15 Ezra

57!

THE BOOK OF

EZRA AND NEHEMIAH E ZRA I. T HE RE TURN F R O M EXILE

AN D THE RE BUILDING OF THE TEM PLE

1'2 C h 36: 22-2 3 / r 25 :11·/2; 29:10 Z c 1: / 2 Is 4 5: 1

E x 3:22 : 11:2 ; 12:35

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IIN e7:6-72

The return of the exiles Now in the first yea r of C yrus king of Pers ia," to fulfil the word of Ya hweh that was sp o ken through Jerem ia h, I, Ya hweh ro used the spirit of Cy rus king of Persia to issue a proclamatio n a nd to ha ve it publi cly d isplayed thr o ughout his ki ngdom: · 'Thus spea ks Cy ru s king o f Persia, " Ya hweh, the G od o f heaven, has given me all the kingd oms o f the ear th ; he has or dered me to b uild him a Tem ple in Jerusa lem , in J udah .' -W hoeve r ther e is a mong yo u of a ll his people," may his God be with him ! Let him go u p to Jer usa lem in J udah to build the Temp le of Ya hweh. the God of Israel -s-he is the God who is in Jerus a lem. 'A nd let each sur vivor ,' where ver he lives, be helped by the peo ple of tha t place with silve r a nd gold , with goo ds an d cattle, as well as vol unta ry offer ings for the Temple of God whic h is in Jeru sa lem." 'j T hen the head s of fa milies of J uda h and of Benja min, the priests a nd th e Lev ites, in fact a ll whose spirit had been rou sed by God , pre pa red 10 go an d reb uild the Te mp le of Yahweh in Jer usa lem ; -a nd all t heir neighb ours ga ve the m every assistance with silver , go ld. goods, cattle, quanti ties of costl y gifts" a nd with voluntary offerings of every kind. King Cy ru s took the vessels of the Temple of Yahweh which Nebuchad nezzar ha d carried away fro m Jerus alem and dedicated to the temple of his god .• Cyrus, kin g of Per sia, handed th em over to Mithred ath, the tr eas urer, who co unted them out to She shbazza r, the p rince of Judah. h • T he inve ntory was as follows : thirty gol den bow ls for offer ings; o ne tho usa nd a nd twent y-nine silver bo wls fo r -offerings ; - thirty gold en bowls ; fou r h undred a nd ten silver bow ls ; o ne thousa nd other vessels.' - In all , five tho usa nd four hundred vessels of go ld a nd silve r. Sheshbazzar took all the se with him when the exiles travelled back fro m Ba bylon to Jerusalem.

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:~ so ns of Azgad , one tho usa nd two hund red and twenty-two ; -sons of Adonikam, :~ six hund red a nd sixty-six; 'so ns o f Bigvai, two thousa nd a nd fifty-six ; -sons of Ih Ad in, four hundred and fifty-fo ur ; 'sons of Ater, th at is to say of He zeki ah , : ~ ninet y-eight ; ' son s of Beza i, three hund red and twenty-three ; 'sons of J orah, 1') o ne hu ndred a nd twelve ; ' so ns of Hashum, two hundred and twen ty-three ; ;\' sons o f Gibbar, nine ty-five ; 'men of Bethleh em , one hundred a nd twenty -t hree ; 'i men of Neto pha h, fifty-six ; •men of Anathoth , one hundred and twenty-eight; l,~ men of Beth -azrnaveth, fo rty-two; - rnen of K iriath -jearirn, C hephi rah a nd ' h Beeroth, seven hun dred a nd fort y-three ; 'men of Ra mah and G eba, six hu nd red ,~ a nd twenty-one ; ' men of Mich mas, one hundred a nd twenty-two ; 'men of Bethel ;~ a nd Ai, two hund red and twenty-t hree; -so ns of Nebo, fifty-two; -sons of \I Magbish, on e hund red an d fifty-six ; 'sons of a not her Elam , on e tho usand two :; hund red and fifty-fou r; -son s o f Ha rim. three hundred and twenty; 'men of II Lod , Hadi d and O no, seven hundred and twe nty-five; 'men of Jer icho , three " hun d red a nd for ty-five ; ' son s of Senaa h, three tho usa nd six hundred a nd thi rty. Ne3:3 II . T he pr iests: so ns of Jcdaiah, that is to say the Ho use of Jeshua, nin e hundred : ~ a nd sevent y-three ; 'sons of Im mel', on e tho usa nd a nd fifty-two; 'so ns of Pashhu r, \ 'j o ne t housa nd two hu nd red a nd forty -seven; ' sons o f Harim, o ne tho usand an d seventeen . III T he Levite s: son s of Jc sh ua, that is to say Ka d miel, Binn ui, Hodaviah, N e 12:24 seventy-four. he cantors:" so ns of Asap h, o ne hun dr ed a nd twen ty-eight. " TThe gat ekeepe rs: so ns o f Sha llum, so ns of Atcr, so ns of Ta lman, son s o f Ak kub, so ns of Hat ita . son s of Shoba i: in al l, one hundred and thirty-ni ne. II T he oblates:" so ns of Z iha , son s of Has upha, so ns of Tab baoth , -sons of N~ tt II I Keros, sons of Sia ha , sons o f r adon, -sons of Leba na h, so ns of Hagabah , sons If, of Ak kub, -son s of Hag a b, so ns o f Sham lai, so ns of Ha nan , -son s of G iddel, II so ns of Gahar, so ns of Rea iah , ' SOIl S of Rezin, so ns o f Nekod a, so ns of Gazza m, I:~ nns of Uzza , son s o f Pasea h, so ns o f Bcsa i, -so ns o f Asnah, so ns of the Meunites, SO ilS o f the Ncphisites, -sons o f Ba kbuk, SOilS of Hak upha , so ns of Ha rhur, SO ilS o f Baz luth, so ns of Mehida, so ns of Harsha, 'sons of Barkes, son s of Sisera, Sl' ns of Tema h, -son s of Neziah, so ns of Hat ipha. T he so ns of Solom on 's slaves : so ns of So ta i, so ns of Hasso phe reth, so ns of " l'cru da, -sons of Jaa lah . so ns of Da rk on, so ns of Gid del, 'sons of She phatia h, •. The co nq ues t of Ba b ylo n by C yr us dales From

rnlurion fr o m t he bo o ks of th e C h ro nicler a nd so me-

III autum n of 539 : th e firs t yea r o f h is rer an (o ver thc II,Ih)'lo nia n empire ) beg ins in N isa n ( March -A pr ill 5.lN.

