Ezra 6 commentary

When God's time is come for fulfilling his gracious purposes concerning his church, he will raise up instruments to do it, from whom such good service was not expected. While our thoughts are directed to this event, we are led by Zechariah to fix our regard on a nobler, a spiritual building. The Lord Jesus Christ continues to lay one stone upon another: let us assist the great design. Difficulties delay the progress of this sacred edifice. Yet let not opposition discourage us, for in due season it will be completed to his abundant praise. He shall bring forth the head-stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

The gospel church, that spiritual temple, is long in the building, but it will be finished at last, when the mystical body is completed. Every believer is a living temple, building up himself in his most holy faith: much opposition is given to this work by Satan and our own corruptions. We trifle, and proceed in it with many stops and pauses; but He that has begun the good work, will see it performed. Then spirits of just men will be made perfect. By getting their sins taken away, the Jews would free themselves from the sting of their late troubles. Their service was with joy. Let us welcome holy ordinances with joy, and serve the Lord with gladness.

CHAPTER 6

Ezr 6:1-12. Darius' Decree for Advancing the Building.

1. Darius the king--This was Darius Hystaspes. Great and interesting light has been thrown on the history of this monarch and the transaction of his reign, by the decipherment of the cuneatic inscriptions on the rocks at Behistun.

in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon--An idea of the form of this Babylonian register house, as well as the manner of preserving public records within its repositories, can be obtained from the discoveries at Nineveh. Two small chambers were discovered in the palace of Koyunjik, which, from the fragments found in them, Mr. Layard considers "as a house of the rolls." After reminding his readers that the historical records and public documents of the Assyrians were kept on tablets and cylinders of baked clay, many specimens of which have been found, he goes on to say, "The chambers I am describing appear to have been a depository in the palace of Nineveh for such documents. To the height of a foot or more from the floor they were entirely filled with them; some entire, but the greater part broken into many fragments, probably by the falling in of the upper part of the building. They were of different sizes; the largest tablets were flat, and measured about nine inches by six and a half inches; the smaller were slightly convex, and some were not more than an inch long, with but one or two lines of writing. The cuneiform characters on most of them were singularly sharp and well-defined, but so minute in some instances as to be almost illegible without a magnifying glass. These documents appear to be of various kinds. The documents that have thus been discovered in the house of rolls' at Nineveh probably exceed all that have yet been afforded by the monuments of Egypt, and when the innumerable fragments are put together and transcribed, the publication of these records will be of the greatest importance to the history of the ancient world" [Nineveh and Babylon].

2. Achmetha--long supposed to be the capital of Greater Media (the Ecbatana of classical, the Hamadan of modern times), [is] at the foot of the Elwund range of hills, where, for its coolness and salubrity, Cyrus and his successors on the Persian throne established their summer residence. There was another city, however, of this name, the Ecbatana of Atropatene, and the most ancient capital of northern Media, and recently identified by Colonel Rawlinson in the remarkable ruins of Takht-i-Soleiman. Yet as everything tends to show the attachment of Cyrus to his native city, the Atropatenian Ecbatana, rather than to the stronger capital of Greater Media, Colonel Rawlinson is inclined to think that he deposited there, in his fortress, the famous decree relating to the Jews, along with the other records and treasures of his empire [Nineveh and Persepolis].

8-10. of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river ... expenses be given unto these men--The decree granted them the privilege of drawing from his provincial treasury of Syria, to the amount of whatever they required for the furthering of the work and providing sacrifice for the service of the temple, that the priests might daily pray for the health of the king and the prosperity of the empire.

11-12. whosoever shall alter this word--The warning was specially directed against the turbulent and fanatical Samaritans. The extremely favorable purport of this edict was no doubt owing in some measure to the influence of Cyrus, of whom Darius entertained a high admiration, and whose two daughters he had married. But it proceeded still more from the deep impressions made even on the idolatrous people of that country and that age, as to the being and providence of the God of Israel.

Ezr 6:13-15. The Temple Finished.

13-15. Then Tatnai ... did speedily--A concurrence of favorable events is mentioned as accelerating the restoration of the temple and infusing a new spirit and energy into the workmen, who now labored with unabating assiduity till it was brought to a completion. Its foundation was laid in April, 536 B.C. (Ezr 3:8-10), and it was completed on February 21, 515 B.C., being twenty-one years after it was begun [Lightfoot].

Ezr 6:16-18. Feasts of the Dedication.

16. the children of Israel ... kept the dedication ... with joy--The ceremonial was gone through with demonstrations of the liveliest joy. The aged who had wept at the laying of the foundation [Ezr 3:12] were most, if not all of them, now dead; and all rejoiced at the completion of this national undertaking.

17. twelve he-goats--as at the dedication of the tabernacle (Nu 7:87; 8:17).

18. they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses ... as it is written in the book of Moses--Although David arranged the priests and Levites in courses according to their families, it was Moses who assigned to the priests and Levites their rights and privileges, their stations and several duties.

Ezr 6:19-22. And of the Passover.

21. all such as had separated themselves ... from the filthiness of the heathen of the land--that is, who had given satisfactory evidence of being true proselytes by not only renouncing the impure worship of idolatry, but by undergoing the rite of circumcision, a condition indispensable to a participation of the passover.

22. kept the feast ... with joy: for the Lord ... turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them--that is, king of the Persian empire, which now included the possessions, and had surpassed the glory, of Assyria. The favorable disposition which Darius had evinced towards the Jews secured them peace and prosperity and the privileges of their own religion during the rest of his reign. The religious joy that so remarkably characterized the celebration of this feast, was testified by expressions of lively gratitude to God, whose overruling power and converting grace had produced so marvellous a change in the hearts of the mighty potentates, and disposed them, pagans though they were, to aid the cause and provide for the worship of the true God.

In the house of the rolls - בית ספריא beith siphraiya, the house of the books, the king's library. This is the first time we hear of a library.

At Achmetha - Ecbatana in India, whither it is probable all the records of Cyrus had been carried. This was a sort of summer residence for the kings of Persia.

The height thereof threescore cubits - This was much larger than the temple of Solomon. This was sixty cubits high, and sixty cubits broad; whereas Solomon's was only twenty cubits broad, and thirty cubits high.

Three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber - We have noticed this kind of building before, three courses of stones, and then a course of strong balk; and this continued to the square of the building.

And let the expenses be given - Cyrus had ordered wood to be cut at Libanus, and conveyed to Joppa at his expense; but it does not appear that he furnished the other expenses of the building, for we have already seen that the Jews contributed for the defraying of all others. But it appears that he provided at his own expense the sacrifices and offerings for the temple. See Ezr 6:9.

Be ye far from thence - Do not interrupt the Jews in their building; but, on the contrary further them all in your power.

And pray for the life of the king, and of his sons - Even heathens believed that offerings made in their behalf to the God of the Jews would be available. And this principle has had considerable influence in certain states where there was even a form of religion established by the law, to induce them to tolerate other forms, that the state might have the benefit of their prayers.

Let timber be pulled down - Whether this refers to the punishment of hanging and gibbeting of whipping at a post, or of empaling, is not quite clear. In China they tie culprits to posts; and the executioner cuts them open while alive, takes out their bowels, etc. Empaling, thrusting a sharp stake through the body till it comes out at the side of the neck, or hanging, seems to be intended here.

Let his house be made a dunghill - Let it be reduced to ruins, and never more used, except for the most sordid and unclean purposes.

According to the commandment of the God of Israel - He first gave the order, and stirred up the hearts of the following Persian kings to second that order.

Of Cyrus - This sovereign gave his orders for the rebuilding of the temple about A.M. 3468.

