Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Ezra 8

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross
Introduction

1  The companions of Ezra, who returned from Babylon.
15  He sends to Iddo for ministers for the temple.
21  He keeps a fast.
24  He commits the treasures to the custody of the priests.
31  From Ahava they come to Jerusalem.
33  The treasure is weighed in the temple.
36  The commission is delivered.
Verse 1

These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.
the chief
1:5, 1 Chronicles 9:34, 24:31, 26:32, 2 Chronicles 26:12, Nehemiah 7:70,71
genealogy
2:62, 1 Chronicles 4:33, 9:1
them that went up
7:7,13
Verse 2

Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush.
Phinehas
1 Chronicles 6:3,4-15, 24:1-6
David
1 Chronicles 3:1,22
Verse 3

Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males an hundred and fifty.
Pharosh
This variation is attributable to the translators; the original being uniformly Parôsh.
2:3, Nehemiah 7:8, 10:14
Parosh
Verse 4

Of the sons of Pahathmoab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.
Pahath-moab
2:6, Nehemiah 7:11, 10:14
Verse 6

Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males.
Adin
2:15, Nehemiah 7:20, 10:16
Verse 7

And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.
Elam
2:7,31, Nehemiah 7:12,34
Verse 8

And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males.
Shephatiah
2:4, Nehemiah 7:9, 11:4
Verse 9

Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.
Joab
2:6, Nehemiah 7:11
Verse 11

And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males.
Bebai
2:11, 10:28, Nehemiah 7:16
Verse 12

And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten males.
Azgad
2:12, Nehemiah 7:17
the son of Hakkatan
or, the youngest son.
Verse 13

And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males.
Adonikam
2:13, Nehemiah 7:18
Verse 14

Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.
Bigvai
2:14, Nehemiah 7:19
Zabbud
or, Zaccur, as some read.
Nehemiah 10:12
Verse 15

And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.
the river that runneth
Ahava is supposed to be the river Adiava, which, with the Diava, is said by Ammianus to have given name to Adiabene, a province of Assyria, through which they flowed into the Tigris. These rivers were also called respectively, Anzabas and Zabas, the Caprus and Lycus of Ptolemy; the former of which he places, at its source, in long. 79 degrees, lat. 39® degrees, and at its junction with the Tigris, in long. 79® degrees, lat. 36 degrees 6'; and the latter, at its source, in long 78 degrees, lat. 39 degrees; and where it falls into the Tigris, in long. 79 degrees, lat. 36® degrees. They are now called the Great and Little Zab, or the Zabein, i.e., the two Zabs, which, says Ibn Haukal, "are considerable streams, each about half as large as the Dejleh (or Tigris). They rise among the mountains of Azerbaijan: of these, the larger is that which runs towards Haditheh. These streams form part of the Tigris, and water the district of Semerah."
Psalms 137:1, Ezekiel 1:1, 3:15, Acts 16:13
Ahava
21,31
abode
Heb. pitched. and found.
2, 7:7,24
Verse 16

Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.
Shemaiah
13, 10:21
Nathan
10:39
Zechariah
chief men
men of understanding
18, 1 Kings 3:11, 1 Chronicles 12:32, 26:14, 2 Chronicles 2:12, Proverbs 2:6, 20:5, 28:2, Daniel 2:21, 2 Timothy 2:7, 1 John 5:20
Verse 17

And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.
Casiphia
Casiphia is supposed to denote the Caspian mountains, between Media and Hyrcania, near the Caspian Sea. It is evident, from a comparison of ch. 7:9 with ver. 31, that Casiphia could not be far from Ahava.
I told them
Heb. I put words in their mouth.
Exodus 4:15, Deuteronomy 18:18, 2 Samuel 14:3,19, Jeremiah 1:9, 15:19
the Nethinims
2:43,58, 7:7
ministers
Numbers 8:22-26, 18:6, 1 Chronicles 23:3-6,26-32, Titus 1:5
Verse 18

And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;
by the good hand
22, 7:28, Nehemiah 2:8, Proverbs 3:6
a man of understanding
16, Proverbs 24:3, Jeremiah 3:15, Daniel 1:20, 1 Corinthians 14:20
Mahli
Numbers 3:20, 1 Chronicles 6:19
Sherebiah
24, Nehemiah 8:7, 9:4,5, 10:12, 12:24
Verse 19

And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;
Hashabiah
Nehemiah 3:17, 10:11
Merari
1 Chronicles 6:1,16,19
Verse 20

Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.
Nethinims
17, 2:43, 7:7, 1 Chronicles 9:2
all of them
Philippians 4:3
Verse 21

