Ezra 7:1--10:44
Artaxerxes <0783> [A.M. 3547. B.C. 457. Artaxerxes.]
Ezra <05830> [Ezra.]
Seraiah <08304> [Seraiah.]
Hilkiah <02518> [Hilkiah.]
Zadok <06659> [Zadok.]
Phinehas <06372> [Phinehas.]
Eleazar <0499> [Eleazar.]
chief priest <03548 07218> [chief priest.]
skilled <04106> [a ready.]
{Sopher mahir} does not merely signify a speedy writer, or an excellent penman, but one eminently skilful in expounding the law, {sophro chochmo,} "a wise scribe," as the Syriac renders.
scribe <05608> [scribe.]
law <08451> [the law.]
given ......... requested <05414 01246> [granted him.]
hand <03027> [according to.]
Israelites <01121> [the children.]
Levites <03881> [the Levites.]
attendants <07891> [singers.]
gatekeepers <07778> [porters.]
temple servants <05411> [Nethinims.]
Artaxerxes <0783> [Artaxerxes.]
determined ..... ascent <03246 04609> [began he to go up. Heb. was the foundation of the going up. according to.]
dedicated <03559> [prepared.]
law <08451> [the law.]
observance <06213 03925> [to do it.]
observance <03925> [and to teach.]
copy <06572> [the copy.]
scribe ..... scribe <05608> [a scribe.]
Artaxerxes <0783> [Artaxerxes.]
The title of the king would, in Persian, run thus: {Ardsheer shahinshah,} or {padshah,} "Ardsheer, king of kings," i.e., great or supreme king or emperor.
Ezra <05831> [unto Ezra, etc. or, to Ezra the priest, a perfect scribe of the law of the God of heaven, peace, etc. and at such a time.]
I .... issued ......... from <04481 07761> [I make.]
wishes to do so <05069> [minded.]
[of the king. Chal. from before the king. seven counsellors.]
Seven princes of Persia having conspired against and slain the usurper Smerdis, and thus made way for the family of Darius, which afterwards filled the throne, the Persian kings of this race had always seven chief princes as their counsellors, who possessed peculiar privileges, were his chief assistants in the government, and by whose advice all the public affairs of the empire were transacted. The names of these counsellors are given in the parallel place of the book of Esther.
law <01882> [according.]
God <0426> [thy God.]
silver <03702> [the silver.]
which ............... who resides <01768 04907> [whose habitation.]
all ... silver ......... all <03702 03606> [all the silver.]
contributions <05069> [offering.]
sure ... purchase <0629 07066> [buy speedily.]
meal offerings <04504> [their meat offerings.]
bring them <01994 07127> [offer them.]
whatever <04101> [whatsoever.]
do .................... keeping <05648> [that do.]
will <07470> [after the will.]
He gave them the fullest liberty to order every thing according to their own institutions; binding them to no form or mode of worship.
vessels <03984> [The vessels.]
God ... Jerusalem ................. God <0426 03390> [the God of Jerusalem.]
supply .... do so from <05415 04481> [bestow it.]
Artaxerxes <0783> [Artaxerxes.]
Trans-Euphrates <05103 05675> [beyond the river.]
Ezra ... priestly <03549 05831> [Ezra the priest.]
cors <03734> [measures. Chal. cors.]
baths ... wine ... baths <01325 02562> [baths of wine.]
salt <04416> [salt.]
Everything ........ required <03606 02941> [Whatsoever is commanded. Chal. Whatsoever is of the decree.]
precisely <0149> [let it be.]
Why .... be wrath <04101 01934 07109> [why should there be wrath.]
As Artaxerxes believed he was appointed by the Almighty to do this work, he therefore wished to do it heartily; knowing that if he did not, God would be displeased, and that the kingdom would be cut off from him or his posterity.
any <03606> [touching any.]
wisdom <02452> [the wisdom.]
appoint judges <04483 08200> [set magistrates.]
