Ezra 2:65

Besides their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven,.... This shows that the greater part of those that returned were of the poorer sort, since

Beside their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and there were among them two hundred singing men and singing women. No JFB commentary on these verses.

For women as well as men were devoted to and employed in this exercise in the temple service, as appears from ,6. And the parents of these persons had taken care to instruct and exercise them as far as they could in this art, both for God’ s service, and for their own benefit, when Jerusalem and the temple should be rebuilt; which they knew would be done after Jeremiah’ s seventy years were expired.

Ezra 2:65 Beside their servants and their maids, of whom [there were] seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and [there were] among them two hundred singing men and singing women.Ver. 65. Beside their servants, &c.] Their masters’ necessary instruments, καιολωςεκεινων, saith Aristotle, and wholly at their command. See Proverbs 12:9. Two hundred singing men and singing women.] That sang at feasts and funerals. See Ecclesiastes 2:8. These perhaps might have been as well spared. Nam ad quod prosunt eiusmodi artes (saith one), et quis eiusmodi hominum eas profitentium usus, nisi ut aliis sint oneri, et cibum potumque egenorum, sicut locustae, praerodant atque consumaut? (Funccius).

(65) The Rabbis accounted for these “ut lætior esset Israelitarum reditus,” in order that the return of the Israelites might be more joyful; but they were hired for lamentation as well as joy; and here, possibly, to supply the defect of Levites. In Nehemiah (Nehemiah 7:67) there are 245: see for the probable reason of the mistranscription the 245 of the next verse in that chapter.

65. their servants and their maids] R.V. their menservants and their maidservants, which is more accurate. and there were among them] R.V. and they had. The R.V. is certainly right. The meaning is not that singing men and women were included among the servants, but that ‘the whole congregation’ (Ezra 2:64) had in attendance, besides their servants, their troop of singers. singing men and singing women] The mention of these has caused some difficulty. (1) Singers have already been mentioned (Ezra 2:41). (2) It has been thought that mention of cattle would be expected by the side of the other beasts. The suggestion has been made that we ought to read ‘oxen’ (sh’vârim) for ‘singing men’ (shôr’rim), that the latter word having been introduced by a copyist’s error, the words ‘and singing women’ were added to give completeness to the verse. The conjecture is ingenious but is based on a misapprehension. (1) The singers mentioned in Ezra 2:41 are a Levitical guild, set apart for the Temple services. The singers mentioned here are professionals employed at banquets, feasts &c., or funerals (2 Chronicles 35:25). Such ‘singing men and singing women’ often belonged to the most degraded class. There is nothing strange then in their being mentioned after the menservants and maidservants. A passage in Ecclesiastes 2:7-8 exemplifies their position ‘I bought menservants and maidens …; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks …: I gathered me also silver and gold …: I gat me men singers and women singers and the delights of the sons of men, concubines very many.’ The possession of professional singers was clearly a sign of luxury (cf. 2 Samuel 19:35). The mention of them shows that there were several very wealthy men among the ‘congregation’. But it is only natural that their place in the list should follow after the mention of the ordinary servants. (2) There is no need here to introduce ‘cattle’. The animals mentioned in the context are beasts of burden (see chap. Ezra 1:4; Ezra 1:6). ‘Oxen’ would be out of place in the list. We are told nothing of the flocks and herds, which the people brought with them. And if it be objected that oxen were used as beasts of burden, it may fairly be answered (a) that they would scarcely be mentioned first in the list, (b) that where they are found in a list (1 Chronicles 12:40) they are mentioned last and by a different name. The number of singers here mentioned Isaiah 200. In Nehemiah 7:67 and 1Es 5:42 it Isaiah 245, in all probability a copyist’s error whose eye had caught the number ‘245’ in the verse following.

65-68. Servants… horses… camels — To some of these the returning Jews were helped by their wealthy friends and neighbours who remained in Babylon, (Ezra 1:4; Ezra 1:6;) but probably not a few of the