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HATH BEEN ... READ - It is doubtful if the Persian monarchs could
ordinarily read. At any rate, it was their habit to have documents
read to them (compare Esther 6:1). This is still the ordinary pract...
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CHAPTER 4
_ 1. The offer of the Samaritans refused (Ezra 4:1)_
2. The letter to King Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:7)
3. The king's reply (Ezra 4:17)
4. The work is stopped ...
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EZRA 4:8 TO EZRA 6:18. EXTRACT FROM AN ARAMAIC DOCUMENT.
Ezra 4:8 contains a letter, together with the king's reply to it,
written by adversaries of the Jews to Artaxerxes for the purpose of
frustrat...
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_The letter_ On the word used here see note on Ezra 4:8.
hath been _plainly read before me_ So the R.V. The margin of the R.V.
gives -translated" as the alternative rendering for -plainly", and
this...
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Note on Ezra 4:7-23
The names of the Persian kings which occur in this chapter occasion
special difficulty. Upon their right identification necessarily
depends our understanding of the whole passage....
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3. Artaxerxes replies and orders the work stopped.
TEXT, EZRA 4:17-22
17
Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the
scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in...
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_THE LETTER WHICH YE SENT UNTO US HATH BEEN PLAINLY READ BEFORE ME._
No JFB commentary on these verses....
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FEUD BETWEEN THE JEWS AND SAMARITANS
This chapter describes the desire of the Samaritans to take part in
the rebuilding of the Temple, and their successful opposition to the
Jews on their request bei...
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THE *JEWS RETURN TO JERUSALEM
EZRA
_ROBERT BRYCE_
CHAPTER 4
V1 The enemies of the *descendants of Judah and Benjamin heard that
they had returned from the *exile. Their enemies heard that they we...
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נִשְׁתְּוָנָ֕א דִּ֥י שְׁלַחְתּ֖וּן
עֲלֶ֑ינָא מְפָרַ֥שׁ קֱרִ֖י...
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THE COST OF AN IDEALIST'S SUCCESS
Ezra 4:6
THE fourth chapter of the Book of Ezra contains an account of a
correspondence between the Samaritan colonists and two kings of
Persia, which follows sharpl...
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THE ENEMY'S SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH
Ezra 4:11
The promoters of this letter were descendants of the heathen colonists
who had been sent into the land by the Assyrians, 2 Kings 17:24. It
was written to the...
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In this chapter we have the story of the opposition of the Samaritans,
and the consequent cessation of work on the Temple for a time. The
historic chronology presents difficulties. The subject is not...
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The accomplishment of their wicked purpose may serve to show us how
the Lord is pleased sometimes, for the exercise of faith in his
people, to let the enemy triumph. And when the short-lived victories...
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But, in such a case, difficulties do not arise only from the weakness
of the remnant; they proceed, also, from elements with which the
remnant are outwardly connected, and which, at the same time, are...
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THE LETTER WHICH YE SENT UNTO US,.... The plural number is used, being
now become courtly for kings thus to speak of themselves:
HATH BEEN PLAINLY BEFORE ME; by such that understood both the Syrian
a...
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1 The aduersaries, being not accepted in the building of the Temple
with the Iewes, endeauour to hinder it.
7 Their Letter to Artaxerxes.
17 The decree of Artaxerxes.
23 The building is hindred.
1...
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THE LETTER TO ARTAXERXES...
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The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me....
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PRETENDED FRIENDSHIP AND OPPOSITION
(vv. 1-5)
Satan is subtle in the way he attacks a work of God. He appears to be
friendly, as is seen in the way the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin
came to Zeru...
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6-24 It is an old slander, that the prosperity of the church would be
hurtful to kings and princes. Nothing can be more false, for true
godliness teaches us to honour and obey our sovereign. But wher...
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No text from Poole on this verse....
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Ezra 4:18 letter H5407 sent H7972 (H8754) us H5922 clearly H6568
(H8744) read H7123 (H8752) before...
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THE SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE ENMITY REVEALED AGAINST THE RETURNEES UP
TO THE TIME OF NEHEMIAH (EZRA 4:6).
What follows up to Ezra 4:23 goes beyond the question of building the
Temple. The writer now...
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CONTENTS: Work hindered by adversaries.
CHARACTERS: Zerubbabel, Ahasuerus, Jeshua, Artazerxes, Rehum,
Shimshai.
CONCLUSION: God's work cannot be advanced but Satan will rage and the
gates of hell wi...
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Ezra 4:1. _The adversaries of Judah._ These were the Samaritans; that
is, Jews of the ten tribes, apostate from the religion of their
fathers, now intermarried with the heathen, who were worshippers o...
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_Them sent the king an answer._
THE TEMPORARY TRIUMPH OF THE WICKED
I. Examine the letter of the king. This letter suggests--
1. That the subtlety of the wicked frequently obtains a temporary
trium...
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_Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of
Judah._
THE HOSTILITY OF THE SAMARITANS TO THE JEWS
I. The tactics of the wicked. If they cannot bend the good to their
wishes and ai...
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EZRA 4:1 Enemies Stall the Project by Conspiring against It. The
rebuilding project encounters opposition from other groups in the
region, and the work ceases.
⇐...
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EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 4:6 This section interrupts the historical
narrative (Ezra 1:1), which resumes at Ezra 4:24....
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EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 4:7 The author jumps forward again to another
hostile episode, when leaders in the province sent a formal letter of
complaint to King Artaxerxes I (reigned 464–423 B.C.)....
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EZRA—NOTE ON EZRA 4:17 The king allowed the work of rebuilding to be
stopped by force. This may explain why it was later reported that the
walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins (Nehemiah 1:3)....
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CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.] In this chapter we have—(i.) The
proposal of the Samaritans to unite with the Jews in building the
Temple, and its rejection (Ezra 4:1). (ii.) The opposition of the
Sa...
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EXPOSITION
EZRA 4:17
THEN SENT THE KING AN ANSWER. The complaint made was of such
importance that an answer was returned without delay. It was addressed
both to Rehum and Shimshai, since they were in...
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And when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children
of the captivity [had built the towers,] started to build the temple
of the Lord unto the LORD God of Israel; they came to Zerubb...
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Leviticus 24:12; Nehemiah 8:8; Numbers 15:34...