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Chapter 6

Ezra 6

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What King Darius commanded

¹Later Darius became the ruler of the Persian Empire. When the enemies of the Israelis forced them to stop rebuilding the temple, the Persian officials sent a message to King Darius. They asked him to search the records in the ◄archives/government records►, in the building where the king stored the important documents, to find out whether King Cyrus had authorized that the temple should be rebuilt. ²The king commanded someone to search there, but those documents were not there in Babylon. They found a scroll at the fort in Ecbatana, in Media province, that contained the information that they wanted to know. This is what was written on that scroll: ³“During the first year that Cyrus ruled the empire, he sent out a decree concerning the temple of God which is at Jerusalem. In the decree it was stated that a new temple must be built at the same place that the Israeli people previously had offered sacrifices, where the original foundation of the first temple was. The temple must be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide. ⁴The building must be made from large stones. After putting down three layers of stones, a layer of timber must be put on top of them. This work will be paid for by money from my treasury. ⁵Also, the gold and silver utensils that King Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple of God in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon must be taken back to Jerusalem. They must be put in God’s temple just as they were in the previous temple.”

⁶After reading this, King Darius sent this message to the leaders of the Israeli people’s enemies in Jerusalem: “This is a message for Tattenai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and for his assistant Shethar-Bozenai, and for all your colleagues: Stay away from that area! ⁷Do not ◄interfere with/hinder► the work of building the temple of God! The temple must be rebuilt at the same place where the former temple was. And do not hinder the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews while they are doing this work. ⁸“Furthermore, I declare that you must help these leaders of the Jews as they rebuild this temple of God by giving them funds for the building work. ⁹“The Jewish priests in Jerusalem need young bulls and rams and lambs to sacrifice as they make burned offerings to the God of heaven. You must give them the animals that they need. Also, you must be certain to give them the wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil that they need each day for those sacrifices. ¹⁰If you do that, the Jewish priests will be able to offer sacrifices that please the God who is in heaven, and they will pray that God will bless me and my sons. ¹¹“If anyone disobeys this decree, my soldiers will pull a beam from his house. Then after they sharpen one end of the beam, they will lift that man up and impale him on that beam. Then they will completely destroy that man’s house until only a pile of rubble is left. ¹²God has chosen that city of Jerusalem as the place where people will honor him [MTY]. What I desire is that he will get rid of any king or any nation that tries to change this decree or tries to destroy that temple in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have made this decree. It must be obeyed quickly and thoroughly.”

They completed and dedicated the temple

¹³Tattenai, the governor of the province, and his assistant Shethar-Bozenai and their colleagues read the message and immediately obeyed the decree of King Darius. ¹⁴So the Jewish leaders continued their work of rebuilding the temple. They were greatly encouraged by the messages that the prophets Haggai and Zechariah preached. The Israelis continued building the temple, just like God had commanded them to do and like King Cyrus had decreed. ¹⁵They finished building it on March 12, during the sixth year that King Darius ruled. ¹⁶Then the priests and the Levites and all the other Israeli people who had returned from Babylon very joyfully dedicated the temple. ¹⁷During the ceremony to dedicate the temple, they sacrificed 100 young bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs. They also sacrificed twelve male goats as an offering in order that God would forgive the sins of the people of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹⁸Then the priests and Levites were divided into groups that would take turns to serve at the temple. They did this according to what Moses had written many years previously in the laws that he wrote.

They celebrated the Passover Festival

¹⁹On April 21, the Jews who had returned from Babylon celebrated the Passover Festival. ²⁰To qualify themselves for offering the sacrifices, the priests and Levites had already purified themselves by performing certain rituals. Then they slaughtered the lambs for the benefit of all the people who had returned from Babylon, for the other priests, and for themselves. ²¹Those who had returned from Babylon and the other people in that land who had turned away from their immoral practices in order to worship Yahweh, the God of the Israeli people, ate the Passover meal. ²²They celebrated the Unleavened Bread Festival of Eating Unleavened Bread for seven days. The Israeli people throughout the land were joyful because Yahweh had changed the attitude of the king of Assyria toward them, and as a result, the king had helped them to rebuild the temple of God, the one whom they worshiped.

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Keil-Delitzsch
Matthew Henry
Tyndale

Introduction

Darius orders search to be made for the edict of Cyrus, Ezr 6:1. It is found at Achmetha, Ezr 6:2. A transcript of this edict, Ezr 6:3-5. Darius confirms it, Ezr 6:6-12. Tatnai encourages the Jews to proceed; and they finish the temple in the sixth year of Darius, Ezr 6:13-15. They dedicate the temple, Ezr 6:16-18; keep the Passover, Ezr 6:19-21, and the feast of unleavened bread, Ezr 6:22.

Verse 1

In the house of the rolls - בית ספריא beith siphraiya, the house of the books, the king's library. This is the first time we hear of a library.

Verse 2

At Achmetha - Ecbatana in India, whither it is probable all the records of Cyrus had been carried. This was a sort of summer residence for the kings of Persia.

Verse 3

The height thereof threescore cubits - This was much larger than the temple of Solomon. This was sixty cubits high, and sixty cubits broad; whereas Solomon's was only twenty cubits broad, and thirty cubits high.

Verse 4

Three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber - We have noticed this kind of building before, three courses of stones, and then a course of strong balk; and this continued to the square of the building. And let the expenses be given - Cyrus had ordered wood to be cut at Libanus, and conveyed to Joppa at his expense; but it does not appear that he furnished the other expenses of the building, for we have already seen that the Jews contributed for the defraying of all others. But it appears that he provided at his own expense the sacrifices and offerings for the temple. See Ezr 6:9.

Verse 6

Be ye far from thence - Do not interrupt the Jews in their building; but, on the contrary further them all in your power.

Verse 10

And pray for the life of the king, and of his sons - Even heathens believed that offerings made in their behalf to the God of the Jews would be available. And this principle has had considerable influence in certain states where there was even a form of religion established by the law, to induce them to tolerate other forms, that the state might have the benefit of their prayers.

Verse 11

Let timber be pulled down - Whether this refers to the punishment of hanging and gibbeting of whipping at a post, or of empaling, is not quite clear. In China they tie culprits to posts; and the executioner cuts them open while alive, takes out their bowels, etc. Empaling, thrusting a sharp stake through the body till it comes out at the side of the neck, or hanging, seems to be intended here. Let his house be made a dunghill - Let it be reduced to ruins, and never more used, except for the most sordid and unclean purposes.

Verse 14

According to the commandment of the God of Israel - He first gave the order, and stirred up the hearts of the following Persian kings to second that order. Of Cyrus - This sovereign gave his orders for the rebuilding of the temple about A.M. 3468. And Darius - Darius Hystaspes confirmed the above orders, A. M. 3485. And Artaxerxes - Artaxerxes Longimanus sent Ezra to Judea with new privileges, A.M. 3547. With the permission of the same king, Nehemiah came to Judea in 3550. The writer recapitulates the different sovereigns who favored the Jews after the Babylonish captivity. See Calmet.

Verse 15

This house was finished - The sixth year of Darius mentioned here was about A.M. 3489, twenty years after the foundation had been laid by Zerubbabel, under the reign of Cyrus.

Verse 17

Twelve he-goats - This was a sin-offering for every tribe.

Verse 18

And they set the priests - With this verse the Chaldee or Aramitic part of this chapter ends.

Verse 20

The Levites were purified together - They were all ready at one time to observe the proper rites and ceremonies, and had no need of having a second passover, which was appointed by the law for those who had been accidentally defiled, or were at a distance from the tabernacle. See Ch2 30:3.

Verse 21

And all such as had separated themselves - These were the proselytes who had embraced the Jewish religion by having mingled with the Jews in their captivity. This proves that there the poor captives had so acted according to the principles of their religion, that the heathens saw it, and walked in the light of the Lord with them. A good example is very persuasive; and particularly so when founded on pure principles.

Verse 22

Turned the heart of the king of Assyria - I am of Calmet's mind, that king of Assyria is here put for king of Persia. Cyrus and his successors possessed all the rights and estates of the ancient kings of Assyria, and therefore the same monarch may be styled king of Assyria as well as king of Persia. Darius had a very high character, as a wise, just, and merciful prince. To strengthen his title to the crown, he married two of the daughters of Cyrus, and, no doubt, to show his affection to this family, he the more cheerfully confirmed the edict which Cyrus had made in favor of the Jews.

