Ezra 3:8

The Foundation of the Temple

8. The Second Year of the Return.

of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem cf. Ezra 2:68. Where the old Temple had been and the new was to be.

began The meaning of this verb standing by itself, without an object and without a verb depending upon it, is not at first sight obvious. There are two ways of explaining it. (1) = -they made a beginning and appointed" referring to the work generally; the verb -began" being used without an object expressed. (2) = -began to appoint" the two words -began" and -appointed" being, by a common Hebrew usage, placed coordinately. Of these two the former is the preferable. -Began to appoint" gives a feeble sense. -Began and appointed", i.e. -began by appointing" expresses the full meaning.

Zerubbabel&c., and the remnant&c. R.V. … and the rest &c. We find mentioned here (a) the two leaders, Zerubbabel the head of the royal, Jeshua the head of the priestly house, (b) the priests and Levites, (c) the rest of the returned community.

Zerubbabel here has the place of honour (see Ezra 3:2) in connexion with the building of the Temple, the commission which he had received from Cyrus. The prominence of the Levites in comparison with the smallness of their numbers (cf. Ezra 2:40-42) deserves attention. -Their brethren the priests and Levites". (Cf. Ezra 3:2, Jeshua his brethren the priests.)

appointed the Levites The word -appointed", lit. -to cause to stand", is one very common in our author. Used of a building -to set up", Ezra 2:68; Ezra 3:3; Ezra 9:9; Nehemiah 3:1; Nehemiah 3:3; Nehemiah 3:6; Nehemiah 3:13; Nehemiah 6:1; Nehemiah 7:1; of persons -to appoint", -set over", Ezra 3:9; Nehemiah 4:13; Nehemiah 6:7; 1Ch 6:31; 1 Chronicles 15:17.

from twenty years old and upward The limits of age for the Levite laid down in Numbers 8:24-25 excluded from service those younger than 25 and older than 50. The religious reorganization under David required the services of the Levite -from twenty years old and upward"; so 1 Chronicles 23:24; 1 Chronicles 23:27. The small number of Levites available made it all the more important to lower the standard of age. (For modification of original legislation see also on Ezra 6:20.)

to set forward the work R.V. -to have the oversight of", (Marg.) - set forward". A rare word used in Ezra and 1 Chronicles 23:4. Elsewhere it occurs only as a participle in titles to Psalms and in Habakkuk 3:19 -for the Chief Musician."

The Latin version -ut urgerent opus" has suggested the rendering of the A.V. But the sense, suggested by the participial title -the Chief Musician, Conductor or Director", is that of superintendence and direction. The R.V. construes -to have the oversight of" here, and -to oversee" in 1 Chronicles 23:4, the word being in both places used of the Levites appointed to superintend the work to be done in the -House of the Lord".