Trans-Euphrates <05103 05675> [beyond the river.]
That is, "west of the Euphrates," which was beyond with regard to the king of Persia, who was on the east.
know ........... know ...... taught <03046> [teach ye.]
Everyone <03606> [whosoever.]
law .... God .... law <01882 0426> [the law of thy God.]
does ...................... appropriate ... whether .... death or ... or <01934 02006 04193> [whether it be.]
banishment <08332> [banishment. Chal. rooting out.]
Blessed <01288> [Blessed.]
There is a most amiable spirit of piety in these reflections. Instead of expatiating on the praises of his munificent patron, or boasting of his own services, he blesses God for "putting such a thing in the king's heart;" and for all the assistance and favour shown him by the king and his counsellors.
so ........ king <05414 04428> [put such.]
heart .... king <03820 04428> [in the king's heart.]
honor <06286> [to beautify.]
He .... conferred <05186> [extended.]
advisers <03289> [his counsellors.]
strength <02388> [And I was strengthened.]
In what the king decreed he saw the hand of God: he therefore gave Him the praise, and took courage.
hand <03027> [as the hand.]
leaders <07218> [the chief.]
enrolled with them by genealogy <03187> [genealogy.]
coming up <05927> [them that went up.]
Phinehas <06372> [Phinehas.]
David <01732> [David.]
Parosh <06551> [Pharosh.]
This variation is attributable to the translators; the original being uniformly Par“sh.
[Parosh.]
Pahath-Moab <06355> [Pahath-moab.]
Adin <05720> [Adin.]
Elam <05867> [Elam.]
Shephatiah <08203> [Shephatiah.]
Joab <03097> [Joab.]
Bebai ..... Bebai <0893> [Bebai.]
Azgad <05803> [Azgad.]
descendants ..... son ... Hakkatan <01121 06997> [the son of Hakkatan. or, the youngest son.]
Adonikam <0140> [Adonikam.]
Bigvai <0902> [Bigvai.]
Zaccur <02072> [Zabbud. or, Zaccur, as some read.]
canal ... flows <0935 05104> [the river that runneth.]
Ahava is supposed to be the river Adiava, which, with the Diava, is said by Ammianus to have given name to Adiabene, a province of Assyria, through which they flowed into the Tigris. These rivers were also called respectively, Anzabas and Zabas, the Caprus and Lycus of Ptolemy; the former of which he places, at its source, in long. 79 degrees, lat. 39« degrees, and at its junction with the Tigris, in long. 79« degrees, lat. 36 degrees 6'; and the latter, at its source, in long 78 degrees, lat. 39 degrees; and where it falls into the Tigris, in long. 79 degrees, lat. 36« degrees. They are now called the Great and Little Zab, or the Zabein, i.e., the two Zabs, which, says Ibn Haukal, "are considerable streams, each about half as large as the Dejleh (or Tigris). They rise among the mountains of Azerbaijan: of these, the larger is that which runs towards Haditheh. These streams form part of the Tigris, and water the district of Semerah."
Ahava <0163> [Ahava.]
camped <02583> [abode. Heb. pitched. and found.]
Shemaiah <08098> [Shemaiah.]
Nathan <05416> [Nathan.]
Zechariah <02148> [Zechariah.]
leaders <07218> [chief men.]
teachers <0995> [men of understanding.]
Casiphia ................... Casiphia <03703> [Casiphia.]
Casiphia is supposed to denote the Caspian mountains, between Media and Hyrcania, near the Caspian Sea. It is evident, from a comparison of ch. 7:9 with ver. 31, that Casiphia could not be far from Ahava.
told ... what <07760 01697> [I told them. Heb. I put words in their mouth.]
temple servants <05411> [the Nethinims.]
attendants <08334> [ministers.]
good hand <03027 02896> [by the good hand.]
skilled man <07922 0376> [a man of understanding.]
Mahli <04249> [Mahli.]
Sherebiah <08274> [Sherebiah.]
