Ezra 4:24
Summary for Ezra 4:24-5:5: 4:24–5:5 a Ezra now returns to telling about the building of the Temple in 520–515 BC. 4:24 b The events of the following verses occurred approximately sixteen years after the events up through 4:5 c. Ezra 5
5:1 d Haggai first prophesied on August 29, 520 BC (Hag 1:1 e). Zechariah began prophesying about two months later (Zech 1:1 f). The books of Haggai and Zechariah record their messages (see also Ezra 6:14 g).5:2 h The Jewish leaders had not led by faith (see Hag 1:1 i, 12 j). Now God’s Spirit stirred them up (Hag 1:14 k), and they obeyed by getting to work.
• Zerubbabel and Jeshua figure prominently in the books of Haggai and Zechariah.
5:3 l Who gave you permission? Unlike the hostile opposition recorded in ch 4 m, this seems to have been a routine inquiry to make sure that everything was done according to official requirements.
5:5 n God was watching over them: All credit goes to God’s sovereign control of events, not to any human leader or prophet. God had promised that the ruins would be rebuilt (Isa 44:26 o).
Summary for Ezra 5:6-17: 5:6-17 p Ezra includes a copy in Aramaic of Tattenai’s letter to King Darius. Unlike the letter of 4:11-16 q, this letter was a straightforward inquiry into the validity of the Jews’ activity. 5:6 r other officials: A Persian term for inspectors or investigators.
5:8 s the great God: This title was a Persian way of referring to an important high deity; it does not indicate that the provincial authorities believed in Israel’s God.
• Following the pattern of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 6:36 t), after every three rows of prepared stones, a layer of timber was laid in its walls (see Ezra 6:4 u) to reduce potential damage from earthquakes.
5:11 v the God of heaven: This title would be understood by the Persians: He was the universal high God, not an insignificant local deity.
• a great king of Israel: Solomon (see 1 Kgs 5–8 w).
5:12 x destroyed this Temple and exiled the people: See 2 Kgs 25:9-17 y.
5:13 z a decree: See 1:1-4 aa.
Summary for Ezra 5:14-15: 5:14-15 ab The Jews provided detailed information that the Persians could check for accuracy (see 1:7-11 ac).
5:16 ad Most likely, Sheshbazzar began the work and Zerubbabel finished it (see study note on 1:8).
Ezra 6
6:2 ae The fortress at Ecbatana, the king’s summer home, was located about 300 miles northeast of Babylon. This suggests that Cyrus wrote the scroll in the summer of 538 BC.• Media was a mountainous area north of Persia and east of Assyria. This area is now inhabited by the Kurds (descendants of the Medes).
• Texts introduced by the term Memorandum tended to be summaries that listed the main facts of an event for the royal archives (cp. 1:9-10 af).
6:3 ag This decree is recorded in Ezra 1:2-4 ah.
• The Temple’s height will be ninety feet, and its width will be ninety feet: The emendations given in the NLT textual note would make these measurements match those of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 6:2 ai, 17 aj, 20 ak). But the larger measurements given here might represent the maximum size that the Persians would fund.
6:4 al All expenses will be paid by the royal treasury. Although it seems surprising that the Persians would do this, it was consistent with Persian practice elsewhere (e.g., at Sais and Elephantine in Egypt, and at Ur in Mesopotamia). Such generosity was designed to ensure loyalty to Persia.
6:8 am You must pay the full construction costs: This command fulfilled God’s promise through Haggai (Hag 2:7 an).
6:10 ao pray for the welfare of the king and his sons: In the Cyrus Cylinder (a Persian account of Cyrus’s defeat of Babylon), King Cyrus requests, “May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask [the Babylonian gods] Bel and Nebo daily for a long life for me” (see 1:1-4 ap).
Summary for Ezra 6:11-12: 6:11-12 aq Those who violate this decree: Inscriptions and official decrees often included curses on those who opposed the will of the king (cp. Dan 2:5 ar).
6:15 as Israel’s second Temple was finished approximately seventy years after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. Herod the Great remodeled and expanded this Temple at the time of Christ. The Temple stood for approximately 585 years until the Roman army of Titus destroyed it in AD 70.
6:17 at 12 male goats ... a sin offering: This blood sacrifice brought God’s forgiveness for unintentional sins, ceremonial uncleanness, or thoughtless wrong acts (Lev 4–5 au). Similar sacrifices were offered when Moses dedicated the Tabernacle (Num 7 av) and when Solomon dedicated the first Temple (2 Chr 7:1 aw, 4 ax).
• for the twelve tribes of Israel: Although most returnees were from Judah and Benjamin (Ezra 1:5 ay; 4:1 az), people from the priestly tribe of Levi are also mentioned (1:5 ba; 2:40 bb, 70 bc). It is also likely that there were returnees from some of the ten northern tribes of Israel. Even if all tribes were not physically represented, the twelve sacrifices emphasized the desire for God to maintain his covenant relationship with all Israel.
6:18 bd prescribed in the Book of Moses: See Exod 29 be; Lev 8 bf; Num 3 bg. The Temple personnel operated according to the organization instituted by David (1 Chr 23–27 bh).
• This verse concludes the Aramaic section that began in Ezra 4:8 bi.
6:19 bj The Passover celebration commemorates God’s sparing of the firstborn of each family that put blood on the doorposts of their home (Exod 12–13 bk). This occasion was the first time any of these people had celebrated a joyous national festival.
6:20 bl purified themselves: They acted in accord with the law of Moses (see Lev 9 bm; Num 8 bn; 2 Chr 29 bo).
6:21 bp and by the others in the land who had turned from their immoral customs: The exclusion of foreigners in 4:1-5 bq was due to their pagan religious practices, not their ethnicity (see also 9:1-2 br).
6:22 bs Passover was the beginning of the seven-day Festival of Unleavened Bread (see Exod 12:15-20 bt; Lev 23:6-8 bu), a time of feasting in remembrance of the unleavened bread eaten when Israel left Egypt.
• the Lord had caused: Although Darius I was the powerful king of a vast empire, God directed his heart to help rebuild the Temple of God.
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