And Darius - Darius Hystaspes confirmed the above orders, A. M. 3485.

And Artaxerxes - Artaxerxes Longimanus sent Ezra to Judea with new privileges, A.M. 3547. With the permission of the same king, Nehemiah came to Judea in 3550. The writer recapitulates the different sovereigns who favored the Jews after the Babylonish captivity. See Calmet.

This house was finished - The sixth year of Darius mentioned here was about A.M. 3489, twenty years after the foundation had been laid by Zerubbabel, under the reign of Cyrus.

Twelve he-goats - This was a sin-offering for every tribe.

And they set the priests - With this verse the Chaldee or Aramitic part of this chapter ends.

The Levites were purified together - They were all ready at one time to observe the proper rites and ceremonies, and had no need of having a second passover, which was appointed by the law for those who had been accidentally defiled, or were at a distance from the tabernacle. See 2Chr 30:3.

And all such as had separated themselves - These were the proselytes who had embraced the Jewish religion by having mingled with the Jews in their captivity. This proves that there the poor captives had so acted according to the principles of their religion, that the heathens saw it, and walked in the light of the Lord with them. A good example is very persuasive; and particularly so when founded on pure principles.

Turned the heart of the king of Assyria - I am of Calmet's mind, that king of Assyria is here put for king of Persia. Cyrus and his successors possessed all the rights and estates of the ancient kings of Assyria, and therefore the same monarch may be styled king of Assyria as well as king of Persia.

Darius had a very high character, as a wise, just, and merciful prince. To strengthen his title to the crown, he married two of the daughters of Cyrus, and, no doubt, to show his affection to this family, he the more cheerfully confirmed the edict which Cyrus had made in favor of the Jews.

A decree - To search the rolls in Babylon, where search was first made; but not finding the edict there, they searched in Achmetha, or Ecbatana, and found it.

Achmetha - The royal city of the Medes and Persians.

Cubits - Those proportions differ from those of Solomon's temple, which was but thirty cubits high, only the porch was a hundred and twenty cubits high, and but twenty cubits in breadth. Either therefore Solomon's cubits were sacred cubits, which were larger than the other, and these but common cubits. Or, the sixty cubits of height are meant only for the porch. And the word rendered breadth, may be rendered the extension or the length of it; it being improbable that the king should give orders about the breadth, and none about the length of it.

Destroy - Tho' this temple was at length most justly destroyed by the righteous hand of God, yet perhaps the Romans, who were the instruments of that destruction, felt the effects of this curse. For that empire sensibly declined ever after, 'till it was wholly destroyed.

Through the prophesying - This is a seasonable intimation that this great and unexpected success was not to be ascribed to chance, or to the kindness or good humour of Darius, but unto God only, who by his prophets had required and encouraged them to proceed in the work, and by his mighty power disposed Darius's heart to such kind and noble purposes.

Children of Israel - Probably some out of each of the twelve tribes.

Joyful - He had given them both cause to rejoice, and hearts to rejoice. God is the fountain whence all the streams of true joy flow. Of Assyria - Of the king of Persia, who was now king of Assyria also, here so called emphatically, to note the great power and goodness of God in turning the hearts of these great monarchs, whose predecessors had been the chief persecutors and oppressors of God's people.

1 THen Darius the king made a decree , and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon .

Either 1. To search the Rolls: Or rather 2. To permit and promote the building of the Temple. And so the following words may be rendred, after search was made, &c. the Hebrew particle, vau, being oft so used, as hath been noted before.

Either 1. In the Kingdom or Empire of Babylon, which he now possessed: Or rather 2. In the City of Babylon, where search was first made, supposing that this Edict which was made presently after Cyrus had taken Babylon, was kept there; but not finding it there, they searched in Ackmetha, and found it there.

Marginal references: Chal. [illegible: 1 word].; Chal. [illegible: 1 word] to [illegible: 1 word].

2 And there was found at Achmetha , in the palace, that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written:

Here the Kings answer may seem to begin, and this following account he sends to them, and after that lays down his commands.

The Royal City of the Medes and Persians.

Marginal references: Or, [illegible: 1 word], or i[illegible: 1+ letters] [illegible: 1 word].

3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be built, the place where they offered Sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid, the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits :

He did not command them to make it so large, for he left the ordering of the proportions of the Building to their skill and choice; but he restrained them that they should make it no larger; lest they should hereafter make use of it to other purposes against himself: But those proportions differ much from those of Solomon's Temple, which was but Thirty Cubits high, only the porch was 120 Cubits high, and but 20 Cubits in breadth. Either therefore Solomons Cubits were sacred Cubits, which were larger than the other, and these were but common Cubits. Or, the 60 Cubits of heighth are meant only of the Porch, which he would not have to be so high and magnificent as that of Solomons was, lest they should be puffed up with it, and by degrees arrive at their former heighth and insolence. And the word rendred, breadth, may be, and is by some rendred more generally, the extension, or amplitude, or the length of it; it being improbable that the King should give orders about the breadth and none about the length of it.

4 With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber : and let the expences be given out of the kings house.

As Solomon's Temple was built, 1 Kin. 6. 36. Whereof Darius was informed by some of the Jews, who also desired that it might be done in this manner.

5 And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored , and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place; and place them in the house of God.

To the Jews; from whom possibly they had been taken, and were secured somwhere by those Enemies of the Jews, who had made the work of the Temple to cease by force or power, Ezra 4, 23.

Marginal references: Chal. [illegible: 1 word].

6 Now therefore Tatnai, governour beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites; which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence :

i. e. From hindering or discouraging the work.

Marginal references: Chal. their [illegible: 1 word].

8 Moreover, I make a decree, what ye shall do to the elders of the Jews, for the building of this house of God: that of the kings goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expences be given unto these men, that they be not hindred .

From proceeding in their work for want of Money.

Marginal references: Chal. by me [illegible: 1 word] is [illegible: 1 word].; Chal. made [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word]

14 And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophecying of Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo ; and they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, [illegible: 1+ letters]and Darius, and Artaxerxes , kings of Persia.

This is a seasonable intimation that this great and unexpected success was not to be ascribed to chance, nor to the kindness or good humour of Darius, but unto God only, who by his Prophets had required and encouraged them to proceed in the work▪ and by his mighty power disposed Darius Heart to such kind and noble Purposes and Actions.

Who is thought to be either 1. Xerxes Darius his Son and Successor, who was called also Artaxerxes, and Ahashuerus, who is here joined with his Father Darius, possibly because he favoured the Jews, and promoted their Cause with his Father, and saw to the Execution of his Fathers Decree, and was his Fathers Vice-Roy, if not made Co-Emperour with his Father in his Life time, which was not unusual. Or 2. Artaxerxes Long[illegible: 1+ letters]s, the Son of Xerxes, who was best known by the name of Artaxerxes: who is here joined with Cyrus and Darius, because though the Temple was finished, as to the substance of the work, in Darius's Reign, v. 15. yet it was afterwards more fully compleated and adorned by Artaxerxes, as is evident from ch. 7. v. 20, 27. by whom Nehemiah was sent to Ierusalem with a large Commission and full Power to take care about the Building of the City, and all other things concerning the Jewish Nation and Religion.

Marginal references: Chal. decree.

21 And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat:

i. e. Such as had forsaken that filthy and Idolatrous Religion of the Heathens, and were proselyred to the Jewish Religion: for such were allowed to eat the Passover, Exod. 12. 48. Numb. 9. 14.

