of God, in turning the Hearts of theſe great Monarchs, whole Pie: decefſors had been the chief Perſecutors ard Oppreſſors of Ged's
Peop c- 9G A ES
CHAP. VI.
Ezra's Genealogy, 1 5. The Priefls, Levites and Exra go up fo Jes Fuſalen, 6———10. The gracious Commiſſion cf Artaxcyxcs ro Exra, 14 20, Evra blefſeth God for bis fawour eo his pople, 27, 28,
Ow after theſe things, in the reign of * Artax- * Net. ». | erxes a king of Perſia, Ezra * the fon of Serajahb, ,, |
the fon of Aziriah, the ſon of Hilkiah. *1 Cluc * | 4 The ſame of whom he ſpeaks, ch. 6.14. 6 5. e. His Grandſon, 6 14. _
Here are divers Perſcns omitted for brevity ſake, which may be ſups
plyed out of 1 Chrox. 8, 7, 2, g, 10, rt. FP > h .2 The ſon of Shallum, the ſon of Zadok, the ſon of
Ahitub, 6h "One 3 The ſon of Amatiah, the ſon of Azariah, the ſon
of Mecajoth, ug et os 4 4 The fon of Zerajah, the fon of Uzzi, the ſon of kki :
_
l,: "I | DT | af 2
The ſon of Abiſbua, the ſon of Phinehas, the ſor -
of Eleazar, the fon of Aaron the chief prieſt; oy 6 This Ezra went up from Babylon c, and he was 4
God of Ifrael had given, and the king granted him all his requeſt, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him «e - EO AS c Wirth the King's Conſent and Commiſſion. di. 4 A learned? and expert Door : for in that tenie the word Scribs is oft uſed;as: Jer. 8.8, Matth. 7. 29s & 17. 10.8% 23. 2,13. Mark I2. 28, compare with Matt. 22. 35, 36. @ +. e. By the Grace and favour of God ſo diſs poſing the Heart of the King, : ne ; 7 And there weft up ſozze of the children of Iſrael, an4 of the prieſts, and the Levires, and the ſingers, and - © | the porters, and * the Nethinims unto Jerufalemf, in *.ch+2 | the ſeventh year of Artaxerxes the king. cx ©. wi | f This is here related in the general, but how he procured this is particutarly related lereafier. ne re. Le on 8 And he came to Jerufalem in the fifth month, which as in the ſeventh year of the king. ; |. - 9 For vuponi the firſt day of the firſt month + beganhe *__ to go up from Babylon, and onthe firſt day of the fifth } Hebe
month came he to Jeruſalem, according to the good Y ww
” -
poles and Afftions. 1 Who 15 tlrought to be either 1. Xerxes Das | rivs his Son and Suctefſor, who was called allo Ariazerxes, and 4bas
ſbuerns, who is here joyned with his Father Darius, poſſibly be- |
cauſe he favoured the Jews, and promoted their Cauſe with his Fa- ther, and faw to the Execution of his Father's Decree, and was his Father's Vice-Roy, if not made Co-Emperor with his Father in his Life=rime, which was notunuſual- Or 2« Artexerxes Longimanus, the Son of Xerres, who was beſt known by the name of 4rtexerxes ; who is here joyn:d with Cyrus and Darius, becauſe though the Tem- ple was finiſhed, as to the ſubſtance of the work, in Dariuss Reign, 4, 15, Yet it was afterwards more fully compleated and adorned by Artaxcrxer, as is. evident from eh. 7. v 20, 27, by whom Nebemiah was ſent ta Feruſalem with a large Commiſſion and full Power to take care abour che Building of the Ciry, and all other things cencerniag the Jewiſh Nation and Religion.
; 15 And this houſe was finiſhed on the third day of and, do it- Eh. 3. the month * Adar, which' was inthe fixth' year of the
___ r&fgnof Darius the king.
Foy vites, and the reſt of trhe children of thecaptivity, kept
mrietiothe dedication of this houſe of God with joy;
| 17 And offered at the dedication of this houſe of God, an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four
"8.35, hundred lambs; and for a in offering for all Ifrael,
1Kings * ewelve he-goats according to'thenumber of the tribes
$63, | 5:00 of Iſrael, $.
f had. ;5 at Jeruſalem; f * as it is written inthe Book of Moſes.
wing 19 And the children of the captivity kepec the paſſover witing, * upon the fourteenth day of the ſixth month. *Num.3. 20 For the prieſts and theLevites were purified togs-
6.&8.9-ther, all of ttem were pure, and killed the paſſover
; 00.12. for all the childremof the captivity, and for their Bre- thren the prieſts; and for themſelves.
21 And the children of frael, whichy were'come again out of captivity,and all'fuch as had ſeparared them- ſelves unto them from the filthineſs of the heathen rs of
the land, to ſeek the LORD God of Ifrael, did eat:
ms 7. e, Such «s had foriaken that filthy and Idolarrous Religion” of the Heathens, and were profelyted to the Jewiſh Religion : for
Tuch were aliowed $0 cat thz paſſ;ver Exod. 12. 48. Nums. g. 14:
22 And kept the feaſt of unleavened breai leven
days with joy: for the LORD had made thern joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Afſyria 7 unto them,
£0 ſtrengchen their hands in thg work of ths byuſe of
God, ths God of Iſrael,
16 And the children of Ifrael, the prieſts and the Le-'
18 And they ſet the prieſts intheir diviſions, and the Levites in their courſes, for the ſervice of God, which}
hand of his God upon hin. SY "of thegoing to For Ezra had prepared his heart g to ſeek þ the law, »?-
of the LORD, and to do it, and co teach in Iſrael; ſtatutes and judgments. .— 25- / ; of = £ Or. direfied, &0- 1. e. He had ſet his Mind and Affections u-on it. and made it his. chief deſign and buſineſs. & 7, e. To ſearch and fi1d our the true fence and meaning of it,and thence to learn whar
' Sins or Errors were to be reformed, and whatDuties were to ws: - | tormed, 2 The order 6f things in this Verſe is very, obſervable «
| firſt he endeayours to underftand God's Law and Word, and thar
' nof for Curiolity or Ofſtemtation, but in order to Practice » Next +
! he conſcientiouſly practiſeth what he did underſtand, which made © ; his Doctrine much more eff:crual : And then he earneſtly :defireg : « and-labours to inſtract and edific others, that they alſo might knvuy
11 Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the prieſt, the ſcribe, even a ſcribe of rhe words ofthe commandmentst of the LORD and of his ſtatures to Itrael. EE rs fie
þ The Piiraſe ſeems empharical noting that he explaingd both | / "the words, and the things: For the Jews iv.che Land of their Capris; vity had in a great, m2aſure loſt both their Language, and the Knows. -
+
ledge of God s Comimands, and therefore Ezzs and his Compamions ©
”4