The Pulpit Commentary — Ezra — Section 68

Ver. 3.-Tatnai, governor on thia side the Cyrus in eh. i. 2, 3, and of Nebuchadnezzar river. The title given to To.tno.i is the same in Dan. ii. 47 and iii. 29; but they were which is o.asigned to Zerubbo.bel, both in eh. persons who had been brought to the know- vi. 7 and in Haggai (i. I, 14, &c.), viz., ledge that Jehovah was the one true God pechah, which is a somewhat vague term of under very peculiar and miraculous circum: authority, translated sometimes "captain" stances. Tatnai, ~n the oth:er hand, repre• (I Kings xx. 24 ; Dan. iii. 2, 3, &c.), some- sents the mere ordrnary Persian official· and times "deputy" (Esther viii. 9 ; ix. 3), but his ack.nowledgment of the God of the' Jews generally, as here, "governor." The ety- as "the great God" must be held to indicate mology is uncertain, but seems not to be the general belief of the Persians on the Semitic (see Pusey's 'Daniel,' pp. 570-672). subject (see the comment on Ezra i. 2). The respective rank of Tatnai and Zerub- Whioh is builded. Rather, "being bnilded." babel is indicated, not by this term, but by With great stones. Literally, "stones of what follows it. Tatnai was pechah " be- rolling," which is commonly explained as yond the river," i. e. governor of the whole stones so large that they had to be rolled tract west of the Euphrates; Zerubbabel along the ground. But the squared stones was pechah of Judah only. A Greek writer used in building neither were, nor could be, would have called the one "satra,P of Syria," rolled ; they are always represented as the other " sub-satrap of J udree.' It was the dragged, generally on a rough sledge. And duty of Tatne.i to watch the proceedings of it is not e.t e.ll probable that in the "day of his sub-satraps. small things" (Zech. iv. 10) the Jews were Ver. 4.-Then so.id we unto them. It is building with very large stones. The LXX. impossible that the existing text can be translate" choice stones;" the Vulgate "un- sound here. Ezra must have written, " Then polished" or "rough stone." Some of the said they to them." Tatne.i e.nd Shethe.r- Jewish expositors suggest "marble." And boznai followed up their first question by a timber is le.id. A good deal of timber had second, "What are the no.mes of the men been employed in the old temple, but chiefly that make this building 1" (comp. below, for the floors of chambers (1 Kings vi 10), vers. 9, 10). for the internal lining of the walls (ibid. Ver. 6.-The eye of their God was upon vers. 9, 15), e.nd probably for the roofing. the elders. " The eyes of the Lord are upon In the new temple, timber seems to have the righteous" (Pa. x:xxiv. 16) with a jealous been employed also e.s the main material of watchfulness, which never for a moment the party-walls. Here again we have a trace slackens. " He withdraweth not his eyes of the economy necessary in the "day of from them" (Job xxxvi. 7). Nothing he.p- small things." peI!S to them that he does not know e.nd Ver. 11.-We are the servants of the allow. At this time the elders, who pre- God of heaven and earth. Instead of doing sided over the workmen employed in the as they were requested, and giving in a long restoration, were e. special subject of God's list of names and titles of office, the elders watchful ea.re, so that those who would fain merge their individuality in this general have hindered them could not. The work of phrase ; as though they would say, "As rebuilding went on uninterruptedly during individuals, we are nothing ; as men of the whole time that the messengers were mark in our nation, we e.re nothing; what away. we do, we do simply as servants of God, Ver. 6. -The Apharaaohites recall the directed by him (He.gge.i i 8), bound to obey 'Aphe.rsites" e.nd the '' Aphe.rse.thchites" him, answerable only to him for our con· of cb. iv. 9. Possibly e.ll the three forms duct." They speak of God e.s " the God of are pr<YIJincial variants of the more correct heaven e.nd earth"-a very rare title-partly Parsaya, which appears in Daniel (vi 28) in humble o.ck.nowledgment of his universal e.s the Che.ldme.n equivalent of "Persian." o.nd absolute dominion, o.s Christians speak Here the Aphe.rse.chite " companions" of when they call God "the Maker of heaven Te.tnai e.nd Shethe.r-bozne.i are perhaps the o.nd earth;" partly to impress favourably actual Persians who formed their body-guard those to whom they speak, persons accus- e.nd their train. tomed to regard God /rimarily as the Being Ver. 8.-We went into the province of who "gave me.nkin earth e.nd heaven" J'ude!a. It has been supposed (Pusey's' Daniel,' (Rawlinson's 'Cuneiform Inscriptions of p. 671), on the strength of e. doubtful passage Persia.,' voL i pp. 286, 291, 319, 324, &c.). in Nehemiah (iii. 7), that Te.tna.i ordinarily And build. That is "rebuild." The house resided e.t J e1·usalem. But this expression that was builded these many years ago. indicates the contro.ry. Most probably the The old house, begun more than 400, finished so.trap of Syria held his court e.t Damo.scus. nearly 400 years previously, and only just The house of the great God is I\ remarke.blo beginning to rise again from its ruins, after expression in the mouth of I\ heathen. It lying wasto for nearly seventy years. Which has some parallels, c. g. the expressions of e. great king of Israel builded and set up.  72 THE BOOK OF EZRA. [013:, v. 8-17.