22 And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

i. e. Of the King of Persia, which was now king of Assyria also, or Emperour of that vast and famous Assyrian Empire: which was first subdued by the King of Babylon, who therefore is somwhere called the Assyrian; and for the same reason the Persian Monarch is here so called emphatically, to note the great Power and Goodness of God in turning the hearts of these great Monarchs, whose predecessors had been the chief persecutors and oppressors of Gods People.

Ezr 6:1

Search was made in the house of the books where also the treasures were deposited in Babylon. מהחתין, partic. Aphel of נחת; see Ezr 5:15.

Ezr 6:2-4 “And there was found at Achmetha, in the fortress that is in the land of Media, a roll; and thus was it recorded therein.” In Babylon itself the document sought for was not found; though, probably the search there made, led to the discovery of a statement that documents pertaining to the time of Cyrus were preserved in the fortress of Achmetha, where the record in question was subsequently discovered. אחמתא, the capital of Great Media - τὰ Εκβάτανα, Judith 1:1, 14, or Ἀγβάτανα (Herod. i. 98) - built by Dejokes, was the summer residence of the Persian and Parthian kings, and situate in the neighbourhood of the modern Hamadan. Achmetha is probably the Old-Median or Old-Persian pronunciation of the name, the letters אחם on Sassanidian coins being explained as denoting this city (Mordtmann in the Zeitschrift der deutsch morgenl. Gesellschaft, viii. p. 14). The citadel of Ecbatana probably contained also the royal palace and the official buildings. For בּגוּהּ is found in some MSS and editions בּגוּהּ; but Norzi and J. H. Mich. have Pathach under ו as the better authorized reading. דּכרונה, stat. emph. of דּכרון, memorandum, ὑπόμνημα, a record of anything memorable. The contents of this document follow, Ezr 6:3-5. First, the proclamation of King Cyrus in the first year of his reign: “The house of God at Jerusalem, let this house be built as a place where sacrifices are offered.” The meaning of the words following is doubtful. We translate מסובלין ואשּׁוחי: and let them raise up its foundations, i.e., its foundations are to be again raised up, restored. אשּׁין, foundations (Ezr 4:12); מסובלין, part. Poel of סבל, to carry, to raise (not to be raised). סבל often stands for the Hebrew נשׂא, to carry, to raise up, to erect; compare the Samaritan translation of Gen 13:10 : וסבל את עגין, he lifted up his eyes. סובל אשּׁין analogous with מוסדי ד קומם, Isa 58:12, and signifies to erect buildings upon the foundations.The Vulgate, following a rabbinical explanation, has ponant fundamenta supportantia, which is here unsuitable. The conjecture of Bertheau, who labours, by all sorts of critical combinations of the letters in the words מסובלין ואשּׁוחי, to produce the text תמנים מאה אמין אשוהי, “its foundation length 180 cubits,” is as needless as it is mistaken. The interpretation of the words in the lxx, καὶ ἔθηκεν ἔπαρμα, and Pseudo-Ezra 6, διὰ πυρός ἐνδελεχους, are nothing else than unmeaning suppositions.

Expositors are divided as to the dimensions of the new temple, “its height 60 cubits, and its breadth 60 cubits,” Antiq. xi. 4. 6; while Solomon’s temple was but 30 cubits high, and, without the side-buildings, only 20 cubits broad. We nevertheless consider the statements correct, and the text incorrupt, and explain the absence of the measure of length simply by the fact that, as far as length was concerned, the old and new temples were of equal dimensions. Solomon’s temple, measured externally, inclusive of the porch and the additional building at the hinder part, was about 100 cubits long (see the ground plan in my bibl. Archaeol. Table II. fig. 1). To correspond with this length, the new temple was, according to the desire of Cyrus, to be both higher and broader, viz., 60 cubits high, and as many wide, - measurements which certainly apply to external dimensions. Zerubbabel’s temple, concerning the structure of which we have no further particulars, was externally of this height and breadth. This may be inferred from the speech of King Herod in Joseph. Ant. xv. 11. 1, in which this tyrant, who desired to be famous for the magnificence of his buildings, endeavoured to gain the favour of the people for the rebuilding of the temple, which he was contemplating, by the remark that the temple built by their forefathers, on their return from the Babylonian captivity, was 60 cubits too low, - Solomon’s temple having been double that height (sc. according to the height given in 2Ch 3:4, 120 cubits) - and from the fact that Herod made his temple 100 or 120 cubits high. Hence the temple of Zerubbabel, measured externally, must have been 60 cubits high; and consequently we need not diminish the breadth of 60 cubits, also given in this verse, by alterations of the text, because Herod’s temple was likewise of this width, but must understand the given dimensions to relate to external height and breadth. For in Herod’s temple the holy places were but 60 cubits high and 20 wide; the holy place, 40 cubits long, 20 wide, and 60 high; the holy of holies, 20 cubits long, 20 wide, and 60 high. And we may assume that the dimensions of Zerubbabel’s temple preserved the same proportions, with perhaps the modification, that the internal height did not amount to 60 cubits, - an upper storey being placed above the holy place and the holy of holies, as in Herod’s temple; which would make the internal height of these places amount to only about 30 or 40 cubits.While we acknowledge it possible that the holy and most holy places, measured within, may have been only 40 cubits high, we cannot admit the objection of H. Merz, in Herzog’s Realencycl. xv. p. 513, that 20 cubits of internal breadth is an inconceivable proportion to 60 cubits, this being the actual proportion in Herod’s temple, as Merz himself states, p. 516, without finding it in this instance ”inconceivable.”

In like manner must the 60 cubits of breadth be so divided, that the 5 cubits internal breadth of the side-buildings of Solomon’s temple must be enlarged to 10, which, allowing 5 cubits of thickness for the walls, would make the entire building 60 cubits wide (5 + 10 + 5 + 20 + 5 + 10 + 5).The conjecture of Merz in his above-cited article, and of Bertheau, that the dimensions of Zerubbabel’s temple were double those of Solomon’s, - viz. the holy and most holy places 40 cubits high and 40 wide, the upper chambers 20 cubits high, the side-chambers each 10 cubits high, and the whole building 120 cubits long, - must be rejected as erroneous, by the consideration that Herod’s temple was only the length of Solomon’s, viz., 100 cubits, of which the holy of holies took up 20, the holy place 40, the porch 10, the additional building behind 10, and the four walls 20. For Herod would by no means have diminished the length of his building 20, or properly 40 cubits. We also see, from the above-named dimensions, that the 60 cubits broad cannot be understood of internal breadth.

The statement in Ezr 6:4, “three layers of great stones, and a layer of new timber,” is obscure. נדבּך means row, layer, and stands in the Targums for the Hebrew טוּר, “used of a layer of bricks;” see Gesen. Thes. p. 311, and Levy, chald. Wörterbuch, ii. p. 93. גּלל אבן, stone of rolling, one that is rolled and cannot be carried, i.e., a great building stone. חדת, novus, as an epithet to אע, is remarkable, it being self-evident that new wood is generally used for a new building. The lxx translates εἷς, reading the word חדה (Ezr 6:3). This statement involuntarily recalls the notice, 1Ki 6:36, that Solomon built the inner court, ארזים כּרתת וטוּר גזית טוּרי שׁלשׁה; hence Merz expresses the supposition that “this is certainly a fragment, forming the conclusion of the whole design of the building, which, like that in 1Ki 6:36, ends with the porch and the walls of the fore-court,” Thus much only is certain, that the words are not to be understood, as by Fritzsche on 1 Esdr. 6:25, as stating that the temple walls were built of “three layers of large stones, upon which was one layer of beams,” and therefore were not massive; such kind of building never being practised in the East in old times. “And let the expenses be given out of the king’s house.” This is more precisely stated in Ezr 6:8 of the royal revenues on this side the river. נפקא the expense (from נפק, Aphel, to expend), therefore the cost of building.

