เอสรา 1:1 วิจารณ์

In this chapter we have, I. The proclamation which Cyrus, king of Persia, issued out for the release of all the Jews that he found captives in Babylon, and the building of their temple in Jerusalem (Ezr 1:1-4). II. The return of many thereupon (Ezr 1:5, Ezr 1:6). III. Orders given for the restoring of the vessels of the temple (Ezr 1:7-11). And this is the dawning of the day of their deliverance.

It will be proper for us here to consider, 1. What was the state of the captive Jews in Babylon. It was upon many accounts very deplorable; they were under the power of those that hated them, had nothing they could call their own; they had no temple, no altar; if they sang psalms, their enemies ridiculed them; and yet they had prophets among them. Ezekiel and Daniel were kept distinct from the heathen. Some of them were preferred at court, others had comfortable settlements in the country, and they were all borne up with hope that, in due time, they should return to their own land again, in expectation of which they preserved among them the distinction of their families, the knowledge of their religion, and an aversion to idolatry. 2. What was the state of the government under which they were. Nebuchadnezzar carried many of them into captivity in the first year of his reign, which was the fourth of Jehoiakim; he reigned forty-five years, his son Evil-merodach twenty-three, and his grandson Belshazzar three years, which make up the seventy years. So Dr. Lightfoot, It is charged upon Nebuchadnezzar that he opened not the house of his prisoners, Isa 14:17. And, if he had shown mercy to the poor Jews, Daniel told him it would have been the lengthening of his tranquillity, Dan 4:27. But the measure of the sins of Babylon was at length full, and then destruction was brought upon them by Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian, which we read of, Dan. 5. Darius, being old, left the government to Cyrus, and he was employed as the instrument of the Jews' deliverance, which he gave orders for as soon as ever he was master of the kingdom of Babylon, perhaps in contradiction to Nebuchadnezzar, whose family he had cut off, and because he took a pleasure in undoing what he had done, or in policy, to recommend his newly-acquired dominion as merciful and gentle, or (as some think) in a pious regard to the prophecy of Isaiah, which had been published, and well known, above 150 years before, where he was expressly named as the man that should do this for God, and for whom God would do great things (Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1, etc.), and which perhaps was shown to him by those about him. His name (some say) in the Persian language signifies the sun, for he brought light and healing to the church of God, and was an eminent type of Christ the Sun of righteousness. Some was that his name signifies a father, and Christ is the everlasting Father. Now here we are told, I. Whence this proclamation took its rise. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus. Note, The hearts of kings are in the hand of the Lord, and, like the rivulets of water, he turneth them which way soever he will. It is said of Cyrus that he knew not God, nor how to serve him; but God knew him, and how to serve himself by him, Isa 45:4. God governs the world by his influence on the spirits of men, and, whatever good is done at any time, it is God that stirs up the spirit to do it, puts thoughts into the mind, gives to the understanding to form a right judgment, and directs the will which way he pleases. Whatever good offices therefore are, at any time, done for the church of God, he must have the glory of them. II. The reference it had to the prophecy of Jeremiah, by whom God had not only promised that they should return, but had fixed the time, which set time to favour Sion had now come. Seventy years were determined (Jer 25:12; Jer 29:10); and he that kept the promise made concerning Israel's deliverance out of Egypt to a day (Exo 12:41) was doubtless as punctual to this. What Cyrus now did was long since said to be the confirming of the word of God's servants, Isa 44:26. Jeremiah, while he lived, was hated and despised; yet thus did Providence honour him long after, that a mighty monarch was influenced to act in pursuance of the word of the Lord by his mouth. III. The date of this proclamation. It was in his first year, not the first of his reign over Persia, the kingdom he was born to, but the first of his reign over Babylon, the kingdom he had conquered. Those are much honoured whose spirits are stirred up to begin with God and to serve him in their first years. IV. The publication of it, both by word of mouth (he caused a voice to pass throughout all his kingdom, like a jubilee-trumpet, a joyful sabbatical year after many melancholy ones, proclaiming liberty to the captives), and also in black and white: he put it in writing, that it might be the more satisfactory, and might be sent to those distant provinces where the ten tribes were scattered in Assyria and Media, Kg2 17:6. V. The purport of this proclamation of liberty. 