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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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JEWS. Nehemiah, Hanani, and friends. Occurs eight times in Ezra, viz.
Ezra 4:12; Ezra 4:23; Ezra 5:1; Ezra 5:5;...
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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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_the Jews_ We have here practically the first application of this name
to the new community at Jerusalem. It had been used of the Southern
Kingdom (2 Kings 16:6; 2 Kings 25:25; 2 Chronicles 32:18) and...
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_VER._ 12. _THE JEWS_— After the return from the captivity, the
people in general came to be called Jews, because, though there were
many Israelites among them, yet they chiefly consisted of the tribe...
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2. Israel's enemies write letters to prevent rebuilding.
TEXT, EZRA 4:6-16
6
Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they
wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah...
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_BE IT KNOWN UNTO THE KING, THAT THE JEWS WHICH CAME UP FROM THEE TO
US ARE COME UNTO JERUSALEM, BUILDING THE REBELLIOUS AND THE BAD CITY,
AND HAVE SET UP THE WALLS THEREOF, AND JOINED THE FOUNDATIONS...
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JOINED THE FOUNDATIONS] RV 'repaired the foundations.'...
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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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Virulence and craft and exaggeration are stamped on every sentence of
the letter. It only says, however, that “they are preparing the
walls thereof, and joining the foundations.” Afterwards, however,...
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יְדִ֨יעַ֙ לֶהֱוֵ֣א לְ מַלְכָּ֔א דִּ֣י
יְהוּדָיֵ֗א...
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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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CHAPTER IV.
_ Rebellious. The Jews had shewn themselves impatient of subjection,
contending with the kings of Assyria and Babylon, whose territories
were now possessed by the successors of Cyrus, ver...
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It should seem that Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes are both names of the
same person: probably meaning the same as King. And it should seem
that the enemies of the church caught at the first moment in the
o...
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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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BE IT KNOWN UNTO THE KING,.... The intent of this letter was, that it
might be known to the king what follows:
THAT THE JEWS WHICH CAME UP FROM THEE TO US ARE COME UNTO JERUSALEM;
this they observe p...
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Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us
are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and
have set up the walls [thereof], and joined the foundation...
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_Thy servants, and at such a time_, &c. The particular time when the
letter was written was no doubt expressed therein; but in this
narrative it was sufficient to mention it in general.
Ezra 4:12. _An...
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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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Be it known unto the king that the Jews which came up from thee to us
are come unto Jerusalem, they had been returning from Babylon for a
matter of some seventy years then, and small companies were st...
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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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SET UP:
Or, finished
JOINED:
Chal. sowed together...
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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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HAVE SET UP THE WALLS THEREOF: either,
1. The Jews had begun to build or repair some part of the walls which
Nebuchadnezzar had left, which they aggravate in this manner. Or,
2. This is a mere ficti...
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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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_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 4:12 THAT REBELLIOUS AND WICKED CITY. Actually,
the kings of Israel and Judah had often sought compromise with their
Assyrian and Babylonian oppressors. The writers of this letter...
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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 4:7
AND IN THE DAYS OF ARTAXERXES. See the comment on Ezra 4:6. If
Artaxerxes be the Pseudo-Smerdis, we can readily understand why an
application was not made to him at once, and how...
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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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1 Peter 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; 2 Chronicles 36:13; 2 Kings 18:20;...
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Be it known, &c. — This is a mere fiction, which being confidently
affirmed, they thought would easily find belief with a king whose
heart and ears they possessed by their hired counsellors....