I,III NI .

tim es provides a useful chec k on the text of Ezr a nd !':c.l h. Leader of the first par ty of imm lgra nt s, see In trodu ct io n . i. Tex t co rr. 2 a . I'his lis t. p laced he re by the a u tho r becaus e it is necessa ry for the na r ra tive th at fo llow s. is ta ken from (he M em oirs of N eh em iah. whe re it is used as a basis for th e re po p u la tion of Jer usale m in a bout 44 5. Even if the list include s succe ssive part ies ofi mmtara rus. il s ti ll se ems t ha t a co nsid er a ble nu mb er retu rned with Zcr ubba bc l. who hea ds t he list. The text ha s been ....o rr cct eu wit h th e hel p of Ne 7 :h-72 . t he G reek version an d I Esd 5:4-45; t hese co n ta in vari a nt s o f th e names an d lig ures. h. T welve in all ; the; number o f the tribes o f Israel. c. T he luyfol k ar e list ed by cla n fo r th e UDPer clas ses. by pla ce- of origin for the low er,

II. T he expression apparentl y in cl udes t he ex iles IIn lU th e N . Kingd om , But cr . v. 5. I' . l'cc hnical term fo r the faith fu l nu cleu s o f Isr ael Ih'll hud taken shape du rin g the Ex ile. cf'. Is 5 1:7 ; 49: 13 ntl,1 1 1l 4 : 3 ~ . f. I his ed ict appears in the fo r m of a n rocla ma tlc n . III Il chr.. by p ublic hera ld s to t he exiled Je ws a nd no d
d . No t re ck one d among the Levit es, un like 3: 10. O ne grou p onl y is menti oned. unli ke 1 C h 6: 16f. e . T he o rig in of [he Net hinirn Cgiven o ne s' IS th e literal mea nin g o f this Hebr . wor d a nd of the correspo nd ing G reek) is described in Jos 9:27. Th e 'so ns of So lo mo n's slaves' ( v 55 an d Ne I I:3) are de scendants of pri so ners o f war o r of for ei gners su bject to fo rced la bo ur. Th ese tw o groups did the men ia l wo r k o f the Te mp le ( wo odc u tters. wa ter-ca rri ers) . Cf. Ezk 44:7-9. T hey rese m ble th e ' o bla tes' of t he medie va l m on asteri es.

h . T he ' seve nty '

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The list of the returning exiles a

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EZR A

T hese were the people of the pro vince who retu rned from captivity and exile. I After being deported to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king o f Ba bylo n, they re tu rned to Jerusalem a nd to Judah, each to his own town .• T hey a rrived with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Naharnani, Mordeca i, Bilsha n, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baa na h. b T he list of the men of the people of Israel:' ' so ns of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two ; -sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy- 4 two; -sons of Ara h, seven hundred a nd seventy-five ; ' sons o f Paha th-moa b, ~ th a t is to say the so ns of Jeshua an d Joab , two thousan d eight hu nd red a nd twelve ; sons o f Ela m, one thousand two hundred an d fifty-four ; -sons of Za ttu, nine ~ hundred and fo rty-five; 'so ns of Zaccai, seven hundred an d sixty ; -so ns of Yo Ba ni, six hun dred and forty-two; ' son s of Bebai , six hundred a nd twenty-th ree ; 11

rea rs o f ca m iviry fo re to ld b}.· I n- nn nh is a r o un d number. t ho ua b it co u nt be IIllde l to e d literally by ma k ing t hc s u biec u on o f Judah hrll in wit h t he reign or Jchoiak im (609 ). d . 2 K 2-t: I. I h' na t t played b y Cyr us is de cla red in Is 4-t:2S : 4 5: If. c . lhe Per sia n ki ngs we re as a whole extremel y . ~ n l t l . lI h e t ic to wa rd s (he religion s o f th e s ubje ct ed I " "lIlc!!; th ey rein sta ted a mi act ivel y su ppor ted t hem ~ tu te Io..cc ping a measur e o f co n tro l. T hei r a u trud c IllWllldli the je wish r etimon was no ex cep tio n . It is It' lllllh ic th a t J uda ism fu rth er ben efit ed be cause of the 1' 1111111" sp ecia l dev o ti on to ' the Rod s of he a ven' , nhwe h , wh o in the official do cum ent s is al ways re ferre d 10 l l !l ' t he G od of heaven ' rna}' ha ve been t ho ugh t of In the sup reme god ac kn o wledged by th e Persia n

EZRA

2 S l i:27: ! 9: J 2f IK 2-7

5 72

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so ns o f Ha uil. so ns o f Pochcrcth-haz-zebaim . sons of Ami . •T he tota l of the oR oblates a nd the so ns o f Solomon', slaves: t hree hundred a nd ninet y-two . The following. who came' 1'1'0111 Tc l-mcla h, Tel-ha rsha, Cherub, Ad da n and 59 Im me l', cou ld not prove tha t thei r families a nd an cestr y were o f Israc lite orig in: sons of Dela ia h, so ns of Tob iah, so ns o f Nekoda: six hun d red a nd fifty-two. 60 And amo ng the priests: so ns of Hahaiah, so ns of Ha k koz , so ns of Barz illai. who 61 had married one of the da ughte rs o f Harzillai, the G ilead itc, whose name he adopted .• These peo ple sea rc hed in their ancestral registers but could not be 62 located in them, so they were exc luded from the priesthood-as unc lean -and His 6 .1 Excellency" forba de them to eat the sacred foods" until a priest co uld be found fo r the Urirn a nd T humm irn .' T he whole assembl y nu m bered fo rty-two t housa nd three hu ndred a nd sixty 64 peo ple, - ri o t coun ting their slaves and ma idser vants to the number of seven 65 tho usa nd three hundred a nd thirty-seven. T hey also had two hund red male and fema le singers. •The ir ho rses numb ered seven hun d red a nd thirty-s ix, their mule s 66 two hund red a nd fort y-live, -r hcir ca mels four hu ndred a nd thirty-five and the ir 67 d onkeys six thou sa nd seven hund red and twen ty. W hen they a rr ived at the Tem ple 0 1' Ya hweh in Jerusa lem, a ce rta in numb er 6R of head s of fa milies mad e vo luntary offering s fo r the Temple o f Go d, for its re build ing on its site. -In acco rda nce with the ir means they ga ve sixty-o ne 69 thousa nd gold d rachmas, five thou sand silver minas and one hundred pr iestly ro bes to the sacred fu nds . The pries ts, Levites an d part o f the people sett led in Jer usale m; the gate keepers. 70 canto rs, oblat es a nd a ll the ot her Israelites, in their ow n towns. The resump tion of worship

11Ne7:72b: H:I

IK R:h-t ! Dn9;::!S

Ex2 3: 14 !Nb:2S:3-S

1 C h22 :4 2C h2:9. 14

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NbI 0:5 \

PsIOO:S I : (]6

J r 33: 11

W hen the seventh mon th ca rne a nd the so ns o f Israel were in their ow n tow ns, 3 they a ll gathered as o ne man in Je rusale m." -Jeshua so n o f Jo zada k, with his brother priests, a nd Zc ru h ba bcl so n of Shca lticl , with his brothe rs," bega n to