1. The preamble shows the causes and considerations by which he was influenced, Ezr 1:2. It should seem, his mind was enlightened with the knowledge of Jehovah (for so he calls him), the God of Israel, as the only living and true God, the God of heaven, who is the sovereign Lord and disposer of all the kingdoms of the earth; of him he says (Ezr 1:3), He is the God, God alone, God above all. Though he had not known God by education, God made him so far to know him now as that he did this service with an eye to him. He professes that he does it, (1.) In gratitude to God for the favours he had bestowed upon him: The God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. This sounds a little vain-glorious, for there were many kingdoms of the earth which he had nothing to do with; but he means that God had given him all that was given to Nebuchadnezzar, whose dominion, Daniel says, was to the end of the earth, Dan 4:22; Dan 5:19. Note, God is the fountain of power; the kingdoms of the earth are at his disposal; whatever share any have of them they have from him: and those whom God has entrusted with great power and large possessions should look upon themselves as obliged thereby to do much for him. (2.) In obedience to God. He hat charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem; probably by a dream or vision of the night, confirmed by comparing it with the prophecy of Isaiah, where his doing it was foretold. Israel's disobedience to God's charge, which they were often told of, is aggravated by the obedience of this heathen king. 2. He gives free leave to all the Jews that were in his dominions to go up to Jerusalem, and to build the temple of the Lord there, Ezr 1:3. His regard to God made him overlook, (1.) The secular interest of his government. It would have been his policy to keep so great a number of serviceable men in his dominions, and seemed impolitic to let them go and take root again in their own land; but piety is the best policy. (2.) The honour of the religion of his country. Why did he not order them to build a temple to the gods of Babylon or Persia? He believed the God of Israel to be the God of heaven, and therefore obliged his Israel to worship him only. Let them walk in the name of the Lord their God. 3. He subjoins a brief for a collection to bear the charges of such as were poor and not able to bear their own, Ezr 1:4. "Whosoever remaineth, because he has not the means to bear his charges to Jerusalem, let the men of his place help him." Some take it as an order to the king's officers to supply them out of his revenue, as Ezr 6:8. But it may mean a warrant to the captives to ask and receive the alms and charitable contributions of all the king's loving subjects. And we may suppose the Jews had conducted themselves so well among their neighbours that they would be as forward to accommodate them because they loved them as the Egyptians were because they were weary of them. At least many would be kind to them because they saw the government would take it well. Cyrus not only gave his good wishes with those that went (Their God be with them, Ezr 1:3), but took care also to furnish them with such things as they needed. He took it for granted that those among them who were of ability would offer their free-will offerings for the house of God, to promote the rebuilding of it. But, besides that, he would have them supplied out of his kingdom. Well-wishers to the temple should be well-doers for it.

This chapter informs us of the proclamation of Cyrus king of Persia, for the Jews to return to their own country, and rebuild their temple, Ezr 1:1, and that, upon it, the chief of them rose up for that purpose, whose hands were strengthened and supplied by those about them, Ezr 1:5 and particularly by Cyrus, who gave orders that the vessels belonging to the temple should be delivered to them, Ezr 1:7.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,.... Not in the first of his reign over Persia, for he had been many years king over that, and now had all the kingdoms of the earth given him, Ezr 1:2, but over Babylon, and the dominions belonging to it, which commenced with Darius upon the taking of Babylon; he reigned in all thirty years, as Cicero (g) from a Persian writer relates; or twenty nine, according to Herodotus (h); but in what year this was is not certain; Africanus (i), has proved, from various historians, that it was the first year of the fifty fifth Olympiad, perhaps about the twentieth of Cyrus's Persian government (k); See Gill on Dan 10:1, that the word of the Lord, by the mouth of Jeremiah, might be fulfilled; which foretold that the Jews should return from their captivity at the end of seventy years, which fell on the first of Cyrus, reckoning from the fourth of Jehoiakim, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar, see Jer 25:1. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia; who has the hearts of all men in his hands, and even of the kings of the earth, and can turn them as he pleases; he wrought upon him, put it into his heart, enlightened his mind, showed him what was right, and his duty to do, and pressed him to the performance of it; so that he could not be easy until he had done it, and he was made thoroughly willing, and even eager to do it: that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing; gave it in writing to his heralds to read and proclaim throughout all his dominions: saying; as follows. (g) De Divinatione, l. 1. (h) Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 214. (i) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 10. c. 10. p. 488. (k) Nic. Abrami Pharus, p. 303.

