Esdra 2:60 Commento

That many returned out of Babylon upon Cyrus's proclamation we were told in the foregoing chapter; we have here a catalogue of the several families that returned (Ezr 2:1). I. The leaders (Ezr 2:2). II. The people (v. 3-35). III. The priests, Levites, and retainers to the temple (v. 35-63). IV. The sum total, with an account of their retinue (Ezr 2:64-67). V. Their offerings to the service of the temple (Ezr 2:68-70).

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 2 This chapter contains a list of those that went up from Babylon to Jerusalem, of their leaders, their chief men, princes and priests, Ezr 2:1 of the people, described by their families, towns, and cities, and number of persons, Ezr 2:3, of the priests, Levites, and Nethinims, Ezr 2:36, and of those that could not make out their genealogy, people and priests, Ezr 2:59, and then the sum total of the whole congregation is given, Ezr 2:64, besides men and maidservants, singing men and women, and cattle of divers sorts, Ezr 2:65, and the chapter is closed with an account of the freewill offerings of the principal men towards the building of the temple, and of the settlement of the people in their respective cities, Ezr 2:68.

And the Tirshatha said unto them,.... By whom Jarchi understands Nehemiah, and observes, that their rabbins say he was so called, because the wise men allowed him to drink the wine of the Gentiles, he being cupbearer to the king; but Aben Ezra, with greater probability, takes it to be a name of honour and grandeur in the Chaldee language, as a prince or governor; and no doubt Zerubbabel is meant, the prince of the Jews, the same with Sheshbazzar, Ezr 1:8 according to Gussetius (w), this office was the same with that of the king's commissary in a province, delegated to carry his orders, make them known, and see them put in execution; and that this name Tirshatha is the same with Tithraustes in Aelian (x); but that seems to be not the title of an office, but the personal name of a man that was a chiliarch: that they should not eat of the most holy things; as of the shewbread, and those parts of the sin offerings, and of the peace offerings and meat offerings, which belonged to the priests, which the governor forbid these to eat of, who were rejected from the priesthood: till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim; as yet there was not any priest that had them; they were not to be found at the return from Babylon; the governor might hope they would be found, and a priest appear clothed with them, when it might be inquired of the Lord by them, whether such priests, before described, might eat of the holy things or not; but since the Jews (y) acknowledge that these were one of the five things wanting in the second temple; it is all one, as the Talmudists (z) express it, as if it had been said, until the dead rise, or the Messiah comes; and who is come, the true High Priest, and with whom are the true Urim and Thummim, lights and perfections to the highest degree, being full of grace and truth; of the Urim and Thummim; see Gill on Exo 28:30. (w) Ebr. Comment. p. 809. (x) Var. Hist. l. 1. c. 21. Vid. Corn. Nep. Vit. Conon. l. 9. c. 3. (y) T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 21. 2. (z) T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 48. 2. & Gloss. in Kiddushin, fol. 60. 2.

And from the sons of the priests, the sons of Tobiah, etc. The sons of the exiled act with the same caution towards the priests as they are reported to have acted towards the people. For they took great care that it would be openly revealed without confusion who truly belonged to the people of Israel or to the priestly lineage; but those who were suspected, or who were certainly begotten from the lineage of proselytes, that is, foreigners. Therefore, they removed the suspected priests from the office of the altar, until their origin could be more certainly clarified; but nonetheless preserved them in the society of the exiled with unanimous peace. According to the mystical sense, the sons of the priests, ascending from the Babylonian captivity, seek the record of their genealogy, and not finding it, are ejected from the priesthood; because they themselves, the ministers of the altar, fall into such crimes and such unspeakable doctrines that even if they return to salvation by repenting, they cannot become worthy to be promoted to the sacred rank which they lost, nor to resume the office of teaching the Gospel or administering the sacraments. For these, although they expect eternal life among the faithful, do not find the record of their rank, which they cannot regain, among the perfect priests.

An account of those who returned from Babylon, vv. 1-35. The children of the priests who returned, Ezr 2:36-39. Of the Levites, Ezr 2:40. Of the singers, Ezr 2:41. Of the porters, Ezr 2:42. Of the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon's servants, vv. 43-58. Others who could not find out their registers, Ezr 2:59-62. The number of the whole congregation, Ezr 2:63, Ezr 2:64. Of their servants, maids, and singers, Ezr 2:65. Their horses and mules, Ezr 2:66. Their camels and asses, Ezr 2:67. The offerings of the chief men when they came to Jerusalem, Ezr 2:68, Ezr 2:69. The priests, Levites, singers, porters, and Nethinim, betake themselves to their respective cities, Ezr 2:70.

NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE THAT TURNED. (Ezra 2:1-70) children of the province--that is, Judea (Ezr 5:8), so called as being now reduced from an illustrious, independent, and powerful kingdom to an obscure, servile, tributary province of the Persian empire. This name is applied by the sacred historian to intimate that the Jewish exiles, though now released from captivity and allowed to return into their own land, were still the subjects of Cyrus, inhabiting a province dependent upon Persia. came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city--either the city that had been occupied by his ancestors, or, as most parts of Judea were then either desolate or possessed by others, the city that was rebuilt and allotted to him now.

List of Those Who Returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel and Joshua - Ezra 2 The title (Ezr 2:1 and Ezr 2:2) announces that the list which follows it (vv. 3-67) contains the number of the men of the people of Israel who returned to Jerusalem and Judah from the captivity in Babylon, under the conduct of Zerubbabel, Joshua, and other leaders. It is composed of separate lists: of the families of the people, vv. 3-35; of the priests and Levites,Ezr 2:36-42; of the Nethinims and servants of Solomon, vv. 43-58; of families who could not prove their Israelite descent, and of certain priests whose genealogy could not be found, Ezr 2:59-63; and it closes with the sum-total of the persons, and of their beasts of burden, Ezr 2:64-67. This is followed by an enumeration of the gifts which they brought with them for the temple (Ezr 2:68 and Ezr 2:69), and by a final statement with regard to the entire list (Ezr 2:70). Nehemiah also, when he desired to give a list of the members of the community at Jerusalem, met with the same document, and incorporated it in the book which bears his name (Neh 7:6-73). It is also contained in 1 Esdr. 5:7-45. The three texts, however, exhibit in the names, and still more so in the numbers, such variations as involuntarily arise in transcribing long lists of names and figures. The sum-total of 42,630 men and 7337 servants and maids is alike in all three texts; but the addition of the separate numbers in the Hebrew text of Ezra gives only 29,818, those in Nehemiah 31,089, and those in the Greek Esdras 30,143 men. In our elucidation of the list, we shall chiefly have respect to the differences between the texts of Ezra and Nehemiah, and only notice the variations in 1 Esdras so far as they may appear to conduce to a better understanding of the matter of our text.