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rebuild the a ltar o f the God of Israel. to o ffer holoca usts there , as it is writte n in the Law o f Moses the ma n of God. -The a lta r was set u p o n its o ld site," .1 despite the ir fea r o f the sur rou nd ing peoples, a nd o n it they offered ho loca usts to Ya hweh, ho loca usts morning a nd eveni ng; -t hcy celebra ted th e fea st of 4 Ta bern acles, acc ording to the written Law . with as man y da ily holo cau sts as a re orda ined for each da y ; -thcn , in addit io n to the perpetual holocaus t. they offer ed t hose prescribed for the sa bba ths," New Mo on feasts and a ll the so lem nities sacred to Yahweh, as well a, those volunta ry offerings made by ·ind ivid ua ls to Yahweh .' • From the first da y o f the seventh mo nth they bega n otTering 6 holoc a usts to Ya hwe h, though the fo undat ion s o f the sa nctua ry of Ya hweh had not yet bee n laid.' T he n they ga ve money to t he mason s and ca rpenters ; to the Sid o nia ns and 7 Ty rian s they ga ve food, d rink a nd o il, so tha t they wo uld bring ced a r wood from Le ba non by sea to Ja ffa, for wh ich Cy rus king of Pe rsia had given permi ssion. " It was in the second mon th of the seco nd year " afte r t heir arr ival a t the Temp le s o f God in Je rusa lem tha t Zeru bbabe l son of Shealtiel an d Jeshua son of Jo zada k, with the rest of t heir brothers, the pr iests, the Levites a nd a ll the peo ple who had returned to Jerusa lem fro m capt ivity, bega n th e wo rk; they a ppo inted the Levites who were twen ty years old or mo re to superintend the wor k o n the Te m ple o f Ya hweh.' -So Jcshua, his so ns a nd his b roth ers, with Kad miel, Binnui an d Hodavia h.: ag reed to superintend the workme n at the Tem ple of G od. k W he n the builders had laid the founda tions of the sa nctua ry o f Ya hweh, the 10 pr iests in line linen' ca me with trumpets, and the Levites, the so ns of Asa ph, with cymbals, to praise Yahweh accord ing to the ordinances of Dav id king of Israe l; - they cha nted pra ise a nd thank sgiving to Yahweh, ' Fo r he is good, for I I h is lo ve for Israe l is eve rlast ing". And all the people sho ute d aloud the pra ises o f Ya hwe h, since the foundatio ns of the Temple of Ya hweh had now been laid .

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EZRA

True, many pr iests and Lev ites, many heads of fam ilies, who were then old and had seen with their own eyes the earlier Temple on its foundations, m wept aloud, but many others rai sed their voices in shouts of joy. -And nobody could dist inguish the shouts of joy from the sound of the people's weeping ; for the people shouted so loudly that the noise could be heard far away.

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An indictment of the Samaritans: their tactics under CyrusBut when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a sanctuary for Yahweh, the God of Israel, -they came to Zerubbabel and Jeshu a > and the heads of families a i.d said, 'We would like to build with you, for we seek your God as you do and we have sac rificed - to h im since the time of Esarhaddo n king of Assyria, who brought us here' ." -Zerubbabel, Jesh ua, and the ot her heads of Israelite famil ies repl ied, 'It is not righ t that you shou ld join us in building a Temple for our God; we alone may bui ld for Ya hweh, the God of Israel, as we were ordered by Cyrus king of Persia' . Then the people o f t he co untry ' set out to dishearten and frighte n the people of Juda h from build ing any fu rther; -they lured counsellors! aga inst them , to defea t thei r pu rpose. T h is lasted throughout the reign of Cy rus kin g of Pers ia and un til the reign of Dari us king of Pers ia.

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Samaritan ta ctic s under Xerxe s and Artaxerxesr At the beginning of the reign of Xe rxes " they' lodged a complai nt aga inst the inh a bitants of J udah and Jerusa lem. In th e time of Ar taxerxes,' Mithredath , Ta beel and the rest of their colleagues denounced Jerusalem" in writing to Ar taxe rxes king of Pe rsia. The text of the document was in the Ar a ma ic scr ipt and the Ar amaic la nguage. Then Re hum t he governor' and Shimshai the sec retary wro te the followi ng lette r denounc ing Jerusa lem to Ki ng Artaxerxes-· Re hum the governor and f. The decision was lat e r re ve rsed, a t least fo r th e so ns of Hakk o z, Ne 3:4 .2 .; Ezr 8:33. g . The governor. probably Sheshbazzar a t t his Period. is ca lled by his title of hon our. Tirshat ha , a Persian word apparently meaning 'His Reverence '; it recu rs in Ne 7:6 5.6 9 : R:9; 10:2 . The governor does not interfere in religiou s affairs . Ezek iel's instructi on s have borne fruit . cf. Ezk -1-5: 7·1 7 ; 46:1-10.12.1 6-1 8. h . On this p ries tly p rlv iteg e sec Lv 22 :IOf : 10:14-15. i. To consult God by means of the sacred lots , cf I S 14:41 +. The hieh p r iest ha s not therefore ye t bee n inves ted: cf. Zc J . 3 a . The same phrase (corr.) is used (0 de scribe thi s tl rst gathering o f the imm ig rant s and th e o ne orga niz ed h)-' Ez ra, Ne 7:72b-8: I. b. The mention of Zerubbabet a nd Jes hua a s tuking this initiative is ed itorial. T he work ha s be en o llh: ia lh' assigned 10 S hes hba zzar, 5:l3-1 6: 6: 3·5 . c . 'o n it s si te' G ree k, Syr ., c f. 2:6 8 ; ' on it s found auon s' Hebr. d . ' fo r the sabbat hs' 2 Esd. cr. 2 Ch 2:3 : o mitted hv l lc br . e. ' Vo lunrarv sa cr ifices as OPPos ed to tho se PI esc ri bed by the Law or o bligatory as th e res ult of a V I I \\', cf. Lv 7: 11+ . r, Fo r th e C hronicler thi s is a res u mp tion of th e who le sys tem of worsh ip as lai d d own by th e ' P ries tly' tex ts o f the L aw. 1:, Prepar a tio ns sim ilar to those m a de fo r So lo mon's

re mote. II, H z 1:14 : 2:IO f a nd Zc 4:9 p ut th e beg inn ing II I th e wor k in the second yea r of D a rius : it a ct uully began un d er C yr us, Ez r 5: 16, but ca n h a ve m ade lillie Progress. I. It is a c ha racter istic of t he Chronicler to give puuniuenc e to t he Levu es . I. ' Ih nn ui an d H od a viah ' corr.. c f. 2:40 ; 'and hi s I" " HI , the so ns of J uda h' Hebr. k , Th e Hebr. a dd s ' the sons o f He na d ad, the ir lio n a nd th eir br others' , glo ss fo llo wi ng N e 3:18, 24;

10:10 . J. 'in fine lin e n ' corr.• cr. 2 Ch 5:12,

m. ' o n its fou ndations' cor r.: ' w he n the foundations wer e be ing laid' Hebr., whi ch adds ' t ha t is . o f th e T emple '. 4 a , Hg 1:2 blamed th e de la y in b uilding the Temple (from 538 to 520) on the ind iffe re nce of the J ews . The C h ro n icle r e m p hasises the Samari tan o pposit ion . b . 'Jes hu a' Greek; omitted b y Hebr . c . ' we h ave sacrificed' cere, Greek. Svr. : ' we do not sacrifice' Hebr. d . This deportation s ho uld perhaps be related 10 Esarhaddon's Egyptian campaign a nd to the capture o f Tvre (670 ; see Is 7:8b (according to t he H ebr. readi ng 'six ty-five Years'). e. The exp ression ' pe o ple of the c o u ntry' (' a m ba ' ar ez) means primarily those wit h la nd e d p ropert y, 2 K 23 :30,35, as opposed to those who have no ne (dalla tll ha'oret) , The re ference her e is to Sa m a ri ta n se tt lers, see 10:2,11: Ne 10:31f: t he expression is th e refo re ass u m ing a reli gio us sense. that o f common fo lk ignorant of the Law a nd in a permane nt sta te of legal impurity. f. Ro ya l o fficials re siden t in Samaria, g . He re th e 'A r a m a ic so urc e ' begins : it e nds at 6: 18. T he C hr o n icler , ho we ve r, su m m a r ises a sect io n of it , in H eb r. : vv. 6-7. h . E n d of 486 to beginnin g of 48 5, i , Those mentioned in v . 4 , i . A rtaxe rxe s I (465-424) . k , Lit. ' wr o te against Jer us al e-m' corr . : ' w r o te wi th t he a gr eement (of M ith re d a th)' G reek, Arab .• Sv r.: 'btshla m' Cag a inst Je rus a lem ') is re ga r ded by 1 Esd, V u lg, as t he n a me of the le adi ng p lain tiff. I. Governor of Sa ma ria , cf . v, 17. Sa maria wa s the c a pita l of the pr o vin ce which st ill in cl ud ed Juda h : it s governor th e re for e ha d superviso ry righ ts over Jerusa lem .