Ezr 6:5 “And also let the vessels ... be restored, and brought again to the temple at Jerusalem, to their place, and (thou) shalt place them in the house of God.” On the matter of this verse, comp. Ezr 1:7 and Ezr 5:14. The sing. יהך (comp. Ezr 5:5) is distributive: it (each vessel) to its place. ותחת (comp. אחת Ezr 5:15) cannot, according to the sense, be third pers. fem. (neutr.), but only second pers. imperf. Aphel: thou shalt place. None but Sheshbazzar can be addressed (Ezr 5:15), though he is not named in Ezr 6:3. The historian is evidently not giving the contents of the document word for word, but only its essential matter; hence he infers the address to Sheshbazzar from the answer of the Jewish elders (Ezr 5:15). Perhaps it was also remarked in the document, that Coresh caused the sacred vessels to be delivered to Sheshbazzar (Ezr 1:8).

Ezr 6:6-12

Acting upon the discovered edict, Darius warned the governor and royal officials on this side the Euphrates, not to hinder the building of the house of God at Jerusalem. On the contrary, they were to promote it by furnishing what was necessary for the work, and paying the expenses of the building out of the royal revenues to the elders of the Jews (Ezr 6:6-8). They were also to provide for the worship of God in this temple such animals as the priests should require for sacrifice (Ezr 6:9, Ezr 6:10), under pain of severe punishment for transgressing this command as also for any injury done to the temple (Ezr 6:11, Ezr 6:12). This decree was undoubtedly communicated to the governor in the form of a written answer to his inquiries (Ezr 6:13). Without, however, expressly stating this to be the case, as Ezr 6:1 and Ezr 4:17 would lead us to expect, the historian gives us in Ezr 6:6. the actual contents of the royal edict, and that in the form of a direct injunction to the governor and his associates on this side the river: “Now Tatnai, governor, ... be ye far from thence.” The suffix וּכנותהון, and their associates, is indeed unsuitable to the form of an address, of which Tatnai and Shethar-Boznai are the subjects; the narrator, however, in using it, had in mind the title or introduction of the royal letter. On this matter, comp. Ezr 5:6. רחק and רחיק, to be far from, figuratively to keep from anything, e.g., from good, Psa 53:2. מן־תּמּה, from thence, from Jerusalem; in other words, trouble yourselves no longer, as, according to Ezr 5:3, you have done about what is being done there.

Ezr 6:13 The execution of the royal decree, the completion of the building, and the dedication of the new temple. - Ezr 6:13 Tatnai and his associate diligently executed the commands of Darius. “Because Darius the king sent (i.e., despatched to them the letter, whose contents have just been given, Ezr 6:6), they speedily acted accordingly in the manner stated” (כּנמא).

Ezr 6:14

The elders of the Jews, moreover, built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah, who thereby effected the resumption of the work, and promised them success. ב is used of the rule by which, or manner in which anything is done. “They built and finished (the building) according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artachshasta, kings of Persia.” The naming of Artachshasta presents some difficulty; for since it is impossible to conceive that a predecessor of Darius is intended by a name which follows the name of that monarch, none but Artaxerxes Longimanus can be meant, and he did not reign till long after the completion of the temple. Cleric. and J. H. Mich. explain the mention of his name by the consideration that Artaxerxes, by his edict (Ezr 7:15, Ezr 7:21), contributed to the maintenance, though not to the building, of the temple.“Nam etsi,” remarks Calovius in J. H. Mich., adnotatt. uber. ad h. l., “non ad structuram templi conduxerit proprie edictum Artaxerxis, quae Darii secundo anno incepta et sexto absoluta fuit, Ezr 6:15 ad ornamenta tamen et additamenta eam spectasse dubium non est: quae ab ipso, ceu rege post Cyrum et Darium erga Judaeos Persarum omnium benignissimo, profecta hic celebratur.” Similarly but more briefly explained by Clericus.

It may in this instance be questionable whether the name ארתחשׁשׁתא was added by the author of the Chaldee section, or by Ezra when he introduced this into his book. We believe the latter to be the correct view, because the Chaldee section, to judge by the אמרנא, Ezr 5:4, was composed by one who lived contemporaneously with the building of the temple, while from the date of the completion of the temple to the seventh year of Artaxerxes fifty-seven years elapsed.

Ezr 6:15

And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar (the twelfth month), which is the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. שׁיציא, according to the Keri שׁיצי, with the א dropped, is the Shaphel of יצא, to bring a thing to an end, to finish it. The form שׁיציא is not a participle pass. formed from the Shaphel (Gesen.), for this would be משׁיציא, but a Hebraized passive form of the Shaphel in the meaning of the Targumistic Ishtaphal, like חיתיוּ, Dan 3:13, and חיתית, Dan 6:18, with the active היתיו, Dan 6:17. In the Targums שׁיצי has mostly an active, and only in a few passages the intransitive meaning, to end, to be at the end; comp. Levy, chald. Wörterbuch, s.v.Instead of the “third day,” which the lxx also has, in accordance with the Hebrew text, 1 Esdr. 7:5 gives the three-and-twentieth day of the month Adar, - a statement which Bertheau arbitrarily insists upon regarding as the original reading, because “the view that the compiler altered the third into the twenty-third day, because it seemed to him more fitting to assume an eight days’ celebration of the dedication (comp. 1Ki 8:60; 2Ch 29:18), and to fill up therewith also the eight last days of the year, is rather far-fetched.” Such a view, however, would be entirely consistent with the whole spirit of 1 Esdras.

Ezr 6:16-17

The sons of Israel, more exactly the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the sons of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy. חנכּה עבד = the Hebrew חנכּה עשׂה, to celebrate the dedication (2Ch 7:9). בּחדוה, Hebrew בּשׂמחה; see Neh 8:10. They brought for the dedication a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs as burnt-offerings, and twelve he-goats for a sin-offering for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, because the temple was intended for the entire covenant people, whose return to the Lord and to the land of their fathers, according to the predictions of the prophets, was hoped for (comp. e.g., Eze 37:15., Jer 31:27.), not, as older expositors thought, because certain families of the ten tribes, who had before settled in Judah, were also among those who returned (J. H. Mich. ad h. l.).

Ezr 6:18

At the same time, the priests and Levites were appointed, according to their classes and divisions, to the service of the temple, that they might henceforth fulfil their office, each class in its week (2Ch 23:4; 2Ki 11:9). והקימוּ corresponds with the Hebrew ויּעמידוּ, Ezr 3:8, and elsewhere. As Bertheau justly remarks, “The services of public worship, which after the completion of the temple were to be performed by the priests and Levites, according to ancient ordinance, are here spoken of.” With these words the Chaldee section closes.Celebration of the feast of the passover, and of the feast of unleavened bread, in the year following the dedication, as an historical testimony to the fact that the worship of God with its festivals was regularly carried on in the new temple.

Ezr 6:19-20

The feast of the passover, on the fourteenth day of the first month, took place only a few weeks after the dedication of the temple. The reason given in Ezr 6:20 - for the priests and Levites had purified themselves without exception (כּאחד, like Ezr 3:9); they were all clean, and they killed the passover for all the sons of the captivity (i.e., the laity who had returned from exile), and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves - has in this connection the meaning: Then the congregation celebrated the passover, and they were able to keep and to eat the passover, because the priests had purified themselves that they might be qualified for performing the office incumbent upon them of sprinkling the blood; and the Levites were also clean, that they might be able to kill the lambs for the whole congregation (comp. the remarks on 2Ch 30:17, etc., and 2Ch 35:11, 2Ch 35:14). From the days of Josiah, it seems to have been customary for the Levites to take the place of the heads of families (Exo 12:6, etc.) in slaughtering the passover lambs for the whole community, both priesthood and laity: for the laity, that no person who was unclean might kill the paschal lamb; for the priests, that their labours might be lightened, the sprinkling of blood and the offering of sacrifices occupying them far into the night (2Ch 35:11, 2Ch 35:14-15). And this custom was followed at this time also. The priests are called אחיהם, brethren of the Levites, as in 2Ch 29:34; 2Ch 35:15.