Introduction

DARIUS' DECREE FOR ADVANCING THE BUILDING. (Ezr 6:1-12) Darius the king--This was Darius Hystaspes. Great and interesting light has been thrown on the history of this monarch and the transaction of his reign, by the decipherment of the cuneatic inscriptions on the rocks at Behistun. in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon--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 discoveries at Nineveh. Two small chambers were discovered in the palace of Koyunjik, which, from the fragments found in them, MR. LAYARD considers "as a house of the rolls." After reminding his readers that the historical records and public documents of the Assyrians were kept on tablets and cylinders of baked clay, many specimens of which have been found, he goes on to say, "The chambers I am describing appear to have been a depository in the palace of Nineveh for such documents. To the height of a foot or more from the floor they were entirely filled with them; some entire, but the greater part broken into many fragments, probably by the falling in of the upper part of the building. They were of different sizes; the largest tablets were flat, and measured about nine inches by six and a half inches; the smaller were slightly convex, and some were not more than an inch long, with but one or two lines of writing. The cuneiform characters on most of them were singularly sharp and well-defined, but so minute in some instances as to be almost illegible without a magnifying glass. These documents appear to be of various kinds. The documents that have thus been discovered in the house of rolls' at Nineveh probably exceed all that have yet been afforded by the monuments of Egypt, and when the innumerable fragments are put together and transcribed, the publication of these records will be of the greatest importance to the history of the ancient world" [Nineveh and Babylon].

Verse 2

Achmetha--long supposed to be the capital of Greater Media (the Ecbatana of classical, the Hamadan of modern times), [is] at the foot of the Elwund range of hills, where, for its coolness and salubrity, Cyrus and his successors on the Persian throne established their summer residence. There was another city, however, of this name, the Ecbatana of Atropatene, and the most ancient capital of northern Media, and recently identified by COLONEL RAWLINSON in the remarkable ruins of Takht-i-Soleiman. Yet as everything tends to show the attachment of Cyrus to his native city, the Atropatenian Ecbatana, rather than to the stronger capital of Greater Media, COLONEL RAWLINSON is inclined to think that he deposited there, in his fortress, the famous decree relating to the Jews, along with the other records and treasures of his empire [Nineveh and Persepolis].

Verse 8

of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river . . . expenses be given unto these men--The decree granted them the privilege of drawing from his provincial treasury of Syria, to the amount of whatever they required for the furthering of the work and providing sacrifice for the service of the temple, that the priests might daily pray for the health of the king and the prosperity of the empire.

Verse 11

whosoever shall alter this word--The warning was specially directed against the turbulent and fanatical Samaritans. The extremely favorable purport of this edict was no doubt owing in some measure to the influence of Cyrus, of whom Darius entertained a high admiration, and whose two daughters he had married. But it proceeded still more from the deep impressions made even on the idolatrous people of that country and that age, as to the being and providence of the God of Israel.

Verse 13

THE TEMPLE FINISHED. (Ezr 6:13-15) Then Tatnai . . . did speedily--A concurrence of favorable events is mentioned as accelerating the restoration of the temple and infusing a new spirit and energy into the workmen, who now labored with unabating assiduity till it was brought to a completion. Its foundation was laid in April, 536 B.C. (Ezr 3:8-10), and it was completed on February 21, 515 B.C., being twenty-one years after it was begun [LIGHTFOOT].

Verse 16

FEASTS OF THE DEDICATION. (Ezr 6:16-18) the children of Israel . . . kept the dedication . . . with joy--The ceremonial was gone through with demonstrations of the liveliest joy. The aged who had wept at the laying of the foundation [Ezr 3:12] were most, if not all of them, now dead; and all rejoiced at the completion of this national undertaking.

Verse 17

twelve he-goats--as at the dedication of the tabernacle (Num 7:87; Num 8:17).

Verse 18

they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses . . . as it is written in the book of Moses--Although David arranged the priests and Levites in courses according to their families, it was Moses who assigned to the priests and Levites their rights and privileges, their stations and several duties.

Verse 21

AND OF THE PASSOVER. (Ezr 6:19-22) all such as had separated themselves . . . from the filthiness of the heathen of the land--that is, who had given satisfactory evidence of being true proselytes by not only renouncing the impure worship of idolatry, but by undergoing the rite of circumcision, a condition indispensable to a participation of the passover.

Verse 22

kept the feast . . . with joy: for the Lord . . . turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them--that is, king of the Persian empire, which now included the possessions, and had surpassed the glory, of Assyria. The favorable disposition which Darius had evinced towards the Jews secured them peace and prosperity and the privileges of their own religion during the rest of his reign. The religious joy that so remarkably characterized the celebration of this feast, was testified by expressions of lively gratitude to God, whose overruling power and converting grace had produced so marvellous a change in the hearts of the mighty potentates, and disposed them, pagans though they were, to aid the cause and provide for the worship of the true God. Next: Ezra Chapter 7

Introduction

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 6 Darius, on receiving the letter from his officers in Samaria, searched for the decree of Cyrus, and found it, and which he confirmed, Ezr 6:1 and made a fresh decree, and ordered expenses to be given out of his tribute for the building of the temple, and for the sacrifices of it; and that whosoever altered it should be hanged on the timber of his own house, and imprecated a curse on those that should destroy the house of God, Ezr 6:8 upon which the building went on, and was finished, Ezr 6:13 and the temple was dedicated to God in a solemn manner, Ezr 6:16, and the passover was kept by all the people, Ezr 6:19.

Verse 1

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) , , Sept. "in bibliotheca", V. L. "in bibliotheca librorum", Tigurine version; "in domo librorum", Pagninus, Montanus.

Verse 2

And there was found at Achmetha,.... Which Jarchi and Aben Ezra take to be the name of a vessel in which letters and writings were put for safety; but it was no doubt the name of a place; the Vulgate Latin version has it Ecbatana; and so Josephus (s); which was the name of a city in Media, where the kings of that country had their residence in the summer time (t); for it has its name from heat (u); the Persian kings dwelt at Shushan in the winter, and at Ecbatana in the summer (w); hence they are compared by Aelian (x) to cranes, birds of passage, because of their going to and from the above places: in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, here was found a roll; which was the decree of Cyrus, which perhaps he took with him when he went thither: and therein was a record thus written; as follows. (s) Antiqu. l. 11. c. 4. sect. 6. (t) Curtius, l. 5. c. 8. Vid. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 6. (u) Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 618. (w) Athen. Deipnosophist, l. 12. c. 1. (x) De Animal. l. 3. c. 13.

Verse 3

In the first year of Cyrus the king; the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be builded,.... See Ezr 1:1, the place where they offered sacrifices; to God in times past, ever since it was built by Solomon: and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; so as to bear and support the building erected on them, as the word signifies: the height thereof sixty cubits; which were thirty more than the height of Solomon's temple, Kg1 6:2 though sixty less than the height of the porch, which was one hundred and twenty, Ch2 3:4 and which some take to be the height of the whole house; and hence it may be observed what Herod said (y), that the temple then in being wanted sixty cubits in height of that of Solomon's: and the breadth thereof sixty cubits; whereas the breadth of Solomon's temple was but twenty, Kg1 6:2, but since it cannot reasonably be thought that the breadth should be equal to the height, and so very disproportionate to Solomon's temple; many learned men understand this of the extension of it as to length, which exactly agrees with the length of the former temple, Kg1 6:2. (y) Apud Joseph. Antiqu. l. 15. c. 11. sect. 1.

Verse 4

With three rows of great stones,.... Which Jarchi interprets of the walls of it, and these stones of marble; and so Ben Melech: and a row of new timber; of cedar wood upon the rows of stone, see Kg1 6:36 or for the lining and wainscoting the walls: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house; treasury, or exchequer; but it does not appear that this part of the decree was observed, at least hitherto; but the Jews built at their own expense, and perhaps did not exactly observe the directions given as to the dimensions of the house.

Verse 5

And also let the golden and silver vessels,.... See Ezr 1:7 and which confirms what the Jews said to Tatnai, Ezr 5:14. . Ezra 6:6 ezr 6:6 ezr 6:6 ezr 6:6Now therefore Tatnai, governor beyond the river,.... The river Euphrates, that side of it towards the land of Israel; Josephus (z) calls this man master of the horse: Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence; keep at a distance from the Jews, and give them no disturbance, nor interrupt them in their work of building of the temple, but mind your own business and government. (z) Ibid. (Antiqu.) l. 11. c. 4. sect. 7.