Hashabiah <02811> [Hashabiah.]
Merari <04847> [Merari.]
temple servants ................. them <05411> [Nethinims.]
designated <05344> [all of them.]
called <07121> [I proclaimed.]
humble ... before <06031 06440> [afflict ourselves.]
seek <01245> [to seek.]
children <02945> [for our little ones.]
embarrassed <0954> [I was ashamed.]
hand <03027> [The hand.]
great anger <0639 05797> [his power and his wrath.]
fasted <06684> [we fasted.]
prayed <01245> [besought.]
answered <06279> [and he was intreated.]
Sherebiah <08274> [Sherebiah.]
weighed <08254> [weighed.]
silver <03701> [the silver.]
exquisite ..... bronze <05178 02896> [fine copper. Heb. yellow, or shining brass.]
The Syriac renders, {nechosho korinthyo tovo,} "good Corinthian brass;" so called from the brass found after the burning of Corinth by Lucius Mummius, which was, as is generally supposed, brass, copper, silver, and gold, melted together. Sir J. Chardin, however, in a MS. note, cited by Harmer, mentioned a factitious metal used in the East, and highly esteemed there, which might probably be of an origin as ancient as Ezra. He says, "I have heard some Dutch gentlemen speak of a metal in the island of Sumatra, and among the Macassars, much more esteemed than gold, which royal personages alone are privileged to wear. It is a mixture, if I remember right, of gold and steel, or copper and steel." He afterwards added, "calmbac is the name of this metal, which is composed of gold and copper."
valuable <02532> [precious. Heb. desirable.]
holy .......... holy <06944> [Ye are holy.]
vessels <03627> [the vessels.]
Be careful ..... protect <08245 08104> [Watch ye.]
weigh .... before <06440 08254> [until ye weigh them before.]
temple .... God <0430 01004> [the house of our God.]
Ahava Canal <0163 05104> [the river of Ahava.]
hand <03027 03709> [the hand.]
delivered <05337> [and he delivered.]
Ezra and his company had now entered upon a journey of several hundred miles through the desert, which they were nearly four months in completing, encumbered with families and possessions, and carrying large treasures with them, which would invite the attempts of the Arabian hordes, and others, that infested that neighbourhood; yet, having declared to the king, "that the hand of God was upon all them for good that seek him, and that his power and wrath were against all them that forsook him," (ver. 22,) he determined to travel without a guard, except that of the Almighty, being ashamed to ask any other, after his former avowed confidence in Him! Having, therefore, humbled themselves before the Lord, and besought his guidance and protection, he was intreated by them, their enemies were restrained or disabled, and they arrived unmolested at Jerusalem.
weighed <08254> [weighed.]
Meremoth <04822> [Meremoth.]
Uriah <0223> [Uriah.]
[Urijah. Jozabad.]
Binnui <01131> [Binnui.]
offered burnt offerings .............................. burnt offering <07126 05930> [offered burnt.]
bulls ............ twelve <08147 06499> [twelve bullocks.]
decrees .... king .... king's <04428 01881> [the king's commissions.]
satraps <0323> [lieutenants.]
help <05375> [they furthered.]
leaders <08269> [the princes.]
separated <0914> [have not separated.]
detestable <08441> [doing according.]
Canaanites <03669> [of the Canaanites.]
Ammonites <05984> [Ammonites.]
Moabites <04125> [Moabites.]
taken ..... daughters <05375 01323> [taken of their.]
holy race <02233 06944> [the holy seed.]
intermingled <06148> [mingled.]
