Ezra 9:8

The period since the decree of Cyrus a divinely appointed respite of probation.

And now for a little space R.V. And now for a little moment. -For a little moment", as in Isaiah 26:20 -Hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast". Ezra means that as compared with the long periods of Israel's disobedience (Ezra 9:7), and Israel's punishment, the interval of eighty years since Zerubbabel's return was but a short chapter in the people's history.

grace The word in the Hebrew is practically always elsewhere in the O.T. rendered -supplication" (e.g. 1 Kings 8:30; 1 Kings 8:38; 1 Kings 8:52; 1 Kings 9:3; Psalms 6:9; Psalms 55:1; Psalms 119:170; Jeremiah 36:7; Jeremiah 37:20; Jeremiah 38:26; Jeremiah 42:9; Daniel 9:20; 2Ch 6:19; 2 Chronicles 6:29; 2 Chronicles 6:35; 2 Chronicles 6:39; 2 Chronicles 33:13). The only possible exception is Joshua 11:20 -That they might utterly destroy them, that they might have no favour" (marg. Or, might not sue for favour). Here the word clearly means the favour or grace, for which the supplication is made.

to leave us a remnant to escape A remnant to escape (p-lêtah) (1) from the destruction of Jerusalem, as in Ezekiel 14:22 -Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnantthat shall be carried forth", (2) from the evils and degenerating influences of the captivity, as in Nehemiah 1:3 -I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem".

and to give us a nail in his holy place R.V. marg. -See Isaiah 22:23 ", -And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place", referring to Eliakim. The writer makes use of a metaphor, which to us is a little obscure. The passage from Isaiah gives us the image of a nail or peg firmly fastened into a wall so that vessels could be hung from it securely. Others have derived the metaphor from camp life: upon the peg being driven into a firm soil depended the security of the tent. Cf. Isaiah 54:2 -lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes" (or nails). In either case the nail is that which holds up or supports. Its power to do so, however strong the nail may be itself, depends upon the firmness of that into which it is driven. -The nail" here is neither the Temple, as some have supposed, nor the princes and priests, but the community returned from Babylon established at Jerusalem. Upon this community depended the whole hopes of Israel. Ezra acknowledges the mercy which has permitted -the nail" of the new Israel to be fixed once more in the place which God had chosen.

in his holy place i.e. in Jerusalem, and at his Temple. The phrase occurs again in Psalms 24:3 -Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? and who shall stand in his holy place"? cf. Isaiah 60:13. That -holy place" was the centre of the nation's life, the witness to the Divine Presence. -The nail" fixed there should bear any weight and resist all pressure; it was -the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion" (Isaiah 18:7), -the place which the Lord shall choose" (Deuteronomy 12:14 passim), cf. -the holy mountain of my God" Daniel 9:20 (16, 24), -the holy city" Matthew 4:5; Matthew 27:53.

that our God may lighten our eyes The period of punishment had been one of night and gloom. The new gracious period of respite had brought daylight and brightness, cf. Psalms 13:3 -Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death".

and give us a little reviving in our bondage The restoration of the Jews had been a renewal of life (cf. Ezekiel 32:1-14) out of death. Ezra says -a little"; for (1) the period had been short, (2) they were still subject to foreign rulers. But it was a rekindling of the vital spark a reviving. The Hebrew word is not very common, comp. Genesis 45:5 -God did send me before you to preserve life" (lit. for reviving or the maintenance of life).