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
I proclaimed
Judges 20:26, 1 Samuel 7:6, 2 Chronicles 20:3, Joel 1:14, 2:12-18, Jonah 3:5
afflict ourselves
Leviticus 16:29,31, 23:29, Isaiah 58:3,5, Jeremiah 31:8,9, 50:4,5
to seek
Psalms 5:8, 107:2-8, 143:8-10, Proverbs 3:6, Isaiah 30:21, 35:8, 42:16, 49:10, Jeremiah 10:23
for our little ones
Numbers 14:3,31, Psalms 8:2, Mark 10:13-16, Acts 2:39
Verse 22

For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
I was ashamed
1 Corinthians 9:15, 2 Corinthians 7:14
The hand
7:6,9,28, 1 Chronicles 28:9, 2 Chronicles 16:9, Psalms 33:18,19, 34:15,22, Isaiah 3:10,11, Lamentations 3:25, Romans 8:28, 1 Peter 3:12
his power and his wrath
Joshua 23:16, 2 Chronicles 15:2, Psalms 21:8,9, 34:16, 90:11, Zephaniah 1:2-6, Hebrews 10:38, 1 Peter 3:12
Verse 23

So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.
we fasted
Nehemiah 9:1, Esther 4:16, Daniel 9:3, Luke 2:37, Acts 10:30
besought
Jeremiah 29:12,13, 33:3, 50:4,5
and he was intreated
31, Deuteronomy 4:29, 1 Chronicles 5:20, 2 Chronicles 33:12,13, Psalms 66:18-20, Isaiah 19:22, Jeremiah 29:12,13, Matthew 7:7,8
Verse 24

Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
Sherebiah
18,19
Verse 25

And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered:
weighed
33, 1:8, 2 Corinthians 8:20,21, Philippians 4:8
the silver
7:15,16
Verse 27

Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.
fine copper
Heb. yellow, or shining brass. The Syriac renders, nechosho korinthyo tovo, "good Corinthian brass;" so called from the brass found after the burning of Corinth by Lucius Mummius, which was, as is generally supposed, brass, copper, silver, and gold, melted together. Sir J. Chardin, however, in a MS. note, cited by Harmer, mentioned a factitious metal used in the East, and highly esteemed there, which might probably be of an origin as ancient as Ezra. He says, "I have heard some Dutch gentlemen speak of a metal in the island of Sumatra, and among the Macassars, much more esteemed than gold, which royal personages alone are privileged to wear. It is a mixture, if I remember right, of gold and steel, or copper and steel." He afterwards added, "calmbac is the name of this metal, which is composed of gold and copper."
precious
Heb. desirable.
Lamentations 4:2
Verse 28

And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers.
Ye are holy
Leviticus 21:6-8, Deuteronomy 33:8, Isaiah 52:11
the vessels
1:7-11, Leviticus 22:2,3, Numbers 4:4-15,19,20, 7:13,84-88, 1 Kings 7:48-51, 1 Chronicles 23:28, 2 Chronicles 24:14
Verse 29

Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.
Watch ye
1 Chronicles 26:20-26, Mark 13:34,35, Acts 20:31, 2 Timothy 4:5
until ye weigh them before
33,34
Verse 30

So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.
the house of our God
22, 1 Chronicles 29:2,3, Psalms 122:9, Isaiah 60:13
Verse 31

Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.
the river of Ahava
15,21
the hand
22, 7:9,28, Job 5:19-24, Psalms 91:9-14, Isaiah 41:10-14, Acts 25:3, 26:22
and he delivered
Ezra and his company had now entered upon a journey of several hundred miles through the desert, which they were nearly four months in completing, encumbered with families and possessions, and carrying large treasures with them, which would invite the attempts of the Arabian hordes, and others, that infested that neighbourhood; yet, having declared to the king, "that the hand of God was upon all them for good that seek him, and that his power and wrath were against all them that forsook him," (ver. 22,) he determined to travel without a guard, except that of the Almighty, being ashamed to ask any other, after his former avowed confidence in Him! Having, therefore, humbled themselves before the Lord, and besought his guidance and protection, he was intreated by them, their enemies were restrained or disabled, and they arrived unmolested at Jerusalem.
Verse 32

And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.
7:8,9, Nehemiah 2:11
Verse 33

Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites;
weighed
26,30, 1 Chronicles 28:14-18, 2 Corinthians 8:20,21
Meremoth
Nehemiah 10:5
Uriah
Nehemiah 3:4
Urijah
Jozabad.
Nehemiah 8:7
Binnui
Nehemiah 10:9
Verse 35

Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering unto the LORD.
offered burnt
Leviticus 1:1-7, 2 Chronicles 29:31,32, Psalms 66:10-15, 116:12-19, Luke 1:74,75
twelve bullocks
6:17, Numbers 7:27
Verse 36

And they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God.
the king's commissions
7:21-24
lieutenants
4:7-23, 5:6-17
they furthered
6:13, Isaiah 56:6,7, Acts 18:27, Revelation 12:16

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