English Bible Esther appears adjacent to Ezra-Nehemiah and with the historical books, but in the Hebrew Bible it is one of five short books (the so-called Megillot) that appear toward the end of the biblical writings. The canonicity of the book was questioned by some in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. It is one of five OT books that were at one time regarded as antilegomena (i.e., books “spoken against”). The problem with Esther was the absence of any direct mention of God. Some questioned whether a book that did not mention God could be considered sacred scripture. Attempts to resolve this by discovering the tetragrammaton (YHWH) encoded in the Hebrew text (e.g., in the initial letters of four consecutive words in the Hebrew text of Esth 5:4) are unconvincing, although they do illustrate how keenly the problem was felt by some. Martin Luther also questioned the canonicity of this book, objecting to certain parts of its content. Although no copy of Esther was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, this does not necessarily mean that the Qumran community did not regard it as canonical. It is possible that the absence of Esther from what has survived at Qumran is merely a coincidence. Although the book does not directly mention God, it would be difficult to read it without sensing the providence of God working in powerful, though at times subtle, ways to rescue his people from danger and possible extermination. The absence of mention of the name of God may be a deliberate part of the literary strategy of the writer.

[1:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “it came about”; KJV, ASV “Now it came to pass.”

[1:1]  ²⁶ tn Where the Hebrew text has “Ahasuerus” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) in this book the LXX has “Artaxerxes.” The ruler mentioned in the Hebrew text is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.), and a number of modern English versions use “Xerxes” (e.g., NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT).

[1:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “in the days of Ahasuerus, that Ahasuerus who used to rule…” The phrase “I am referring to” has been supplied to clarify the force of the third person masculine singular pronoun, which is functioning like a demonstrative pronoun.

[1:1]  ²⁸ sn The geographical extent of the Persian empire was vast. The division of Xerxes’ empire into 127 smaller provinces was apparently done for purposes of administrative efficiency.

[1:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV, NCV; KJV “Ethiopia”) referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. India and Cush (i.e., Ethiopia) are both mentioned in a tablet taken from the foundation of Xerxes’ palace in Persepolis that describes the extent of this empire. See ANET 316-17.

[1:3]  ³⁰ sn The third year of Xerxes’ reign would be ca. 483 b.c.

[1:3]  ³¹ tc Due to the large numbers of people implied, some scholars suggest that the original text may have read “leaders of the army” (cf. NAB “Persian and Median aristocracy”; NASB “the army officers”; NIV “the military leaders”). However, there is no textual evidence for this emendation, and the large numbers are not necessarily improbable.

[1:3]  ³² sn Unlike the Book of Daniel, the usual order for this expression in Esther is “Persia and Media” (cf. vv. 14, 18, 19). In Daniel the order is “Media and Persia,” indicating a time in their history when Media was in the ascendancy.

[1:3]  ³³ sn The size of the banquet described here, the number of its invited guests, and the length of its duration, although certainly immense by any standard, are not without precedent in the ancient world. C. A. Moore documents a Persian banquet for 15,000 people and an Assyrian celebration with 69,574 guests (Esther [AB], 6).

[1:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the drinking was according to law; there was no one compelling.”

[1:8]  ³⁵ tn Heb “every chief of his house”; KJV “all the officers of his house”; NLT “his staff.”

[1:8]  ³⁶ tn Heb “according to the desire of man and man.”

[1:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “was good of appearance”; KJV “was fair to look on”; NAB “was lovely to behold.”

[8:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”

[8:9]  ³⁹ sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.

[8:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:9]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”

[23:34]  ⁴² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the governor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:34]  ⁴³ tn Grk “having read.” The participle ἀναγνούς (anagnou") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34]  ⁴⁴ tn The words “the letter” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[23:34]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “and asking.” The participle ἐπερωτήσας (eperwthsa") has been translated as a finite verb and καί (kai) left untranslated due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34]  ⁴⁶ sn Governor Felix asked what province he was from to determine whether he had legal jurisdiction over Paul. He could have sent him to his home province for trial, but decided to hear the case himself.

[23:34]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “and learning.” The participle πυθόμενος (puqomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:34]  ⁴⁸ sn Cilicia was a province in northeastern Asia Minor.