1 And these are the chief fathers, and their genealogy, who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.
2 Of the children of Phinehas, Gershom; of the children of Ithamar, Daniel; of the children of David, Hattush;
3 of the children of Shecaniah, of the children of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty.
4 Of the children of Pahath-Moab, Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.
5 Of the children of Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.
6 And of the children of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males.
7 And of the children of Elam, Isaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.
8 And of the children of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males.
9 Of the children of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.
10 And of the children of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty males.
11 And of the children of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males.
12 And of the children of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males.
13 And of the children of Adonikam, the last ones, whose names are these: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males.
14 And of the children of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.
15 And I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days; and I surveyed the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.
16 And I sent 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, and for Joiarib and for Elnathan, men of understanding.
17 And I gave them a commission to Iddo the chief, at the place Casiphia, and I put words in their mouths to say to Iddo [and] his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.
18 And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely, Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;
19 and Hashabiah, and with him Isaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;
20 and of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were expressed by name.
21 And I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek 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; for we had spoken to the king saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his anger is against all them that forsake him.
23 And we fasted, and besought our God for this; and he was entreated of us.
24 And I separated twelve of the chiefs of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
25 and I weighed to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the heave-offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counsellors and his princes, and all Israel present, had offered.
26 And I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver; and silver vessels a hundred talents, [and] of gold a hundred talents;
27 and twenty basons of gold, of a thousand darics; and two vessels of shining copper, precious as gold.
28 And I said to them, Ye are holy unto Jehovah; the vessels also are holy; and the silver and the gold is a voluntary offering to Jehovah the God of your fathers.
29 Watch and keep [them] until ye weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites, and the chiefs of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Jehovah.
30 And the priests and the Levites received by weight the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.
31 And we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth of the first month, to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.
32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.
33 And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Urijah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites:
34 the whole by number and by weight; and all the weight was written down at that time.
35 The children of those that had been carried away, who had come out of the captivity, presented burnt-offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all for a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
36 And they delivered the king's edicts to the king's satraps, and to the governors on this side the river. And they furthered the people and the house of God.
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Commentary on Ezra 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
Ezr 8:1-14. Ezra's Companions from Babylon.
1. this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon—The number given here amounts to 1754. But this is the register of adult males only, and as there were women and children also (Ezr 8:21), the whole caravan may be considered as comprising between six thousand and seven thousand.
Ezr 8:15-20. He Sends to Iddo for Ministers for the Temple Service.
15. I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava—This river has not been ascertained. It is probable that the Ahava was one of the streams or numerous canals of Mesopotamia communicating with the Euphrates [Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature]. But it was certainly in Babylonia on the banks of that stream; and perhaps the place appointed for general rendezvous was in the neighborhood of a town of the same name. The emigrants encamped there for three days, according to Oriental custom, while the preparations for the departure were being completed and Ezra was arranging the order of the caravan.
I … found there none of the sons of Levi—that is, the ordinary Levites. Notwithstanding the privilege of exemption from all taxes granted to persons engaged in the temple service, none of the Levitical tribes were induced to join the settlement in Jerusalem; and it was even not without difficulty Ezra persuaded some of the priestly families to accompany him.
16-20. then sent I for Eliezer … with commandment unto Iddo the chief—Ezra sent this deputation, either by virtue of authority which by his priestly character he had over the Levites, or of the royal commission with which he was invested. The deputation was despatched to Iddo, who was a prince or chief of the Nethinims—for the Persian government allowed the Hebrews during their exile to retain their ecclesiastical government by their own chiefs, as well as to enjoy the privilege of free worship. Iddo's influence procured and brought to the camp at Ahava thirty-eight Levites, and two hundred twenty Nethinims, the descendants of the Gibeonites, who performed the servile duties of the temple.
Ezr 8:21-36. A Fast Proclaimed.
21. Then I proclaimed a fast there—The dangers to travelling caravans from the Bedouin Arabs that prowl through the desert were in ancient times as great as they still are; and it seems that travellers usually sought the protection of a military escort. But Ezra had spoken so much to the king of the sufficiency of the divine care of His people that he would have blushed to apply for a guard of soldiers. Therefore he resolved that his followers should, by a solemn act of fasting and prayer, commit themselves to the Keeper of Israel. Their faith, considering the many and constant perils of a journey across the Bedouin regions, must have been great, and it was rewarded by the enjoyment of perfect safety during the whole way.
24-32. Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests … and weighed unto them the silver, &c.—The custody of the contributions and of the sacred vessels was, during the journey, committed to twelve of the chief priests, who, with the assistance of ten of their brethren, were to watch closely over them by the way, and deliver them into the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. The treasures in silver and gold, according to the value of the Babylonian talent, amounted to about £515,000 sterling.
27. two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold—Almost all commentators agree in maintaining that the vessels referred to were not made of copper, but of an alloy capable of taking on a bright polish, which we think highly probable, as copper was then in common use among the Babylonians, and would not be as precious as gold. This alloy, much esteemed among the Jews, was composed of gold and other metals, which took on a high polish and was not subject to tarnish [Noyes].
31. we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month—Computing from the time of their setting out to the period of their arrival, they occupied about four months on the way. Their health and security were marvellous during so long a journey. The pilgrim-caravans of the present day perform long journeys through the wildest deserts of the East under the protection of a firman from the Porte, and an escort of soldiers. But for a large body, composed as that of Ezra—of some thousands of men, women, and children, unaccustomed to travel, undisciplined to order, and without military strength, and with so large an amount of treasure tempting the cupidity of the marauding, plundering tribes of the desert—to accomplish a journey so long and so arduous in perfect safety, is one of the most astonishing events recorded in history. Nothing but the vigilant care of a superintending Providence could have brought them securely to their destination.
33-36. Now on the fourth day was the silver … weighed in the house of our God—The first three days after their arrival in Jerusalem were undoubtedly given to repose; on the next, the treasures were weighed and handed over to the custody of the officiating priests of the temple. The returned exiles offered burnt offerings, and Ezra delivered the royal commission to the satraps and inferior magistrates; while the Levitical portion of them lent all the assistance they could in performing the additional work which the arrival of so many new worshippers occasioned.