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N c 1:3+

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S h ims ha i the sec retary and t he rest of thei r colleagues, the judges and legates, Persian o fficia ls, th e people of U ru k, Ba byl o n a nd Susa-that is, t he Ela m itesand the other peo ples whom Assu rb a n ipal the G rea t deported a nd set tled in th e to w ns of Samaria a nd in t he re st of T ra nse u p hr at es.'" T h is is a copy o f t he letter the y sen t: 'To Ki n g Artaxerxes, fro m your ser va nts , the peo ple of Transeu phrates: ' Whereas - t he kin g shoul d be info r med t hat the Jews, who have co m e u p from you r co untry to Jerusalem, are no w re bui ldi n g th a t rebellio us a nd wic ked c ity ; they a re wo rk ing to re st o re the walls, and th e founda tio ns are a lrea d y la id ," and whereas the kin g shou ld be informed t ha t if t his city is rebui lt a nd the wa lls a re resto red, they will refuse to pay t ribu te, custo m s or to lls, a nd that in sho rt th is city w ill damage the au th ority o f t he k ings, -and whereas , because we eat th e salt of th e pal ace, it does not seem p ro per to us to see thi s affront o ffe red to t he k ing; we t herefo re se nd thi s infor ma tion to t he k ing -so that a search m a y be made in t he a rc h ives of yo ur an cestors: in wh ich ar chi ves you will find it pr o ved th at t his city is a rebelliou s city , th e ba ne of t he kin gs a nd t he provinces, a nd th a t sed iti on has bee n stirred up t here fro m a nc ient ti mes ; wh ich is why this city wa s destroy ed . - We inform the kin g th at if th is city is rebuilt and its wa lls a re restored , you will so o n have no terri to ries left in Tra nse up hrates.' The kin g sent t his reply: 'T o R ehu m the governor, to Shi m sh ai the secretary, a nd to the rest o f th ei r co lleagues resident in Samaria and elsewhere in Tra nse up h ra tes, pe ace ! ' Whereas - the document you sent to me has bee n t ranslated a nd rea d before m e, -a nd by my o rd ers search has been made, and it has been foun d t hat fro m an c ient tim es thi s c ity has rise n a ga inst k ings a nd that rebellion an d seditio n have been con t rived in it ; -and that po we rfu l kin gs have reigned in Jerusalem , w ho d o minated all Tra nseuphrates,v exact ing tribute, cus to ms a nd tolls, you must now o rder th e wo r k of these men to cea se im med ia tely: th is c ity is not to be rebuil t until I give fu rt her orders. - Beware of neg ligence in th is ma tt er le st fu r the r harm be do ne to t he king's interests.' A s soon as the copy of King A rta xerxes' d ocu me nt had bee n read before Re h urn the go verno r; " Sh imshai t he sec retary a nd their co lleagues , they hurried to the J ews in Jerusa lem a nd stopped their work by force of a rms .

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"Who gave you authority to build this Temple and to do this woodwork?" We a lso a sked their names so that you might be informed ; hence we have been able to list t he na mes o f those who a re superintending these me n . 11 'They gave us t h is answer , "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth ; we a re re bu ild in g a Temple wh ich u ntil recen tly had been stand ing for 12 many years and which was b uilt and fin ished by a great king of Isr ael. - But our ancestors angered the God of hea ve n a nd he delivered t hem int o the po wer o f Nebuchadnez za r th e C ha ldaea n, king of Ba bylon , who destroyed that T em ple and 13 deported the peo ple to Ba by lon . -I n th e fir st year of C yr us ki ng of Ba byl o n, 14 however , K ing Cyrus a u t ho rised t he re building o f t h is Te m ple of God; - fu rt he rm o re, those vesse ls o f go ld an d silver bel on gin g to t he T em ple o f God, whi ch N eb uc had nezz a r ha d re m o ved fro m th e sa nct ua ry in J eru sa lem and ta ke n to th a t of Ba bylo n, K ing Cyru s in tu rn re m o ved fro m t he sanctuary in Bab ylon an d h anded ba c k to a m a n ca lled Shesh bazzar, whom he appointed high com15 missione r, -wit h the words: T a ke t hese vesse ls ; go and return them to t he sa nctua ry in Je rus a lem a nd let t he Te m ple o f G od be rebu ilt on its original site; 16 t he aforesaid S hes h baz zar th erefo re came and lai d the foundations of t he Te m ple of God in Jer usa lem ; th ey hav e been b ui ldi ng it eve r since,' a nd it is still not finis hed." 17 'Where for e, if it please the king, let sea rc h be made in the k ing's munimen t rooms in Ba by lo n , t o find o u t if it is true that Ki ng C yr us gave permission fo r th e rebuilding o f t h is T emple o f God in J e rusa le m . A nd let the k ing's decision o n this matter be se nt to u s.' 1 T he n, o n the order o f K in g D a rius, a search was made in Babylon ia in the m uni ment rooms w he re t he a rc h ives were ke pt ; -a t Ec ba ta na , the fortress situated in t he p rov ince of M ed ia, a sc ro ll wa s found whi ch ran thus: 'Mem orandu m . 'I n th e firs t year of Cyrus th e kin g, K ing C yrus decreed : "Tem ple o f G od in Jeru sal em . " T he T emple will be rebui lt as a place a t wh ich sa cr ifices a re o ffe red and to wh ic h offeri ngs are broug ht to be b urnt. a Its he ight is to be sixty CUbits, its widt h 4 sixty cubi ts . " -T he re a re to be t h ree th icknesses of sto ne blocks a nd one o f wo od .' , The expense is to be met by the king's ho use hol d. - F ur t her m o re, t he vesse ls o f gold and silver from the T em ple of G o d which Nebuchadnezzar took from th e sanctuary in Jerusalem a nd b rough t to Babyl o n are to be resto red so t ha t everyth ing may be re stored to the sanctuary in J e rusal em and be pu t back in the T em ple of God ." :" 'W he refore, Tattcnai , sa tr a p o f Transeu phrates, She t ha r-boz enai a nd yo u, 7 t he ir colleagues, t he offic ia ls of Tra nse up h ra tes, wit hd ra w fr om there; -Ie a ve th e high co mm iss ion er of J uda h' a nd the elde rs o f th e Jew s to work o n t his H Te mple of God; t hey are to re b uild th is Tem ple of God o n its a ncient site . -T h is, I decree, is how yo u must ass ist the elders of the Je ws in the reconstructio n of this Te mple of God: the expenses of t hese people are to be pa id, p romptly a nd

