Ezra 6:20

The explanatory -for" means that this celebration of the Passover could take place, because the priests and Levites had duly prepared themselves for it by ceremonial purification.

the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of themwere pure R.V. the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together (Heb. as one); all of them were pure. -Had purified themselves": the reflexive is the accurate rendering of the original.

together Lit. -as one": see Ezra 2:64; Ezra 3:9.

The rendering of the R.V. represents the ceremonial purification to have been jointly performed by priests and Levites, who were therefore all -pure" and capable of sacrificial acts. The only difficulty arises from the following clause. How can it be said that -the priests and Leviteskilled the passover … for their brethren the priests, and for themselves?" The words -for their brethren the priests" shew that the subject of the last clause must be the Levites alone; and that the mention of the priests belongs to the two first clauses. Compare 2 Chronicles 29:34, -their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests" (cf. 2 Chronicles 30:3). The small number of Levites who had returned were, we must suppose, more rigid followers of the ceremonial law than their brethren the priests, numerically a far larger body.

for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves The triple division of the community: see Ezra 6:16.

The Levites are here represented as slaying the Paschal lamb. Three stages of custom as to the slaughter of the lamb are recorded in Scripture, (a) Originally, the lamb was slain by the head of each household (see Exodus 12:6): (b) in the days of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 30:17) the Levites -killed the passovers for every one that was not clean": (c) in the days of Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:10-14) the Levites seem to have slain all the passover lambs, and roasted them both for the people, and for the priests, and for themselves.

The object of the alteration in the custom was twofold; (1) to secure the ceremonial purity of those entrusted with the duty of slaying the passover, (2) to relieve the priests, who at the season of the feast were busied in other offerings; see 2 Chronicles 35:14, "therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron".

The above is a useful illustration of the manner in which the absolute rule of the early law was modified in later times out of regard for considerations of a purely practical character (cf. Ezra 3:8, note on "twenty years old and upward").