Chapter 8

1 The combinations of Ezra, who returned from Babylon. 15 He sendeth to Iddo for ministers for the temple. 21 He keepeth a fast. 24 He committeth 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.

1. This is the genealogy. The list of exiles presented in vs. 1–14 parallels that of ch. 2:3–19, repeating for the most part the same family names, though not in exactly the same order. The numbers here are in each case much smaller, always less than one third and sometimes less than one twelfth. At the most, three new families of colonists are mentioned—those of Shechaniah (v. 5), Joab (v. 9), and Shelomith (v. 10), but in two of these cases the reading of the name is not certain. On the whole, Ezra was accompanied to Jerusalem by members of the same families as represented by those who were with Zerubbabel, though with Ezra there were fewer families, and fewer members in each family. Ezra’s list is thus much shorter than that of Zerubbabel, who had returned some 80 years before.

Altogether, 1,754 men are listed, but for a few groups no numbers are given. Estimating three to four women and children to every man, the total number of men, women, and children who returned with Ezra was approximately 8,000. That Ezra’s group should be smaller in comparison with that of Zerubbabel 80 years earlier can easily be explained. The same considerations that kept many back then were even more pressing now. In the Orient it is not easy to detach a family from the locality in which it has lived for a long period of time. By now, the Jews who remained in the land of exile had been there for almost a century and a half. Excavations of Nippur have brought to light numerous documents that show that many wealthy Jews lived in that region of Mesopotamia during the reign of Artaxerxes I. Hence, it may have been a difficult task for Ezra and his fellow leaders to convince as many to return as did accompany him. These returning colonists could expect only a hard pioneering life in the old homeland, with far fewer comforts than in Babylonia. In view of these considerations it is surprising to find that Ezra succeeded in persuading almost 2,000 families to cast in their lot with their brethren in the old homeland.

2. Of the sons. In v. 2 two priestly families, and one, of the house of David, are mentioned. The number of men belonging to each of the three families is not given, as is also true of the first family mentioned in v. 3. These numbers may have dropped out in an early copy of the list. Thus it is impossible to give the exact number of returning exiles.

Hattush. The punctuation of the KJV obscures the fact that Gershom was a son of Phinehas, Daniel of Ithamar, etc. At the time the KJV was translated the semicolon represented a greater break than a colon; the reverse is now true. Furthermore, though a remote descendant of David, Hattush was a grandson of Shechaniah (v. 3), as is evident from 1 Chron. 3:22, 23. Verse 2 should close with the name Shechaniah, not with Hattush.

3. Pharosh. For this name and those of the following verses also mentioned in the list of Zerubbabel’s time, see on ch. 2.

5. Shechaniah. A name has been lost in copying, either between the words “of the sons” and “of Shechaniah,” or between “Shechaniah” and “the son of Jahaziel.” The LXX supports the reading, “Of the sons of Zattu, Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel.” Zattu is mentioned in ch. 2:8.

10. Shelomith. As in v. 5 there seems to be an omission of a name, which the LXX supplies by reading, “Of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josephiah.” Bani appears as the head of a family in ch. 2:10.

13. The last sons. Probably the younger sons of Adonikam are meant. The families of the older sons seem to have returned already in Zerubbabel’s time (ch. 2:13). The RSV reads, “those who came later.”

15. The river. The river, or canal, called Ahava in vs. 21, 31, is otherwise unknown. The Ezra record leaves the impression that it was rather centrally located in Babylonia, for it was easy to make contact with the Levites, to whom an additional appeal was sent from that place (see vs. 15–20). Some have considered it equivalent to the Talmudic ХIhi, which they identify with the modern HйЖt, northwest of Babylon.

Sons of Levi. The reason for the absence of Levites is probably the same as that discussed in connection with ch. 2:40, where the small number of returning Levites is apparent (see also on ch. 8:1).

16. Then I sent. The text seems to indicate that Ezra was not only surprised but perturbed that no Levites had responded to his appeal. Without them his caravan seemed incomplete, particularly in view of his desire to bring about a revival (see ch. 7:10, 14–28; cf. chs. 9, 10). That he sent “men of understanding” in addition to the nine family heads mentioned, to make a last and urgent appeal to the Levites for participation in the return journey, is significant. These two men, although they had no official title or function, were either especially eloquent or persuasive, or were considered otherwise exceptionally qualified for the task at hand.

17. Casiphia. The location of this place is unknown. Some have suggested that it was a religious center of the Babylonian Jewry, others that a school was located there where young Levites were trained as teachers for the schools of the synagogues. It is worthy of notice, in passing, that Iddo, the village head of this center of Levites, belonged to the technically inferior group of Temple servants called Nethinims (see on ch. 2:43).

