THE JOURNEY OF EZRA TO JERUSALEM 1. Now after.. Artaxerxes] The interval of time here implied amounted to more than fifty years, from the sixth year of Darius (516 b.c.) to the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus (458 b.c.). Between the reign of Darius and Artaxerxes there intervened the reign of... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS EZRA] Ezra, as his history shows, was a devout and zealous ecclesiastic, of passionate temperament, strong religious faith, and rigid principles, who, though he met with temporary failure, in the end permanently influenced the thoughts and habits of his countrymen. A READY SCRIBE] Ezra belonged... [ Continue Reading ]
BEGAN HE TO GO UP] better (by a slight correction), 'he fixed the going up.' The actual journey was not begun till the twelfth day (Ezra 8:31). THE FIRST MONTH] i.e Nisan. (=Mar.-April). THE FIFTH MONTH] i.e. Ab (=July-August). The journey, which lasted some three months and a half, was probably mad... [ Continue Reading ]
TO TEACH IN ISRAEL] Ezra, though like Zerubbabel he led a body of settlers to Jerusalem, is never styled 'Tirshatha' (as Zerubbabel is in Ezra 2:63), and his mission appears to have had purely religious ends in view. The Jews who remained in Babylon, and who were surrounded by a population wholly he... [ Continue Reading ]
KING OF KINGS] The same title was used by the kings of Babylon (Ezekiel 26:7; Daniel 2:37). PERFECT _peace,_ AND AT SUCH A TIME] better, 'the whole' (of the usual heading) 'and so forth.'... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS PRIESTS] RV 'their (i.e. Israel's) priests.'... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS SEVEN COUNSELLORS] In href='190 1:14'>Est 1:14 mention is made of seven princes 'who saw the king's face and sat the first in his kingdom.'... [ Continue Reading ]
CANST FIND] i.e. obtain from the native Babylonians and Persians: cp. Ezra 1:4; Ezra 1:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
TALENTS.. MEASURES.. BATHS] The 'talent' used by the early Hebrews weighed 96 lb., the Persian talent was 66 lb. A 'measure' (Heb. _cor_) contained 83 gallons, a 'bath' a little more than 8 gallons. The wheat, wine, oil, and salt were required for the sacrificial offerings: see Exodus 29:40; Levitic... [ Continue Reading ]
WHY SHOULD THERE BE WRATH, etc.] The piety of the Persian kings led them to seek the favour of the deities worshipped by the different nationalities under their sway: cp. Leviticus 6:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
BANISHMENT] or exclusion from the congregation: cp. Leviticus 10:8.... [ Continue Reading ]
BLESSED _be_ THE LORD, etc.] This introduces Ezra's thanksgiving for the king's letter. His gratitude to God is conspicuous throughout the passages in this book which proceed directly from him (e.g. Ezra 8:18; Ezra 8:22; Ezra 8:31), and is reflected in the account of the historian (Ezra 7:6; Ezra 7:... [ Continue Reading ]