Ezra
Ezra 8
Chapter VIII · Vol. II, pp. 901–903
1 The companions of Ezra, who returned with him from Babylon. 15 He sendeth to Iddo for ministers for the temple. 21 He keepeth a fast. 24 He committeth the holy treasures to the custody of the priests. 31 From Ahava they come to Jerusalem. 33 The treasure is weighed in the temple. 36 The king's commission delivered.
1 These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the agenealogy of them that went1 up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.
a 1 Ch.4.33. ch.7.7,13.
1 The whole number, according to the particulars here given, was 1754. These, however, being all males, and probably adult males, we may suppose that the whole party, including women and children, would amount to several thousand persons.—I.
2 Of the sons of bPhinehas; Gershom: of the sons of cIthamar; Daniel: of the sons of David;d Hattush.
3 Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh;e Zechariah; and with him were reckoned, by genealogy of the males, an hundred and fifty.
e ch.2.3; 10.25. Ne.7.8.
5 Of the sons of Shechaniah;2 the son of Jahaziel,3 and with him three hundred males.
2 There is no sufficient reason for imagining, without any authority from MSS., that here, or in ver. 10, any names have dropped out by neglect of transcribers. Shechaniah is the name of the head of the whole family—the son of Jahaziel, the most distinguished leader of his descendants.—C.
3 This was a person of great note, of whose family there went up almost twice as many as did of any other family.—I.
7 And of the sons of hElam;4 Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.
h ch.2.7; 10.26. Ne.7.12.
4 Many from the same families, which are mentioned in this and in the succeeding verses, had previously gone up with Zerubbabel in the reign of Cyrus. See ch.ii.—I.
8 And of the sons of iShephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males.
i ch.2.4. Ne.7.9.
9 Of the sons of kJoab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.
k ch.2.6. Ne.7.11.
10 And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and threescore males.
11 And of the sons of lBebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males.
l ch.2.11. Ne.7.16.
12 And of the sons of mAzgad; Johanan the son of5 Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten males.
m ch.2.12. Ne.7.17.
5 Or, the youngest son.
13 And of the last sons of nAdonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males.
n ch.2.13. Ne.7.18.
14 Of the sons also of oBigvai; Uthai, and Zabud,6 and with them seventy males.
o ch.2.14. Ne.7.19.
6 Or, Zaccur.
15 And I gathered them together to pthe river that runneth to Ahava;7 and there 8abode we in tents three days: and I qviewed the people, and the priests, and found there rnone of the sons of Levi.
p Ps.137.1.
7 Supposed, from similarity of sound, to be Adeava, which is said by Ammianus to have given name to Adiabene, a province of Assyria. But though the particular river intended be unknown, surely it cannot be imagined that Ezra in setting out from Babylon (ver. 1), would appoint his rendezvous 250 miles from Babylon, and no less than 500 miles out of his direct way to Jerusalem. C.—Ahava is probably the same as Ivah or Ava, a town of Assyria, grouped with Sephervaim and Hena, 2 Ki.17.31; 18.34; Is.37.13. Out of these cities Shalmaneser brought colonists to Samaria, to occupy the place of the captive Jews. The cities were in Babylonia, probably on the Euphrates; and therefore the 'river that runneth to Ahava' would be either the Euphrates itself, or one of its tributaries. Some would identify Ahava with the modern Hit, which stands on the Euphrates 100 miles above Babylon.—P.
8 Or, pitched.
q Pr.27.23. Ac.20.28. He.13.17.
r No more Levites, Nu.vii. ch.7.7; ver.2.
16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.
17 And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief, at the place Casiphia,9 and sI told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the tNethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.
9 Similarity of name has led to the supposition that this place was near the Caspian Sea. This conjecture is quite unreasonable, as the travelling distance between Babylon and the Caspian is much greater than from Babylon to Adiabene, and one that could not be performed in the allotted time. See ch.7.9; 8.15,31. The site of Casiphia is now unknown, but that it was near Babylon, and within the more populous and protected districts, there can be no doubt. See ver.22.—C.
s Heb. I put words in their mouth, 2 Sa.14.3,19.
18 And, by the ugood hand of our God upon us, they brought us xa man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;
19 And yHashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;
20 Alsoz of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.
A.M. 3547. B.C. 457.
z ch.2.44. 1 Ch.9.2. Jos.9.3,27. ver.17.
21 Then aI proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might bafflict ourselves before our God, to cseek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way:2 because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
2 These were chiefly the Bedouin Arabs, who still continue to infest the neighbourhood of Babylon and the deserts of the adjacent countries. True to their original character, 'their hand is still against every man.' Single travellers or weak parties dare not pass their haunts; even strong and numerous parties, well armed, or escorted by cavalry, cannot pass free, for when they fear to attack a well-guarded caravan, they are the most adroit pilferers by night, and carry off all stragglers whom they can seize by day. Their more general habit, however, is to avoid shedding blood, but to levy such contributions as amount to spoliation. To such robber hordes Ezra and his fellow-mourners presented a most tempting object, as their recorded treasure of gold and silver alone could not be less than £500,000.—C.