Verse 6

Let the work of this house of God alone,.... Suffer them to go on with it, and do not hinder them; it looks, by these expressions, as if he had some suspicion or hint given him that they were inclined to molest them, or that there were some that stirred them up to it, and were desirous of it: let the governor of the Jews, and the elders of the Jews, build this house of God in his place; where it formerly stood; that is, go on with the building of it.

Verse 7

Moreover, I make a decree, what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God,.... This must be considered as an additional decree of Darius, which was peculiarly made by him, in which more was granted in favour of the Jews, and as an encouragement to them to go on with the building of the temple; though Josephus (a) says this is no other than a confirmation of the decree of Cyrus; for, according to him, all that is here granted to them, or threatened to others, from hence to the end of Ezr 6:10, was contained in the decree: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river; what was collected out of his dominions on that side the river Euphrates, towards the land of Israel: according to Herodotus (b), this Darius was the first of the kings of Persia that exacted tribute; under Cyrus and Cambyses only presents were brought; but he imposed a tribute, and was therefore called an huckster, as Cambyses had the name of lord, and Cyrus that of father: the same writer gives an account of the several nations he received it from, and the particular sums, which in all amounted to 14,560 Euboic talents of gold; among whom are mentioned all Phoenicia and Syria, called Palestine, the tribute of which parts is the tribute beyond the river he referred to: and this king was well disposed to the Jewish nation, temple, and worship, before he was king, if what Josephus (c) says is true, that, while a private man, he vowed to God that, if he should be king, he would send all the sacred vessels that were in Babylon to the temple at Jerusalem: and out of the above tribute it is ordered: that forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered; from going on with the building, for want of money to buy materials, and pay the workmen. (a) Antiqu. l. 11. c. 4. sect. 6. (b) Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 89-95. (c) Antiqu. l. 11. c. 3. sect. 1.

Verse 8

And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven,.... All which were used for burnt offerings, see Lev 1:2 wheat, salt, wine, and oil; "wheat", or "fine flour", for the "minchah" or meat offering; "salt", for every offering; "wine", for the drink offerings; and "oil", to be put upon the meat offerings, see Lev 2:1, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail; for the daily sacrifice, and the meat and drink offerings which attended it, Exo 29:38.

Verse 9

That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven,.... Such as will be acceptable to him, Gen 8:21 and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons; prayer being wont to be made at the time of the morning and evening incense; and the Jews used to pray for other people besides themselves, and especially when desired, and particularly for kings and civil magistrates, to whom they were subject, see Jer 29:7, the sons of Darius Hystaspis, for whose life, as well as his own, he would have prayer made, were, according to Herodotus (d), three by his first wife, the daughter of Gobryas, before he began to reign, the eldest of which was Artobazanes; which sons must be here meant, since this was towards the beginning of his reign; he had afterwards four more by Atossa the daughter of Cyrus, the eldest of which was Xerxes, who succeeded him: many of the Heathens had an high opinion of the God of the Jews, and of their prayers to him for them; even the Emperor Julian (e) styles him the best of all the gods, and desired the Jews to pray to him for the welfare of his kingdom; nor need it seem strange that Darius should desire the same, since he was a devout prince; his father Hystaspes is supposed by some to be the same that was one of the most famous among the Persian Magi, or ministers in sacred things; and Darius himself had so great a veneration for the men of that sacred order, that he commanded that it should be put upon his sepulchral monument, that he was master of the Magi (f); and by his familiarity with the priests of Egypt, and learning their divinity, had the honour, while alive, to have deity ascribed to him (g). (d) Polymnia, sive, l. 7. c. 2. (e) Opera, par. 2. ep. 25. p. 153. (f) Porphyr. de abstinentia, l. 4, c. 16. (g) Diodor. Sic. l. 1. p. 85.

Verse 10

Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word,.... Act contrary to this command, will not obey it, but as much as in him lies changes and revokes it: let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him, be hanged thereon; that is, let a beam be taken from it, and a gallows or gibbet made of it, and hang him on it: and let his house be made a dunghill for this; be pulled down, and never rebuilt more; see Gill on Dan 2:2; see Gill on Dan 2:9.

Verse 11

And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there,.... Whose name is not only called upon there, and that called by his name; but who grants his presence, and causes his Shechinah, or divine Majesty, to dwell there, as in Solomon's temple, which Darius had some knowledge of: destroy all kings and people; let them be who they will, high or low: that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God, which is at Jerusalem; this he said to deter from hindering the building of it now, and from attempting to destroy it hereafter: I Darius have made a decree, let it be done with speed; be carried immediately into execution, especially with respect to the disbursement for the building of the temple, and for the sacrifices of it.

Verse 12

Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions,.... Having received and read the above letter: according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily; acquainted the Jews with what the king had written; were so far from hindering the work going forward, that they encouraged it; and made disbursements to them out of the king's tribute, and furnished them with everything necessary for sacrifice: and this they did immediately, without delay.

Verse 13

And the elders of the Jews builded,.... Went on with the building of the temple: and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo; or grandson, as before; being animated and encouraged by them; and as they foretold and promised it would, be, so it was; they had success in their work, the Lord overruling the heart of Darius the king and his council in their favour: and they builded and finished it; that is, the temple: according to the commandment of the God of Israel; by the above prophets, who spoke to them, and prophesied in his name: and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia; the commandment of Cyrus is in Ezr 1:1 that of Darius in this, Ezr 6:8, but who Artaxerxes is, and his commandment, is not easy to say; he cannot be the Artaxerxes between Cyrus and Darius, but one that followed the latter; besides, he was a hinderer of the building, Ezr 4:21, some think this was Xerxes the son and successor of Darius, and who might be partner with his father in the empire at this time, and so is joined with him in this commandment; which is more probable than that he should be his grandson Artaxerxes Longimamus, in whose reign the temple, it is supposed, was beautified and ornamented, though the exterior building of it was before finished; and so he is spoken of by anticipation; and still more plausible than that he should be, with others, Artaxerxes Mnemon, the son of Darius Nothus; but, after all, I am most inclined to think, with Aben Ezra, that he is Darius himself; and the words to be read, Darius, that is, Artaxerxes, king of Persia; Artaxerxes being, as he observes, a common name of the kings of Persia, as Pharaoh was of the kings of Egypt; though this is by some rejected (h); and who goes by this name in the continuance of this history, in whose seventh year, the year after this, Ezra went up to Jerusalem, and, in the twentieth of his reign, Nehemiah, Ezr 7:1, and I find Dr. Lightfoot (i) was of the same mind; and, according to Diodorus Siculus (k), the kings of Persia were called by the name of Artaxerxes after Mnemon; and so they might before; Cambyses is so called in Ezr 4:7. Herodotus (l) says the name signifies "a mighty warrior". (h) Vid. Rainold de Lib. Apocryph. praelect. 31. p. 271. (i) Works, vol. 1. p. 139. (k) Bibliothec. l. 15. p. 400. (l) Erato, sive, l. 6. c. 98.

Verse 14

And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar,.... The twelfth month of the year with the Jews, and answers to part of our February and part of March: which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king; four years after the decree came forth.

Verse 15

And the children of Israel,.... Those of the ten tribes that remained after the body of the people were carried captive, or came with the Jews at their return: the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity; those of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin: kept the dedication of this house of God with joy; they set it apart for sacred use and service, with feasting and other expressions of joy and gladness, as follows.

Verse 16

And offered, at the dedication of this house of God, an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs,.... Hecatombs of various sorts, which were always reckoned grand sacrifices, even among Heathens, of which Homer sometimes speaks; some of these were for burnt offerings, and others peace offerings, by way of thankfulness to God for the finishing of the temple; part of which belonging to the offerers, they feasted upon it with great gladness of heart: and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel; for though the ten tribes were carried captive by Shalmaneser, yet, as before observed, there were some of them that remained in the land, and others that went and returned with the two tribes; and therefore a sin offering was made for them all, for the typical expiation of guilt contracted since they had been in an Heathen land, and, temple service had ceased.