Ezr 6:21

Thus the sons of Israel who had returned from captivity, and all that had separated themselves unto them from the uncleanness of the heathen of the country to seek Jahve the God of Israel, could eat the passover. הארץ גּויי = הארץ עמּי, Ezr 10:2, Ezr 10:11, are the heathen races dwelling in Palestine. The expression is not essentially different from הארצות עמּי,   Ezr 9:1., Ezr 3:3, and is only distinguishable therefrom, inasmuch as the latter appellation includes not merely the heathen inhabitants of Palestine, but also the heathen of other lands, as the Moabites, Ammonites, Egyptians, etc. (Ezr 9:1.). Those who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the heathen to them (the Jews) to seek Jahve, are not proselytes from heathenism (Aben Ezra, Rashi, Clericus, and others), but Israelites, who had till now lived in Palestine, and mingled with the heathen inhabitants of the land. They were descended from those Israelites whom the kings of Assyria and Babylon had not carried away from the realms of Israel and Judah, and who with respect to religion had combined heathenism and the worship of Jahve (2Ki 17:32, etc.), and thus defiled themselves with heathen impurity, but who now, after the erection of the temple, joined themselves to the new community, for the purpose of worshipping with them the God of their fathers in His temple, according to the law of Moses. For, as Bertheau rightly remarks, “in the days of Ezra the princes of the new community complain that the laity, the priests, and Levites do not separate from the people of the lands (Ezr 9:1); reference is made to the dangers which threaten the Israelites, because they dwell in the holy land among the unclean (Ezr 9:10). To separate from the uncleanness of the nations means to renounce intermarriage and other connection with them. Ezr 10:2, Ezr 10:10. They are Israelites who are summoned, Ezr 10:11, to separate from the peoples of the land; the seed of Israel is, in Neh 9:2, separated from the sons of the stranger, and in Neh 10:29 they who separate from them are evidently Israelites, for, when they bind themselves to walk according to the law of God, they are said to join their brethren, i.e., their fellow-countrymen.” Hence in this passage also we cannot but regard those who separated themselves as Israelites, dissolving their connection with the heathen for the sake of the God of Israel.

Ezr 6:22

Hereupon they kept the feast of unleavened bread for seven days with joy; for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned to them (i.e., had made them joyful by turning to them) the heart of the king of Assyria. With regard to the expression, comp. 2Ch 20:27; Neh 12:43. The king of Assur is the Persian king Darius, who as ruler of the former realm of Assyria is thus designated. The turning of this king’s heart to them consisted in this, that their hands were strengthened for the work of the house of God, i.e., that through the goodwill of the king they were enabled to complete the building of their temple, and to restore the worship of the God of Israel. On בּ ידיהם חזּק, comp. 1Sa 23:19. II. The Return of Ezra the Scribe from Babylon to Jerusalem, and His Entry upon His Official Duties There - Ezr 7:1

In the seventh year of the reign of King Artaxerxes Longimanus, Ezra the priest and scribe returned with certain priests, Levites, and other Israelites from Babylon to Jerusalem, furnished with a royal commission to provide for the worship of God, and the observance of the law, according to the ordinance of God, by the community, Ezra 7 and 8. This mission he began to execute by sending way such heathen women as were married to Israelites.

Ezr 7:1-10 form the introduction to the narrative which follows of Ezra’s return to Jerusalem and his ministry there, and speak in general terms of himself and his arrival at Jerusalem with a band of exiles. They are followed, vv. 11-26, by a copy of the royal commission, and a thanksgiving, Ezr 7:27, Ezr 7:28, on the part of Ezra, for the mercy of God bestowed upon him.

The Favourable Decree of Darius. (b. c. 519.)

1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. 2 And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits;   4 With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house: 5 And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God. 6 Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence: 7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place. 8 Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. 9 And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail: 10 That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. 11 Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. 12 And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.

We have here, I. The decree of Cyrus for the building of the temple repeated. To this the Samaritans referred because the Jews pleaded it, and perhaps hoped it would not be found, and then their plea would be over-ruled and a stop put to their work. Search was ordered to be made for it among the records; for, it seems, the tribes had not taken care to provide themselves with an authentic copy of it, which might have stood them in good stead, but they must appeal to the original. It was looked for in Babylon (v. 1), where Cyrus was when he signed it. But, when it was not found there, Darius did not make that a pretence to conclude that therefore there was no such decree, and thereupon to give judgment against the Jews; but it is probable, having himself heard that such a decree was certainly made, he ordered the rolls in other places to be searched, and at length it was found at Achmetha, in the province of the Medes, v. 2. Perhaps some that durst not destroy it, yet hid it there, out of ill will to the Jews, that they might lose the benefit of it. But Providence so ordered that it came to light; and it is here inserted, v. 3-5. 1. Here is a warrant for the building of the temple: Let the house of God at Jerusalem, yea, let that house be built (so it may be read), within such and such dimensions, and with such and such materials. 2. A warrant for the taking of the expenses of the building out of the king's revenue, v. 4. We do not find that they had received what was here ordered them, the face of things at court being soon changed. 3. A warrant for the restoring of the vessels and utensils of the temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken away (v. 5), with an order that the priests, the Lord's ministers, should return them all to their places in the house of God.

II. The confirmation of it by a decree of Darius, grounded upon it and in pursuance of it.

1. The decree of Darius is very explicit and satisfactory.

(1.) He forbids his officers to do any thing in opposition to the building of the temple. The manner of expression intimates that he knew they had a mind to hinder it: Be you far hence (v. 6); let the work of this house of God alone, v. 7. Thus was the wrath of the enemy made to praise God and the remainder thereof did he restrain.

(2.) He orders them out of his own revenue to assist the builders with money, [1.] For carrying on the building, v. 8. Herein he pursues the example of Cyrus, v. 4. [2.] For maintaining the sacrifices there when it was built, v. 9. He ordered that they should be supplied with every thing they wanted both for burnt-offerings and meat-offerings. He was content it should be a rent-charge upon his revenue, and ordered it to be paid every day, and this without fail, that they might offer sacrifices and prayers with them (for the patriarchs, when they offered sacrifice, called on the name of the Lord, so did Samuel, Elijah, and others) for the life (that is, the happiness and prosperity) of the king and his sons, v. 10. See here how he gives honour, First, To Israel's God, whom he calls once and again the God of heaven. Secondly, To his ministers, in ordering his commissioners to give out supplies for the temple service at the appointment of the priests. Those that thought to control them must now be, in this matter, at their command. It was a new thing for God's priests to have such an interest in the public money. Thirdly, To prayer: That they may pray for the life of the king. He knew they were a praying people, and had heard that God was nigh to them in all that which they called upon him for. He was sensible he needed their prayers and might receive benefit by them, and was kind to them in order that he might have an interest in their prayers. It is the duty of God's people to pray for those that are in authority over them, not only for the good and gentle, but also for the forward; but they are particularly bound in gratitude to pray for their protectors and benefactors; and it is the wisdom of princes to desire their prayers, and to engage them. Let not the greatest princes despise the prayers of the meanest saints; it is desirable to have them for us, and dreadful to have them against us.