[Synopsis on Ezra] These two books were written by the man whose name they bear as a title. This Ezra, being a priest and a scribe, recounted the return of the children of Israel from Persia to Jerusalem. In the first book, he relates how the charge of organizing the return was in the hand of Josue the son of Josedec, and of Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Nehemiah, a Jewish eunuch. The return was occasioned as follows: three soldiers who guarded the king, one of whom was Zerubbabel, were engaged in a competition regarding a certain question, and a promise had been made that the winner should ask the king for whatever he wanted. When the first soldier had said that wine was stronger, and the second that the king was stronger, Zerubbabel contended that women were stronger, and that truth excelled over all things. Because Zerubbabel spoke these things, he won. When he was told to ask what he wanted, he asked for the captives to be released and for Jerusalem to be rebuilt. And it was done as he asked, and the captives were let go. For at that time sixty years of wrath had been completed. The people of the tribes of Juda and Benjamin, together with the Levites, who went up from the captivity to Jerusalem, were in all forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty in number. Their menservants and womenservants were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-four. Their singing men were two hundred and forty-five. Their camels four hundred and thirty-five. Their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty. The builders were Zerubbabel, Josue the son of Josedec, and Nehemiah. As for Ezra, being skilled in the knowledge of the law, he brought forth the law and read it, and arranged everything pertaining to the temple, and he also it was who used to designate the Levites according to the law. Moreover, he also made sure that strange wives should be cast out by such as had married them during the time of the captivity. They all cast them out indeed, and they cleansed themselves, and, as is written, they observed the phase and a fast according to the law.

Whether it may be more difficult to do or not to do what you have requested, I have not yet established. For it is also not my desire to refuse your commands, and the greatness of weight imposed thus press upon the neck, so that before a falling under the bundle, there might rather be a lightening (of the load). The efforts of the envious agree with this, who consider all that I write reproof, with conscience occasionally fighting against them, publicly tearing apart what they read secretly, to such a degree that I am compelled to cry out and to say: "O Lord, free my soul from crooked lips and a false tongue" (Ps 119.2). It is the third year that you always write and write again, that I might translate the book of Ezra for you from Hebrew, as though you do not have the Greek and Latin scrolls, or whatever it is which is translated by us might not be something immediately spat upon by all. As a certain person says, "For to strive without effort, and not to seek anything by wearying except hatred, is extreme insanity" (Sallust, Jugurtha 3). Therefore, I implore you, my dearest Domnius and Rogatian, that, keeping the reading private, you will not bring the book forth into the public, nor throw food to the fastidious, and you will avoid the pride of them who know only (how) to judge others, and themselves (know how) to do nothing. And if there are any of the brothers whom we do not displease, give the text to them, admonishing that they transcribe the Hebrew names, of which there is a great abundance in this book, separately and with intermediate spaces. For it will profit nothing to correct the book, without diligence being preserved in the correction of the copiers. Neither should it disturb anyone that the book edited by us is one, nor should they be delighted by the dreams of the third and fourth books (which are) of the apocrypha, both because among the Hebrews the discourses of Ezra and Nehemiah are confined to one scroll, and those things which are not found among them, nor are of the twenty-four elders, are for throwing away. And if anyone sets the (version of the) Seventy interpreters before you, the variety of the texts of which shows them torn and perverted, nor indeed can it be asserted truth is diverse, send him to the Gospels, in which are set down many things as though from the Old Testament, things which are not found among the Seventy interpreters, like this: "He will be called a Nazarene," and "From Egypt I have called my son," and "They will look on him whom they have pierced" and many other things which we are saving for a more extensive work, and ask of him where they might be written, and when he has not been able to reveal (where), you must read from these texts which recently were edited by us, daily pierced by the tongues of the slanderous. But so that I might come to a shortcut, certainly what I will introduce is the most reasonable. I have given, in what is translated by me, anything that is not found in the Greek or is found otherwise (than there). Which interpreter do they mangle? They may ask the Hebrews and their authors, whether they accept or reject the sense of my translation. Furthermore, it is another thing if, as is said, with eyes closed they want to slander me and not imitate the study and goodwill of the Greeks, who, after the Seventy translators, with the Gospel of Christ now shining, they both attentively read the Jewish and Ebionite interpreters of the Old Law, namely Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, and have also dedicated (them) to the churches, through the labor of Origen in the Hexapla. How much more should Latins be grateful, having understood that the joy of Greece is to borrow anything from itself (?). For firstly, it is of great expense and of infinite difficulty to be able to have all of the texts; then also, those who have (them) and are ignorant of the Hebrew words will err more, not knowing which ones of the many will have said the truth. Which thing also happened recently to a certain very wise man among the Greeks, so that occasionally leaving the sense of the Scriptures, the error of some particular translator was followed. And we, who at least have a little knowledge of the Hebrew tongue, and our Latin does not lack style in any way, are both better able than others to judge, and to express those things of them which we understand in our language. Therefore, even if a serpent hisses, "and the victor Sinon throws burning torches," with Christ helping, my speech will never be silenced, for (even my) severed tongue will stutter (something). Those who will, may read; those who won’t, may throw away. They may scatter (?) the writings; they may slander the letters. Much more by your love will I be provoked toward study, rather than be deterred by their detraction and hatred.