23 So dwe fasted, and besought our God for this; and he was entreated of us.3
d Mat.7.7; 9.15. Joel 2.12-14. Is.45.11. ver.31.
3 What faith was here shown by Ezra! He well knew that the whole country between the banks of the Euphrates and Palestine swarmed with Arabs, with whom robbery was a trade. He knew also the immense value of the property the returning exiles were about to carry with them. Yet he would not ask a guard. He prayed to God. He had confidence in his power, his faithfulness, and his love to a penitent people. He thus set forth on that perilous journey over the exposed desert, and the God of Abraham conveyed his people in safety to the land of their fathers.—P.
24 Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
25 And eweighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, fwhich the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered;
e ch.1.8. Phi.4.8. ver.29,33,34.
f ch.7.15,16.
26 I even weighed unto their hand 4six hundred and fifty talents of silver[≈ 22 tonnes · 22 tons · silver worth ≈ US$38 million], and silver vessels an hundred talents[≈ 3.4 tonnes · 3.4 tons], and of gold an hundred talents[≈ 3.4 tonnes · 3.4 tons];
4 About £80,614 sterling.
27 Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper,5 precious as gold.6
5 Heb. yellow or shining brass.
6 The precise nature of this compound metal is not now known, but is generally supposed to be that called Corinthian brass, a mixture of brass, copper, silver, and gold, found by Lucius Mummius after the burning of Corinth. Sir John Chardin mentions a compound metal found in Sumatra which he calls calmbac, and describes it either as gold and steel, or copper and steel, or gold and copper; but which, whatever be its composition, is valued above gold, and is worn by royalty alone.—C.
28 And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are gholy also; and the silver and the gold are a free-will-offering unto the LORD God of your fathers.
g Re.5.15. ver.25; ch.7.15,16.
29 Watchh ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.
30 So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, unto the house of our God.
31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the itwelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the khand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy,7 and of such as lay in wait by the way.8
i ch.7.9, with 10.9.
k 2 Ch.16.9. Ps.91.1-11. ch.7.6,28; ver.22. Is.46.3,4; 43.1,2; 41.10-16. He.13.5,6.
7 The mode of the deliverance is not mentioned, for that could but satisfy curiosity; the fact alone is recorded, for that serves to strengthen faith.—C.
8 The march of the Israelites must have been known. The watchful Arabs were doubtless aware of the amount of treasure in the caravan. They appear to have laid their plans for surprise and attack, yet they were disappointed. Greater was He who was with the Israelites than all who could be against them. What a lesson does this teach timid and doubting Christians! It forms the best practical comment on the words of our Lord, 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.' P.—There were not only many enemies who hated them, and were desirous to cut them off, but many robbers who watched for a booty.—I.
32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.
33 Now on the fourth day was the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, weighed in the house of our God, by the hand of lMeremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was mJozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites;
34 By number and by weight of every one; and all the weight was written9 at that time.
9 Perhaps a public record was made of the treasures received, and the persons who brought the money and the vessels were discharged by a public instrument. Or perhaps the meaning may be, that there was an inventory taken of the goods belonging to the temple, which the priests were charged with, as the stewards of a family are wont to be with the goods belonging to it.—I.
35 Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, noffered burnt-offerings unto the God of Israel, otwelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burnt-offering unto the LORD.
o ch.6.17. Nu.7.87.
Notes
Reflections.—How shameful it is to find such numbers of Jews still in Assyria after they had near eighty years' liberty of returning to Judea, where their brethren were and their God before them! And especially that the revenues for God's temple, even from heathens' hands, should be in more forwardness than Levitical ministers to bear or use them! But they who are backward to their duty must be stirred up. Every vacancy in the church ought to be speedily supplied with pastors according to God's heart. With the utmost care we ought to avoid everything that looks like distrusting of our God or dependence on an arm of flesh. We had better expose ourselves to difficulties than dishonour God, or give occasion of stumbling even to heathens. In perplexing circumstances let us apply to solemn fasting and fervent prayer. They who in a humble and dependent manner seek him, will find him a very present help in trouble. Let us therefore by faith cast all the care of our persons, families, and estates upon him. Only holy persons are duly qualified to take charge of holy things, and especially of precious souls. And the greatest accuracy and fidelity are necessary in every trust, as we must give account to God. But O how infinite in his goodness in bringing all believers safe through dangers, rendering their trustees honest and faithful, their companions devout, and their enemies friendly! And soon shall his gracious designs be complete, in bringing all the ransomed millions to the Canaan, the Jerusalem above, where they shall for ever behold, live on, and rejoice with Jesus, their all-comprehending sacrifice, and where they shall find none but furtherers of their work.
Measures in square brackets are modern equivalents added for this edition. They are not in the King James text or in Brown’s notes. They use common scholarly estimates: a cubit is about 45.7 cm (18 in), a shekel about 11.4 g (0.4 oz), an ephah about 22 litres. Money values give the worth of the silver or gold at spot prices on 28 October 2026, not what the sum would buy in the ancient world.