(3.) He enforces his decree with a penalty (v. 11): "Let none either oppose the work and service of the temple or withhold the supports granted to it by the crown upon pain of death. If any alter this decree, let him be (hanged before his own door as we say), hanged upon a beam of his own house, and, as an execrable man, let his house be made a dunghill."

(4.) He entails a divine curse upon all those kings and people that should ever have any hand in the destruction of this house, v. 12. What he would not do himself for the protection of the temple he desired that God, to whom vengeance belongs, would do. This bespeaks him zealous in the cause; and though this temple was, at length, most justly destroyed by the righteous hand of God, yet perhaps the Romans, who were the instruments of that destruction, felt the effects of this curse, for that empire sensibly declined ever after.

2. From all this we learn, (1.) That the heart of kings is in the hand of God, and he turns it which way soever he pleases; what they are he makes them to be, for he is King of kings. (2.) That when God's time has come for the accomplishing of his gracious purposes concerning his church he will raise up instruments to promote them from whom such good service was not expected. The earth sometimes helps the woman (Rev. xii. 16), and those are made use of for the defence of religion who have little religion themselves. (3.) That what is intended for the prejudice of the church has often, by the overruling providence of God, been made serviceable to it, Phil. i. 12. The enemies of the Jews, in appealing to Darius, hoped to get an order to suppress them, but, instead of that, they got an order to supply them. Thus out of the eater comes forth meat. The apocryphal Esdras (or Ezra), Book I. ch. iii. and iv., gives another account of this decree in favour of the Jews, that Darius had vowed that if ever he came to the kingdom he would build the temple at Jerusalem, and that Zerubbabel, who was one of his attendants (whereas it is plain here that he was now at Jerusalem), for making an ingenious discourse before him on that subject (Great is the truth and will prevail), was told to ask what recompence he would, and asked only for this order, in pursuance of the king's vow.

Completion of the Second Temple. (b. c. 516.)

13 Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily. 14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 16 And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, 17 And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses. 19 And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. 20 For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. 21 And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat, 22 And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Here we have, I. The Jews' enemies made their friends. When they received this order from the king they came with as much haste to encourage and assist the work as their predecessors had done to put a stop to it, ch. iv. 23. What the king ordered they did, and, because they would not be thought to do it with reluctance, they did it speedily, v. 13. The king's moderation made them, contrary to their own inclination, moderate too.

II. The building of the temple carried on, and finished in a little time, v. 14, 15. Now the elders of the Jews built with cheerfulness. For aught I know, the elders themselves laboured at it with their own hands; and, if they did, it was no disparagement to their eldership, but an encouragement to the other workmen. 1. They found themselves bound to it by the commandment of the God of Israel, who had given them power that they might use it in his service. 2. They found themselves shamed into it by the commandment of the heathen kings, Cyrus formerly, Darius now, and Artaxerxes some time after. Can the elders of the Jews be remiss in this good work when these foreign princes appear so warm in it? Shall native Israelites grudge their pains and care about this building when strangers grudge not to be at the expense of it? 3. They found themselves encouraged in it by the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah, who, it is likely, represented to them (as bishop Patrick suggests) the wonderful goodness of God in inclining the heart of the king of Persia to favour them thus. And now the work went on so prosperously that, in four years' time, it was brought to perfection. As for God, his work is perfect. The gospel church, that spiritual temple, is long in the building, but it will be finished at last, when the mystical body is completed. Every believer is a living temple, building up himself in his most holy faith. Much opposition is given to this work by Satan and our own corruptions. We trifle, and proceed in it with many stops and pauses; but he that has begun the good work will see it performed, and will bring forth judgment unto victory. Spirits of just men will be made perfect.

III. The dedication of the temple. When it was built, being designed only for sacred uses, they showed by an example how it should be used, which (says bishop Patrick) is the proper sense of the word dedicate. They entered upon it with solemnity and probably with a public declaration of the separating of it from common uses and the surrender of it to the honour of God, to be employed in his worship. 1. The persons employed in this service were not only the priests and Levites who officiated, but the children of Israel, some of each of the twelve tribes, though Judah and Benjamin were the chief, and the rest of the children of the captivity or transportation, which intimates that there were many besides the children of Israel, of other nations, who transported themselves with them, and became proselytes to their religion, unless we read it, even the remnant of the children of the captivity, and then, we may suppose, notice is hereby taken of their mean and afflicted condition, because the consideration of that helped to make them devout and serious in this and other religious exercises. A sad change! The children of Israel have become children of the captivity, and there appears but a remnant of them, according to that prediction (Isa. vii. 3), Shear-jashub—The remnant shall return. 2. The sacrifices that were offered upon this occasion were bullocks, rams, and lambs (v. 17), for burnt-offerings and peace-offerings; not to be compared, in number, with what had been offered at the dedication of Solomon's temple, but, being according to their present ability, they were accepted, for, after a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded to the riches of their liberality, 2 Cor. viii. 2. These hundreds were more to them than Solomon's thousands were to him. But, besides these, they offered twelve he-goats for sin-offerings, one for every tribe, to make atonement for their sins, which they looked upon as necessary in order to the acceptance of their services. Thus, by getting iniquity taken away, they would free themselves from that which had been the sting of their late troubles, and which, if not removed, would be a worm at the root of their present comforts. 3. This service was performed with joy. They were all glad to see the temple built and the concerns of it in so good a posture. Let us learn to welcome holy ordinances with joy and attend on them with pleasure. Let us serve the Lord with gladness. Whatever we dedicate to God, let it be done with joy that he will please to accept of it. 4. When they dedicated the house they settled the household. Small comfort could they have in the temple without the temple service, and therefore they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses, v. 18. Having set up the worship of God in this dedication, they took care to keep it up, and made the book of Moses their rule, to which they had an eye in this establishment. Though the temple service could not now be performed with so much pomp and plenty as formerly, because of their poverty, yet perhaps it was performed with as much purity and close adherence to the divine institution as ever, which was the true glory of it. No beauty like the beauty of holiness.

IV. The celebration of the passover in the newly-erected temple. Now that they were newly delivered out of their bondage in Babylon it was seasonable to commemorate their deliverance out of their bondage in Egypt. Fresh mercies should put us in mind of former mercies. We may suppose that they had kept the passover, after a sort, every year since their return, for they had an altar and a tabernacle. But they were liable to frequent disturbances from their enemies, were straitened for room, and had not conveniences about them, so that they could not do it with due solemnity till the temple was built; and now they made a joyful festival of it, it falling out in the next month after the temple was finished and dedicated, v. 19. Notice is here taken, 1. Of the purity of the priests and Levites that killed the passover, v. 20. In Hezekiah's time the priests were many of them under blame for not purifying themselves. But now it is observed, to their praise, that they were purified together, as one man (so the word is); they were unanimous both in their resolutions and in their endeavours to make and keep themselves ceremonially clean for this solemnity; they joined together in their preparations, that they might help one another, so that all of them were pure, to a man. The purity of ministers adds much to the beauty of their ministrations; so does their unity. 2. Of the proselytes that communicated with them in this ordinance: All such as had separated themselves unto them, had left their country and the superstitions of it and cast in their lot with the Israel of God, and had turned from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, both their idolatries and immoralities, to seek the Lord God of Israel as their God, did eat the passover. See how the proselytes, the converts, are described. They separated themselves from the filthiness of sin and fellowship with sinners, joined themselves with the Israel of God in conformity and communion, and set themselves to seek the God of Israel; and those that do so in sincerity, though strangers and foreigners, are welcome to eat of the gospel feast, as fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God. 3. Of the great pleasure and satisfaction wherewith they kept the feast of unleavened bread, v. 22. The Lord had made them joyful, had given them both cause to rejoice and hearts to rejoice. It was now about twenty years since the foundation of this temple was laid, and we may suppose the old men that then wept at the remembrance of the first temple were most of them dead by this time, so that now there were no tears mingled with their joys. Those that are, upon good grounds, joyful, have therefore reason to be thankful, because it is God that makes them to rejoice. He is the fountain whence all the streams of our joy flow. God has promised to all those who take hold of his covenant that he will make them joyful in his house of prayer. The particular occasion they had for joy at this time was that God had turned the heart of the emperor to them, to strengthen their hands. If those that have been, or who we feared would have been, against us, prove to be for us, we may rejoice in it as a token for good, that our ways please the Lord (Prov. xvi. 7), and he must have the glory of it.

