Morning Bible Study Ezra 5 20141228 Ezr 5:1 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. Ezr 5:2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God at Jerusalem. And with them were the prophets of God helping them. Ezr 5:3 At the same time Tatnai, governor of the province Beyond the River, and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, came to them and said this to them Who has commanded you to build this house and to make this wall? Ezr 5:4 So then we said to them: What are the names of the men who are building this building? Ezr 5:5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so that they could not cause them to stop until the matter came to Darius, and answer by letter concerning this had been returned. Ezr 5:6 The copy of the letter which Tatnai, governor of the province Beyond the River, and Shethar-boznai, and his companions, the officials Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king: Ezr 5:7 They sent a letter to him, in which this was written, To Darius the king, all peace: Ezr 5:8 Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is being built with great stones, and timber is being laid in the walls, and this work goes on fast and is blessed in their hands. Ezr 5:9 Then we asked those elders and said this to them, Who commanded you to build this house and to make these walls? Ezr 5:10 We also asked their names in order to notify you so that we might write the names of the men who are the chief of them. Ezr 5:11 And they returned this answer to us, saying, We are the servants of the God of Heaven and earth. And we build the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and set up. Ezr 5:12 But after our fathers had provoked the God of Heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away to Babylon. Ezr 5:13 But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, King Cyrus gave an order to build this house of God. Ezr 5:14 And also the vessels of gold and silver from the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. Ezr 5:15 And he said to him, Take these vessels and go. Carry them into the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in His place. Ezr 5:16 Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem. And since that time even until now it has been building, but is not finished. Ezr 5:17 And therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be search made in the kings treasure house there at Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was given from Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem. And let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter. NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE Copyright (C) 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION A Corporation Not for Profit Ezra 5:1-2 “The prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel upon them.” חִתְנַבִּי without א, which this word occasionally loses in Hebrew also, comp. 1Sa_10:6, 1Sa_10:13; Jer_26:9. The epithet נְבִיָּאה added to the name of Haggai serves to distinguish him from others of the same name, and as well as הַנָּבִיא, Hagg. Hag_1:1, Hag_1:3, Hag_1:12, and elsewhere, is used instead of the name of his father; hence, after Zechariah is named, the prophets, as designating the position of both, can follow. עַל־יְהוּדָיֵא, they prophesied to (not against) the Jews; עַל as in Eze_37:4, = אֶל, Eze_37:9; Eze_36:1. The Jews in Judah and Jerusalem, in contradistinction to Jews dwelling elsewhere, especially to those who had remained in Babylon. עֲלֵיהֹון belongs to אֱלָהּ בְּשֻׁם, in the name of God, who was upon them, who was come upon them, had manifested Himself to them. Comp. Jer_15:16. Ezr_5:2 “Then rose up Zerubbabel ... and Joshua ... and began to build the house of God at Jerusalem, and with them the prophets of God helping them.” The beginning to build is (Ezr_3:6, etc.) the commencement of the building properly so called, upon the foundations laid, Ezr_3:10; for what was done after this foundation-laying till a stop was put to the work, was so unimportant that no further notice is taken of it. The “prophets of God” are those mentioned Ezr_5:1, viz., Haggai, and Zechariah the son, i.e., grandson, of Iddo, for his fathers name was Berechiah (see Introd. to Zechariah). Haggai entered upon his work on the first day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius; and his first address made such an impression, that Zerubbabel and Joshua with the people set about the intermitted work of building as early as the twenty-fourth day of the same month (comp. Hag_1:1 and Hag_1:14.). Two months later, viz., in the eighth month of the same year, Zechariah began to exhort the people to turn sincerely to the Lord their God, and not to relapse into the sins of their fathers. Ezra 5:3-5 When the building was recommenced, the governor on this side Euphrates, and other royal officials, evidently informed of the undertaking by the adversaries of the Jews, made their appearance for the purpose of investigating matters on the spot. עֲלֵיהֹון אַתָּה, came to them, to the two above-named rulers of the community at Jerusalem. Tatnai (lxx Θανθαναΐ́) was פֶּחָה, viceroy, in the provinces west of Euphrates, i.e., as correctly expanded in 1 Esdras, of Syria and Phoenicia, to which Judaea with its Pecha Zerubbabel was subordinate. With him came Shethar-Boznai, perhaps his secretary, and their companions, their subordinates. The royal officials inquired: “Who has commanded you to build this house, and to finish this wall?” The form לִבְנֵא here and Ezr_5:13 is remarkable, the infinitive in Chaldee being not בְנֵא, butמִבְנֵא; compare Ezr_5:2, Ezr_5:17, and Ezr_6:8. Norzi has both times לִבְּנֵא, as through the Dagesh forte were compensating for an omitted .