Ezra 5:4
in Ezra 5They also asked, “What are the names of the men who are constructing this building?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then we told them after this manner, what the names of the men were that were making this building.
KJV
Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building?
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This verse in Ezra 5
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhat are the names - It is most evident that this is the answer of the Jews to the inquiry of Tatnai, Ezr 5:3, and the verse should be read thus: Then said we unto them after this manner: These are the names of the men who make this building.
This site's exposition
Who authorized you to rebuild this temple
on Ezra 5:3-4
Tattenai, governor of the region west of the Euphrates, comes to the site with Shethar-bozenai. They ask who authorized the Jews to rebuild this temple, and they ask for the builders' names. The question is one of jurisdiction, and the elders answer it by giving their names openly.
This site's exposition
What are the names of the men
The Berean makes this a second question from Tattenai's party. Adam Clarke reads the verse as the Jews' reply to verse 3, in which they give the names of the builders. Verse 10, in the governors' letter, records that they asked for the names.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Commentary on Chapter V 1. The son - His grand-child; for he was the son of Baraciah. Prophesied - Commanding them from God to return to building the temple, with a promise of his favour and assistance.
Then said we unto them after this manner,....
If all men have not faith ( 2 Thess. iii. 2 ), it is well some have, and a sense of honour. The church's enemies are not all equally wicked and unreasonable.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then said we - The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions have “Then said they,” which brings this verse into exact accordance with Ezr 5:10.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱדַ֥יִן | ʾedayin | then | H116 → | 57 times |
| כְּנֵ֖מָא | kenema' | as follows | H3660 → | 5 times |
| אֲמַ֣רְנָא | ʾamarna' | we said | H560 → | 71 times |
| לְּהֹ֑ם | lehom | to them | ||
| מַן־ | man- | what? | H4479 → | 10 times |
| אִנּוּן֙ | ʾinun | [are] they | H581 → | |
| שְׁמָהָ֣ת | shemahat | [the] names of | H8036 → | 12 times |
| גֻּבְרַיָּ֔א | guvraiya' | men the | H1400 → | 21 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | who | H1768 → | 345 times |
| דְנָ֥ה | denah | this | H1836 → | 58 times |
| בִנְיָנָ֖א | vinyana' | building the | H1147 → | |
| בָּנַֽיִן׃ | banayin | [are] building | H1124 → | 22 times |
אֱדַ֥יִןthen
ʾedayinH116 →57 times
כְּנֵ֖מָאas follows
kenema'H3660 →5 times
אֲמַ֣רְנָאwe said
ʾamarna'H560 →71 times
לְּהֹ֑םto them
lehom
מַן־what?
man-H4479 →10 times
אִנּוּן֙[are] they
ʾinunH581 →
שְׁמָהָ֣ת[the] names of
shemahatH8036 →12 times
גֻּבְרַיָּ֔אmen the
guvraiya'H1400 →21 times
דִּֽי־who
di-H1768 →345 times
דְנָ֥הthis
denahH1836 →58 times
בִנְיָנָ֖אbuilding the
vinyana'H1147 →
בָּנַֽיִן׃[are] building
banayinH1124 →22 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezra
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Berean Standard Bible, Ezra 5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.