Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods.

“Cyrus . . . brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord--Though it is said (2Ki 24:13) that these were cut in pieces, that would not be done to the large and magnificent vases; and, if they had been divided, the parts could…”

the descendants of Arah, 775;

“It is probable that all mentioned as belonging to this family repaired to the general place of rendezvous, or had enrolled their names at first as intending to go; but in the interval of preparation, some died, others were prevented by sickness or insurmountable obstacles…”

the men of Anathoth, 128;

“The men of Anathoth--It is pleasant to see so many of this Jewish town returning. It was a city of the Levites; but the people spurned Jeremiah's warning and called forth against themselves one of his severest predictions (Jer 32:27-35).”

The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Peruda,

“The children of Solomon's servants--either the strangers that monarch enlisted in the building of the temple, or those who lived in his palace, which was deemed a high honor.”

The whole assembly numbered 42,360,

“The servants and singers, male and female, are reckoned separately (Ezr 2:65), so that putting all these items together, the number of all who went with Zerubbabel amounted to fifty thousand, with eight thousand beasts of burden [ALTING, quoted in DAVIDSON'S Hermeneutics].”

But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first temple wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple.

“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.”

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other heads of the families of Israel replied, “You have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone must…

“Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God--This refusal to co-operate with the Samaritans, from whatever motives it sprang, was overruled by Providence for ultimate good; for, had the two peoples worked together, familiar acquaintanceship and intermarriage would have…”

Thus the construction of the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

“Then ceased the work of the house of God--It was this occurrence that first gave rise to the strong religious antipathy between the Jews and the Samaritans, which was afterwards greatly aggravated by the erection of a rival temple on Mount Gerizim.”

Later, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.

“For fifteen years the work was completely suspended. These two prophets upbraided them with severe reproaches for their sloth, negligence, and worldly selfishness (Hag 1:4), threatened them with severe judgments if they continued backward, and promised that they would be blessed with great national prosperity…”

In his first year, however, Cyrus king of Babylon issued a decree to rebuild this house of God.

“Cyrus the king . . . made a decree--The Jews were perfectly warranted according to the principles of the Persian government to proceed with the building in virtue of Cyrus' edict.”

So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been under construction, but it has not…

“Shesh-bazzar . . . since that time even until now hath it been in building--This was not a part of the Jews' answer--they could not have said this, knowing the building had long ceased.”

Thus King Darius ordered a search of the archives stored in the treasury of Babylon.

“The cuneiform characters on most of them were singularly sharp and well-defined, but so minute in some instances as to be almost illegible without a magnifying glass.”

And a scroll was found in the fortress of Ecbatana, in the province of Media, with the following written on it: Memorandum:

“Achmetha--long supposed to be the capital of Greater Media (the Ecbatana of classical, the Hamadan of modern times), [is] at the foot of the Elwund range of hills, where, for its coolness and salubrity, Cyrus and his successors on the Persian throne established their summer…”

I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on…

“11, 12. whosoever shall alter this word--The warning was specially directed against the turbulent and fanatical Samaritans.”

In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

“Then Tatnai . . . did speedily--A concurrence of favorable events is mentioned as accelerating the restoration of the temple and infusing a new spirit and energy into the workmen, who now labored with unabating assiduity till it was brought to a completion.”

Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.

“Artaxerxes, king of kings--That title might have been assumed as, with literal truth, applicable to him, since many of the tributary princes of his empire still retained the name and authority of kings.”

You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand.

“Secondly, he was empowered to carry a large donation in money, partly from the royal treasury and partly raised by voluntary contributions among his countrymen, to create a fund out of which to make suitable provision for maintaining the regular worship of God in Jerusalem…”

Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons?

“And, finally, in the expression of the king's desire for the divine blessing upon the king and his government (Ezr 7:23), we see the strong persuasion which pervaded the Persian court, and had been produced by the captivity of the Hebrew people, as to the…”

Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days.

“It is probable that the Ahava was one of the streams or numerous canals of Mesopotamia communicating with the Euphrates [Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature].”

Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan.

“The deputation was despatched to Iddo, who was a prince or chief of the Nethinims--for the Persian government allowed the Hebrews during their exile to retain their ecclesiastical government by their own chiefs, as well as to enjoy the privilege of free worship.”

And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our…

“Therefore he resolved that his followers should, by a solemn act of fasting and prayer, commit themselves to the Keeper of Israel.”

On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and sacred articles into the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest.

“The returned exiles offered burnt offerings, and Ezra delivered the royal commission to the satraps and inferior magistrates; while the Levitical portion of them lent all the assistance they could in performing the additional work which the arrival of so many new worshippers occasioned.”