The Pulpit Commentary — Ezra — Section 107

obtain"-" all that thou canst get my other corn and wine, a land of bread and vi11c- subjects to give thee." Compare the pro- yards, a land of oil olive, and of honey" clamation of Cyrus (eh. i. 4, 6). (2 Kings xviii. 32), and which, in the regfon Ver. 17.-Tha.t thou ma.yest buy speedily about the Dead Sea, abounded with salt. with thia money bullocks, &c. The primary Ver. 23.-Why should there be wrath application of the money sent by Ezra was age.inst the realm l In the seventh year of to be the maintenance of the Jewish ritual Artaxerxes Longimanus there was "wrath in its full splendour (corn r,,are the decree against the realm" of Persia in a very dan- of Darius, eh. vi. 9, 10). 1he residue was, gerous quarter, viz., Egypt. Egypt ha,[ however, to be employed in any way that revolted from the Persians in B. c. 460, an,l Ezra, acting under Divine guidance, might in the following year, with the assistance nf direct (see below, ver. 18). Apparently, the Athenians, had driven the last Persia 11 this residue was actually employed on beau- out of the country. A vain attempt was tifying the temple (see ver. 27). made by an embassy to Sparta, towards the Ver. 19.-The vessels also. It does not close of n. c. 459, to force Athens to recall appear that these were sacred vessels belong- her troops. In B. c. 458, Artaxerxes' seventh ing to the temple, like those which Cyrus year, it was resolved that a Persian force had intrusted to Zerubbabel for restoration should attempt the recovery of the revolte,l to the house of God. Rather, it would seem, country. Artaxerxes gives his firrnan to they wer& a part of the voluntary "offering" Ezra. when this expedition is preparing to mentioned in ver. 15, in which they are dis- start, and partly alludes to the past" wrath," tinctly included (viii. 25-28). We may shown in the success of the rebels, part! y perhaps conclude that the vessels sent with deprecates any further visitation. Without Zerubbabel had proved insufficient in number pretending to penetrate the Divine coun- for the great festivals. sels, it may be noticed that from the year Ver. 20.-Whatever more shall be need- B. c. 458 things went well for the Persians fal. Here the terms of the firman are very in Egypt. Memphis was recovered in thn,t wide indeed, and authorise apparently an year or the next ; and in B. c. 455 the unlimited application of the royal revenue, Athenians were finally defeated, and the or, at any rate, of the revenue of the pro- province reco-rnred. The king e.nd his sons. vince, to any purpose in any way connected This mention of the ''sons" of Artaxerxes with the temple. Probably it was expected has been regarded as a proof that the Arta- that Ezra's own discretion would act as a xerxes of Esther was Mnemon, and not Longi- restraint. If this failed, the royal treasurers manus (Patrick). But it is quite a gratuitous would see that the amounts specified in ver. supposition that Longimanus, who h"J. 22 were not exceeded. The king's trea.sun- attained to manhood before he ascended the house is not the royal treasury at Susa, to throne, had no sons in the seventh year of . which the tribute went up from the various his reign. Ultimately he left behind hiru provinces, but the local treasury of J udrea or eighteen sons (Ctesias, 'Exe. Pers.,' § 44 ). Syria, to which the Jews made their remit- Ver. 24.-We certify you. The use of tances, and on which Ezra was now author- the plural is curious. Hitherto the king ised to draw. Such local tJ:easuries existed has made every permission and command to of necessity under a. satrapial system. rest on his own sole authority (see vers. 12, Ver. 22.-Unto a hundred talents of 13, 21). Now that he reaches the most silver. At the lowest estimate of the Jewish important point in the whole of his decrec- silver talent, this would be a permission to tho permanent exemption of a large part of dre.w on the royal treasury to the amount of the people from liability to taxation of ,my £24,000 sterling. If we adopt the views of Mr. kind, his style changes, and he says, " We R. S. Poole (' Diet. of the Bible,' Articles, certify you." Perhaps he speaks in the MONEY and WEIGHTS AND MEASURES), it name of himself and his successors ; or would authorise drawing to the amount of possibly he means to say that in this matter £40,000. A hundred mea.slµ'es of wheat. he has asked and obtained the assent and Literally, "a hundred cors of wheat," as consent of his council (compare ver. 28). given in the margin. The cor is variously Or ministers. Rather, "and ministers." estimated, at 44¼ gallons and at 86f gallons. It is generally allowed that the word hero It contained ten baths. Orders on the tree.- translated "ministers" is not applied to sury for so much wheat, wine, oil, and salt the N ethinim, but to that still lower gralla sound strangely in modern ears ; but were of attendants in the sanctuary called "Solo- natural enough in the Persian system, where mon•~ servants" in eh. ii. 65-58, and taxation was partly in kind, and every pro- Neh. vii. 57-60. It shall not be lawful rince had to remit to the court the choicest to impose toll, tribute, or custom upon portion of its produce. Wine, corn, oil, them. It may be suspected from this e.nd salt were a.11 of them produced a.bund- proviso that the Persians exempted from o.ntly in Palestino, which was "a land of taxation their own \Magian) priests, though  112 THE BOOK OF EZRA. [CH. VII, 11-28.