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Th e buil ding of the Templ e (520-5 15 H.C.) vThus th e work o n the T em ple o f God in J erusal em was brought to a standstill; it re m ained interrupted until the second year of t he reign of D a r ius k in g o f Pe rsia . 1i~i~ T hen the prophets H a ggai a nd Zecha ria h son of Id do began to prophesy to th e J ews of Judah a nd Jerusalem in the na me of the God of Israel w ho was with them. -At this, Zeru b babel son o f S heal tiel a nd Je shua son of Joza d a k st a rted again to bu ild t he Temple o f G od in J erusalem ; t he p rophets o f G od we re with t he people, giving them coura ge." -It was then that T a tt ena i, satrap o f Tra nseu p h ra tes, Shethar-bozena i and th eir colleagues came to them and asked, ' Who ga ve you authority to build thi s Temple a nd to do t his wo odwork ? "W ha t are the names of th e men responsible for th is b uilding?' -B ut the eyes of th eir God were on the elders o f the Jews; they were not compelled to sto p whi le a report on the m atter was sent to D a rius a nd a n official ed ict aw a ited . Copy of the letter that Tattenai, satrap of Transeuphrates, Shethar-bozenai an d his colleagues, the o fficial s in Transeu ph rates, sent to King D a riu s. -They sent a report to him whi ch ran as foll ows: 'To K ing D a rius, all peace! -T he ki ng shoul d be info rmed th at we went to t he district o f J uda h, to th e Te mple of t he gr ea t God: it is being built of blocks o f stone; the wa lls ar e being panelled wi t h wo od ; t he work is bei ng done w ith great care a nd ma kes progress in th eir ha nd s. - Q uestio ning the eld ers , we asked,

EZRA

24

1

2

3

6

m. ' the towns' G ree k: ' the tow n' H cbr. T he Heb r. l ll l d ~ ' whe reas' , cr. v. l lc. T he lis t o f Sama r itan nhu ntiff s includes the hig hes t a u thor it ies in th e prov in ce , the lead in g Persian offic ia ls a nd the heads of th e va rio us groups of se tt lers according to their cou ntr ies

t he work on ly be ga n then . T he lea di ng Da rt played by Zer ub babel is stressed by Hg an d Z c. bu t h ere the 'ciders' co me to th e for e. v. 5. b . Add. (cf. v. 9 b ) ' t he n we as ked ' : var. 'the n t he y as ked ' .

III orunn .

6 7

8

9

I

n . '( the foundat io ns) arc lai d ' cf. 5:16; 'th ey are ",ulem hling [or: re pa iri ng] ( the fo u nd a ti ons)' H ebr. o . Delibe r a te ly exag ge ra ted a llu sion to th e emp ire s ell Dav id and Solomon. p. 'the governor' o ne He br . MS . vers ions . Q . Ed itoria l verse lin k in g wha t fo llow s wi th 4:5 . ~ 11. T hese two ver ses co m bine info r ma ti o n fro m II i und Zc. The in it ial e nt h usia sm for building t he I CI1lD le. stimu la ted by Shesbbazzar . 5: 16. had petered uut , and in the a ut umn of 520 there was not hin g to "huw but ruins . Hg 1:4. It m a y therefor e be said t hat

1:4+

I UJ

Z

c. The el de rs em bro ide r the fac ts. cf. 4: 1-5. 23-24. to p re vent t he a u tho r isa tio n of 538 from la psing. 6 a . 'o fferi ng s brought to be b u rn t' co r r. , cf 1 Esd 'i ts found ation ' He br. b. Text corrupt. c, 'one' (i. e . course of wood) Greek; ' ne w' u.e. new wo o d, o ne co u rse) He br. T he wo od lines the wall on the inside . cr. 5:8. d . 'e ve ryth ing' added by coni. ' m a y be rest ored ' ve rsi ons ; 'YOU w ill re place it' Gree k . e. ' e!' Judah' 1 Esd; 'of the Jews ' Hebr,

b..,

,EZRA

Ps 30:1

without fail, from the royal revenue-that is, from the tribute of Transeuphrates. What they need for holocausts to the God of heaven: young bulls, rams and lambs, as also wheat, salt, wine and oil, is to be supplied to them daily, without fail, as requ ired by the priests of Jerusalem, -so that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the lives of the king and" his sons . I also decree this: If anyone disobeys this edict, a beam is to be torn from his house, he is to be pilloried upright on it and his house is to be made into a dung heap for this crime .• May the God who causes his name to live there overthrow any king or people who dares to defy this and destroy the Temple of God in Jerusalem! I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be obeyed to the letter!' Then Tattenai, satrap of Transeuphrates, Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues obeyed to the letter the inst ructions sent by King Darius.• The elders of the Jews, for the ir part, pros pered with their building, inspired by Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building in accordance with the order of the God of Israel a nd the o rder of Cyrus a nd of Darius." •T his Temple was finished o n the twenty-third day of the mo nth of Adar ; it was the sixth year of th e reign of King Darius." -T he Israe lites-t he priests, the Levites and the remainder of the ex ilcst-e-joyful ly dedicat ed this Temple of God; for the dedication of this Temple of God they offered o ne hun dred bulls, two hu nd red ram s, four hund red lam bs and, as a sac rifice fo r sin for the whole of Israel , twelve he-goats, correspo nding to the nu mbe r of the tribes of Israe l. T hen they install ed the priests according to their order s in the service of the Te mple of G od/ in Jeru salem, as is written in the Boo k of Moses."

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The Passover of 515 B.C. 2!

E:d2:1 1-

Ps 47:9

The exiles celebrated the Passover on the four teent h day of the first mo nt h. 19 The Levites, as one man, had purified themselves; a ll were pure, so they sacr ificed 20 the passover for all the exiles, for the ir brothers the pr iests and for themse lves.' The follow ing ate the passover: the Israel ites who had returned from exile and 21 all those who, having broken with the impurity of the surround ing peoples, joined them to seek Yahweh, the God of Israe l. -For seven days they joyfully" celebrated the feast of Unleavened Bread, for Yahweh had given them cause to rejoice, having moved the heart of the king of Assyr ia to encourage their work on the Temple of God, the God of Israel.

23 24

25

26

II. THE ORGANISATION OF THE COMMUNITY BY

EZRA AND NEHEM IAH

After these events, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, -son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 'son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, -son of Ze rah iah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 'son of Abishua, son of Ph inehas, son of Eleazar, son of the chief pr iest Aaron, b • this man Ezra ca me up from Babylon . He was a scribe versed' in the Law of Mose s, which had been given by Ya hweh, t he G od of Israel. As the favour of his God, Ya hweh, was with him, the king gave him all he asked . ·A certa in nu mber of Israelites, priests, Levitcs, ca ntors, ga tekeepers and o blates went up to Jer usalem in the sevent h yea r of the reign of King Artaxerxes .• He a rr ived in Jer usa lem in the fifth mo nth : it was the seventh yea r of the king's reign, • for he had decided to depa rt from Ba bylon on the first da y of the first month , a nd he arrive d in Jer usalem on the first day of the fifth mon th ; the kindly favour of his God was certainly with him. • For Ezra had devoted himse lf to the study of the Law of Ya hweh, to practising it and to teaching Israe l its laws a nd customs.