Verse 17

And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God which is at Jerusalem,.... All in their proper classes and courses, to do the work of the temple at Jerusalem in their turns: as it is written in the book of Moses; see Num 3:6, from hence it is plain the Pentateuch was not written by Ezra, as suspected by Spinosa (m), but by Moses; see the argument of the book of Genesis. See Gill on Gen 1:1. (m) Tract. Theolog. Polit. c. 8. p. 163.

Verse 18

And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. The month Nisan or Abib, which was the month following that in which the temple was finished, Ezr 6:15, this passover was kept at the exact time the law commanded, Exo 12:2. . Ezra 6:20 ezr 6:20 ezr 6:20 ezr 6:20For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure,.... They were all to a man pure, and all purified as one man; all were of one mind to purify themselves, and took care to do it, and did it with as much dispatch as if only one man was purified; so that they were more generally prepared for service now than in the times of Hezekiah, Ch2 29:34 and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests and for themselves; which seems to have been done by the Levites, for themselves and for the priests, and for all the people, who were not so pure as the priests and Levites; or otherwise they might have killed it themselves, Exo 12:6, as Bochart (n) thinks. (n) Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 50. col. 576.

Verse 19

And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity,.... The tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with some of the ten tribes mixed with them: and all such as had separated themselves unto them, from the filthiness of the Heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat; such of the Gentiles in the dominions of Babylon, and came with the Jews from thence, who were enlightened into the knowledge and worship of the true God, and not only renounced their idolatry, here called filthiness, but were circumcised, and embraced the religion of the Jews, and so were proselytes of righteousness, as they call them; or otherwise they would not have been allowed to eat of the passover, as they did, Exo 12:48.

Verse 20

And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy,.... Which immediately followed upon the passover, Exo 12:18, for the Lord had made them joyful; the building of the temple being finished, and the service of it restored to its original purity: and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel; by giving them leave to go on in building the temple, and by encouraging and assisting them in it till they had finished it; this was Darius Artaxerxes, who, though called king of Persia, was also king of Assyria, being possessed of the Assyrian monarchy, as his predecessors were upon the taking of Babylon, and the same is therefore called also the king of Babylon, Neh 13:6. God, the God of Israel, who has the hearts of all men in his hands, and so the hearts of kings, and can turn them at his pleasure, inclined his heart to do them good, which was matter of joy unto them, see Ezr 7:27. Next: Ezra Chapter 7