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, etc. Ancient histories, which likewise agree with the writings of the prophet Daniel, recount that Cyrus, king of Persia, with the assistance of Darius, king of the Medes, destroyed the empire of the Babylonians, killing their last king Balthasar, and devastating and destroying the city itself. Cyrus, knowing that the kingdom had been given to him by the God of Israel, immediately after he conquered the kingdom that had oppressed and enslaved the people of Israel, granted the people the ability to return to their homeland and to rebuild the house of their God, which had been burnt down in that place. He proclaimed this decree of liberation not only verbally to those present but also sent letters to those far-off throughout his provinces, declaring publicly that the God of Israel is the true Lord and God of heaven and the author of all kingdoms. All these events were openly predicted by the holy prophets, and Jeremiah foretold the number of years they would serve in Babylon and when they would be called back to their homeland. Isaiah even revealed the name of King Cyrus, through whom the liberation from servitude and the permission to restore the temple would occur, without any prophetic enigmas. Thus, Jeremiah says: "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them, etc." And later: "When seventy years are completed in Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill my good word toward you and bring you back to this place" (Jer. 25, 29). Moreover, Isaiah says: "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord who makes all things." And shortly after: "Who says to the deep: Be dry! and I will dry up your rivers. Who says to Cyrus: He is my shepherd, and he will fulfill all my pleasure. Who speaks to Jerusalem: You shall be built, and to the temple: Your foundation shall be laid" (Isa. 44). "Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and to loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut. I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name: I have named you, though you have not known Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me" (Isa. 45). From Isaiah's prophecy, it is believed that King Cyrus greatly loved the children of Israel, released them from captivity, and commanded the rebuilding of the Lord's temple because he had heard their prophets speak by the Spirit of God of his kingdom and the destruction of Babylon. The very manner of the conquest by which Babylon began to be overthrown was explicitly expressed by the same prophets; Isaiah said: "Who says to the deep: Be dry! and I will dry up your rivers." And Jeremiah added: "The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire." Histories narrate that, by diverting and drying up the Euphrates river that flowed through the middle of Babylon, the enemy entered the city through its dried-up channels. These few points have been mentioned about history. Yet, according to mystical meanings, King Cyrus is a type of the Lord and Savior both in name and deed, which we state not from our conjecture but from the very clear words of Isaiah, where Isaiah says in the person of the Lord: "I have likened you, and you have not known Me" (Isa. 45). God likened him to His Son, although he did not recognize God who likened him; first, in that he dignified him by calling him His anointed; secondly, in designating him Cyrus, meaning 'heir,' long before he was born; for the name fittingly applies to Him to whom the same God the Father said: "Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance" (Ps. 2). The Apostle says: "He appointed Him heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds" (Heb. 1). And even while He appeared in the flesh, the enemies who persecuted Him said: "This is the heir. Come, let us kill Him, and seize His inheritance" (Matt. 21; Mark 12). But also because God the Father subjected nations before the face of Cyrus, turned the back of kings, broke the gates of bronze, and shattered the bars of iron, that is, of Babylon and other cities taken by him, these treasures of hidden riches and secrets of various unknown provinces likened him to our Lord and Savior, who subjoined not only all gentile nations but even the very rulers and authors of secular wisdom to His dominion through the preaching of the apostles across the world; who overthrew the gates of Hell to bring His elect, taken thence, into the liberty of the heavenly homeland; who destroyed the errors of the nations and by the mouths of humble apostles overturned doctrines fortified by human reasoning, so that, having corrected them, He might reveal the light of His faith and truth, in which are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. These treasures our Lord eternally possessed in the nature of His Divinity from the Father, but in assumed humanity, He received them in time, from the moment He began to be man. So He likened Cyrus to His only begotten Son, our God and Lord Jesus Christ, for just as he, by destroying the Chaldean empire, liberated God's people, sent them back to their homeland, and ordered the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, manifesting this in letters to fulfill the words of Jeremiah, who predicted this would happen. Thus, the Mediator between God and men, by destroying the kingdom of the devil throughout the world, rescues His dispersed elect from tyranny and gathers them into His Church, justifying them by faith in the present and hastening them toward the vision of perpetual peace in the future, for Jerusalem is called the vision of