7

7:2>l .x. I,~ Nl.: 2:X,I R

Ps 11'1:45

The edict of Artax erxesT his is a cop y of the document which King Ar tax erxes handed to Ezra, the priest -scribe, the scribe who was especially learn ed in the text of Ya hweh' s comma nd ments and his laws relating to Israel : 'Artaxerxes,r king of kin gs, to the priest Ezra , scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, perfe ct peaceJ 'Here then are my or ders: Anyo ne in my kingdom who is of the peopl e of Israel, of their priests or their Levites a nd who freely chooses to go to Jerusalem , may go with yo u.• For you are sent by the king and his seven co unsellors to make an insp ect ion of J uda h a nd Jerusalem according to the Law of yo ur God, which is in your possession , -a nd als o to ca rry the silver a nd go ld which the kin g and his co unsello rs ha ve volunta rily offered to the Go d of Israel who dwells in Jerusale m, -as well as all the silver a nd gold yo u find in th e whole pro vince of Bab ylon ia, together with those voluntary offerings given by the peop le an d the priests for the Te mple of their God in Jerusa lem. • Fur ther, with this money take pa ins to buy bull s, rams a nd lambs, as well as the ob lat ions a nd libat io ns which go with th em; you must offer them on the altar of the Temple of yo ur Go d in Jerusalem. -T he gold a nd silver left ove r you may spend as yo u and yo ur brot hers think right , according to the will of yo ur Go d . • Place the vessels th at ha ve been given you for the ser vice of the Te mple of yo ur God before yo ur Go d in Je rusalem. For a nything else necessary for the Tem ple of your G od, which yo u may find occasion to provide, you may d raw on the roya l treasury . •I, K ing Artaxerxes, give thi s command to a ll the treasur ers of T ra nseuphrates: Whatever the priest Ezra, scribe of the La w of the G od of heaven , may ask of you must be instantly allowed : • up to one hun d red ta lents of silver , one hund red measu res of wheat, one hu ndred baths of wine, one hundr ed ba ths of oil, and salt as reque sted. Everything th at the Go d of heaven commands must be car ried out zealo usly fo r the Temp le of t he God of heaven, lest the wra th shou ld co me o n the rea lm of the king and of his son s. •Yo u are also informed that it is forbidden to impose tr ibu te, cus tom s or tolls o n an y of the priests, Levites, cantors , ga tekeepers, ob lates ; in short, o n th e servants of this Temple of Go d. • And you, Ezra , by virtue of the wisdo m of your God, which is in yo ur posses sion,' you a re to a ppoi nt scribes" and j ud ges to administer ju stice for the whole people of Transeuphrates, that is, for all who kno w the Law of your Go d.' Yo u must teach th ose who do not know it. • If an yone does not obey the Law of your G od-which is the law of the king-let j udgement be st rictly executed on him: death, bani shment, confiscation or imp risonment.' f. Prayer for a pa ga n sov ereign is encouraged Jr 29:7; Ba 1:10-11 ; J M 7:33 ; cr. a lso R m 13:1-7 ;

The mission and personality of Ezra" I 3

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E ZRA

in a n o r ien tal cou r t. The title of ' scr ibe ' therefor e (vv. 12 a nd 21) ind ica tes t hat Ezra was a kin d o f mi nis ter for Jewi sh a ffa irs at the Pe rsia n co urt. Bu t I P 2:13· 17. g . The H e br. adds 'a nd of A r tax erxe s. k ing o f the C hro nic ler , th in king of E zr a' s activi ty in J er usalem. Pe rs ia ' . Ne 8:8+ . gives the officia l tit le a relig io us meani ng ; h. ' t he twen ty-th ird d ay ' I Esd : ' the thi rd da y' th e sc r ibe is the man wh o reads. tra ns lates, expou nds Heb e. The date is April Is t S IS, T h is Te m p le, the Law to God' s pe op le. E zra is th e fa the r o f th ese re modelled by H erod th e G rea t . cf. In 2:20 + , was in scri bes who d iet m uch go od wor k in the po st-e xilic lise for 585 yea rs : it wa s de str oyed by T it us in 70 A . D. period . whic h was co n tin ued by th e sc r ibe s (g ra mma te is) of the time of C hris t. i. T he elit e of th e co m m u n it y. cf. 4: I . I. ' of the Temple of God' Svt. , Rec . Luc.: ' of G od ' He be. and G ree k . d . N o te three po ints abou t the ed ict : i . the per k . T he Ara maic doc ume nt ends here . Vv. 19-22 m iss io n for Jews livi ng in Baby lon to sett le' in Judah. a rc fro m th e Ch ro n icler 's pe n. I, A t the beginning of th e verse the Heb r. ha s v , 13 ; ii. the ele va tio n of the Mosaic La w ( 0 the sta tus ' T he p riests a nd', bu t cf. v. 20b ; 2 C h 35:11. The of law o f the state, vv. 25 -26 ; not o n ly the Palestinia n C hro nicler characte ris tically represent s the Levne s as co m mu n ity. v , 14, b ut also the Jewish co m m u ni ties sla ugh tering the paschal vict ims , cf 2 C h 35:6 .1 I . F or west of the E up hrates , v, 25. a re to be gove rn ed on the b asis of th is La w. whic h is to be obli gatory for all . II long time lay men had done so . D t 16:2; E x 12:6 . 7 a . Vv. 1·11 are b y the C h ro nicler : he uses Ezra ' s v , 26 ; iii. th e financial arrangement s, 'I V. J5-20. O n the re lig io us policy o f the Persia n k ing s. see 1:2 + . re po r t, see Introduct ion . b. T he ge ne al og y of Ezra acco mm od ates the exiles ' e. Vv. J2-26 are in A ra maic . f . ' peace ' I Esd , svr.: o m itt ed by H e br. a nx iety to see a d uly ac cr edited pr iesthood. 2:62 ; 8:2. Hut it has probably been co nst r ucte d by t he C hro nic ler 11: . The Law. h. 's cri bes ' G reek ; 'j udg es' H ebr . wit h I C h 5:28f as its fou nda ti on . i. 't he law' G re ek, I Esd ; 't he la ws' H eb r. To c. Li t. ' r a pid scribe', cf. Ps 45:1. T he ir sk ill in the a u o f wri ti ng made the scr ibes Indispensable officials ' kn o w' the La w is to obse rve it.

