Ezra 7:24
in Ezra 7And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, upon them.
KJV
Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them.
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This verse in Ezra 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIt shall not be lawful to impose toll - As these persons had no private revenues, it would have been unreasonable to have laid them under taxation.
This site's exposition
I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers
on Ezra 7:21-24
Artaxerxes repeats his decree, now to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates. He asks why wrath should fall on the king and his sons. The priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers and temple servants are exempt from tribute, duty or toll, and Adam Clarke notes they held no private revenue.
This site's exposition
tribute, duty, or toll
Tribute, duty and toll are the three taxes the opponents at 4:13 warned the king a rebuilt Jerusalem would stop paying. Artaxerxes now forbids his officials to levy them on anyone who serves the temple. The exempt classes match the company of verse 7.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And we make known to you concerning all the priests, etc. This privilege, by which priests, Levites, and the other ministers of the house of God are rendered free from taxes, is clearly shown, in that the rest of the people of the children of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God,....
This put a great honour upon them as free denizens of the empire, and would gain them respect as favourites of the crown; and it gave them liberty to attend their ministry with more cheerfulness and freedom. We suppose it was only what they needed for themselves and their families, and the maintenance of their ministry, that was hereby allowed to come to them custom-free.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The decree of Artaxerxes was more favorable to the Jews than those of all previous Persian monarchs. We hear of a similar exemption of ecclesiastics from tribute, only to a less extent, under the Seleucidae. Ministers - The rare word here used, which in Daniel has the sense of “worshippers,” appears to designate in this place the lowest class of persons employed in the service of the temple.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּלְכֹ֣ם | ulekhom | and to you | ||
| מְהוֹדְעִ֗ין | mehodin | [we are] making known | H3046 → | 47 times |
| דִּ֣י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3606 → | 82 times |
| כָּהֲנַיָּ֣א | kahanaiya' | priests the | H3549 → | 8 times |
| וְ֠לֵוָיֵא | velevaye' | and Levites the | H3879 → | 4 times |
| זַמָּ֨רַיָּ֤א | zamaraiya' | singers the | H2171 → | |
| תָרָֽעַיָּא֙ | taraaiya' | gatekeepers the | H8652 → | |
| נְתִ֣ינַיָּ֔א | netinaiya' | temple servants the | H5412 → | |
| וּפָ֣לְחֵ֔י | ufalechei | and [the] servants of | H6399 → | |
| בֵּ֖ית | beit | [the] house of | H1005 → | 44 times |
| אֱלָהָ֣א | ʾelaha' | <the> God | H426 → | 95 times |
| דְנָ֑ה | denah | this | H1836 → | 58 times |
| מִנְדָּ֤ה | mindah | tribute | H4061 → | 4 times |
| בְלוֹ֙ | velo | tax | H1093 → | 3 times |
| וַהֲלָ֔ךְ | vahalakh | and toll | H1983 → | 3 times |
| לָ֥א | la' | not | H3809 → | 82 times |
| שַׁלִּ֖יט | shalit | [is] authorized | H7990 → | |
| לְמִרְמֵ֥א | lemirme' | to throw | H7412 → | |
| עֲלֵיהֹֽם׃ | ʾaleihom | on them | H5922 → | 104 times |
וּלְכֹ֣םand to you
ulekhom
מְהוֹדְעִ֗ין[we are] making known
mehodinH3046 →47 times
דִּ֣יthat
diH1768 →345 times
כָל־all
khol-H3606 →82 times
כָּהֲנַיָּ֣אpriests the
kahanaiya'H3549 →8 times
וְ֠לֵוָיֵאand Levites the
velevaye'H3879 →4 times
זַמָּ֨רַיָּ֤אsingers the
zamaraiya'H2171 →
תָרָֽעַיָּא֙gatekeepers the
taraaiya'H8652 →
נְתִ֣ינַיָּ֔אtemple servants the
netinaiya'H5412 →
וּפָ֣לְחֵ֔יand [the] servants of
ufalecheiH6399 →
בֵּ֖ית[the] house of
beitH1005 →44 times
אֱלָהָ֣א<the> God
ʾelaha'H426 →95 times
דְנָ֑הthis
denahH1836 →58 times
מִנְדָּ֤הtribute
mindahH4061 →4 times
בְלוֹ֙tax
veloH1093 →3 times
וַהֲלָ֔ךְand toll
vahalakhH1983 →3 times
לָ֥אnot
la'H3809 →82 times
שַׁלִּ֖יט[is] authorized
shalitH7990 →
לְמִרְמֵ֥אto throw
lemirme'H7412 →
עֲלֵיהֹֽם׃on them
ʾaleihomH5922 →104 times
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
Ezra 4:20And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 4:21
And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of…
- Genesis 15:18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- 1 Chronicles 18:3
As far as Hamath, David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah, who had marched out to establish his dominion along the Euphrates River.
- Psalms 72:8
May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
- 1 Chronicles 18:13
He placed garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
- 1 Kings 4:21
Through
Ezra 7:7So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.
it leads to
- Ezra 8:1–20
These are the family heads and genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
- Ezra 8:1–20
Through
Ezra 4:13Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, they will not pay tribute, duty, or toll, and the royal treasury will suffer.
it leads to
- Romans 13:6–7
This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work.
- Nehemiah 5:4
Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.
- Romans 13:6–7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
On this chapter
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); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Berean Standard Bible, Ezra 4; Berean Standard Bible, Ezra 7; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.