peace. He also causes the restoration of the temple that had been set on fire, bringing back those who had lost faith through the snares of the ancient enemy to salvation, making them worthy of His habitation. Moreover, He sent the holy Scriptures into the whole world, by which he preached the faith in His name and the hope of salvation to all who belong to His kingdom, that is, to all the elect. Not only Jeremiah but all the prophets, in common sense, foretold this. As He Himself said to His disciples: "It is necessary that all things written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms concerning Me be fulfilled" (Luke 24). The Lord also stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that, recognizing the power and providence of the God of Israel, he would do what Scripture narrates of him. And the Lord says in the Gospel to the Jews: "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things" (John 8). When Cyrus in his written declaration says: "The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth," he rightly confesses the God of Israel to be the Lord God of heaven, who also has control of all the kingdoms of the earth and can give them to whomever He wills. Yet it seems less true that he declares all the kingdoms of the earth were given to him unless it is understood that at the time he wrote this, no adversary of his reign existed; or that, having conquered, destroyed, and emptied the ancient and strong empire of the Chaldeans, he believed none could resist his kingdom in the whole world. This statement, however, truly applies to His majesty who said: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28). The same Scripture of Cyrus follows:

The proclamation of Cyrus for the rebuilding of the temple, Ezr 1:1-4. The people provide for their return, Ezr 1:5, Ezr 1:6. Cyrus restores to Sheshbazzar the vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar out of the temple of Solomon, Ezr 1:7-11. In the introduction to this book the reader will find the history of Ezra detailed at considerable length. It is only necessary to say here that he is generally allowed among the Jews to have been of the sacerdotal family, and therefore he is called ὁ ἱερευς, the priest by the Septuagint. Among the rabbins he passes for a most extraordinary critic, Divinely authorized to collect and arrange the different portions of the sacred writings, and digest them into a system. How far all they say on this subject is true, we cannot tell; he was, beyond all controversy, a very eminent man; and in all that he did, acted under the immediate direction and inspiration of the Almighty. This history contains the transactions of about eighty-two years; from the first year of Cyrus in Babylon, according to Archbishop Usher, A.M. 3468, to the nineteenth year of Ardsheer Diraz Dest, or Artaxerxes Longimanus, who sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem, about A.M. 3550. For all other particulars, see the introduction.

Now in the first year - This is word for word with the two last verses of the preceding book; which stand here in their proper place and connection, but there are entirely destitute of chronological connection and reference. Cyrus - This prince, so eminent in antiquity, is said to have been the son of Cambyses king of Persia, and Mandane, daughter of Astyages king of the Medes; and was born about six hundred years before Christ. Josephus accounts for his partiality to the Jews from this circumstance; that he was shown the places in Isaiah the prophet where he is mentioned by name, and his exploits and conquests foretold: see Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1, etc. Finding himself thus distinguished by the God of the Jews, he was anxious to give him proofs of his gratitude in return; and so made the decree in favor of the Jews, restored their sacred vessels, gave them liberty to return to their own land, and encouraged them to rebuild the temple of Jehovah, etc. It is very probable that when Cyrus took Babylon he found Daniel there, who had been long famed as one of the wisest ministers of state in all the East; and it is most likely that it was this person who pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah, and gave him those farther intimations relative to the Divine will which were revealed to himself. Of his death there are contradictory accounts. Herodotus says, that having turned his arms against the Massagetes, and killed the son of Tomyris their queen, the mother, impatient to avenge the death of her son, sent him a defiance; promised to glut him with blood; and, having attacked him, pretended to be worsted and to fly; and thus she drew him and his army into an ambuscade, where he was routed and slain, and a considerable part of his army destroyed. The enraged queen having found his body, cut off his head, and threw it into a vessel full of human blood, with this most bitter sarcasm: - Ευ μεν, εμευ ζωσης τε και νικωσης ες μαχην, απωλεσας παιδα τον εμον, ἑλων δολῳ· σε δ' εγω, καταπερ ηπειλησα, αἱματος κορεσω. - Herod. Clio, c. 214. "Although living and victorious, thou hast destroyed me in slaying my son, whom thou hast overcome by deceit; but, as I have threatened, I will now slake thy thirst with blood." Cyrus, thy thirst was blood, now drink thy fill. By - Jeremiah - This prophet, Jer 25:12; Jer 29:11, had foretold that the Babylonish captivity should last only seventy years: these were now ended; Cyrus had given the Jews permission and encouragement to return to Judea, and rebuild the temple of the Lord; and thus the prediction of Jeremiah was fulfilled.

