PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Ezra
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 29,988 words · 164 reading sections
Ezra 1:1
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Ezra 1:1 INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF EZRA This book, in the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions, is called the "First" Book of Ezra, Nehemiah being reckoned the "second"; but with the Jews both were accounted but one book {a}; in the Syriac version, it is called the Writing …
788 wordsSECTION 2Ezra 1:2
Ezra 1:2 Ver. 2. Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia,.... Of whom, and this edict of his, Isaiah prophesied two hundred years before he was born,…
27 wordsSECTION 3Isa 44:28
Isa 44:28 the Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; many he had conquered before he took Babylon, and then the whole Babylonian monarchy fell into his hands. Herodotus {l} says, he ruled over all Asia; Xenophon {m} reckons up many nations that were under his government, Medes and Hyrcanians, …
297 wordsSECTION 4Ezra 1:3
Ezra 1:3 Ver. 3. Who is there among you of all his people?.... The people of God, the Israelites, as well of the ten tribes, as of the two of Judah and Benjamin; for this edict was published throughout all his dominions, where were the one as well as the other: his God be with him; to incline his heart to go, to prot…
182 wordsSECTION 5Ezra 1:4
Ezra 1:4 Ver. 4. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth,.... Is left behind, and cannot go up through poverty, not having a sufficiency to bear his charges in his journey to Jerusalem: let the men of his place keep him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts; with money to bear t…
179 wordsSECTION 6Ezra 1:5
Ezra 1:5 Ver. 5. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin,.... Princes of these tribes, and heads of families in them, and of some other tribes too, though chiefly of these, as appears from 1Ch 9:3, and the priests and the Levites: whose presence was necessary both to direct in the building of the …
272 wordsSECTION 7Ezra 1:6
Ezra 1:6 Ver. 6. And all they that were about them,.... Their neighbours, the Chaldeans: strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things; which they either did of themselves at their own motion, or by the direction and example of Cyrus, Ezr 1:4 and per…
92 wordsSECTION 8Ezra 1:7
Ezra 1:7 Ver. 7. And Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord,.... Or ordered them to be brought forth: which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem; out of the temple there, when he took it and burnt it: and had put them in the house of his gods; in the temple of Belus at Babylon, see 2Ch…
72 wordsSECTION 9Ezra 1:8
Ezra 1:8 Ver. 8. Even these did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer,.... Or Mithridates, a name common with the Persians, from their god Mithras, the sun they worshipped: and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar prince of Judah; delivered them by tale to him; who, according to the Jewis…
182 wordsSECTION 10Ezra 1:9
Ezra 1:9 Ver. 9. And this is the number of them,.... Of the vessels delivered, as follows: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver; these, according to Ben Melech, were vessels in which water was put to wash hands in; but rather they were, as Aben Ezra observes from the Jerusalem Talmud {r}, vessels in…
112 wordsSECTION 11Ezra 1:10
Ezra 1:10 Ver. 10. Thirty basins of gold,.... Cups or dishes with covers, as the word seems to signify; but, according to Jarchi and Aben Ezra, they were vessels in which the blood of sacrifices was received, and out of which it was sprinkled on the altar: silver basins of a second sort four hundred and ten; perhaps …
160 wordsSECTION 12Ezra 1:11
Ezra 1:11 Ver. 11. All the vessels of gold, and of silver, were five thousand and four hundred,.... Those that are mentioned make no more than 2499, which Aben Ezra thinks were the larger vessels; but this general sum takes in great and small, as in 2Ch 36:18 in the letter of Cyrus, before mentioned, these vessels are…
124 wordsSECTION 13Ezra 2:1
Ezra 2:1 INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 2 This chapter contains a list of those that went up from Babylon to Jerusalem, of their leaders, their chief men, princes and priests, Ezr 2:1 of the people, described by their families, towns, and cities, and number of persons, Ezr 2:3, of the priests, Levites, and Nethinims, Ezr 2:36,…
320 wordsSECTION 14Ezra 2:2
Ezra 2:2 Ver. 2. Which came with Zerubbabel,.... The head of them, the prince of Judah; and the chief that came with him are the ten following; Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah; the first of these, Jeshua, was Joshua the high priest, the son of Josedech, Hag 1:1. Dr…
250 wordsSECTION 15Ezra 2:3
Ezra 2:3 Ver. 3-35. The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred and seventy two. From hence, to the end of Ezr 2:35, a list is given of the captives that returned, described by the families they were of, their ancestors from whence they sprung, or the towns and cities to which they originally belonged, and by thei…
