Esdras 5
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
Esdras 5:1-2
5:1 "Haggai" See Special Topic: Haggai (taken from Dr. Utley's Old Testament Survey) ▣ "Zechariah the son of Iddo" See Special Topic: Zechariah. ▣ "prophesied" This VERB (BDB 612, Hithpael PERFECT). implies the supernatural presence and power of the Spirit of God (cf. Num. 11:25-27; 1 Sam. 10; 19). Special Topic: OT Prophecy ▣ "in the name of the God of Israel who was over them" The purpose of this phrase is to verify a renewed covenant relationship between the returning Israelites and the God of Israel. Special Topic: "The Name" of YHWH 5:2 "Zerubbabel" For a good discussion of the theories about the relationship of Sheshbazzar to Zerubbabbel see Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties by Gleason L. Archer, pp. 216-219. ▣ "Jeshua" See notes at Ezra 2:2. ▣ "arose" This Aramaic VERB (BDB 1110; KB 1086, Peal PERFECT) is used in the sense of "arise out of inactivity."
Esdras 5:3-5
5:3 "Tattenai, the governor" This seems to be a technical name (BDB 1108, KB 1955) for the governor of the Persian province west of the Euphrates River (cf. TEV). It is uncertain if he was the satrap of this province (cf. Ezra 8:36) or a lesser official appointed by the king (cf. 2 Kgs. 18:24; Dan. 3:2; Neh. 2:7,9). The reason for the ambiguity of the term for governmental officials is that during Darius I's reign he reorganized the Persian Empire from 522 regions into 20 (Herodotus 3:89). This reorganization and simplification was based on race and geography. Both Zerubbabel (cf. Hag. 1:1,14; 2:2,21) and Nehemiah (cf. Neh. 12:26) are also called by this term (i.e., "governor of Judah"). ▣ "'Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple'" Either our text leaves out some of the dialogue (cf. TEV) or the Jews purposefully did not answer this question but instead gave the name of the builders (the LXX and Peshitta have "they said," rather than the MT's "we said'). This is surprising since the book of Ezra records the decree of Cyrus to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem twice, once in Hebrew (Ezra 1:1-4) and once in Aramaic (Ezra 6:1-5). Verse 10 shows the purpose of the Persian leader's second question. It was for the purpose of intimidation and fear directed towards the Jewish leadership (i.e., "head," BDB 1112). "to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure" "to build this temple and finish this wall" "to build this house and to finish this structure" "to build this Temple and equip it" "to rebuild this temple and complete this structure" REB, JPSOA "to rebuild this house and complete its furnishings" "to build this house and to supply these materials" "to build this house and to erect this wall" It is obvious from the above translations that the Aramaic term "structure" (BDB 1083, KB 1827) is ambiguous, but the general sense is clear. 5:5 "the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews" This is an anthropomorphic idiom for God's attentive presence and care (cf. Ps. 32:8; 33:18; 34:15; Job 36:7; 1 Pet. 3:12). A similar idiom is used in Ezra 7:6,28 (i.e., "the hand of the Lord"). God does not have a human body, but mankind's only vocabulary is related to the physical aspects of creation. Special Topic: The Problems and Limitations of Human Language ▣ "elders" The Septuagint has "captivity," which reflects a different way to interpret the Hebrew consonantal text. Elders were central in the leadership structure of Moses' day (e.g., Exod. 18:13-27) as well as the pre-monarchial period. During the Monarchy their leadership was on a tribal and local level, not national. The post-exilic period restored their place of central leadership. Special Topic: Elder
Esdras 5:6-17