<03027> [the hand.]
tore <07167> [rent.]
ripped <04803> [off.]
sat <03427> [sat.]
awe <02730> [trembled.]
evening <06153> [until.]
self-abasement <08589> [heaviness. or, affliction. I fell.]
spread <06566> [spread.]
ashamed <0954> [I am ashamed.]
iniquities <05771> [our iniquities.]
guilt <0819> [trespass. or, guiltiness. grown up.]
days ........ day ..................................... time <03117> [Since the days.]
iniquities <05771> [for our iniquities.]
over by <03027> [into the hand.]
embarrassment <01322> [to confusion.]
days ........ day ..................................... time <03117> [as it is this day.]
briefly .......................................... little <07281 04592> [little space. Heb. moment. grace hath.]
remnant <06413> [a remnant.]
secure position <03489> [a nail. or a pin. i.e., a constant and sure abode.]
holy place <06944 04725> [in his holy place.]
enlightened <0215> [lighten.]
relief <04241> [reviving.]
slaves <05650> [we were bondmen.]
God ................................... God <0430> [yet our God.]
in the sight of <06440> [in the sight.]
restore <07311> [to set up.]
raise up <05975> [repair. Heb. set up. a wall.]
Or rather, a hedge or fence, {gader,} such as were made for sheep-folds.
say <0559> [what shall we say.]
through ... servants <03027 05650> [by thy servants. Heb. by the hand of thy servants. The land.]
defiled .... impurities <05079> [the filthiness.]
end <06310> [one end to another. Heb. mouth to mouth.]
give ... daughters ............ daughters <05414 01323> [give not.]
seek ... peace <01875 07965> [nor seek their peace.]
strong <02388> [that ye may.]
eat <0398> [and eat.]
inheritance <03423> [and leave it.]
happened ..... come <0310 0935> [after all.]
exercised restraint <02820> [hast punished, etc. Heb. hast withheld beneath our iniquities. less.]
given .... remnant <05414 06413> [hast given us.]
again <07725> [we again.]
intermarry <02859> [join in.]
angered <0599> [wouldest not thou.]
remnant <07611> [no remnant.]
righteous <06662> [thou art righteous.]
left <07604> [for we remain.]
guilt <0819> [in our trespasses.]
stand <05975> [we cannot.]
Ezra <05830> [when Ezra.]
confessing <03034> [when he had.]
weeping ............................. wept <01058> [weeping.]
before ... temple <06440 01004> [before the house.]
very large <03966 07227 07235> [a very great.]
<07235 01059> [very sore. Heb. a great weeping.]
Shecaniah <07935> [Shechaniah.]
Elam <05867> [Elam.]
unfaithful <04603> [We have trespassed.]
Shechaniah here speaks in the name of the people, not acknowledging himself culpable; for he is not in the following list.
[Compare.]
Nonetheless there is ... hope <03426 04723> [yet now there is hope.]
enact <03772> [let us make.]
{Nichrath berith,} "let us cut a covenant:"
send <03318> [put away. Heb. bring forth. according to the counsel.]
respect <02730> [of those that.]
commandments <04687> [at the commandment.]
it ... done <06213> [let it.]
Shechaniah's counsel, which he was then so clear in, will not hold now: such marriages, it is certain, are contrary to the will of God, and ought not to be made; but they are not null. Our rule under the gospel is {Quod fieri non debuit, factum valet,} "That which ought not to have been done must, when done, abide." See .# 1Co 7:12,13
Get <06965> [Arise.]
matter <01697> [for this matter.]
By the decree of Artaxerxes, Ezra was authorised to do every thing that the law of God required.
strong <02388> [we also will.]
strong <02388> [be of good.]
got up <06965> [arose.]
leading <08269> [made.]
room <03957> [the chamber.]
Jehohanan <03076> [Johanan.]
eat <0398> [he did eat.]
mourning <056> [he mourned.]
proclamation <05674> [they made.]
come <0935> [And that whosoever.]
forfeit <02763> [forfeited. Heb. devoted.]
excluded <0914> [himself separated.]
ninth month ........ month <02320 08671> [the ninth month.]