PROCLAMATION OF CYRUS FOR BUILDING THE TEMPLE. (Ezr 1:1-6) in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia--The Persian empire, including Persia, Media, Babylonia, and Chaldea, with many smaller dependencies, was founded by Cyrus, 536 B.C. [HALES]. that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled--(See Jer 25:12; Jer 29:10). This reference is a parenthetic statement of the historian, and did not form part of the proclamation.

I. The Return of the Jews from Babylon under Cyrus. Restoration of the Temple and of the Worship of God at Jerusalem - Ezr 1:1 When the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity had elapsed, King Cyrus, by an edict published in the first year of his rule over Babylon, gave permission to all the Jews in his whole realm to return to their native land, and called upon them to rebuild the temple of God at Jerusalem. The execution of this royal and gracious decree by the Jews forms the subject of the first part of this book - Ezr 1:1-11 and 2 treating of the return of a considerable number of families of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, under the conduct of Zerubbabel the prince and Joshua the high priest, to Jerusalem and Judaea; the remaining chapters, Ezra 3-6, of the restoration of the worship of God, and of the rebuilding of the temple.

In the first year of his rule over Babylon, Cyrus king of Persia proclaimed throughout his whole kingdom, both by voice and writing, that the God of heaven had commanded him to build His temple at Jerusalem, and called upon the Jews living in exile to return to Jerusalem, and to build there the house of the God of Israel. At the same time, he exhorted all his subjects to facilitate by gifts the journey of the Jews dwelling in their midst, and to assist by free-will offerings the building of the temple (Ezr 1:1-4). In consequence of this royal decree, those Jews whose spirit God had raised up prepared for their return, and received from their neighbours gifts and free-will offerings (Ezr 1:5 and Ezr 1:6). Cyrus, moreover, delivered to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah, the vessels of the temple which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem to Babylon. Ezr 1:1 The edict of Cyrus. - Ezr 1:1 The opening word, "and in the first year," etc., is to be explained by the circumstance that what is here recorded forms also, in Ch2 36:22 and Ch2 36:23, the conclusion of the history of the kingdom of Judah at its destruction by the Chaldeans, and is transferred thence to the beginning of the history of the restoration of the Jews by Cyrus. כּורשׁ is the Hebraized form of the ancient Persian Kurus, as Κῦρος, Cyrus, is called upon the monuments, and is perhaps connected with the Indian title Kuru; see Delitzsch on Isa 44:28. The first year of Cyrus is the first year of his rule over Babylon and the Babylonian empire. (Note: Duplex fuit initium, Cyri Persarum regis; prius Persicum, idque antiquius, posterius Babylonicum. de quo Hesdras; quia dum Cyrus in Perside tantum regnaret, regnum ejus ad Judaeos, qui in Babylonia erant, nihil adtinuit. - Cleric. ad Esr. 1:1.) פּרס - in the better editions, such as that of Norzi and J. H. Mich., with Pathach under ר, and only pointed פּרס with a graver pause, as with Silluk, 4:3, in the cuneiform inscriptions Praa - signifies in biblical phraseology the Persian empire; comp. Dan 5:28; Dan 6:9, etc. לכלות, that the word of Jahve might come to an end. כּלה, to be completed, Ch2 29:34. The word of the Lord is completed when its fulfilment takes place; hence in the Vulg. ut compleretur, i.e., למלּאות, Ch2 36:21. Here, however, כּלות is more appropriate, because the notion of the lapse or termination of the seventy years predominates. The statement of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 25:11, etc., Jer 29:10; comp. Ch2 36:21) concerning the desolation and servitude of Judah is here intended. These seventy years commenced with the first taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, when Daniel and other youths of the seed-royal were carried to Babylon (Dan 1:1-2) in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim; see the explanation of Dan 1:1. This year was the year 606 b.c.; hence the seventy years terminate in 536 b.c., the first year of the sole rule of Cyrus over the Babylonian empire. Then "Jahve stirred up the spirit of Coresh," i.e., moved him, made him willing; comp. with this expression, Ch1 5:26 and Hag 1:14. ויּעבר־קול, "he caused a voice to go forth," i.e., he proclaimed by heralds; comp. Exo 36:6; Ch2 30:5, etc. With this is zeugmatically combined the subsequent בּמכתּב וגם, so that the general notion of proclaiming has to be taken from יעבר קול, and supplied before these words. The sense is: he proclaimed throughout his whole realm by heralds, and also by written edicts. Ezr 1:2 