Ezra 2:63
in Ezra 2The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the governor said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.
KJV
And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.
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This verse in Ezra 2
Commentary
2 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Tirshatha - i. e., Zerubbabel. See margin. The word is probably old Persian, though it does not occur in the cuneiform inscriptions. Some derive it from a root “to fear.” See the introduction to the Book of Ezra, first note. A priest with Urim and with Thummim - See Exo 28:30 note. According to the rabbinical writers, the second temple permanently lacked this glory of the first. Zerubbabel, it would seem by the present passage (compare Neh 7:65), expected that the loss would be only temporary.
This site's exposition
These sought their register among
on Ezra 2:62-63
These sought their register among those enrolled by genealogy and were not found, so they were put from the priesthood as polluted, barred from the most holy things until a priest should rise who could consult the Urim and the Thummim. That priest and that oracle never return anywhere else in Scripture, and the text lets the sentence hang unresolved rather than close it. Matthew Henry reads the loss as the nation's push toward a written canon in place of the oracle, while John Gill notes the strict Jewish record-keeping of priestly descent that made a claim like this checkable at all.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַתִּרְשָׁ֙תָא֙ | hatirshata' | the governor | H8660 → | |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to them | ||
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֹאכְל֖וּ | yokhelu | they will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| מִקֹּ֣דֶשׁ | mikodesh | any of [the] holy thing of | H6944 → | 469 times |
| הַקֳּדָשִׁ֑ים | hakodashim | the holy things | H6944 → | 469 times |
| עַ֛ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עֲמֹ֥ד | ʾamod | will arise | H5975 → | 521 times |
| כֹּהֵ֖ן | kohen | a priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| לְאוּרִ֥ים | leurim | to Urim | H224 → | |
| וּלְתֻמִּֽים׃ | uletumim | and to Thummim | H8550 → |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַתִּרְשָׁ֙תָא֙the governor
hatirshata'H8660 →
לָהֶ֔םto them
lahem
אֲשֶׁ֥רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֹאכְל֖וּthey will eat
yokheluH398 →810 times
מִקֹּ֣דֶשׁany of [the] holy thing of
mikodeshH6944 →469 times
הַקֳּדָשִׁ֑יםthe holy things
hakodashimH6944 →469 times
עַ֛דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
עֲמֹ֥דwill arise
ʾamodH5975 →521 times
כֹּהֵ֖ןa priest
kohenH3548 →750 times
לְאוּרִ֥יםto Urim
leurimH224 →
וּלְתֻמִּֽים׃and to Thummim
uletumimH8550 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 28:30And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the…
it leads to
- Leviticus 8:8
Then he put the breastpiece on him and placed the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 28:6
He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 7:65
The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
- Deuteronomy 33:8
Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah.
- Numbers 27:21
He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will…
- Leviticus 8:8
Through
Leviticus 2:3The remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.
it leads to
- Leviticus 10:12–13
And Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that remains from the offerings made by fire to the LORD and eat it without leaven beside the…
- Leviticus 10:12–13
Through
Numbers 27:21He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will…
it leads to
- Exodus 28:30
And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the…
- Joshua 9:14
Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions, but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.
- Exodus 28:30
About Ezra
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.