18. By the good hand. This is Ezra’s usual mode of acknowledging divine providence (see chs. 7:6, 9, 28; 8:31). Similar expressions also occur in Nehemiah (ch. 2:8, 18), but not elsewhere in Scripture.

A man of understanding. Heb. Хish sЊekel, considered by some commentators as a proper name, but without sufficient reason. No such name is known to have existed. If Хish sЊekel is taken as a proper name we are confronted with the further difficulty of having to assume that the name of his ancestors and the number of Levites in his family group have been lost from the list. The name of this man of discretion or prudence is given as Sherebiah, who is mentioned more than once in Nehemiah’s time as a chief Levite (Neh. 8:7; 9:4, 5).

And Sherebiah. The Hebrew conjunction we, “and,” should be rendered “namely” (RSV) or “even,” so that the text reads, “they brought us a man of understanding, … namely Sherebiah.”

20. David and the princes. There is no record in either Kings or Chronicles of David’s increasing the number of Temple servants, though such an arrangement accords well with other arrangements he is known to have made. The original Nethinims were probably the Gibeonites (see on Joshua 9:21; Ezra 2:43).

Expressed by name. The narrator evidently considered it necessary to state that a list of names of these Nethinims had been forwarded by Iddo to Ezra, probably by way of credentials, but he does not consider it necessary to insert the list in this account.

21. I proclaimed a fast. Fasting was usually symbolic of repentance, and often accompanied a disaster that had occurred or was expected. In this case, however, it was held in connection with prayer for a safe journey. The great responsibility of bringing these thousands of people safely to Judea rested heavily on Ezra, as vs. 21 and 22 indicate. The urgent need of the expedition for divine protection on the way was especially real to the members of the caravan, because Ezra, who desired to convince the king of the power of the true God, either had not asked for an armed escort or had declined to accept one (v. 22). Nehemiah, however, had no scruples about traveling with an escort (Neh. 2:9), which was no unnecessary luxury on so dangerous a journey through long stretches of sparsely populated territory. Ezra was fully aware of the existing dangers that confronted a group of unarmed exiles and their great quantity of treasure. Knowing that they needed divine protection more than anything else, but knowing also that God’s presence would be assured only if no sin stood between the people and their God, he ordered them to fast and “afflict” (humble) themselves, meaning that they should search their lives and remove every known sin before setting forward on their way to Judea.

Our little ones. This shows that in Ezra’s time all the men were accompanied by their families, while in Zerubbabel’s time most families had remained behind for a time (see on Ezra 2:64).

22. The enemy in the way. See on v. 21. Verse 31 implies that no imaginary foe is referred to here. It may be Ezra knew that the Samaritans were waiting to intercept the caravan, or that some of the Arab tribes, who owed no allegiance to Persia, had learned of the caravan and were planning to attack it from ambush and plunder it.

24. Sherebiah, Hashabiah. These men and their ten associates were Levites, but not priests as the English translation implies (vs. 18, 19). Preceding “Sherebiah” is the preposition le. This is not translated in the KJV. The LXX here reads “and.” Thus translated, the meaning of the passage would be that Ezra appointed 12 chief priests, and in addition to them 12 Levites, namely, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their colleagues—a total of 24 men—to be responsible for the safe transmission of the treasures.

25. Weighed unto them. The silver and gold were in bars or ingots, not in coined money. The Persians used coined money at this time, but the treasury kept the bulk of its stores in bars (Herodotus iii. 96).

26. Silver. Any attempt to express the value of the gold, silver, and bronze here listed, in terms of modern values, would fail to account for their true value at that time in purchasing power. A rough estimate of the total value, as determined by the weight of the three metals, would perhaps be more than 3 million dollars. Even critical scholars recognize that this detailed list of treasures and the list of family heads returning with Ezra bear the stamp of genuineness. If the book of Ezra were merely fiction, the author would hardly have devoted so much space to tedious lists of the returning exiles or have itemized the treasures.

Although a considerable portion of this treasure may have come from the royal purse, much of it was donated by the wealthy Jews of Persia and Babylonia, and some by their Gentile friends (see ch. 7:15, 16). While the amount of treasure carried back to Judea seems large, it should not be forgotten that the wealth of Persia at this time was immense (see Dan. 11:2). According to Herodotus (iii. 94, 95) India paid an annual tribute of 360 talents of gold dust (13.5 tons; 12.3 metric tons), Babylonia 1,000 talents of silver (37.7 tons; 34.3 metric tons), and large amounts were paid by other satrapies of the empire. The total revenues of the empire are given by Herodotus as 14,560 Euboeic talents. In comparison with this vast sum, the treasure carried to Judea by Ezra does not appear excessive, as some commentators have suggested.