CHAP. VI. Verſe 1. Then Darius the King.

DArius Hyſtaſpes, who ſucceeded Cambyſes; being choſen by the Princes of the Perſians, as ſaith Herodotus. Plato commendeth him for a reſtorer of the Perſian Monarchy, much defaced under Cambyſes. Howbeit he diſcommendeth him for this,In Thalia lib 3. de Legib. that he bred not his ſonne Xerxes ſo well as he might have done, and further teſtifieth, that to him it might be ſaid; O Darius, how little care haſt thou taken to ſhun Cyrus his ſlackneſſe? for thou haſt bred Xerxes every whit as ill, as he did Cambyſes. [non-Latin text not transcribed].

In the houſe of the Rolles] So called, becauſe rolled up together; volumes rolled up, like the web upon the pinne.

Verſe 2. And there was found at Achmetha] Or Ecbatana. This was occaſioned by the malice of the Jewes adverſaries; and proved a great furtherance to the finiſhing of the Temple. Sic canes lingunt ulcera Lazari. All things work together for good to them that love God, Venenum aliquandò pro remedio fuit, ſaith Seneca. Rom, 8.28.

Verſe 3. The height thereof threeſcore cubits] Yet was it leſſe then Solomons Temple, Hag. 2.3. Ezra 3.12. Solomons cubits therefore were longer (likely) then theſe here mentioned.

Verſe 4. Out of the Kings houſe] i. e. Out of the royal revenue in thoſe parts, chap. 7.20. Herodotus teſtifieth, that Cyrus and Darius (who married his daughter Atoſſa, and made him his patterne for imitation) were highly honoured among the Perſians for their Kingly munificence: God hath threatened that the Nation and Kingdome, that will not ſerve the Church, ſhall periſh: yea, thoſe Nations ſhall be utterly waſted, Eſay 60.12. See verſe 12. of this chapter.

Verſe 5. And alſo let the golden and ſilver veſſels] This was decreed, and this was done accordingly, chap. 1.7, 8. Let good reſolutions be put in execution: purpoſe without performance, is like a cloud without raine; and not unlike Hercules his club in the Tragedy; of a great bulk, but ſtuft with moſſe and rubbiſh.

Verſe 6. Be ye far from thence] i. e. Come not at them, to hinder them at all. Thus, though the Churches enemies bandy together and bend all their forces againſt her; yet are they bounded by Almighty God (who ſaith unto them, Be ye farre from thence) as is the raging ſea, Jer. 5.22. Surely (ſaith the Pſalmiſt) the wrath of man ſhall praiſe thee: the remainder of wrath ſhalt thou reſtraine, Heb. gird, that is, keep it within compaſſe, as with a girdle. The Septuagint render it thus, The remnant of wrath ſhall keep holy-day to thee, that is, it ſhall reſt from working, or acting, how reſtleſſe ſoever it be within.

Verſe 7. Let the work of this houſe of God alone] Meddle not, make no diſturbance: this was doubtleſſe an hard task to them; for their ſpirits were irked, as Moab, Num. 22. 3. and their fingers even itched at theſe builders. They ſleep not, except they may do miſchief, Prov. 4.16.

Ver. 8. Moreover I make a Decree] So did ſome of the Heathen Emperours for the perſecuted Chriſtians, Charles the fifth for the Lutherans (at the motion of Albertus Archbiſhop of Ments, and Ludovicus Palatine of Rhine) and Henry the third of France for the Proteſtants: which yet was but ſorrily obſerved though ſworne to. It is written by an Italian (no ſtranger to the Court of Rome) that their Proverb is, Mercatorum eſt, non regum ſtare juramentis, that it is for Merchants, and not for Kings to keep to their oaths.

Verſe 9. Of the God of heaven] Heathens have this notion by nature, that God is the God of heaven, and that there He is, as in his place: howbeit we muſt not conceive that God is commenſurable by any place, ſith he filleth all places, and is every where all-preſent, totally preſent whereſoever preſent: but in heaven is his glory moſt manifeſted, and on earth is he alone to be worſhipped.

Verſe 10. That they may pray for the life of the King] For God, at his pleaſure, cutteth off the ſpirits of Princes, Pſal. 76.12. he crops them off with eaſe, as one would do a flower; ſlips them off, as one would do a bunch of grapes; as he dealt by Alexander the Great, Attilas that Terrour of the world, and King Henry the ſecond of France, who upon the marriage of his ſiſter to the King of Spaine, was ſo puffed up, that he called himſelf by a new title, Tres-heureuſe Roy, the thrice-happy King. But (to confute him) in ſolemnizing that marriage, he was ſlaine at Tilt, by the Captaine of his guard (though againſt his will, but not without Gods determinate counſel) in the very beginning of his ſuppoſed happineſſe.Prov. 3[illegible: 1 letter]. Death is the onely King, againſt whom there is no riſing up. The mortall ſythe is maſter of the royal Scepter (ſaith one) and it moweth downe the Lilies of the Crowne, as well as the graſſe of the field: pray therefore for the life of the King, ſaith this King here; let the Prieſts ſhout and ſay, Let the King live for ever, Nehem. 2.3. [illegible: 1 word].

And of his ſonnes] Some of whom had ſoone died, ſay ſome: He therefore calleth for prayers for the preſervation of the reſt.

Verſe 11. Let timber be pulled downe from his houſe] 1. Let his houſe be pulled down for a penalty. The Popiſh Councel of Tholouſe called together againſt the Albigenſes (thoſe ancient Proteſtants) made this cruel conſtitution; We decree that that houſe, wherein is found an Heretick, be pulled down to the ground. 2. Let that timber be ſet up for a gibbet, and let him be hanged thereon] Chald. deſtroyed. Compare that of the Apoſtle 1 Cor. 3.17, If any man deſtroy the Temple of God (which Temple ye are) him ſhall God deſtroy: and let thoſe look to it who turne it into a den of theeves, into a brothel-houſe, ſlaughter-houſe, peſt-houſe of noyſome luſts, qui podicem ex ore faciunt, by their unſavory ſpeeches, and moile themſelves worſe then by tumbling in a jakes.

Verſe 12. And the God that hath cauſed his name] i. e. his Word and true worſhip, Acts 9.15. Pſal. 138.2. Mic. 4.5. 1 Kings 5.3, 5.

Deſtroy all Kings and people] A dreadful curſe, and ſuch as God ſaith Amen to. Let all perſecutors, and Church-robbers look to themſelves. Gods hand hath ever beene very heavie upon ſuch and their poſterity. See Prov. 20.25. with the Note.