That is, some time in December, which is the coldest and most rainy time of the year in Palestine. Dr. Russel, in his account of the weather at Aleppo, which very much resembles that in Judea, says, that the natives reckon the severity of the winter, which they call {marbania,} to last but forty days, beginning from the 12th of December, and ending the 20th of January, and that this computation comes in fact very near the truth: and that the air during this time is excessively piercing, even to those that are just come from a cold climate.
trembling <07460> [trembling.]
rains <01653> [great rain. Heb. showers.]
taking <03427> [taken. Heb. caused to dwell. or, brought back. to increase.]
give praise <08426 05414> [make confession.]
do ... will <06213 07522> [do his.]
Separate <0914> [separate.]
foreign <05237> [and from the.]
just as .... said <01697> [As thou hast said.]
They all resolved to do what Ezra had commanded; and they did put away their wives, even those by whom they had children, (ver. 44,) each of whom doubtless received a portion according to the circumstances of her husband, and was not turned away desolate. Humanity must have dictated this, and no law of God is contrary to humanity.
do <06213> [so must we do.]
people <05971> [the people.]
numerous ............................. sinned greatly .... matter <07227 06586 01697 07235> [we are many that have transgressed in this thing. or, we have greatly offended in this thing.]
leaders <08269> [our rulers.]
hot <02740> [the fierce.]
matter <01697 07725> [for this matter be turned from us. or, be turned from us, till this matter be dispatched.]
<05975> [were employed. Heb. stood. Meshullam.]
Shabbethai <07678> [Shabbethai.]
consider ... matter <01875 01697> [to examine the matter.]
on .... day .... first <03117 0259> [A.M. 3548. B.C. 456. the first day.]
The cases brought before the council were either so many, or so complicated, that, though they separated themselves from other employments, yet they were three whole months in examining into their affairs, and making the necessary separations required by the law.
descendants ............. descendants .... son <01121> [the sons.]
Jeshua <03442> [Jeshua.]
[Joshua. Maaseiah.]
gave ... word <03027 05414> [gave their hands.]
They bound themselves in the most solemn manner to do as the rest of the delinquents had done, and make and acknowledgment to God of their iniquity, by offering each a ram for a trespass offering.
ram <0352> [a ram.]
Immer <0564> [Immer.]
Harim <02766> [Harim.]
Pashhur <06583> [Pashur.]
Jozabad <03107> [Jozabad.]
Kelita <07042> [Kelita.]
Israelites <03478> [Moreover of Israel.]
That is, as Calmet observes, simple Israelites; thus distinguished from the priests, Levites, and singers, mentioned in ver. 18, 23, 24.
descendants ... Parosh <06551 01121> [sons of Parosh.]
Elam <05867> [Elam.]
Jehiel <03171> [Jehiel.]
Zattu <02240> [Zattu.]
Bebai <0893> [Bebai.]
Bani <01137> [Bani.]
[Binnui. Malluch.]
Pahath-Moab <06355> [Pahath-moab.]
Harim <02766> [Harim.]
Malkijah <04441> [Malchiah.]
This variation only exists in the translation, the original being uniformly Malchijah, or rather, Malkeeyah.
[Malchijah.]
Hashum <02828> [Hashum.]
Bani <01137> [Bani.]
Machnadebai <04367> [Machnadebai. or, Mabnadebai, according to some copies.]
Nebo <05015> [Nebo.]
foreign wives ........... women <05237 0802> [strange wives.]
some <03426> [and some of them.]
This observation was probably intended to shew that only a few of them had children, and also how rigorously the law was put in execution. According to a passage in Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew, Ezra offered a paschal lamb on this occasion, and addressed the people thus: "And Ezra said to the people, This pass-over is our Saviour and our Refuge; and if ye will be persuaded of it, and let it enter into your hearts, that we are to humble to Him in a sign, and afterwards shall believe in Him, this place shall not be destroyed for ever, saith the Lord of hosts; but, if ye will not believe in Him, nor hearken to his preaching, ye shall be a laughing-stock to the Gentiles." This was probably a marginal note added by some early Christian. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF EZRA. 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.