The proclamation - "Jahve the God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah" - corresponds with the edicts of the great kings of Persia preserved in the cuneiform inscriptions, inasmuch as these, too, usually begin with the acknowledgment that they owe their power to the god Ahuramazd (Ormuzd), the creator of heaven and earth. (Note: Comp. e.g., the inscription of Elvend in three languages, explained in Joach. Mnant, Expos des lments de la grammaire assyrienne, Paris 1868, p. 302, whose Aryan text begins thus: Deus magnus Auramazd, qui maximus deorum, qui hanc terram creavit, qui hoc coelum creavit, qui homines creavit, qui potentiam (?) dedit hominibus, qui Xerxem regem fecit, etc. An inscription of Xerxes begins in a similar manner, according to Lassen, in Die altperisischen Keilinschriften, Bonn 1836, p. 172.) In this edict, however, Cyrus expressly calls the God of heaven by His Israelitish name Jahve, and speaks of a commission from this God to build Him a temple at Jerusalem. Hence it is manifest that Cyrus consciously entered into the purposes of Jahve, and sought, as far as he was concerned, to fulfil them. Bertheau thinks, on the contrary, that it is impossible to dismiss the conjecture that our historian, guided by an uncertain tradition, and induced by his own historical prepossessions, remodelled the edict of Cyrus. There is, however, no sufficient foundation for such a conjecture. If the first part of the book of Ezra is founded upon contemporary records of the events, this forbids an priori assertion that the matter of the proclamation of Cyrus rests upon an uncertain tradition, and, on the contrary, presupposes that the historian had accurate knowledge of its contents. Hence, even if the thoroughly Israelitish stamp presented by these verses can afford no support to the view that they faithfully report the contents of the royal edict, it certainly offers as little proof for the opinion that the Israelite historian remodelled the edict of Cyrus after an uncertain tradition, and from historical prepossessions. Even Bertheau finds the fact that Cyrus should have publicly made known by a written edict the permission given to the Jews to depart, probable in itself, and corroborated by the reference to such an edict in Ezr 5:17 and Ezr 6:3. This edict of Cyrus, which was deposited in the house of the rolls in the fortress of Achmetha, and still existed there in the reign of Darius Hystaspis, contained, however, not merely the permission for the return of the Jews to their native land, but, according to Ezr 6:3, the command of Cyrus to build the house of God at Jerusalem; and Bertheau himself remarks on Ezr 6:3, etc.: "There is no reason to doubt the correctness of the statement that Cyrus, at the time he gave permission for the re-settlement of the community, also commanded the expenses of rebuilding the temple to be defrayed from the public treasury." To say this, however, is to admit the historical accuracy of the actual contents of the edict, since it is hence manifest that Cyrus, of his own free will, not only granted to the Jews permission to return to the land of their fathers, but also commanded the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem. Although, then, this edict was composed, not in Hebrew, but in the current language of the realm, and is reproduced in this book only in a Hebrew translation, and although the occurrence of the name Jahve therein is not corroborated by Ezr 6:3, yet these two circumstances by no means justify Bertheau's conclusion, that "if Cyrus in this edict called the universal dominion of which he boasted a gift of the god whom he worshipped as the creator of heaven and earth, the Israelite translator, who could not designate this god by his Persian name, and who was persuaded that the God of Israel had given the kingdom to Cyrus, must have bestowed upon the supreme God, whom Cyrus mocked, the name of Jahve, the God of heaven. When, then, it might further have been said in the document, that Cyrus had resolved, not without the consent of the supreme God, to provide for the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem, - and such a reference to the supreme God might well occur in the announcement of a royal resolution in a decree of Cyrus, - the Israelite translator could not again but conclude that Cyrus referred to Jahve, and that Jahve had commanded him to provide for the building of the temple." For if Cyrus found himself impelled to the resolution of building a temple to the God of heaven in Jerusalem, i.e., of causing the temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar to be rebuilt, he must have been acquainted with this God, have conceived a high respect for Him, and have honoured Him as the God of heaven. It was not possible that he should arrive at such a resolution by faith in Ahuramazd, but only by means of facts which had inspired him with reverence for the God of Israel. It is this consideration which bestows upon the statement of Josephus, Antt. xi. 1. 