Let it be done with ſpeed] It hath beene too much retarded and delayed already: Let it now be expedited. David made haſte and delayed not to keep Gods Commandments, Pſal. 119.60. And Auſtin crieth out, Nimis ſerò te amavi Domine. It was a great burden to his good ſoul, that he began no ſooner to love God. He reſolveth therefore to redeeme time, and to redouble his diligence; not leaving till his ſoul was turned into a lump of love. Morus noviſſimè omnium germinat; & tamen parit inter primas. The Mulberry-tree buds laſt, but fruits with the firſt.

Verſe 13. So they did ſpeedily] This they did, becauſe they durſt do no otherwiſe: their obedience was wrung out of them, as verjuice is out of a crab, or as diſtilled water is forced out by the heat of the fire. Thus ſome performe duties, and yet hate them; part with ſins, and yet love them. Shew the malefactour the rack, and he will ſay or do any thing. This is, to feare God for his Lions, as thoſe Mongrels did, 2 Kings 17.33, 34. t[illegible: 3 letters]re-ſ[illegible: 1 letter]rvili, non [illegible: 1 letter]micali, Beda. which yet may addere alas, left they fall under the laſh, the correction of the Law, for refuſing the direction thereof.

Verſe 14. And Artaxerxes] This is Xerxes (called alſo Ahaſhueroſh, husband of Eſther) or, as ſome think, Artaxerxes Longimanus, the ſonne of Xerxes by Eſther; by whom the Temple finiſhed before, might be much beautified, and, haply, enlarged alſo.

Verſe 15. And this houſe was finiſhed] About fifteene years after that the foundation had beene laid, or twenty at moſt. The Jewes therefore either were out in their account, John 2.20. Fourty and ſix years was this Temple in building; or elſe they meant it of Herods Temple, which was long in building and beautifying, whereby he ſought to ingratiate with the Jewes, which yet he could never do.

Verſe 16. Kept the dedication — with joy] So they did at the dedication of the firſt Temple, 2 Chron. 7.10. God had required all his worſhips to be celebrated with joy, Deut. 12.7. and made it a condition of an acceptable ſervice, Deut. 26.14. Sacrifices offered with mourning were abomination, Hoſ. 9.4. yea, accurſed by God, Deut. 28.47. What a general joy was there at Samaria, when Chriſt was firſt preached and beleeved on amongſt them, Acts 8.8. when they firſt became Gods building, 1 Cor. 3.9. a Temple for God to dwell in and walk in, 2 Cor. 6.16? The like was at Bern, at Geneva, at Zurick, when the reformed Religion was firſt received amongſt them. They cauſed (for joy thereof) the day and yeare to be engraven in a pillar in letters of gold, for a perpetual memory to all poſterity. Like as at Heidelberg, Anno, 1617. in the Calends of November, Acts & Mon. Vita Parci operib. praefix. they kept, for three dayes ſpace, an Evangelical Jubile, for joy of the Reformation begun by Luther, an hundred years before.

Verſe 17. An hundred bullocks, &c.] This little, (in compariſon of what was done at Solomons dedication, 1 Kings 8.63.) was highly accepted in heaven: as was likewiſe Noahs ſacrifice, which yet could not be great: becauſe that after a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality (2 Cor. 8.2.) which, ſaith Ariſtotle, is not to be meaſured by the worth of the gift, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Ar. ſt. Ethic. lib. 4. but by the will of the Giver, See the Note on chap. 2.6.

Twelve he-goates] A fit creature for a ſin-offering, becauſe naſty, unruly, &c.

According to the number of the tribes of Iſrael] All whom (whereſoever diſperſed) they remember in their prayers; as we ſhould likewiſe do all the Iſrael of God, in all places.

Verſe 18. For the ſervice of God] According to that, Exod. 12.25. Ye ſhall keep this ſervice, where the ſame word is uſed, that elſewhere ſerveth to ſet forth their ſervile ſervice,Gnabhodah. their bondage in Egypt. God lets them know that they muſt ſerve ſtill, though another Maſter, and after another manner. So Chriſt calleth upon his, to take his yoke upon them: Free though they be, yet they muſt not look to be yokeleſſe, lawleſſe, awleſſe; but to ſerve God with reverence and godly fear, Heb. 12.28.

As it is written in the book of Moſes] Moſes then was the Pen-man of the Pentateuch, and not Ezra, as ſome have ſaid; grounding upon that Apocryphal Eſdras.

Verſe 19. And the children of the captivity] So the returned captives are called, Firſt, to keep ſtill afoot the remembrance of their late miſery, leſt they ſhould deſpiſe the chaſtening of the Lord, Heb. 12.5. Secondly, to inmind them of that ſignal mercy of their returne to their owne Countrey. Hence doth the Evangeliſt Matthew ſo oft mention their tranſportation to Babylon, and rings it in the eares of his ungrateful Countrey-men, Mat. 1.11, 12, 17.

Kept the Paſſeover] In remembrance, that the puniſhing Angel paſſed over their Anceſtours in Egypt, Exod. 12. and for confirmation of their faith in Chriſt the true Paſchal Lamb. Haſt thou eſcaped a danger? offer a Paſſeover. Hath Chriſt delivered thee from the wrath to come? keep the Feaſt with the unleavened bread of ſincerity and truth, 1 Cor. 5.8.

Ʋpon the fourteenth day of the firſt moneth] See Exod. 12.2. with the Note.

Verſe 20. Were purified together] Miſery had framed them to unanimity. See 2 Chron. 29.34.

All of them were pure] Ritually at leaſt, if not really.

And killed the Paſſeover] i. e. The Paſchal Lamb, whereof ſee Exod. 12. with the Notes.

For all the children] See the Note one verſe 19.

And for themſelves] For they alſo were ſinners, and needed a Saviour, Heb. 7.27. That Popiſh Poſtiller was utterly out, when from Exod. 30.31, 32. he will needs inferre that Prieſts, when once anointed with the holy oile, were thenceforth Angels, Spirits, not having humane fleſh, or infirmities.

Verſe 21. And the children of Iſrael] The whole community, of what Tribe ſoever.

And all ſuch as had ſeparated themſelves] Who were the better to like, becauſe not Proſperity-proſelytes, (ſuch as came in (not a few) in Solomons time; but the Jewes were very careful how they received them, as Joſephus relateth.

From the filthineſſe of the heathen] Who had filled the Land from one end to the other with their uncleanneſſes, Ezra 9.11. Great ſins do greatly pollute.

To ſeek the Lord God of Iſrael] To ſeek not his omnipreſence (for that none need to do, ſith he is not farre from any one of us, Acts 17.) but his gracious preſence. And ſuch a ſeeker is every good ſoul, Pſal. 24.6. This is the generation of them that ſeek him, that ſeek thy face, that is Jacob.

Did eate] Edebant, id eſt, credebant, for even Chriſt their Paſſeover was ſacrificed for them, 1 Cor. 5.7.

Verſe 22. And kept the feaſt of unleavened bread] See 1 Cor. 7.8. and Exod. 12.35. with the Notes.

Seven dayes] This began on the fifteenth day, and laſted till the one and twentieth day, Num. 28.16, 17. Exod. 34.25.

With joy] See the Note on verſe 16.

For the Lord had made them joyful] Given them cauſe of joy, and an heart enlarged accordingly, a mind right ſet for the purpoſe. Saint James his word [non-Latin text not transcribed], chap. 5.13. ſhewes, that all true mirth is from the rectitude of a mans minde, which God onely giveth.

And turned the heart of the King, &c.] It is He alone that gives favour, that frameth mens opinions and affections, that maketh a good mans enemies to be at peace with him.

To ſtrengthen their hands] As verſe 8. And this did more ennoble him, then all his warlike atchievements.