5:6 "Shethar-bozenai" This word (BDB 1117, KB 2003) can be a proper name (most English translations) or a title ("empire-delivering," cf. The Jewish Study Bible, p. 1677). It always appears in conjunction with Tattenai, the governor (cf. Ezra 5:3,6; 6:6,13). NASB, NJB, JPSOA "the officials" "the Persians" "the envoys" "fellow officials" (v. 3) "Ashtanbozan" "the inspectors" This word (BDB 1082, KB 1822) is given three possible meanings. a general name for a people group (i.e., Persian, cf. Dan. 6:28; LXX, "Apharsachians") a title (i.e., lessor governor, cf. Ezra 4:9) a proper name 5:7 "all peace" This must be a Persian idiom (cf. Dan. 4:1). The word "peace" (BDB 1116) means "prosperity" or "welfare" (cf. Dan. 6:26). 5:8 "the house of the great God" Even though the purpose of this report is negative, these Persian leaders know that the administration is tolerant to national gods. Therefore, they use the ADJECTIVE "great" in connection to YHWH. This is political correctness, not devotion or faith! "huge stones" "heavy stones" NRSV, JPSOA "hewn stones" "large stone blocks" NJB, Peshitta "large stones" "massive stones" "choice stones" Literally the Aramaic has "rolling stones" (BDB 1078, 1086), which may denote the method of their transportation to the construction site (i.e., on rollers or logs) how they were polished (i.e., expensive stones) These large stones may have caused the Persian officials concerns that something more than a small temple was being constructed at their government's expense. ▣ "and beams" This was a common construction technique of the ancient Near East, which was also used in constructing Solomon's temple (e.g., 1 Kgs. 6:36). Some speculate that it was a way to guard against earthquake damage (cf. Derek Kidner, Tyndale Commentary Series, p. 55) 5:11 "the God of heaven and earth" This is a Persian title for deity (as is "God of heaven"). The Jews borrowed the titles used by the Persian Zoroastrians for their high god (Ahura Mazda) and applied them to YHWH. ▣ "a great king of Israel" This refers to Solomon (cf. 1 Kgs. 6). 5:12 This is the theological understanding of why YHWH allowed Israel and Judah to be defeated and exiled. In the ancient world nations warred on behalf of their god, under his/her protection and power, therefore, a military defeat reflected on the potency of the deities involved. However, in the case of the Israelites, it was their sin and rebellion which allowed their defeat! 5:13-16 This is a review of Ezra 1. 5:13 "King Cyrus issued a decree" Cyrus changed the policy of both the Assyrians and Babylonians by allowing all the exiled peoples to return to their homeland and rebuild their national temples. This was both for political and religious reasons. He assumed that the people groups of the ancient Near East would be grateful and pray for him and his successors. 5:14 "the temple of Babylon" Originally each city of Babylon had their own deity. As Babylon (the city) became the capital, its deity (Marduk), became the national deity. ▣ "Sheshbazzar" This refers to the Judean leader of the first return in chapter 1, while Zerubbabel is not mentioned until chapter 2. Both are of the royal line of Judah. 5:15 This verse has a series of commands. "take" (BDB 1103), Peal IMPERATIVE "go" (BDB 1079), Peal IMPERATIVE "deposit" (BDB 1102), Aphel IMPERATIVE "let the house of God be rebuilt" (BDB 1084), Hithpael IMPERFECT used in JUSSIVE sense ▣ "in its place" The site of the temple was crucial in establishing continuity between the Patriarchs and the new covenant community (cf. Gen. 22:2,4,14; 2 Sam. 24:15-25; 2 Chr. 3:1; 7:1ff). 5:16 "Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem" It seems that this early leader cleared off the rubble and found the original foundations, but the temple itself was not rebuilt until the second return under Zerubbabel and Jeshua (cf. Haggai and Zechariah). ▣ "and from then until now it has been under construction and it is not yet completed" This may be a comment by Tattenai or a summary statement provided by the Jews themselves. The temple was started soon after 538 B.C. (Cyrus' decree) by Sheshbazzar (cf. Ezra 5:16), but lapsed the project into inactivity until the time of Zerubabbel and Haggai/Zechariah about 519-520 B.C. (cf. Ezra 4:24-6:22). See Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, vol. 2, pp. 323-324). 5:17 "let a search be conducted" The VERB (BDB 1085) is a Hithpael IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense.