10 And those building have founded the temple of Jehovah, and they appoint the priests, clothed, with trumpets, and the Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise Jehovah, by means of `the instruments of' David king of Israel.
`And for the sons of Aaron thou dost make coats, and thou hast made for them girdles, yea, bonnets thou dost make for them, for honour and for beauty; and thou hast clothed Aaron thy brother with them, and his sons with him, and hast anointed them, and hast consecrated their hand, and hast sanctified them, and they have been priests to Me. `And make thou for them linen trousers to cover the naked flesh: they are from the loins even unto the thighs;
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `Make to thee two trumpets of silver; beaten work thou dost make them, and they have been to thee for the convocation of the company, and for the journeying of the camps; and they have blown with them, and all the company have met together unto thee, unto the opening of the tent of meeting. And if with one they blow, then have the princes, heads of the thousands of Israel, met together unto thee; `And ye have blown -- a shout, and the camps which are encamping eastward have journeyed. `And ye have blown -- a second shout, and the camps which are encamping southward have journeyed; a shout they blow for their journeys. `And in the assembling of the assembly ye blow, and do not shout; and sons of Aaron, the priests, blow with the trumpets; and they have been to you for a statute age-during to your generations. `And when ye go into battle in your land against the adversary who is distressing you, then ye have shouted with the trumpets, and ye have been remembered before Jehovah your God, and ye have been saved from your enemies. `And in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed seasons, and in the beginnings of your months, ye have blown also with the trumpets over your burnt-offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings, and they have been to you for a memorial before your God; I, Jehovah, `am' your God.'
And these `are' they whom David stationed over the parts of the song of the house of Jehovah, from the resting of the ark, and they are ministering before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, in song, till the building by Solomon of the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem; and they stand according to their ordinance over their service. And these `are' those standing, and their sons: of the sons of the Kohathite: Heman the singer, son of Joel, son of Shemuel, son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai, son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah, son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel. And his brother Asaph, who is standing on his right -- Asaph, son of Berachiah, son of Shimea, son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchiah, son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi. And sons of Merari, their brethren, `are' on the left. Ethan son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shamer, son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi. And their brethren the Levites are put to all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.
And he putteth before the ark of Jehovah, of the Levites, ministers, even to make mention of, and to thank, and to give praise to Jehovah, God of Israel, Asaph the head, and his second Zechariah; Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with instruments of psalteries, and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals is sounding; and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests `are' with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God. On that day then hath David given at the beginning to give thanks to Jehovah by the hand of Asaph and his brethren: --
And David and the heads of the host separate for service, of the sons of Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun, who are prophesying with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals, and the number of the workmen is according to their service. Of sons of Asaph: Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asharelah, sons of Asaph, `are' by the side of Asaph, who is prophesying by the side of the king. Of Jeduthun: sons of Jeduthun, Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, Shisshah, `are' by the side of their father Jeduthun; with a harp he is prophesying, for giving of thanks and of praise to Jehovah. Of Heman: sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth; all these `are' sons of Heman -- seer of the king in the things of God -- to lift up a horn; and God giveth to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. All these `are' by the side of their father in the song of the house of Jehovah, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God; by the side of the king `are' Asaph, and Jeduthun, and Heman. And their number, with their brethren -- taught in the song of Jehovah, all who are intelligent -- is two hundred, eighty and eight.
And he appointeth the Levites in the house of Jehovah with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, by the command of David, and of Gad, seer of the king, and of Nathan the prophet, for by the hand of Jehovah `is' the command, by the hand of His prophets; and the Levites stand with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
and heads of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their brethren, `are' over-against them, to give praise, to give thanks, by command of David the man of God, charge over-against charge. Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, `are' gatekeepers, keeping charge in the gatherings of the gates. These `are' in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
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Commentary on Ezra 3 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 3
Ezr 3:1-13. The Altar Set Up.
1. when the seventh month was come—The departure of the returning exiles from Babylon took place in the spring. For some time after their arrival they were occupied in the necessary work of rearing habitations to themselves amid the ruins of Jerusalem and its neighborhood. This preliminary work being completed, they addressed themselves to rebuild the altar of burnt offering. As the seventh month of the sacred year was at hand—corresponding to the latter end of our September—when the feast of tabernacles (Le 23:34) fell to be observed, they resolved to celebrate that religious festival, just as if the temple had been fully restored.
2. Jeshua—the grandson of Seraiah, the high priest, put to death by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah (2Ki 25:18-21). His father, Josedech, had been carried captive to Babylon, and died there, some time before this.
Zerubbabel—was, according to the order of nature, son of Pedaiah (1Ch 3:17-19); but having been brought up by Salathiel, he was called his son.
builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon—This was of urgent and immediate necessity, in order, first, to make atonement for their sins; secondly, to obtain the divine blessing on their preparations for the temple, as well as animate their feelings of piety and patriotism for the prosecution of that national work.
3. they set the altar upon his bases—They reared it upon its old foundation, so that it occupied as nearly as possible the site on which it had formerly stood.
they offered burnt offerings … morning and evening—Deeming it their duty to perform the public rites of religion, they did not wait till the temple should be rebuilt and dedicated; but, at the outset, they resumed the daily service prescribed by the law (Ex 29:38, 39; Le 6:9, 11), as well as observed the annual seasons of solemn observance.
Ezr 3:4-7. Offerings Renewed.
4, 6. They kept also the feast of tabernacles … From the first day of the seventh month—They revived at that time the daily oblation, and it was on the fifteenth day of that month the feast of tabernacles was held.
7. They gave … meat … drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon—They opened negotiations with the Tyrians for workmen, as well as for timber, on the same terms and with the same views as Solomon had done (1Ki 5:11; 2Ch 2:15, 16).
Ezr 3:8-13. The Foundation of the Temple Laid.
8. appointed the Levites … to set forward the work—that is, to act as overseers of the workmen, and to direct and animate the laborers in the various departments.
9. Jeshua with his sons—not the high priest, but a Levite (Ezr 2:40). To these, as probably distinguished for their mechanical skill and taste, the duty of acting as overseers was particularly committed.
12. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers … wept with a loud voice—Those painful emotions were excited by the sad contrast between the prosperous circumstances in which the foundations of the first temple had been laid and the desolate, reduced state of the country and city when the second was begun; between the inferior size and less costliness of the stones used in the foundations of the second (1Ki 7:9, 10), and the much smaller extent of the foundation itself, including all the appurtenances of the building (Hag 2:3); between the comparative smallness of their present means and the immense resources of David and Solomon. Perhaps, however, the chief cause of grief was that the second temple would be destitute of those things which formed the great and distinguishing glory of the first; namely, the ark, the shekinah, the Urim and Thummim, &c. Not that this second temple was not a very grand and beautiful structure. But no matter how great its material splendor was, it was inferior in this respect to that of Solomon. Yet the glory of the second far outshone that of the first temple in another and more important point of view, namely, the receiving within its walls the incarnate Saviour (Hag 2:9).
13. the people could not discern the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people—Among Eastern people, expressions of sorrow are always very loud and vehement. It is indicated by wailing, the howl of which is sometimes not easily distinguishable from joyful acclamations.