69 wordsSECTION 16Ezra 2:36
Ezra 2:36 Ver. 36-39. The priests,.... An account of them is given in this and the three following verses, and only four families are mentioned, those of Jedaiah, Immer, Pashur, and Harim, and the number of them amounted to 4289; these, according to the Jews, were heads of four courses, which were all that returned fr…
67 wordsSECTION 17Ezra 2:40
Ezra 2:40 Ver. 40-42. The Levites,.... Singers and porters, who are reckoned in this, and the two following verses, whose numbers were no more than three hundred and forty one; whereas, in the times of David, they were 38,000, 1Ch 23:3.…
45 wordsSECTION 18Ezra 2:43
Ezra 2:43 Ver. 43-58. The Nethinims,.... Supposed by Aben Ezra and Jarchi to be the Gibeonites, who were "given" by Joshua, as the word Nethinims signifies, to the congregation, to be hewers of wood and drawers of water; but rather were those that were given by David to assist the Levites; of these is an account from …
132 wordsSECTION 19Ezra 2:59
Ezra 2:59 Ver. 59. And these were they that went up from Telmelah, Telharsa,.... Places in the land of Babylon, see Isa 37:12. Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not show their father's house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel; these were such that professed the Jewish religion, and went for Jews in B…
125 wordsSECTION 20Ezra 2:60
Ezra 2:60 Ver. 60. The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, and the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two. These, though their immediate parents were known, yet by their being mentioned here, it seems as if they could not carry their genealogy further, and make it clearly appear what was the house of t…
63 wordsSECTION 21Ezra 2:61
Ezra 2:61 Ver. 61. And of the children of the priests,.... Who could not make out their pedigree, for those that could are mentioned before: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; how the latter came by this name follows: which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite…
127 wordsSECTION 22Ezra 2:62
Ezra 2:62 Ver. 62. These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy,.... To find their names written and registered there; for the Jews kept public registers of their priests, their descent, marriages, and offspring, that it might be known who were fit, and who not, to officiate as such: but th…
97 wordsSECTION 23Ezra 2:63
Ezra 2:63 Ver. 63. And the Tirshatha said unto them,.... By whom Jarchi understands Nehemiah, and observes, that their rabbins say he was so called, because the wise men allowed him to drink the wine of the Gentiles, he being cupbearer to the king; but Aben Ezra, with greater probability, takes it to be a name of hono…
397 wordsSECTION 24Ezra 2:64
Ezra 2:64 Ver. 64. The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred [and] threescore. But the sums before given make no more, with Zerubbabel, and the ten principal men, than 29,829, so that there are more than 12,000 wanting; wherefore, in answer to the question, where are the 12,000? the Jews…
144 wordsSECTION 25Ezra 2:65
Ezra 2:65 Ver. 65. Besides their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven,.... This shows that the greater part of those that returned were of the poorer sort, since there were so few servants that belonged unto them; these came not into the above account: and there we…
671 wordsSECTION 26Ezra 3:1
Ezra 3:1 INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 3 This chapter relates how that the people of Israel returned from captivity, gathered to Jerusalem, and set up the altar, where sacrifices were offered, Ezr 3:1, and kept the feast of tabernacles, and offered the sacrifices of that, besides the daily sacrifice, and of other festivals; a…
230 wordsSECTION 27Ezra 3:2
Ezra 3:2 Ver. 2. Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak,.... Who was the high priest, and the proper person to give the lead in the following work: and his brethren the priests; the common priests, very fit to join him, and assist him in it: and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel; the prince and governor of Judah, wh…
145 wordsSECTION 28Ezra 3:3
Ezra 3:3 Ver. 3. And they set the altar upon his bases,.... Which might remain of the old altar; or the meaning is, that it was fixed and settled on the same spot where it stood before: for fear was upon them, because of the people of those countries; and therefore they hastened to erect an altar, and offer sacrifice…
135 wordsSECTION 29Ezra 3:4
Ezra 3:4 Ver. 4. They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written,.... According to the rules prescribed for the observation of it in Le 23:34 this began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month: and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required; for…
98 wordsSECTION 30Ezra 3:5
Ezra 3:5 Ver. 5. And afterwards offered the continual burnt offering,.... Not after the feast of tabernacles, as if they then began to offer the daily sacrifice; for that they did as soon as the altar was set up, and on the first day of the month, Ezr 3:3, rather the sense is, that after the daily burnt offering of th…