27. Vessels of fine copper. The translation is correct, but it is not known what kind of vessels is meant or what it was that made these copper vessels “precious as gold.” Some have thought they were highly polished and glittered like gold, others, that it was the highly valued orichalcum, an amalgam of brass.

28. Ye are holy. Consecrated to God by their office, the priests and Levites were the proper custodians of consecrated things.

29. The chambers. These rooms were on either side of the main building in the Temple court (see 1 Kings 6:5), partly as chambers for the priests, partly as storerooms (see Neh. 13:5).

31. The twelfth day. On the first day of the month the company of travelers began to assemble (ch. 7:9), but during the three days’ encampment at the appointed place of meeting (ch. 8:15) Ezra discovered that no priests or Levites had responded to his appeal. Thereupon he took the measures described in ch. 8:16–20, to induce certain Levites and Nethinims to accompany them. Upon the arrival of these men Ezra ordained a fast to supplicate divine protection for the journey, and committed the sacred treasures to the care of the priests and Levites. Eight more days elapsed while these preparations for departure were being made, and the start from the river Ahava did not actually take place till the 12th day.

Such as lay in wait. Ezra’s fears were justified, and the dangers were real, but faith in divine protection was rewarded. We are not told how deliverance from their enemies was accomplished, but God in His own way took care of those who were consecrated to Him and who placed their trust in Him. The hand of God led Ezra and his fellow travelers safely through all the perils of the way, and brought them without loss or damage to their destination.

32. We came to Jerusalem. As in the earlier story of the return under Zerubbabel nothing is reported about the route taken or the experiences of the long journey of four months (PK 617). On the probable route from Babylonia to Judea, see on ch. 2:68.

Abode there three days. After the tiresome journey a brief period of complete rest was necessary. Like Nehemiah (Neh. 2:11), Ezra was content with a rest of three days.

33. Weighed. On the fourth day Ezra discharged his commission to present to the Temple treasury the various gifts from Babylonia. In doing so he appeared in person before the priests and Levites, who were in charge of the Temple, and transferred to them the entire offering of gold, silver, and vessels listed in vs. 25–27.

Meremoth. He was one of the heads of the priestly order, under both Ezra and Nehemiah. He is mentioned as repairing two sections of the wall of Jerusalem when Nehemiah was governor (Neh. 3:4, 21), and as one of those who signed the covenant between God and Israel that was later concluded under the guidance of Ezra and Nehemiah, in 444 b.c. (Neh. 10:5).

Eleazar. Being, like Meremoth, a priest, Eleazar is perhaps the individual of that name mentioned as taking part in the dedication of the wall in Nehemiah’s time (Neh. 12:42).

Jozabad. Jozabad and Noadiah were chief Levites. The former name occurs again in Ezra 10:23; Neh. 8:7; 11:16.

34. The weight was written. Not only were the ingots and vessels counted and weighed, but an inventory was made by the priests in charge of the Temple, and the weight of every vessel noted. Such was the care taken to prevent the embezzlement of Temple property by its custodians. It also relieved Ezra of further responsibility and protected him against possible later accusations. In Mesopotamia the smallest business transaction was documented, and Ezra was no doubt required to send back to the royal archives a signed receipt of delivery, as evidence that the provisions of the decree had been complied with.

35. Burnt offerings. Like their predecessors under Zerubbabel, who had made an offering for “all Israel” at the dedication of the Temple (ch. 6:17), the newly arrived exiles, also apparently representatives of all Israel, offered for the whole nation. The classes of animals offered are the same on both occasions. The number of he-goats is identical, but in every other case the number of animals is far less than upon the former occasion. This is consistent with the comparatively small number of those who returned under Ezra. In each category the number, except for the lambs, was divisible by 12. The number 77 is difficult to explain, unless emphasis was thereby given to the number 7, as some of the older commentators have suggested.

36. They delivered. The change in pronouns from the first to the third person plural is no evidence of difference in authorship (see on ch. 7:28). It is possible that this verse summarizes what Ezra had already done on his journey from the east to Jerusalem.

Lieutenants. Heb. Хachashdarpenim, the equivalent of the Persian term translated “satrap” (see on Esther 3:12). The satrap of “Beyond the River” had his seat at either Aleppo or Damascus, and it seems more than probable that Ezra’s caravan had stopped at the residence of the satrap and presented to him the royal authorization for his mission. After his arrival at Jerusalem Ezra must also have informed the local governor of his commission and delivered to the revenue officers the financial decree of the king (ch. 7:21, 22). Ezra adds that he received the cooperation of all these officials. The Persians are seldom found in opposition to Jewish interests.

Ellen G. White comments

15–36PK 612–619

15   PK 612

16   PK 614

17–22PK 615

21, 23  PK 616

21–23PK 619; 1T 282

24, 25, 28, 29  PK 616

31   PK 617

33–36PK 619