Verse 1

The decision of Darius. - Ezr 6:1-5. At the command of Darius, search was made in the archives of the royal treasury; and in the fortress of Achmetha in Media, was found the roll in which was recorded the edict published by Cyrus, concerning the building of the temple at Jerusalem. Ezr 6:1 Search was made in the house of the books where also the treasures were deposited in Babylon. מהחתין, partic. Aphel of נחת; see Ezr 5:15. Ezr 6:2-4 "And there was found at Achmetha, in the fortress that is in the land of Media, a roll; and thus was it recorded therein." In Babylon itself the document sought for was not found; though, probably the search there made, led to the discovery of a statement that documents pertaining to the time of Cyrus were preserved in the fortress of Achmetha, where the record in question was subsequently discovered. אחמתא, the capital of Great Media - τὰ Εκβάτανα, Judith 1:1, 14, or Ἀγβάτανα (Herod. i. 98) - built by Dejokes, was the summer residence of the Persian and Parthian kings, and situate in the neighbourhood of the modern Hamadan. Achmetha is probably the Old-Median or Old-Persian pronunciation of the name, the letters אחם on Sassanidian coins being explained as denoting this city (Mordtmann in the Zeitschrift der deutsch morgenl. Gesellschaft, viii. p. 14). The citadel of Ecbatana probably contained also the royal palace and the official buildings. For בּגוּהּ is found in some MSS and editions בּגוּהּ; but Norzi and J. H. Mich. have Pathach under ו as the better authorized reading. דּכרונה, stat. emph. of דּכרון, memorandum, ὑπόμνημα, a record of anything memorable. The contents of this document follow, Ezr 6:3-5. First, the proclamation of King Cyrus in the first year of his reign: "The house of God at Jerusalem, let this house be built as a place where sacrifices are offered." The meaning of the words following is doubtful. We translate מסובלין ואשּׁוחי: and let them raise up its foundations, i.e., its foundations are to be again raised up, restored. אשּׁין, foundations (Ezr 4:12); מסובלין, part. Poel of סבל, to carry, to raise (not to be raised). סבל often stands for the Hebrew נשׂא, to carry, to raise up, to erect; compare the Samaritan translation of Gen 13:10 : וסבל את עגין, he lifted up his eyes. סובל אשּׁין analogous with מוסדי ד קומם, Isa 58:12, and signifies to erect buildings upon the foundations. (Note: The Vulgate, following a rabbinical explanation, has ponant fundamenta supportantia, which is here unsuitable. The conjecture of Bertheau, who labours, by all sorts of critical combinations of the letters in the words מסובלין ואשּׁוחי, to produce the text תמנים מאה אמין אשוהי, "its foundation length 180 cubits," is as needless as it is mistaken. The interpretation of the words in the lxx, καὶ ἔθηκεν ἔπαρμα, and Pseudo-Ezra 6, διὰ πυρός ἐνδελεχους, are nothing else than unmeaning suppositions.) Expositors are divided as to the dimensions of the new temple, "its height 60 cubits, and its breadth 60 cubits," Antiq. xi. 4. 6; while Solomon's temple was but 30 cubits high, and, without the side-buildings, only 20 cubits broad. We nevertheless consider the statements correct, and the text incorrupt, and explain the absence of the measure of length simply by the fact that, as far as length was concerned, the old and new temples were of equal dimensions. Solomon's temple, measured externally, inclusive of the porch and the additional building at the hinder part, was about 100 cubits long (see the ground plan in my bibl. Archaeol. Table II. fig. 1). To correspond with this length, the new temple was, according to the desire of Cyrus, to be both higher and broader, viz., 60 cubits high, and as many wide, - measurements which certainly apply to external dimensions. Zerubbabel's temple, concerning the structure of which we have no further particulars, was externally of this height and breadth. This may be inferred from the speech of King Herod in Joseph. Ant. xv. 11. 1, in which this tyrant, who desired to be famous for the magnificence of his buildings, endeavoured to gain the favour of the people for the rebuilding of the temple, which he was contemplating, by the remark that the temple built by their forefathers, on their return from the Babylonian captivity, was 60 cubits too low, - Solomon's temple having been double that height (sc. according to the height given in Ch2 3:4, 120 cubits) - and from the fact that Herod made his temple 100 or 120 cubits high. Hence the temple of Zerubbabel, measured externally, must have been 60 cubits high; and consequently we need not diminish the breadth of 60 cubits, also given in this verse, by alterations of the text, because Herod's temple was likewise of this width, but must understand the given dimensions to relate to external height and breadth. For in Herod's temple the holy places were but 60 cubits high and 20 wide; the holy place, 40 cubits long, 20 wide, and 60 high; the holy of holies, 20 cubits long, 20 wide, and 60 high. And we may assume that the dimensions of Zerubbabel's temple preserved the same proportions, with perhaps the modification, that the internal height did not amount to 60 cubits, - an upper storey being placed above the holy place and the holy of holies, as in Herod's temple; which would make the internal height of these places amount to only about 30 or 40 cubits. (Note: While we acknowledge it possible that the holy and most holy places, measured within, may have been only 40 cubits high, we cannot admit the objection of H. Merz, in Herzog's Realencycl. xv. p. 513, that 20 cubits of internal breadth is an inconceivable proportion to 60 cubits, this being the actual proportion in Herod's temple, as Merz himself states, p. 516, without finding it in this instance "inconceivable.") In like manner must the 60 cubits of breadth be so divided, that the 5 cubits internal breadth of the side-buildings of Solomon's temple must be enlarged to 10, which, allowing 5 cubits of thickness for the walls, would make the entire building 60 cubits wide (5 + 10 + 5 + 20 + 5 + 10 + 5). (Note: The conjecture of Merz in his above-cited article, and of Bertheau, that the dimensions of Zerubbabel's temple were double those of Solomon's, - viz. the holy and most holy places 40 cubits high and 40 wide, the upper chambers 20 cubits high, the side-chambers each 10 cubits high, and the whole building 120 cubits long, - must be rejected as erroneous, by the consideration that Herod's temple was only the length of Solomon's, viz., 100 cubits, of which the holy of holies took up 20, the holy place 40, the porch 10, the additional building behind 10, and the four walls 20. For Herod would by no means have diminished the length of his building 20, or properly 40 cubits. We also see, from the above-named dimensions, that the 60 cubits broad cannot be understood of internal breadth.) The statement in Ezr 6:4, "three layers of great stones, and a layer of new timber," is obscure. נדבּך means row, layer, and stands in the Targums for the Hebrew טוּר, "used of a layer of bricks;" see Gesen. Thes. p. 311, and Levy, chald. Wrterbuch, ii. p. 93. גּלל אבן, stone of rolling, one that is rolled and cannot be carried, i.e., a great building stone. חדת, novus, as an epithet to אע, is remarkable, it being self-evident that new wood is generally used for a new building. The lxx translates εἷς, reading the word חדה (Ezr 6:3). This statement involuntarily recalls the notice, Kg1 6:36, that Solomon built the inner court, ארזים כּרתת וטוּר גזית טוּרי שׁלשׁה; hence Merz expresses the supposition that "this is certainly a fragment, forming the conclusion of the whole design of the building, which, like that in Kg1 6:36, ends with the porch and the walls of the fore-court," Thus much only is certain, that the words are not to be understood, as by Fritzsche on 1 Esdr. 6:25, as stating that the temple walls were built of "three layers of large stones, upon which was one layer of beams," and therefore were not massive; such kind of building never being practised in the East in old times. "And let the expenses be given out of the king's house." This is more precisely stated in Ezr 6:8 of the royal revenues on this side the river. נפקא the expense (from נפק, Aphel, to expend), therefore the cost of building. Ezr 6:5 "And also let the vessels ... be restored, and brought again to the temple at Jerusalem, to their place, and (thou) shalt place them in the house of God." On the matter of this verse, comp. Ezr 1:7 and Ezr 5:14. The sing. יהך (comp. Ezr 5:5) is distributive: it (each vessel) to its place. ותחת (comp. אחת Ezr 5:15) cannot, according to the sense, be third pers. fem. (neutr.), but only second pers. imperf. Aphel: thou shalt place. None but Sheshbazzar can be addressed (Ezr 5:15), though he is not named in Ezr 6:3. The historian is evidently not giving the contents of the document word for word, but only its essential matter; hence he infers the address to Sheshbazzar from the answer of the Jewish elders (Ezr 5:15). Perhaps it was also remarked in the document, that Coresh caused the sacred vessels to be delivered to Sheshbazzar (Ezr 1:8). Ezr 6:6-12 Acting upon the discovered edict, Darius warned the governor and royal officials on this side the Euphrates, not to hinder the building of the house of God at Jerusalem. On the contrary, they were to promote it by furnishing what was necessary for the work, and paying the expenses of the building out of the royal revenues to the elders of the Jews (Ezr 6:6-8). They were also to provide for the worship of God in this temple such animals as the priests should require for sacrifice (Ezr 6:9, Ezr 6:10), under pain of severe punishment for transgressing this command as also for any injury done to the temple (Ezr 6:11, Ezr 6:12). This decree was undoubtedly communicated to the governor in the form of a written answer to his inquiries (Ezr 6:13). Without, however, expressly stating this to be the case, as Ezr 6:1 and Ezr 4:17 would lead us to expect, the historian gives us in Ezr 6:6. the actual contents of the royal edict, and that in the form of a direct injunction to the governor and his associates on this side the river: "Now Tatnai, governor, ... be ye far from thence." The suffix וּכנותהון, and their associates, is indeed unsuitable to the form of an address, of which Tatnai and Shethar-Boznai are the subjects; the narrator, however, in using it, had in mind the title or introduction of the royal letter. On this matter, comp. Ezr 5:6. רחק and רחיק, to be far from, figuratively to keep from anything, e.g., from good, Psa 53:2. מן־תּמּה, from thence, from Jerusalem; in other words, trouble yourselves no longer, as, according to Ezr 5:3, you have done about what is being done there. Ezr 6:7 "Let the work of the house of God alone." שׁבק with an accusative, to leave anything, to let it go on without hindrance. "Let the Pechah of the Jews (Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel) and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place." The ל to לשׂבי introduces a second subject with special emphasis: And as far as regards the elders of the Jews, i.e., the Pechah, and especially the elders. Ezr 6:8 "And a decree is (hereby) made by me, what ye shall do to these elders of the Jews, i.e., how you shall behave towards them (עם עבד = עם עשׂה, Gen 24:12.), to build this house, i.e., that this house may be built: namely, (ו expl.) of the royal moneys, of the custom (מדּה, see remarks on Ezr 4:13) on this side the river, let expenses (the cost of building) be punctually given to these men, that there be no hindrance." לבטּלא דּי־לא, that there be no cessation or leisure from work, i.e., that the work is not to be discontinued. On the construction of the לא with the following infinitive, comp. Dan 6:9. The Vulgate renders the sense correctly by ne impediatur opus. Ezr 6:9 "And what is needful, both young bullocks and rams and lambs, for the burnt-offerings of the God of leaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests at Jerusalem (i.e., as the priests shall require for the service of God), let it be given them day by day without fail." מה is joined with the plur. fem. of the partic. חשׁחן, and is defined by the enumeration which follows. משׁח, properly the anointing, then oil as the means of anointing. On להוא and להון, see remarks on Ezr 4:12. שׁלוּ דּי־לא, that there be no failure. Ezr 6:10 The end the king had in view in all this follows: "That they (the priests) may offer sacrifices well-pleasing to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and of his sons." ניחוחין (comp. Dan 2:46) are sacrifices agreeable to God, ניחוחין ריח (Lev 1:9, Lev 1:13, and elsewhere), i.e., sacrifices pleasing to God. Cyrus had commanded the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem, because he acknowledged the God of Israel to be the God of heaven, who had given him the kingdoms of the earth (Ezr 1:2). Darius was treading in his footsteps by also owning the God of the Jews as the God of heaven, and desiring that the blessing of this God might rest upon himself and his dynasty. Such an acknowledgment it was possible for the Persian kings to make without a renunciation of their polytheism. They could honour Jahve as a mighty, nay, as the mightiest God of heaven, without being unfaithful to the gods of their fathers; while the Jews could also, in the interest of their own welfare, pray and offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord for the life of the king to whom God had caused them to be subject (comp. Jer 29:7). Accordingly we find that in after times sacrifices were regularly offered for the king on appointed days: comp. 1 Macc. 7:33, 12:11; 2 Macc. 3:35, 13:23; Joseph. Antiq. xii. 2. 5, and elsewhere. Ezr 6:11 To inculcate obedience to his command, Darius threatens to punish its transgression with death: "If any one alters this command, let a beam be torn from his house, and let him be fastened hanging thereon." To alter a command means to transgress or abolish it. אע, a piece of wood, a beam. זקיף, raised on high, is in Syriac the usual word for crucified, and is to be so understood here. מחא, to strike, with על, strike upon, fasten to, nail to. This kind of capital punishment was customary among the Assyrians (Diod. Sic. ii. 1), the ancient Persians, and many other nations, but seems to have been executed in different manners among different people. Among the Assyrians it generally consisted in the impalement of the delinquent upon a sharp strong wooden post; comp. Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, p. 355, and Nineveh and its Remains, p. 379, with the illustration fig. 58. According to Herod. iii. 159, Darius impaled as many as 3000 Babylonians after the capture of their city (ἀνεσκολόπισε). Crucifixion proper, however, i.e., nailing to a cross, also occurred among the Persians; it was, however, practised by nailing the body of the criminal to a cross after decapitation; see the passages from Herodotus in Brissonii de regio Persarum princip. l. ii. c. 215. "And let his house be made a dunghill." See remarks on Dan 2:5 and Kg2 10:27. Ezr 6:12 Finally, Darius adds the threat: "The God who has caused His name to dwell there, destroy every king and (every) people that shall stretch forth the hand to alter (this command), to destroy this house of God at Jerusalem." The expression, "the God who has caused His name to dwell there," is indeed specifically Israelitish (comp. Deu 12:11; Deu 14:23; Jer 7:12; Neh 1:9), and therefore undoubtedly originated with the Jewish historian; but the matter itself, the wish that God Himself would destroy him who should injure His temple, recalls the close of the inscription of Bisitun, wherein the judgments of Ahuramazda are imprecated upon him who should dare to injure the image and inscription, and his blessing invoked upon him who should respect them (Berth.).

Verse 13

The execution of the royal decree, the completion of the building, and the dedication of the new temple. - Ezr 6:13 Tatnai and his associate diligently executed the commands of Darius. "Because Darius the king sent (i.e., despatched to them the letter, whose contents have just been given, Ezr 6:6), they speedily acted accordingly in the manner stated" (כּנמא). Ezr 6:14 The elders of the Jews, moreover, built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah, who thereby effected the resumption of the work, and promised them success. ב is used of the rule by which, or manner in which anything is done. "They built and finished (the building) according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artachshasta, kings of Persia." The naming of Artachshasta presents some difficulty; for since it is impossible to conceive that a predecessor of Darius is intended by a name which follows the name of that monarch, none but Artaxerxes Longimanus can be meant, and he did not reign till long after the completion of the temple. Cleric. and J. H. Mich. explain the mention of his name by the consideration that Artaxerxes, by his edict (Ezr 7:15, Ezr 7:21), contributed to the maintenance, though not to the building, of the temple. (Note: "Nam etsi," remarks Calovius in J. H. Mich., adnotatt. uber. ad h. l., "non ad structuram templi conduxerit proprie edictum Artaxerxis, quae Darii secundo anno incepta et sexto absoluta fuit, Ezr 6:15 ad ornamenta tamen et additamenta eam spectasse dubium non est: quae ab ipso, ceu rege post Cyrum et Darium erga Judaeos Persarum omnium benignissimo, profecta hic celebratur." Similarly but more briefly explained by Clericus.) It may in this instance be questionable whether the name ארתחשׁשׁתא was added by the author of the Chaldee section, or by Ezra when he introduced this into his book. We believe the latter to be the correct view, because the Chaldee section, to judge by the אמרנא, Ezr 5:4, was composed by one who lived contemporaneously with the building of the temple, while from the date of the completion of the temple to the seventh year of Artaxerxes fifty-seven years elapsed. Ezr 6:15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar (the twelfth month), which is the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. שׁיציא, according to the Keri שׁיצי, with the א dropped, is the Shaphel of יצא, to bring a thing to an end, to finish it. The form שׁיציא is not a participle pass. formed from the Shaphel (Gesen.), for this would be משׁיציא, but a Hebraized passive form of the Shaphel in the meaning of the Targumistic Ishtaphal, like חיתיוּ, Dan 3:13, and חיתית, Dan 6:18, with the active היתיו, Dan 6:17. In the Targums שׁיצי has mostly an active, and only in a few passages the intransitive meaning, to end, to be at the end; comp. Levy, chald. Wrterbuch, s.v. (Note: Instead of the "third day," which the lxx also has, in accordance with the Hebrew text, 1 Esdr. 7:5 gives the three-and-twentieth day of the month Adar, - a statement which Bertheau arbitrarily insists upon regarding as the original reading, because "the view that the compiler altered the third into the twenty-third day, because it seemed to him more fitting to assume an eight days' celebration of the dedication (comp. Kg1 8:60; Ch2 29:18), and to fill up therewith also the eight last days of the year, is rather far-fetched." Such a view, however, would be entirely consistent with the whole spirit of 1 Esdras.) Ezr 6:16-17 The sons of Israel, more exactly the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the sons of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy. חנכּה עבד = the Hebrew חנכּה עשׂה, to celebrate the dedication (Ch2 7:9). בּחדוה, Hebrew בּשׂמחה; see Neh 8:10. They brought for the dedication a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs as burnt-offerings, and twelve he-goats for a sin-offering for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, because the temple was intended for the entire covenant people, whose return to the Lord and to the land of their fathers, according to the predictions of the prophets, was hoped for (comp. e.g., Eze 37:15., Jer 31:27.), not, as older expositors thought, because certain families of the ten tribes, who had before settled in Judah, were also among those who returned (J. H. Mich. ad h. l.). Ezr 6:18 At the same time, the priests and Levites were appointed, according to their classes and divisions, to the service of the temple, that they might henceforth fulfil their office, each class in its week (Ch2 23:4; Kg2 11:9). והקימוּ corresponds with the Hebrew ויּעמידוּ, Ezr 3:8, and elsewhere. As Bertheau justly remarks, "The services of public worship, which after the completion of the temple were to be performed by the priests and Levites, according to ancient ordinance, are here spoken of." With these words the Chaldee section closes.

Verse 19

Celebration of the feast of the passover, and of the feast of unleavened bread, in the year following the dedication, as an historical testimony to the fact that the worship of God with its festivals was regularly carried on in the new temple. Ezr 6:19-20 The feast of the passover, on the fourteenth day of the first month, took place only a few weeks after the dedication of the temple. The reason given in Ezr 6:20 - for the priests and Levites had purified themselves without exception (כּאחד, like Ezr 3:9); they were all clean, and they killed the passover for all the sons of the captivity (i.e., the laity who had returned from exile), and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves - has in this connection the meaning: Then the congregation celebrated the passover, and they were able to keep and to eat the passover, because the priests had purified themselves that they might be qualified for performing the office incumbent upon them of sprinkling the blood; and the Levites were also clean, that they might be able to kill the lambs for the whole congregation (comp. the remarks on Ch2 30:17, etc., and Ch2 35:11, Ch2 35:14). From the days of Josiah, it seems to have been customary for the Levites to take the place of the heads of families (Exo 12:6, etc.) in slaughtering the passover lambs for the whole community, both priesthood and laity: for the laity, that no person who was unclean might kill the paschal lamb; for the priests, that their labours might be lightened, the sprinkling of blood and the offering of sacrifices occupying them far into the night (Ch2 35:11, Ch2 35:14-15). And this custom was followed at this time also. The priests are called אחיהם, brethren of the Levites, as in Ch2 29:34; Ch2 35:15. Ezr 6:21 Thus the sons of Israel who had returned from captivity, and all that had separated themselves unto them from the uncleanness of the heathen of the country to seek Jahve the God of Israel, could eat the passover. הארץ גּויי = הארץ עמּי, Ezr 10:2, Ezr 10:11, are the heathen races dwelling in Palestine. The expression is not essentially different from הארצות עמּי, Ezr 9:1., Ezr 3:3, and is only distinguishable therefrom, inasmuch as the latter appellation includes not merely the heathen inhabitants of Palestine, but also the heathen of other lands, as the Moabites, Ammonites, Egyptians, etc. (Ezr 9:1.). Those who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the heathen to them (the Jews) to seek Jahve, are not proselytes from heathenism (Aben Ezra, Rashi, Clericus, and others), but Israelites, who had till now lived in Palestine, and mingled with the heathen inhabitants of the land. They were descended from those Israelites whom the kings of Assyria and Babylon had not carried away from the realms of Israel and Judah, and who with respect to religion had combined heathenism and the worship of Jahve (Kg2 17:32, etc.), and thus defiled themselves with heathen impurity, but who now, after the erection of the temple, joined themselves to the new community, for the purpose of worshipping with them the God of their fathers in His temple, according to the law of Moses. For, as Bertheau rightly remarks, "in the days of Ezra the princes of the new community complain that the laity, the priests, and Levites do not separate from the people of the lands (Ezr 9:1); reference is made to the dangers which threaten the Israelites, because they dwell in the holy land among the unclean (Ezr 9:10). To separate from the uncleanness of the nations means to renounce intermarriage and other connection with them. Ezr 10:2, Ezr 10:10. They are Israelites who are summoned, Ezr 10:11, to separate from the peoples of the land; the seed of Israel is, in Neh 9:2, separated from the sons of the stranger, and in Neh 10:29 they who separate from them are evidently Israelites, for, when they bind themselves to walk according to the law of God, they are said to join their brethren, i.e., their fellow-countrymen." Hence in this passage also we cannot but regard those who separated themselves as Israelites, dissolving their connection with the heathen for the sake of the God of Israel. Ezr 6:22 Hereupon they kept the feast of unleavened bread for seven days with joy; for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned to them (i.e., had made them joyful by turning to them) the heart of the king of Assyria. With regard to the expression, comp. Ch2 20:27; Neh 12:43. The king of Assur is the Persian king Darius, who as ruler of the former realm of Assyria is thus designated. The turning of this king's heart to them consisted in this, that their hands were strengthened for the work of the house of God, i.e., that through the goodwill of the king they were enabled to complete the building of their temple, and to restore the worship of the God of Israel. On בּ ידיהם חזּק, comp. Sa1 23:19.

Introduction

How solemnly the foundation of the temple was laid we read in Ezr 3:1-13. How slowly the building went on, and with how much difficulty, we found in ch. 4 and 5. But how gloriously the topstone was at length brought forth with shoutings we find in this chapter; and even we, at this distance of time, when we read of it, may cry, "Grace, grace to it." As for God, his work is perfect; it may be slow work, but it will be sure work. We have here, I. A recital of the decree of Cyrus for the building of the temple (Ezr 6:1-5). II. The enforcing of that decree by a new order from Darius for the perfecting of that work (Ezr 6:6-12). III. The finishing of it thereupon (Ezr 6:13-15). IV. The solemn dedication of it when it was built (Ezr 6:16-18), and the handselling of it (as I may say) with the celebration of the passover (Ezr 6:19-22). And now we may say that in Judah and Jerusalem things went well, very well.

Verse 1

We have here, I. The decree of Cyrus for the building of the temple repeated. To this the Samaritans referred because the Jews pleaded it, and perhaps hoped it would not be found, and then their plea would be over-ruled and a stop put to their work. Search was ordered to be made for it among the records; for, it seems, the tribes had not taken care to provide themselves with an authentic copy of it, which might have stood them in good stead, but they must appeal to the original. It was looked for in Babylon (Ezr 6:1), where Cyrus was when he signed it. But, when it was not found there, Darius did not make that a pretence to conclude that therefore there was no such decree, and thereupon to give judgment against the Jews; but it is probable, having himself heard that such a decree was certainly made, he ordered the rolls in other places to be searched, and at length it was found at Achmetha, in the province of the Medes, Ezr 6:2. Perhaps some that durst not destroy it, yet hid it there, out of ill will to the Jews, that they might lose the benefit of it. But Providence so ordered that it came to light; and it is here inserted, Ezr 6:3-5. 1. Here is a warrant for the building of the temple: Let the house of God at Jerusalem, yea, let that house be built (so it may be read), within such and such dimensions, and with such and such materials. 2. A warrant for the taking of the expenses of the building out of the king's revenue, Ezr 6:4. We do not find that they had received what was here ordered them, the face of things at court being soon changed. 3. A warrant for the restoring of the vessels and utensils of the temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken away (Ezr 6:5), with an order that the priests, the Lord's ministers, should return them all to their places in the house of God. II. The confirmation of it by a decree of Darius, grounded upon it and in pursuance of it. 1. The decree of Darius is very explicit and satisfactory. (1.) He forbids his officers to do any thing in opposition to the building of the temple. The manner of expression intimates that he knew they had a mind to hinder it: Be you far hence (Ezr 6:6); let the work of this house of God alone, Ezr 6:7. Thus was the wrath of the enemy made to praise God and the remainder thereof did he restrain. (2.) He orders them out of his own revenue to assist the builders with money, [1.] For carrying on the building, Ezr 6:8. Herein he pursues the example of Cyrus, Ezr 6:4. [2.] For maintaining the sacrifices there when it was built, Ezr 6:9. He ordered that they should be supplied with every thing they wanted both for burnt-offerings and meat-offerings. He was content it should be a rent-charge upon his revenue, and ordered it to be paid every day, and this without fail, that they might offer sacrifices and prayers with them (for the patriarchs, when they offered sacrifice, called on the name of the Lord, so did Samuel, Elijah, and others) for the life (that is, the happiness and prosperity) of the king and his sons, Ezr 6:10. See here how he gives honour, First, To Israel's God, whom he calls once and again the God of heaven. Secondly, To his ministers, in ordering his commissioners to give out supplies for the temple service at the appointment of the priests. Those that thought to control them must now be, in this matter, at their command. It was a new thing for God's priests to have such an interest in the public money. Thirdly, To prayer: That they may pray for the life of the king. He knew they were a praying people, and had heard that God was nigh to them in all that which they called upon him for. He was sensible he needed their prayers and might receive benefit by them, and was kind to them in order that he might have an interest in their prayers. It is the duty of God's people to pray for those that are in authority over them, not only for the good and gentle, but also for the forward; but they are particularly bound in gratitude to pray for their protectors and benefactors; and it is the wisdom of princes to desire their prayers, and to engage them. Let not the greatest princes despise the prayers of the meanest saints; it is desirable to have them for us, and dreadful to have them against us. (3.) He enforces his decree with a penalty (Ezr 6:11): "Let none either oppose the work and service of the temple or withhold the supports granted to it by the crown upon pain of death. If any alter this decree, let him be (hanged before his own door as we say), hanged upon a beam of his own house, and, as an execrable man, let his house be made a dunghill." (4.) He entails a divine curse upon all those kings and people that should ever have any hand in the destruction of this house, Ezr 6:12. What he would not do himself for the protection of the temple he desired that God, to whom vengeance belongs, would do. This bespeaks him zealous in the cause; and though this temple was, at length, most justly destroyed by the righteous hand of God, yet perhaps the Romans, who were the instruments of that destruction, felt the effects of this curse, for that empire sensibly declined ever after. 2. From all this we learn, (1.) That the heart of kings is in the hand of God, and he turns it which way soever he pleases; what they are he makes them to be, for he is King of kings. (2.) That when God's time has come for the accomplishing of his gracious purposes concerning his church he will raise up instruments to promote them from whom such good service was not expected. The earth sometimes helps the woman (Rev 12:16), and those are made use of for the defence of religion who have little religion themselves. (3.) That what is intended for the prejudice of the church has often, by the overruling providence of God, been made serviceable to it, Phi 1:12. The enemies of the Jews, in appealing to Darius, hoped to get an order to suppress them, but, instead of that, they got an order to supply them. Thus out of the eater comes forth meat. The apocryphal Esdras (or Ezra), Book 1 ch. 3 and 4, gives another account of this decree in favour of the Jews, that Darius had vowed that if ever he came to the kingdom he would build the temple at Jerusalem, and that Zerubbabel, who was one of his attendants (whereas it is plain here that he was now at Jerusalem), for making an ingenious discourse before him on that subject (Great is the truth and will prevail), was told to ask what recompence he would, and asked only for this order, in pursuance of the king's vow.