182 wordsSECTION 31Ezra 3:6
Ezra 3:6 Ver. 6. From the first of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord,.... And which day was not only a new moon, but a grand festival, the feast of blowing of trumpets, Le 23:24, and no doubt but they observed the tenth day of this month, with all the rites of it, which was the day of…
153 wordsSECTION 32Ezra 3:7
Ezra 3:7 Ver. 7. They gave money also to the masons, and to the carpenters,.... To buy stone and timber with for the building of the temple: and meat and drink and oil unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre; which were more agreeable to them than money, because there was not plenty of such things in their country, a…
205 wordsSECTION 33Ezra 3:8
Ezra 3:8 Ver. 8. Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem,.... The place where it formerly stood; the Jews seem to have set out from Babylon, in the spring of the preceding year, as it was now of this; which to Jerusalem was a journey of about four months, as Ezra performed it, Ezr 7:9…
317 wordsSECTION 34Ezra 3:9
Ezra 3:9 Ver. 9. Then stood Jeshua, with his sons,.... Not Jeshua the high priest before mentioned, but Jeshua the Levite, Ezr 2:40, and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together; the same with Hodaviah, Ezr 2:40 to set forward the workmen in the house of God; to give them orders to begin and l…
94 wordsSECTION 35Ezra 3:10
Ezra 3:10 Ver. 10. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord,.... The masons, whose work it was, Ezr 3:7 they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets; these were set in a proper place by the prince and the high priest, in their priestly garments, with trumpets in their hands to blow w…
184 wordsSECTION 36Ezra 3:11
Ezra 3:11 Ver. 11. And they sang together by course,.... They sang by turns in responses, and answered one another, as the word signifies; when one company had performed their part, another took theirs: in praising and giving thanks to the Lord; for returning them to their own land, and giving them opportunity, abili…
169 wordsSECTION 37Ezra 3:12
Ezra 3:12 Ver. 12. But many of the priests and Levites, and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men,.... Seventy or eighty years of age: that had seen the first house; the temple built by Solomon, as they very well might, since then it had been destroyed but fifty two years; for the seventy years captivity are to …
302 wordsSECTION 38Ezra 3:13
Ezra 3:13 Ver. 13. So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people,.... That is, not clearly and distinctly, they were so mixed and confounded together, and made such a jarring and discord: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard…
142 wordsSECTION 39Ezra 4:1
Ezra 4:1 INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 4 The contents of this chapter are the offer the Samaritans made to the Jews, to assist them in building the temple, which having refused, they gave them all the trouble they could, Ezr 4:1 and a letter of theirs to Artaxerxes, king of Persia, full of accusations of them, Ezr 4:7 and the…
218 wordsSECTION 40Ezra 4:2
Ezra 4:2 Ver. 2. Then they came to Zerubbabel, and the chief of the fathers,.... These they addressed, as knowing that if they could not prevail with them, they could never succeed in their design; and these were no doubt the principal of the Samaritans that applied: and said unto them, let us build with you; that is…
292 wordsSECTION 41Ezra 4:3
Ezra 4:3 Ver. 3. But Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers, said unto them,.... The prince and high priest, and chief of the people: you have nothing to do with us to build an house to our God; being neither of the same nation, nor of the same religion: but we ourselves together will build…
141 wordsSECTION 42Ezra 4:4
Ezra 4:4 Ver. 4. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building. By threatening them, or by dissuading the workmen from going on, by endeavouring to hinder their having materials from the Tyrians and Zidonians, or money out of the king's revenues to bear the expens…
64 wordsSECTION 43Ezra 4:5
Ezra 4:5 Ver. 5. And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose,.... Either to advise and persuade the king of Persia's officers in those parts not to supply them with money, or to influence the great men at his court to get the edict revoked: and this they did all the days of Cyrus king of Persia; wh…
148 wordsSECTION 44Ezra 4:6
Ezra 4:6 Ver. 6. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign,.... According to Jarchi, this was Ahasuerus the husband of Esther; but, as most think {d}, was Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus; so Josephus {e}; who was an enemy to the Egyptians; and, fearing the Jews might take part with them, wa…
165 wordsSECTION 45Ezra 4:7
Ezra 4:7 Ver. 7. And in the days of Artaxerxes,.... The same with Ahasuerus, in the preceding verse; and who also is Cambyses, which is his name in Heathen authors, Artaxerxes being a common name to the kings of Persia; though some {f} think this was Smerdis, the magician and impostor, who was between Cambyses and Dar…
