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The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:1-11
The beginning of a great religious movement. Israel had experienced long bondage in a foreign land under a heathen king; this would have a beneficial influence. 1. It would tend to cultivate within them a right view of…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:1
The sovereignty of God. Dualities are everywhere seen. Amongst these are things passive and active; things ruled over and things ruling. The mechanical heavens are active and rule the passive earth. In animated nature r…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:2
Thus saith Cyrus. Persian inscriptions do not ordinarily commence in this way; but the formula "says Darius the king," "says Xerxes the king" is frequent in them. King of Persia. So the Behistun inscription: "I am Dariu…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:2-4
The edict. When the proclamation, which captive Israel had heard of with such interest and expectation, came to be examined, what was it found to contain? Besides a proper preamble, showing in whose name and by whose au…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:3
Who (is there) among you of all his people? Cyrus does not limit his address to the Jews, or even to Judah and Benjamin, but extends it to the whole people of Jehovah, i.e. to all the tribes equally. Gozan and Media, to…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:4
Whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth. Literally correct; but the meaning is, "And with regard to all those who remain (of the captive people) in any part of the country where they have their temporary ab…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:5-11
The muster. We have noted already that the great and primary feature in the restoration of Israel from captivity was the restoration of the house. With a view to this restoration, as we have seen, the whole edict of Cyr…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:5-11
EXPOSITION THE RESPONSE TO THE DECREE (Ezra 1:5-11). The response made to the decree fell short of what might have been expected. The "patriarchal chiefs" who responded belonged solely, or mainly, to the two tribes of J…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:5
Then rose up the chief of the fathers. The "chief of the fathers" are the hereditary heads of the families recognized as distinct and separate (see Ezra 2:3-19).
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:6
All they that were about them. i.e. all their neighbours. Strengthened their hands. This is the literal rendering. The margin gives the right meaning—"helped them." With precious things. Migdanoth, a rare word, only use…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:7
The vessels. Probably all that he could find, yet scarcely all that had been taken away, since many of these were of bronze (2 Kings 25:14), and the restored vessels seem to have been, all of them, either of gold or sil…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:7-11
THE RESTORATION OF THE SACRED VESSELS BY CYRUS (Ezra 1:7-11). Following the ordinary custom of the early Oriental conquerors, Nebuchadnezzar, long before he destroyed the Jewish temple, had carried off from it, partly a…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:8
Mithredath the treasurer. Not "Mithridates, the son of Gazabar," as the Vulgate renders. The Hebrew gizbar represents a Persian word, gazabara or ganzabara, which had no doubt the meaning of "treasurer," literally "trea…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:9
Chargers. Agarteley, a rare word, perhaps Persian. The LXX. translate ψυκτῆρες, "wine-coolers;" the Vulgate has phialae, "vases;" the apocryphal Esdras, σπονδεῖα, "vessels for drink-offerings." Probably basons or bowl…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:10
Of a second sort. Not "double," as the LXX. render; but "secondary," or "of inferior quality".
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 1:11
All the vessels were five thousand and four hundred. The numbers previously given produce a total of only 2499, or less than half of this amount. There must be some corruption, but whether in the total or the items is u…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 2:1-67
EXPOSITION THE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO RETURNED FROM CAPTIVITY WITH ZERUBBABEL, AND THE NAMES OF THE CHIEFS (Ezra 2:1-64). It has been argued that the whole of this chapter is out of place here, and has been transferred hit…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 2:1
These are the children of the province. i.e. of Judaea, which was a province of Persia, distinguished here from Babylon, which was one of the capitals—a mode of speech indicating the foreign standpoint of Ezra. Unto Jer…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 2:1-70
Men forsaking the worldly life. We regard the people returning from Babylon as typical of men going out of the worldly life into the life and work of the kingdom of God. Observe— I. THAT MEN FORSAKE THE WORLDLY LIFE FRO…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 2:1-67
The muster-roll. The last chapter gave us a catalogue of the sacred vessels returned. In that portion of the present chapter which concludes with the above verses we have a similar catalogue of the sacred people returne…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 2:1-67
Spiritual significances. What signifies to us, it may be asked, the exact number of the children of Parosh and Shephatiah (Ezra 2:3, Ezra 2:4)? What does it signify to us that the heads of the returning families bore su…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 2:2
Zerubbabel, Jesbua, etc. In the corresponding verse of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 7:7) there are twelve names, one of which (it is probable) has accidentally fallen out here. The twelve are reasonably regarded as either the act…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 2:20
The children of Gibbar. For "Gibbar" we should probably read "Gibeon," which occurs in the corresponding passage of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 7:25). The writer at this point passes from persons to places, making the latter por…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ezra 2:36
The priests. Four priestly families went up with Zerubbabel. Of these, three traced their descent to persons who had been heads of the priestly courses in the reign of David, viz; Jedaiah, Immer, and Hardin (1 Chronicle…