,

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1:2+

2Ch17 :9 Es t 8:125

)~

7: 27

7:6

The journey of Ezra from Babylonia to Palestine Blessed be Yahweh , the G od of our ancest or s, who moved the king' s hea rt in 27 th is way to glorify the Temp le of Yahweh in Jeru salem -and who won for me 2 8 the favour of th e king, his cou nsellor s an d all the mos t power ful of the king's officials. F or my pa rt , I took cour age, for the favou r of Ya hweh my G od was with me, and I gathered the leadin g men of Israel together to set out with me. Th ese, with their geneal ogies, are the heads of fam ilies who set ou t fr om 1 Babylon with me in the reign of King Artaxerxes:" Of the sons of Phinehas : G ershom; of the son s of It hamar: b Daniel; of th e sons of D avid: H attush -son of Shecaniah ; of th e son s of Paros h: Zecha riah, 3 with whom one hundred an d fifty male s were registered ; •of the sons of Pa hath- 4 moa b: Eliehoenai son of Ze rahiah, and with him two hundred males ; - of the 5 sons of Zattu: Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him th ree hund red mal es ; of the sons of Ad in: Ebed son of Jonat han , an d wit h him fifty males ; - of the ~ sons of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males ; - of t he 8 sons of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him eight y male s; -of 9 t he sons of J oa b: Obadiah son of Jeh iel, and with him two hun d red and eighteen males; -of the sons of Bani : Shelomith son of Jos iphiah, and with him a hundred 10 and sixty males ; · of the sons of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 11 twenty-eight males; -of th e sons of Azgad: Jo hanan son of Ha kkatan, and wit h 12 him a hundred and ten males ; - of the son s of Ado nikam: the younger so ns, 13 whose names are : Eliphelet, Jeiel and Shernaiah, and with t hem sixty ma les; -and of the sons of Bigvai: Ut ha i son of Za bud , and with him seventy 14 ma les. I assembled t hem near th e river that runs to Ahava,: where we cam ped for 15 three day s. O bser ving them I saw laymen an d priests , bu t no Levites. - So 16 I dispatched Eliezer, Ariel, Shema iah , Elnat han , Jarib, Elnat ha n, Nathan, Zechar ia h an d Meshullam, men of ju dgement , -and sent th em to lddo, the 17 lead ing ma n in the region of Casiphia; I to ld them the words t hey were to say to Iddo and his kinsmen, living in the region of Casiphia, to provide us with servants for the Te mple of ou r God .• Then, th ank s to t he kindl y favo ur I S of our G od which was with us , they sent us a capable man, of the sons of Ma hli son of Levi son' of Israel, Sherebiah with his so ns and kinsme n: eighteen men; also Hashabiah and with him his brother Jeshaiah of th e sons of Merari, as 19 well as their sons: twenty men; -and of the oblates whom David and his notables 20 had assigned to serve the Levites: two hundred and twenty oblates. All were reg istere d by na me. T here, beside the river of Ahav a, I proclaimed a fast: we were to humb le 21 ourselves befo re our God an d pray to him for a successful journey for us, o ur children an d our belongings ; -since 1 should have been ashamed to ask the 22 king for an armed guard and cavalry to protect us from a n enemy on the ro ad, for we had alrea dy told th e king, 'The hand of o ur G od is held out in blessing over all who seek him, his power and his anger over all who turn away fro m him' . So we fasted, pleading with our G od for thi s favou r, an d he answered our 2 3 praye rs. 1 chos e twelve of the lead ing pries ts, an d then Sherebiah an d H asha biah 24 and with them ten of the ir kinsmen ; . 1 weighed ou t for them the silver, th e gold 2 5 an d the vessels, th e offerin gs that the king , his counsellors, his nobles an d all the Israelites present had prese nted for the Temple of our God. -So I weighed 26 ou t an d handed o ver to them. six hund red and fifty talents of silver, one hundred silver vessels wort h two talents," one hundred talen ts of gold, -twenty golden 27 bo wls wort h a thousan d darics an d two vessels of fine gilded bronze which were as valuabl e as gold . · 1 told the m, 'Yo u ar e consecrated to Yahweh; thes e 28 vessels ar e sacred; the silver and gold ar e voluntary offerings to Yahweh, the G od of you r ancestors . •Take charge of the m an d guard them until you weigh the m 29

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7:6

2:43+

N e 2:9

J) I ~I

EZRA

579 30

31

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EZRA

before the leading priests, the Levites and the heads of families of Israel in Jeru salem in the chambers of the Temple of Yahweh.' •The priests and Levites then took charge of the silver, the gold and the vessels thus weighed , to ta ke them to Jerusalem to the Temple of our God. On the twelfth da y of the first month we left t he river of A hava to go to Je ru salem; the favour of our G od was with us and protected us on the mad from enemies and thieves.• We arrived in Jerusalem and stayed th ere, resting , for t hree da ys. - O n the fourth da y the silver, the gold and the vessels were weighed in the Temple of our Go d a nd handed over to the priest M ererno th so n of Uriah an d, with him, Eleaza r so n of Phinehas ; with them were the Levites J oza bad son of Je shua and Noadiah so n of Binnui.• Number and weight , all was there . T he tot al weight was put on record. At th at time · those who came back from captivity, the exiles, offered holocausts to the G od of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israe l, ninety-six rams, seventy-two lambs, twelve he-goats for sin; the whole as a holocaust to Yahweh. The kin g's instructions were notified to the king 's sat raps and the governors of Trans euph ra tes, who then assisted the people and the Temple of God . The marriages with foreigners dissolved a

M I2 :I O ~1 2

Once this was done, the leaders approached me to say, 'T he people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, have not broken with the nat ives of the countries who are steeped in b abominations-Canaanites, Hitt ites, Perizzites, Jebusites, A mmonites, Moabites, Egyptians an d Amorites-· but have found wives among these forei gn women for themselves and for thei r sons; the holy race has been mingling with the natives of the countries; in this act of treachery the chief me n and officials have led the way' . · At this news I tore my garment and my cloak ; I to re hair from my head and beard and sat down , quite overco me. •All who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered round me, when faced by this treachery of the exiles. c For my part, 1 went on sitting there, overcome, until the evening oblation . · At the evening sacrifice 1 came out of my stupor a nd falling on my knees, with my ga rment and cloak torn, I stretched out my ha nds to Ya hweh my God, - and said :" ' My God, I am ashamed, 1 blus h to lift my face to you, my God. For our crimes hav e increased, until they are higher tha n ou r head s, and ou r sin ha s piled up to heaven . •From the days of our ancestors until now our guilt ha s been great ; on account of our crimes we, our kings and our priests, were given into the power of th e kings of other countries, given to the sword, to cap tivity, to pillage and to shame, as is the case today. -But now, suddenly, Ya hweh our Go d by his favour has left us a remnant and granted us a refuge in his holy place; this is how our G od has cheered our eyes and given us a little resp ite in our slavery. Fo r we ar e slaves ; but God has not forgotten us in our slavery; he has shown us kind ness in the eyes of the kings of Persia, obtaining permission for us to rebuild th e Temple of our God and restore its ru ins, and he has found us sa fety and shelter in Judah and in Jerusalem. • But now what can we say, my

Nc9:2

9

H a, The group wh ich r eturned w ith Ezra nu mbered fo r bidde n. G n 4 1:45 ; 48:5f: N b 12:lf; R l 1:4; 2 S 3:3 . ubout 1500 men besides wo men a nd ch ildren; ' a b o ut They we re how ever for bid d en by Dr to co mba t ido la try . 50(lO in all . The layfolk arc divide d into twe lve fam ilies . wh ich pagan women te nde d to b ri ng with them int o 1I1l arrangemen t favoured by Ez r a. 8:2 4 .35 . So me the home. Dt 7: 1-4. cf. 23 :4f. The dan ger increased names have been correct ed fo llowing 1 Esd a nd vers io ns . after the Ex ile p robably be cau se the ma jor ity of th e b. T he descendants of I tham ar ha d su ffered the return in g ex iles were men. The rea so n fo r the di vo rce co nseq uences of the d isg ra ce of t heir a nce sto r A bia tha r is st ill reli giou s. 9: 1.11, but a seco nd reason n ow ( I K 2 :27) and mi n istered in the prov incia l shrines. em erg es : concern fo r racial purity, 9:2 . Tho ugh In the Jerusalem of th e C hro ni cler's time they were be lo ng in g to the same period . Rt a nd Jon rep resen t rep resent ed by eight priestly gro ups. a nd the de- an e ntire ly d ifferen t sch ool of tho ught. sce nd a nts of Eleazar (t he Zadok ites) by sixt een , 1 Ch b. 's teeped in' Greek; 'a cco rd ing to' Hebr. 1.4 :4 . c . T he Jewish commu nit y in ge ner al is ca lled after c . Site u nk now n. its m ost d isting u ished p art , the Gola h (exile s). 4:1 ; d . ' two talents' corr . 6: 16; 10:6.8.16 ; cf. Is 4:3 + . d . T h e prayer of Ezra. wh ich is al s o a se rm o n . is 9 II. In an cient Israel su ch marriages were not in sp ir ed by Dr and the prophets. v v, 11f.