1, - that Cyrus was, by means of the predictions of Isaiah, Isa 41:25., Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1., who had prophesied of him by name 200 years before, brought to the conviction that the God of the Jews was the Most High God, and was on this account impelled to this resolution, - so high a degree of probability that we cannot but esteem its essence as historical. For when we consider the position held by Daniel at the court of Darius the Mede, the father-in-law of Cyrus, - that he was there elevated to the rank of one of the three presidents set over the 120 satraps of the realm, placed in the closest relation with the king, and highly esteemed by him (Dan 6), - we are perfectly justified in adopting the opinion that Cyrus had been made acquainted with the God of the Jews, and with the prophecies of Isaiah concerning Coresh, by Daniel. (Note: Hence not only ancient expositors, but also in very recent times Pressel (Herzog's Realencycl. iii. p. 232), and A. Koehler, Haggai, p. 9, etc., defend the statement of Josephus, l.c., ταῖτ ̓ (viz., the previously quoted prophecy, Isa 44:28) οὖν ἀναγνόντα καὶ θαυμάσαντα τὸ θεῖον ὁρμή τις ἔλαβε καὶ φιλοτιμία ποιῆσαι τὰ γεγραμμένα, as historically authentic. Pressel remarks, "that Holy Scripture shows what it was that made so favourable an impression upon Cyrus, by relating the rle played by Daniel at the overthrow of the Babylonian monarchy, Dan 5:28, Dan 5:30. What wonder was it that the fulfiller of this prediction should have felt himself attracted towards the prophet who uttered it, and should willingly restore the vessels which Belshazzar had that night committed the sin of polluting?" etc. The remark of Bertheau, on the contrary, "that history knows of no Cyrus who consciously and voluntarily honours Jahve the God of Israel, and consciously and voluntarily receives and executes the commands of this God," is one of the arbitrary dicta of neological criticism.) Granting, then, that the edict of Cyrus may have been composed in the current language of the realm, and not rendered word for word in Hebrew by the biblical author of the present narrative, its essential contents are nevertheless faithfully reproduced; and there are not sufficient grounds even for the view that the God who had inspired Cyrus with this resolution was in the royal edict designated only as the God of heaven, and not expressly called Jahve. Why may not Cyrus have designated the God of heaven, to whom as the God of the Jews he had resolved to build a temple in Jerusalem, also by His name Jahve? According to polytheistic notions, the worship of this God might be combined with the worship of Ahuramazd as the supreme God of the Persians. - On וגו עלי פּקד, J. H. Mich. well remarks: Mandavit mihi, nimirum dudum ante per Jesajam Isa 44:24-28, Isa 45:1-13, forte etiam per Danielem, qui annum hunc Cyri primum vivendo attigit (Dan 1:21; Dan 7:1) et Susis in Perside vixit Dan 8:2 (in saying which, he only infers too much from the last passage; see on Dan 8:2). Ezr 1:3 In conformity with the command of God, Cyrus not only invites the Jews to return to Jerusalem, and to rebuild the temple, but also requires all his subjects to assist the returning Jews, and to give free-will offerings for the temple. מי בכם, who among you of all his people, refers to all those subjects of his realm to whom the decree was to be made known; and all the people of Jahve is the whole nation of Israel, and not Judah only, although, according to Ezr 1:5, it was mainly those only who belonged to Judah that availed themselves of this royal permission. עמּו אלהיו יהי, his God be with him, is a wish for a blessing: comp. Jos 1:17; 1 Esdras 2:5, ἔστω; while in Ch2 36:23 we find, on the other hand, יהוה for יהי. This wish is followed by the summons to go up to Jerusalem and to build the temple, the reason for which is then expressed by the sentence, "He is the God which is in Jerusalem." Ezr 1:4 וגו וכל־הנּשׁאר are all belonging to the people of God in the provinces of Babylon, all the captives still living: comp. Neh 1:2.; Hagg. Ezr 2:3. These words stand first in an absolute sense, and וגו מכּל־מּקמות belongs to what follows: In all places where he (i.e., each man) sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with gold, etc. The men of his place are the non-Israelite inhabitants of the place. נשּׂא, to assist, like Kg1 9:1. רכוּשׁ specified, besides gold, silver, and cattle, means moveable, various kinds. עם־הנּדבה, with, besides the free-will offering, i.e., as well as the same, and is therefore supplied in Ezr 1:6 by על לבד. Free-will offerings for the temple might also be gold, silver, and vessels: comp. Ezr 8:28; Exo 35:21.