מ אֻשַּׁרְנָא which occurs only here and Ezr_5:9, is variously explained. The Vulgate, the Syriac, and also the Rabbins, translate: these walls. This meaning best answers to the context, and is also linguistically the most correct. It can hardly, however, be derived (Gesenius) from אָשַׁר, but rather from אָשַׁן, in Chaldee אָשׁוּן, firm, strong-walls as the strength or firmness of the building. The form אֻשַּׁרְנָא has arisen from אֻשַׁנָּא, and is analogous to the form בָּשְׁנָה. (Note: The interpretations of the lxx, τὴν χορηγίαν ταύτην, meaning these building materials, and of 1 Esdr. 6:4, τὴν στέγην ταύτην καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα, this roof and all besides, for which Bertheau decides, without considering that שַׁכְלֵל may mean to complete, and not to prepare for anything, are but conjectures.) Ezr_5:4 Then told we them after this manner (כְּנֵמָא, Ezr_4:8), what were the names of the men who were building this building. From אֲמַרְנָא, we said, it is obvious that the author of this account was an eye-witness of, and sharer in, the work of building. These is not a shadow of reason for altering אֲמַרְנָא into אֲמַרוּ, or into the participle אַמְרִין (Ew., Berth., and others); the εἴποσαν of the lxx being no critical authority for so doing. The answer in Ezr_5:4 seems not to correspond with the question in Ezr_5:3. The royal officials asked, Who had commanded them to build? The Jews told them the names of those who had undertaken and were conducting the building. But this incongruity between the question and answer is merely caused by the fact that the discussion is reported only by a short extract restricted to the principal subjects. We learn that this is the case from the contents of the letter sent by the officials to the king. According to these, the royal functionary inquired not merely concerning the author of the command to build, but asked also the names of those who were undertaking the work (comp. Ezr_5:9 and Ezr_5:10); while the rulers of the Jews gave a circumstantial answer to both questions (Ezr_5:11-15). Ezr_5:5 Tatnai and Shethar-Boznai had power to prohibit them from proceeding; they allowed them, however, to go on with their work till the arrival of an answer from the king, to whom they had furnished a written report of the matter. In these dealings, the historian sees a proof of the divine protection which was watching over the building. “The eye of their God was over the elders of the Jews, that they should not restrain them (from building) till the matter came to Darius; and they should then receive a letter concerning this matter.” Bertheau incorrectly translates יְהָךְ לד עַד־טַעְמָא: until the command of King Darius should arrive. לְ is only used as a paraphrase of the genitive in statements of time; otherwise the genitive, if not expressed by the status construc., is designated by דְּ or דִּי. יְהָךְ, fut. Peal of הֲלַךְ, formed by the rejection of ל, construed with לְ, signifies to go to a place (comp. Ezr_7:13), or to come to a person. טַעְמָא (טְעַם) does not here mean commandment, but the matter, causa, which the king is to decide; just as פִּתְגָּן, Ezr_6:11, means thing, res. The clause יְתִיבוּן וֶאֱדַיִן still depends upon עַד: and till they (the royal officials) then receive a letter, i.e., obtain a decision. Ezra 5:6-8 In Ezr_5:6-17 follows the letter which the royal officials sent to the king. Ezr_5:6 and Ezr_5:7 form the introduction to this document, and correspond with Ezr_5:8-11 in Ezra 4. Copy of the letter (comp. Ezr_4:11) which Tatnai, etc., sent. The senders of the letter are, besides Tatnai, Shethar-Boznai and his companions the Apharsachites, the same called Ezr_4:9 the Apharsathchites, who perhaps, as a race specially devoted to the Persian king, took a prominent position among the settlers in Syria, and may have formed the royal garrison. After this general announcement of the letter, follows the more precise statement: They sent the matter to him; and in it was written, To King Darius, much peace. פִּתְגָּן here is not command, but matter; see above. כֹלָּא, its totality, is unconnected with, yet dependent on שְׁלָמָא: peace in all things, in every respect. The letter itself begins with a simple representation of the state of affairs (Ezr_5:8): “We went into the province of Judaea, to the house of the great God (for so might Persian officials speak of the God of Israel, after what they had learned from the elders of Judah of the edict of Cyrus), and it is being built with freestone, and timber is laid in the walls; and this work is being diligently carried on, and is prospering under their hands.” The placing of wood in the walls refers to building beams into the wall for flooring; for the building was not so far advanced as to make it possible that this should be said of covering the walls with wainscotting. The word אָסְפַּרְנָא here, and Ezr_6:8, Ezr_6:12-13; Ezr_7:17, Ezr_7:21, Ezr_7:26, is of Aryan origin, and is explained by Haug in Ew. Janro. v. p. 154, from the Old-Persian us-parna, to mean: carefully