D t 7:1 +

Nc9:2

P s I19:136 Is 66:2.5

2Ch30:1 5 P s 38:4 D n 3:24

Is4:3 +

Ps106:46

EZ R A God, if after this kindness we ha ve desert ed your command ments, -wh ich, through your servants the prophets, you ordain ed in these words, "The land g~f~~~j you are ent ering to pos sess is a land un clea n becau se of the fo ulness of the natives of the countries a nd of t he abomi nations with which their impurities' D t 7:3 have infected it fro m end to end. •So you must not give your da ughters to the ir sons no r take their daughters for your sons; you must not be co ncerned for t heir peace or their prosperity, so that you yourselves may grow strong, ea t t he best of wha t the co untry prod uces and leave it as an inheritance to your sons for ever." 'Now after all tha t has co me upo n us on account of our evil deeds an d our great fault - although you, our God, have rated I our crimes less than the ir wickedness and left us this remnant here -·are we to break your commandments again and intermarry with these people who practise such abominations? Would you not be pro voked to th e point of destroying us, so that not even the smallest remnant would survive? •Ya hweh, God of Israel, by your justice- we survive as the remnant we are today; here we are before you with our sin. And because of it, no one can survive in your presence.' While Ezra, weeping and prostrate before the Temple of God, prayed and confessed, a grea t crowd of Israelites gathered round him , men , women and children, weeping bitterly too. -Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel , one of th e sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, 'We have betrayed our God by marrying fore ign women, taken from the natives of the countries. But , in spite of th is, there is still some hope for Israel. •We will make a solemn promise before our G od to put away our foreign wives and the children born to them, as my lord- an d those wh o tremble at the commandment of our God may advise. Let us act in acco rdance with the La w.• U p ! Thi s is for you to decide, bu t we will support yo u. Ta ke courag e; to wor k!' -Then Ezra sto od up a nd put th e leading priests an d Levites and all Israel on oat h to do wha t had been said . They to o k th e oa th. Ezra left his place before th e Te mple of God a nd went to th e ro om of Jeh ohanan son of Eliashi b, where he spent the night " wit hout ea ting bread or drinking wat er; he was in mourning for the exiles' treachery. A proclamation was issued in J udah a nd in Jeru sa lem to all the exiles that the y were to assemble in Jerus alem: -an yon e who did not come withi n three days-such was the warning of th e leaders an d elde rs- would ha ve all his goo ds seized - and would himself be excluded from the community of the exiles. -As a result, all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem within the three days ; it was the ninth month, the twentieth day of the month; all the people gathered in the square before th e Temple of G od ; the occasion itself, and the heavy rain, had them trembling. -Then Ezra the priest stood up and spoke, 'You have committed treason by marrying foreign women; you have added to the sin of Israel. • But now give thanks to Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, Ne 9:2 and do his will, by separating fro m the natives of the country and fro m your foreign wives.' -In a loud voice the whole assembly answered , ' Yes, o ur du ty is to do as you say. -But there are a great many people here and it is the rainy season; we cannot stay out in the op en ; besides, this is not something that ca n be dealt with in one or two days , since many of us have sinned in this respect. Our leaders could represent the full assembly ;" all those from our towns who have foreign wives could come at stated times, accompanied by elders and judges from each town, until we have turned away God's anger which has been thu s ro used against us.' -Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, were opposed to this procedure. ' •The exiles acted on this suggestion. Ezra the prie st chose / as helpers the heads of famili es fo r eaeh House, all designated by name . The session fo r investigating individual cas es began on the first day of the tenth mon th. And by the first day of the first mon th they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign wome n.

10

EZRA 11

The list of the guiltyAmong the memb ers of the priesthood, h these ar e the names of those who were found to ha ve married foreign women: among the sons of Jeshua son of 19 Jozadak and among his brothers: Ma aseiah, Elieze r, Jarib and Gedaliah; - they pledged their word to put their wives away and, for th eir sin, offered a ram as a sacrifice ! of reparation; 20 a mong the so ns of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah ; 21 among the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel and U zziah; among the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah. 23 Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shi rnei, Kelaiah-that is, Ke lita-Pethahiah, Ju da h, and Eliezer. 24 A mong the cantor s: Eliashi b a nd Zaccur. Amo ng the gate keepe rs: Shallurn, Telem an d Uri. 25 And among the Israe lites ;' of the sons of Pa rosh : Ram iah Izzia h Malchijah Mijarnin, Eleazar, Malchijah a nd Benaiah ; " , 26 of the son s of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Je hiel, Abdi, Jeremoth a nd Elija h; 21 of the so ns of Za tt u: Elioe na i, Eliashib, Ma ttaniah, Jeremoth, Za bad a nd Aziza ; 2M of the sons of Bebai: Je ho ha na n, Hana nia h, Zabbai, Athlai ; 29 of the so ns of Bigvai: Meshullam, Malluch, Jedaiah, Jashub, Sheal, Jeremoth; JO of the sons of Pa hat h-moa b: Ad na, C helal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binn ui a nd Ma nass eh; 31 of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshija h, Malchija h, Shernaia h, Sh imeon, 32 Benjamin, Mal luch, Shema riah; 33 of the so ns of Hashu m: Mattenai, Ma tt attah, Zabad, Eliphelet , Jere rnai, Ma nasseh, Shirnei; H 35 0 f the sons of Ba ni: Maada i, Amra m, U el, •Bena iah , Bed iah , Cheluhi, j~ Vania h, Meremo th, Elias hib, -Matta niah, Ma ttenai and Jaasa u; j~ of the sons of Binnu i: Sh imei, -S helernia h, N a tha n and Ada iah; 1? of the so ns of Zaccai : Shas hai, Sha ra i, ·Aza rel, Shelerniah, Shemariah, 42 Shallurn, Amariah, Joseph ; 4) of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Matt ithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel , Benaiah. All these had married foreign wives ; they put them away, both women and children."

'-'r

18

12

13

14

15

I

2

3

4 5

6

7 8

9

g,7i

Ne1

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

e . 'Foulness' , 'a b o m ina tio n ', ' im p urity" are char acter tstlcs of ido lat ry . t, 'r ated' some Hcb r. MSS , Svr.: 'taken away' Hebr. g . G od' s savin g justice which is a lso essent ially me rciful. See R m 1:17. 10 a . 'my lo rd ' corr. : '(the) Lor d ' Hebr, b. 'spent the night' 1 Esd. Greek Rec . L uc.; ' went' H eb r. c. Li t. 'put under the b an ' , cf . Jos 6:17 +; Lv 27:28 + . d. Co m mi tte e of in q ui ry co nsis ting of th e lead ing men . e, T he o bject ion seems to co me fr om en thusi as ts who thi n k the procedu re to o slow.

f. 'c hose' 1 Esd, Greek Rec . Luc. g. T h is list of clergy a nd la ity is probably abbrevi -

a ted. only members of the upper classes being named. Some names are corrected followin g 1 Es d and versions. h. The four priestly families are the same as in 2 :36· 38 : the list does not go back to Aaron as the Ch ro nicler himse lf wo u ld have done. cr. 7:5 + .

J:

W

Z

I. 'a s a sacrifice' Greek Rec. Luc .• I Esd: ' they were guilt y' Hebr.

I. The lay families named here all occur in 2:3-35 : fo ur are found in th e lis t of th ose who ac co mpanied Ez ra , 8:2- 14 . k . ' they sen t them away, both wo m en a nd ch ild ren' 1 Es d; 'amo n g them were wo m en wh o gave bir th t o children' Hebr .

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