_A.M. 3547. B.C. 457._ The people mourn, Ezra 10:1. Shechaniah encourages Ezra to put away the strange wives, Ezra 10:2. All Israel swear to do it, Ezra 10:5. Ezra, mourning, assembles the people, Ezra 10:6. They all, on his exhortation, agree to the reformation, Ezra 10:10. They perform it, Ezra 1... [ Continue Reading ]
_There assembled unto him a very great congregation_ The account of his grief and public expressions thereof in the court before the temple, being in an instant dispersed over all the city, brought a great company together; _of men, women, and children_ Awakened by the words and examples of this hol... [ Continue Reading ]
_We have trespassed against our God_ He says _we_, in the name of the people, and their several families, and his own among the rest. For this man's name is not in the following catalogue, but there we have his father Jehiel, and his father's brethren, five other sons of his grandfather Elam, Ezra 1... [ Continue Reading ]
_To put away all the wives, and such as are born of them_ If this seem to any to have been an act of great severity, if not injustice, “let it be observed that the law (Deuteronomy 7:1, &c.) was express, and enforced with weighty reasons against these pagan marriages; and, therefore, since whatever... [ Continue Reading ]
_Arise, for this matter belongeth unto thee_ Who hast a perfect knowledge of the law, and full power from the king of Persia to see every thing done according to it; and who hast most skill to manage this matter. _We also will be with thee: be of good courage_ He promises him his assistance, and tha... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then rose up Ezra from before the house_ This seems to imply that he made them swear before he would rise up; _and went into the chamber of Johanan_ That, with the princes and elders, he might consult about the execution of their resolution. _And when he came thither_ The word _when_ is not in the... [ Continue Reading ]
_That whosoever would not come, &c., all his substance should be forfeited_ In the Hebrew it is _devoted_, which signifies that his goods were to be so forfeited as to become sacred to God, and so rendered incapable of being restored to the former owner, being put into the treasury of God's house. _... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin_, &c. Not only of these two tribes, as appears from the following catalogue, in which there are priests and Levites; but all the Israelites, (Ezra 10:25,) who are thus described, because the greatest part of them were of these tribes, though others were mixed... [ Continue Reading ]
_Make confession unto the Lord; and do his pleasure_ You have sinfully pleased yourselves, now please God, by your obedience to his command. _And separate yourselves from your strange wives_ There being no mention made here of putting away their children, but only their wives, it has been thought by... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let now our rulers stand_ They propose that the rulers in Jerusalem should meet, to take cognizance of this matter, and to judge and determine in all particular cases: and that, at appointed times, the offenders in every city should be brought before them by the elders and judges of those cities, w... [ Continue Reading ]
_Only Jonathan and Jahaziah were employed_ To take care that the business should be executed in the manner proposed, that the officers and delinquents of every city should come successively, in convenient time and order, as these should appoint, to keep an exact account of the whole transaction, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ezra the priest, &c., were separated, and sat down_ Sequestered themselves from all other business, and gave themselves wholly to this. _They made an end, by the first day of the first month_ Three months, therefore, were spent in this disquisition, which shows that it was very exact.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Among the sons of the priests there were found_, &c. No wonder the people broke the law, when so many of those who were supposed to understand it best, namely, the priests, yea, some of the sons of the high-priest, set them such a foul example of lust and levity. _And they gave their hands_ They co... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moreover of Israel_ Of the people of Israel, distinguished from the priests and Levites hitherto named, who before, Ezra 10:9, were called Judah and Benjamin.... [ Continue Reading ]
_All these had taken strange wives_ “The number is not very great,” says Dr. Dodd, “if compared with all who came out of captivity; but they seem to have been eminent persons, and their examples would, doubtless, have spread the contagion, if a speedy stop had not been put to the evil.” _Some of the... [ Continue Reading ]