Ezra 6:1

_THEN DARIUS THE KING MADE A DECREE, AND SEARCH WAS MADE IN THE HOUSE OF THE ROLLS, WHERE THE TREASURES WERE LAID UP IN BABYLON._ Darius the king. This was Darius Hystaspes. Great and interesting light has been thrown on the history of this monarch and the transactions of his reign by the decipherment of the cuneitic inscriptions on the rocks at Behistun. IN THE HOUSE OF THE ROLLS, WHERE THE TREASURES WERE LAID UP IN BABYLON х_ BªBEEYT_ (H1005) _ CIPRAYAA'_ (H5609), in the house of books; Septuagint, en tais bibliotheekais, in the libraries]. An idea of the form of this Babylonian register house, as well as the manner of preserving public records within its repositories, can be obtained from the recent discoveries at Nineveh. Two small chambers were discovered in the palace of Kouyunjik, which, from the fragments found in them, Mr. Layard co

1-12 When God's time is come for fulfilling his gracious purposes concerning his church, he will raise up instruments to do it, from whom such good service was not expected. While our thoughts are directed to this event, we are led by Zechariah to fix our regard on a nobler, a spiritual building. The Lord Jesus Christ continues to lay one stone upon another: let us assist the great design. Difficulties delay the progress of this sacred edifice. Yet let not opposition discourage us, for in due season it will be completed to his abundant praise. He shall bring forth the head-stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it....

CHAPTER VI _Darius orders search to be made for the edict of Cyrus_, 1. _It is found at Achmetha_, 2. _A transcript of this edict_, 3-5. _Darius confirms it_, 6-12. _Tatnai encourages the Jews to proceed; and they finish the_ _temple in the sixth year of Darius_, 13-15. _They dedicate the temple_, 16-18; _keep the Passover_, 19-21, _and the feast of unleavened bread_, 22. NOTES ON CHAP. VI Verse Ezra 6:1. _IN THE HOUSE OF THE ROLLS_] בית ספ

A “house of the rolls” was discovered at Koyunjik, the ancient Nineveh, in 1850 - a set of chambers, i. e., in the palace devoted exclusively to the storing of public documents. These were in baked clay, and covered the floor to the depth of more than a foot. Such a “house” was probably that at Babylon....

EXPOSITION DISCOVERY OF THE DECREE OF CYRUS ON THE SUBJECT OF THE TEMPLE, AND RECITATION OF ITS EXACT TERMS (Ezra 6:1). The application made by the satrap of Syria to Darius received his immediate attention. A search was instituted—in the first instance, at Babylon, but afterwards at the other capitals also; and in Ecbatana, the Median metropolis, where the Persian kings always resided during a portion of the year, a copy of the original decree was found, which is considerably fuller and more definite, though in some respects covering less ground, than the "proclamation'' with

THEN DARIUS THE KING MADE A DECREE,.... To make inquiry after the edict of Cyrus, to search the public records for it: AND SEARCH WAS MADE IN THE HOUSE OF THE ROLLS; or "books" r, in a public library or museum: WHERE THE TREASURES WERE LAID UP IN BABYLON; where things of worth and value were reposited; not only gold, silver, jewels, and precious stones, and things rare and curious, but all sorts of writings relating to the monarchy, and the dominions belonging to it; but it seems it could not be found here, and therefore the king ordered search to be made elsewhere. r בבית ספריא, εν ταις βιβλιοθηκαις, Sept. "in bibliotheca", V. L. "in bibliotheca librorum", Tigurine version; "in domo librorum", Pagninus, Montanus....

CHAPTER 6 _ 1. The search of the king and the result (Ezra 6:1)_ 2. The command of Darius (Ezra 6:6) 3. The king's command obeyed (Ezra 6:13) 4. The house finished (Ezra 6:14) 5. The dedication of the house (Ezra 6:16) 6. The feast of Passover and unleavened bread (Ezra 6:19) Ezra 6:1. King Darius had a search made in the place where the records of the empire were kept, “in t

THE KING'S REPLY ACCORDING HIS PERMISSION TOR THE BUILDING TO BE CONTINUED. Ezra 6:1. a decree: the actual decree does not begin until Ezra 6:8. Ezra 6:2. Achmetha: _cf._ Tob_3:7; _i.e._ Ecbatana, in Media, the summer residence of the Persian kings. A ROLL: in this case more probably a cylindrical clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform characters; but the fact that a roll is mentioned shows that the Jews of Ezra's time were unfamiliar with that form of writing. Ezra 6:3. This purports to be a copy of Cyrus-' decree (_cf._ Ezra 1:1); it is, however

DARIUS: i.e. Darius (Hystaspis). See Chronological Structure and notes (pp 617, 618), and App-67. BABYLON. See note on Ezra 5:13....

Ezra 6:1-12. Darius's Decree 1. _made a decree_ cf. Ezra 4:19. _search was made_ literally -they made a search". Plural used impersonally. _in the house of the rolls_ R.V. IN THE HOUSE OF THE ARCHIVES: marg. Aram. _books_. _rolls_ The word usually rendered -roll" is Megillah, see Ezra 6:2; Jeremiah 36:2-6, &c.; Ezekiel 3:1-2; Zechariah 5:1. The word used here is -Sêpher" = -book". Sometimes the two occur together -the r