or exactly finished-a meaning which suits all these passages. Ezra 5:9-10 Hereupon the royal officials asked the elders of the Jews who had commanded them to build, and inquired concerning their names, that they might write to the king the names of the leading men (see the remark on 3 and 41). בְרָאשֵׁהֹם דִּי does not mean, who are at the head of them: but, who act in the capacity of heads. Ezra 5:11 The answer of the elders of the Jews. They returned us answer in the following manner (לְמֵמַר = לֵאמֹר): “We are His, the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house which was built many years ago; and a great king of Israel built and completed it.” דְּנָה מִקַּדְמַת, of before this, i.e., before the present; to which is added the more precise definition: many years (accusative of time), i.e., many years before the present time. Ezra 5:12 For this reason (לָהֵן), because (מִן־דָּי = מֵאֲשֶׁר, e.g., Isa_43:4) our fathers provoked the God of heaven, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, and he (Nebuch.) destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. For כַּסְדָּיָא the Keri requires כַּסְדָּאָה, the ordinary form of the absolute state of the noun in ai. סְתַר, Pael, in the sense of destroy, appears only here in biblical Chaldee, but more frequently in the Targums. עַמָּה, its people, would refer to the town of Jerusalem; but Norzi and J. H. Mich. have עַמָּהּ, and the Masora expressly says that the word is to be written without Mappik, and is therefore the stat. emphat. for עַמָּא. Ezra 5:13-14 In the first year, however, of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus made a decree, etc.; comp. Ezr_1:3. The infin. לִבְנֵא like Ezr_5:3. - On Ezr_5:14 and Ezr_5:15, comp. Ezr_1:7-11. וִיחִיבוּ, praeter. pass. of Peal; they were given to one Sheshbazzar, (is) his name, i.e., to one of the name of Sheshbazzar, whom he had made pechah. Zerubbabel is also called פֶּחָה, Hag_1:1, Hag_1:14, and elsewhere. Ezra 5:15 Take these vessels, go forth, place them in the temple. For אֵלֶּה the Keri reads אֵל, according to 1Ch_20:8. אַחַת is imperat. Aphel of נְחַת. The three imperatives succeed each other without any copula in this rapid form of expression. The last sentence, ”and let the house of God be built in its place,” i.e., be rebuilt in its former place, gives the reason for the command to deposit the vessels in the temple at Jerusalem, i.e., in the house of God, which is to be rebuilt in its former place. Ezra 5:16 In virtue of this command of Cyrus, this Sheshbazzar came (from Babylon to Jerusalem), and laid then the foundations of the house of God, and from that time till now it has been building, and is not (yet) finished. שְׁלִים, part. pass. of שְׁלֵם, often used in the Targums and in Syriac for the Hebrew תָּמַם; hence in Dan_5:26 the Aphel, in the meaning of to finish, and Eze_7:19, to restore. This statement does not exclude the cessation from building from the last year of Cyrus to the second of Darius, narrated Ezra 4-6:7, as Bertheau and others suppose, but only leaves the unmentioned circumstance which had been the cause of the delay. If the section Ezra 4:6-23 does not refer to the building of the temple, then neither is a “forcible interruption” of the building spoken of in Ezra 4; but it is only said that the adversaries frustrated the purpose of the Jews to rebuild the temple till the time of Darius, and weakened the hands of the people, so that the work of the house of God ceased. Ezra 5:17 After thus representing the state of affairs, the royal officials request Darius to cause a search to be made among the archives of the kingdom, as to whether a decree made by Cyrus for the erection of the temple at Jerusalem was to be found therein, and then to communicate to them his decision concerning the matter. “And if it seem good to the king, let search be made in the kings treasure-house there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king.” עַל טָב הֵן, like the Hebrew עַל טֹּוב אִם, Est_1:19, for which in older Hebrew לֹו טֹּוב, Deu_23:17, or בְּעֵינַיִם טֹוב, Gen_19:8; Jdg_10:15, and elsewhere, is used. גִּזַיָּא בֵּית, house of the treasure, more definitely called, Ezr_6:1, house of the rolls, where also the royal treasures were deposited. Hence it is obvious that important documents and writings were preserved in the royal treasury. תַּמָּה, there, is explained by ”which at Babylon.” רְעוּת, chald. voluntas, comp. Ezr_7:18. Concerning the behaviour of these officials Brentius well remarks: vides differentiam inter calumniatores et bonos ac probos viros. Una eademque causa erat aedificii templi, unus idemque populus Judaeorum; attamen hujus populi causa aliter refertur ab impiis calumniatoribus, aliter a bonis viris. Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament Johann (C.F.) Keil (1807-1888) & Franz Delitzsch (1813-1890) God calls us all to seek and obey His will. In this case Jerusalem listen and obeyed His calling, Just as we are to listen and obey Gods calling. We are to obey the will of God and we find that will by listening and praying, reading and studying His Word. We are so fortunate to have God speak to us not only through meditation but also His word. Wont you come to God and listen to His will for you!! Revelation From God
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 14:35:06 +0000
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