Verse 13

Here we have, I. The Jews' enemies made their friends. When they received this order from the king they came with as much haste to encourage and assist the work as their predecessors had done to put a stop to it, Ezr 4:23. What the king ordered they did, and, because they would not be thought to do it with reluctance, they did it speedily, Ezr 6:13. The king's moderation made them, contrary to their own inclination, moderate too. II. The building of the temple carried on, and finished in a little time, Ezr 6:14, Ezr 6:15. Now the elders of the Jews built with cheerfulness. For aught I know, the elders themselves laboured at it with their own hands; and, if they did, it was no disparagement to their eldership, but an encouragement to the other workmen. 1. They found themselves bound to it by the commandment of the God of Israel, who had given them power that they might use it in his service. 2. They found themselves shamed into it by the commandment of the heathen kings, Cyrus formerly, Darius now, and Artaxerxes some time after. Can the elders of the Jews be remiss in this good work when these foreign princes appear so warm in it? Shall native Israelites grudge their pains and care about this building when strangers grudge not to be at the expense of it? 3. They found themselves encouraged in it by the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah, who, it is likely, represented to them (as bishop Patrick suggests) the wonderful goodness of God in inclining the heart of the king of Persia to favour them thus. And now the work went on so prosperously that, in four hears' time, it was brought to perfection. As for God, his work is perfect. The gospel church, that spiritual temple, is long in the building, but it will be finished at last, when the mystical body is completed. Every believer is a living temple, building up himself in his most holy faith. Much opposition is given to this work by Satan and our own corruptions. We trifle, and proceed in it with many stops and pauses; but he that has begun the good work will see it performed, and will bring forth judgment unto victory. Spirits of just men will be made perfect. III. The dedication of the temple. When it was built, being designed only for sacred uses, they showed by an example how it should be used, which (says bishop Patrick) is the proper sense of the word dedicate. They entered upon it with solemnity and probably with a public declaration of the separating of it from common uses and the surrender of it to the honour of God, to be employed in his worship. 1. The persons employed in this service were not only the priests and Levites who officiated, but the children of Israel, some of each of the twelve tribes, though Judah and Benjamin were the chief, and the rest of the children of the captivity or transportation, which intimates that there were many besides the children of Israel, of other nations, who transported themselves with them, and became proselytes to their religion, unless we read it, even the remnant of the children of the captivity, and then, we may suppose, notice is hereby taken of their mean and afflicted condition, because the consideration of that helped to make them devout and serious in this and other religious exercises. A sad change! The children of Israel have become children of the captivity, and there appears but a remnant of them, according to that prediction (Isa 7:3), Shear-jashub - The remnant shall return. 2. The sacrifices that were offered upon this occasion were bullocks, rams, and lambs (Ezr 6:17), for burnt-offerings and peace-offerings; not to be compared, in number, with what had been offered at the dedication of Solomon's temple, but, being according to their present ability, they were accepted, for, after a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded to the riches of their liberality, Co2 8:2. These hundreds were more to them than Solomon's thousands were to him. But, besides these, they offered twelve he-goats for sin-offerings, one for every tribe, to make atonement for their sins, which they looked upon as necessary in order to the acceptance of their services. Thus, by getting iniquity taken away, they would free themselves from that which had been the sting of their late troubles, and which, if not removed, would be a worm at the root of their present comforts. 3. This service was performed with joy. They were all glad to see the temple built and the concerns of it in so good a posture. Let us learn to welcome holy ordinances with joy and attend on them with pleasure. Let us serve the Lord with gladness. Whatever we dedicate to God, let it be done with joy that he will please to accept of it. 4. When they dedicated the house they settled the household. Small comfort could they have in the temple without the temple service, and therefore they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses, Ezr 6:18. Having set up the worship of God in this dedication, they took care to keep it up, and made the book of Moses their rule, to which they had an eye in this establishment. Though the temple service could not now be performed with so much pomp and plenty as formerly, because of their poverty, yet perhaps it was performed with as much purity and close adherence to the divine institution as ever, which was the true glory of it. No beauty like the beauty of holiness. IV. The celebration of the passover in the newly-erected temple. Now that they were newly delivered out of their bondage in Babylon it was seasonable to commemorate their deliverance out of their bondage in Egypt. Fresh mercies should put us in mind of former mercies. We may suppose that they had kept the passover, after a sort, every year since their return, for they had an altar and a tabernacle. But they were liable to frequent disturbances from their enemies, were straitened for room, and had not conveniences about them, so that they could not do it with due solemnity till the temple was built; and now they made a joyful festival of it, it falling out in the next month after the temple was finished and dedicated, Ezr 6:19. Notice is here taken, 1. Of the purity of the priests and Levites that killed the passover, Ezr 6:20. In Hezekiah's time the priests were many of them under blame for not purifying themselves. But now it is observed, to their praise, that they were purified together, as one man (so the word is); they were unanimous both in their resolutions and in their endeavours to make and keep themselves ceremonially clean for this solemnity; they joined together in their preparations, that they might help one another, so that all of them were pure, to a man. The purity of ministers adds much to the beauty of their ministrations; so does their unity. 2. Of the proselytes that communicated with them in this ordinance: All such as had separated themselves unto them, had left their country and the superstitions of it and cast in their lot with the Israel of God, and had turned from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, both their idolatries and immoralities, to seek the Lord God of Israel as their God, did eat the passover. See how the proselytes, the converts, are described. They separated themselves from the filthiness of sin and fellowship with sinners, joined themselves with the Israel of God in conformity and communion, and set themselves to seek the God of Israel; and those that do so in sincerity, though strangers and foreigners, are welcome to eat of the gospel feast, as fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God. 3. Of the great pleasure and satisfaction wherewith they kept the feast of unleavened bread, Ezr 6:22. The Lord had made them joyful, had given them both cause to rejoice and hearts to rejoice. It was now about twenty years since the foundation of this temple was laid, and we may suppose the old men that then wept at the remembrance of the first temple were most of them dead by this time, so that now there were no tears mingled with their joys. Those that are, upon good grounds, joyful, have therefore reason to be thankful, because it is God that makes them to rejoice. He is the fountain whence all the streams of our joy flow. God has promised to all those who take hold of his covenant that he will make them joyful in his house of prayer. The particular occasion they had for joy at this time was that God had turned the heart of the emperor to them, to strengthen their hands. If those that have been, or who we feared would have been, against us, prove to be for us, we may rejoice in it as a token for good, that our ways please the Lord (Pro 16:7), and he must have the glory of it.

Verse 2

6:2 The fortress at Ecbatana, the king’s summer home, was located about 300 miles northeast of Babylon. This suggests that Cyrus wrote the scroll in the summer of 538 BC. • Media was a mountainous area north of Persia and east of Assyria. This area is now inhabited by the Kurds (descendants of the Medes). • Texts introduced by the term Memorandum tended to be summaries that listed the main facts of an event for the royal archives (cp. 1:9-10).

Verse 3

6:3 This decree is recorded in Ezra 1:2-4. • The Temple’s height will be ninety feet, and its width will be ninety feet: The emendations given in the NLT textual note would make these measurements match those of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 6:2, 17, 20). But the larger measurements given here might represent the maximum size that the Persians would fund.

Verse 4

6:4 All expenses will be paid by the royal treasury. Although it seems surprising that the Persians would do this, it was consistent with Persian practice elsewhere (e.g., at Sais and Elephantine in Egypt, and at Ur in Mesopotamia). Such generosity was designed to ensure loyalty to Persia.

Verse 8

6:8 You must pay the full construction costs: This command fulfilled God’s promise through Haggai (Hag 2:7).

Verse 10

6:10 pray for the welfare of the king and his sons: In the Cyrus Cylinder (a Persian account of Cyrus’s defeat of Babylon), King Cyrus requests, “May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask [the Babylonian gods] Bel and Nebo daily for a long life for me” (see 1:1-4).

Verse 11

6:11-12 Those who violate this decree: Inscriptions and official decrees often included curses on those who opposed the will of the king (cp. Dan 2:5).

Verse 15

6:15 Israel’s second Temple was finished approximately seventy years after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. Herod the Great remodeled and expanded this Temple at the time of Christ. The Temple stood for approximately 585 years until the Roman army of Titus destroyed it in AD 70.

Verse 17

6:17 12 male goats . . . a sin offering: This blood sacrifice brought God’s forgiveness for unintentional sins, ceremonial uncleanness, or thoughtless wrong acts (Lev 4–5). Similar sacrifices were offered when Moses dedicated the Tabernacle (Num 7) and when Solomon dedicated the first Temple (2 Chr 7:1, 4). • for the twelve tribes of Israel: Although most returnees were from Judah and Benjamin (Ezra 1:5; 4:1), people from the priestly tribe of Levi are also mentioned (1:5; 2:40, 70). It is also likely that there were returnees from some of the ten northern tribes of Israel. Even if all tribes were not physically represented, the twelve sacrifices emphasized the desire for God to maintain his covenant relationship with all Israel.

Verse 18

6:18 prescribed in the Book of Moses: See Exod 29; Lev 8; Num 3. The Temple personnel operated according to the organization instituted by David (1 Chr 23–27). • This verse concludes the Aramaic section that began in Ezra 4:8.

Verse 19

6:19 The Passover celebration commemorates God’s sparing of the firstborn of each family that put blood on the doorposts of their home (Exod 12–13). This occasion was the first time any of these people had celebrated a joyous national festival.

Verse 20

6:20 purified themselves: They acted in accord with the law of Moses (see Lev 9; Num 8; 2 Chr 29).

Verse 21

6:21 and by the others in the land who had turned from their immoral customs: The exclusion of foreigners in 4:1-5 was due to their pagan religious practices, not their ethnicity (see also 9:1-2).

Verse 22

6:22 Passover was the beginning of the seven-day Festival of Unleavened Bread (see Exod 12:15-20; Lev 23:6-8), a time of feasting in remembrance of the unleavened bread eaten when Israel left Egypt. • the Lord had caused: Although Darius I was the powerful king of a vast empire, God directed his heart to help rebuild the Temple of God.

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Introduction

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 6

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Introduction

Verse 2

Verse 8

Verse 11

Verse 13

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 21

Verse 22

Introduction

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 1

Verse 13

Verse 19

Introduction

Verse 1

Verse 13

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 8

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 15

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22