EZRA 6:1 King Darius Discovers and Reaffirms Cyrus’s Decree, and the Work Is Completed. A record of Cyrus’s decree is discovered, and King Darius confirms that the Jews are to be allowed to continue the work. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length,... [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:3 This record is not identical with the DECREE as recorded in Ezra 1:2. It gives new specifications about the building, its location, its size, and its materials. Perhaps a copy of the original decree had been found (see note on 6:1–2), and instructions may have been added to it.... [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:4 Using THREE LAYERS OF GREAT STONES AND ONE LAYER OF TIMBER follows the construction of the older temple (1 Kings 6:36; 1 Kings 7:12). While the original decree had required people in Babylon to help pay for the project (Ezra 1:4), this record requires that the COST be met from... [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:7 GOVERNOR OF THE JEWS refers to Zerubbabel (compare Haggai 1:1). What became of the first governor, Sheshbazzar, is not known. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:8 Darius confirms Cyrus’s decree and also provides for costs from taxes raised in the province Beyond the River itself (v. Ezra 6:8). He also provides materials for sacrifices (v. Ezra 6:9), with the political condition that the Jews would PRAY FOR THE LIFE OF THE KING AND HIS SO... [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:11 Darius makes a further DECREE, backed up with a typical threat. He borrows language from the Israelite way of speaking about God’s presence in Jerusalem (THE GOD WHO HAS CAUSED HIS NAME TO DWELL THERE, compare Deuteronomy 12:5). This does not necessarily mean that Darius belie... [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:14 God, speaking here through his prophets, is the real power behind events. But the actions of the Persian kings on behalf of the Jews are also acknowledged. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:15 The MONTH OF ADAR (February/March) was the last month of the year. The SIXTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF DARIUS was 515 B.C., almost exactly 70 years after the destruction of the first temple (586), fulfilling the prophecy of 70 years of exile (see note on 1:1). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = d... [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:16 THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL. Even though the returned exiles consisted of only three tribes (see note on 1:5), they represent all 12, THE NUMBER OF THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL. The other divisions, THE PRIESTS AND THE LEVITES and the laity, are a typical way of describing the whole communit... [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:18 The PRIESTS and LEVITES are set IN THEIR DIVISIONS, grouped according to their temple duties, as King David had done (1 Chronicles 23:1). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:19 The text returns from Aramaic to Hebrew in v. Ezra 6:19 (see note on 4:7–8). The PASSOVER is KEPT on its appointed date, followed immediately by the FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD, which lasts for SEVEN DAYS (see Leviticus 23:5). Participating are the PEOPLE OF ISRAEL and the peopl... [ Continue Reading ]
EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 6:21 Remarkably, the returning Jews are joined by EVERY ONE WHO HAD... SEPARATED HIMSELF FROM THE UNCLEANNESS OF THE PEOPLES OF THE LAND TO WORSHIP THE LORD. The community was based on faith rather than on ancestry. Non-Israelites who expressed faith in God and a willingness to fol... [ Continue Reading ]