393 wordsSECTION 46Ezra 4:8
Ezra 4:8 Ver. 8. Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort. This means the same letter as before; which, according to Jarchi, was sent in the name of Mithredath Tabeel and his company, was endited by Rehum, master of words or sense, and written …
87 wordsSECTION 47Ezra 4:9
Ezra 4:9 Ver. 9. Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions,.... who all signed the letter; namely, the governors of the following nations; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites…
136 wordsSECTION 48Ezra 4:10
Ezra 4:10 Ver. 10. And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over,.... The river Euphrates: and set in the cities of Samaria; placed there in the room of the Israelites carried captive; this Asnappar was, according to Jarchi and others {l} Sennacherib; but, with Grotius, Shalmaneser; rathe…
193 wordsSECTION 49Ezra 4:11
Ezra 4:11 Ver. 11. This is the copy of the letter they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king,.... Which Ezra brought with him from Babylon, and is contained in the five following verses: thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time; this was the inscription of the letter, or the beginning of…
62 wordsSECTION 50Ezra 4:12
Ezra 4:12 Ver. 12. Be it known unto the king,.... The intent of this letter was, that it might be known to the king what follows: that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem; this they observe partly out of contempt of the Jews, having been lately captive in Babylon, and partly to insinuate wh…
163 wordsSECTION 51Ezra 4:13
Ezra 4:13 Ver. 13. Be it known now unto the king,.... And let it be seriously and thoroughly considered by him and his counsellors: that if this city be builded, and its walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom; being able to defend themselves against the king's forces, sent to reduce them…
108 wordsSECTION 52Ezra 4:14
Ezra 4:14 Ver. 14. Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace,.... Have posts under the king, to which salaries were annexed, by which they were supported, and which they had from the king's exchequer; or "salt" {o}, as in the original, some places of honour and trust formerly being paid in salt; hence, as…
158 wordsSECTION 53Ezra 4:15
Ezra 4:15 Ver. 15. That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers,.... That is, his predecessors in the Babylonian monarchy; though, as the Medes and Persians were included in that, and joined the Babylonians in their wars with others, and particularly with the Jews, the records of the Medes and Per…
129 wordsSECTION 54Ezra 4:16
Ezra 4:16 Ver. 16. We certify the king, that if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up,.... As it formerly was, and now attempted, as they suggest: by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river; the river Euphrates; intimating that the Jews would not only shake off his yoke, and re…
83 wordsSECTION 55Ezra 4:17
Ezra 4:17 Ver. 17. Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe,.... This affair, upon examination, being found to be of importance, the king of Persia thought fit to send an answer to the above letter, which was doing them an honour, and gave them the power and authority they wis…
113 wordsSECTION 56Ezra 4:18
Ezra 4:18 Ver. 18. The letter which ye sent unto us,.... The plural number is used, being now become courtly for kings thus to speak of themselves: hath been plainly before me; by such that understood both the Syrian and Persian languages; the letter was written in the Syrian language, and the king being a Persian, i…
68 wordsSECTION 57Ezra 4:19
Ezra 4:19 Ver. 19. And I commanded, and search hath been made,.... In the records of his predecessors, whether Chaldeans or Persians: and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein: and yet this could not be carried higher than t…
117 wordsSECTION 58Ezra 4:20
Ezra 4:20 Ver. 20. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river,.... As David and Solomon; and the account of these they had in their records, see 2Sa 8:1 and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them; as appears from the places referred to; and this serve…
87 wordsSECTION 59Ezra 4:21
Ezra 4:21 Ver. 21. Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease,.... From building: and that this city be not builded until another commandment shall be given from me; he might suspect that this case, in all its circumstances, was not truly stated, and that hereafter he might see reason to recede from the pres…
537 wordsSECTION 60Ezra 5:1
Ezra 5:1 INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 5 This chapter relates, how that the people of the Jews were stirred up by the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah to set about the building of the temple again, notwithstanding the orders to the contrary from the deputy governors of the king of Persia; nor could the present ones cause th…
295 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.