Ezra 8:27
in Ezra 820 gold bowls valued at 1,000 darics, and two articles of fine polished bronze, as precious as gold.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and twenty bowls of gold, of a thousand darics; and two vessels of fine bright brass, precious as gold.
KJV
Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.
⋯
This verse in Ezra 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams - Not of a thousand drams (i. e., darics) each, but worth altogether a thousand darics. As the value of the daric was about 22 shillings of British money, each basin, or saucer, would have been worth (apart from the fashioning) 55 British pounds. Of fine copper - The word translated “fine,” which occurs here only, is thought to mean either “yellow” or “glittering” (see the margin).
This site's exposition
twelve of the leading priests
on Ezra 8:24-27
Ezra sets apart twelve of the leading priests, together with Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers, as a watch over the treasure. He weighs into their hands 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, and 100 talents of gold. Every amount is weighed at the handover.
This site's exposition
valued at 1,000 darics
Albert Barnes reads the 1,000 darics as the value of the 20 gold bowls together, so each bowl was valued at 50 darics. The word for the fine polished bronze occurs only here in Hebrew. Barnes gives its sense as yellow or glittering.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Also twenty basins of gold, of a thousand drams,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold--Almost all commentators agree in maintaining that the vessels referred to were not made of copper, but of an alloy capable of taking on a bright polish, which we think highly probable, as copper was then in common use among the Babylonians, and would not be as precious as gold.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests . . . and weighed unto them the silver, &c.--The custody of the contributions and of the sacred vessels was, during the journey, committed to twelve of the chief priests, who, with the assistance of ten of their brethren, were to watch closely over them by the way, and deliver them into the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּכְפֹרֵ֤י | ukheforei | and bowls of | H3713 → | 12 times |
| זָהָב֙ | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| עֶשְׂרִ֔ים | ʾesrim | twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| לַאֲדַרְכֹנִ֖ים | laadarkhonim | of darics | H150 → | |
| אָ֑לֶף | ʾalef | a thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| וּכְלֵ֨י | ukhelei | and vessels of | H3627 → | 325 times |
| נְחֹ֜שֶׁת | nechoshet | bronze | H5178 → | |
| מֻצְהָ֤ב | mutzhav | gleaming | H6668 → | |
| טוֹבָה֙ | tovah | fine | H2896 → | 538 times |
| שְׁנַ֔יִם | shenayim | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| חֲמוּדֹ֖ת | chamudot | precious | H2530 → | |
| כַּזָּהָֽב׃ | kazahav | like <the> gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
וּכְפֹרֵ֤יand bowls of
ukheforeiH3713 →12 times
זָהָב֙gold
zahavH2091 →389 times
עֶשְׂרִ֔יםtwenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
לַאֲדַרְכֹנִ֖יםof darics
laadarkhonimH150 →
אָ֑לֶףa thousand
ʾalefH505 →505 times
וּכְלֵ֨יand vessels of
ukheleiH3627 →325 times
נְחֹ֜שֶׁתbronze
nechoshetH5178 →
מֻצְהָ֤בgleaming
mutzhavH6668 →
טוֹבָה֙fine
tovahH2896 →538 times
שְׁנַ֔יִםtwo
shenayimH8147 →768 times
חֲמוּדֹ֖תprecious
chamudotH2530 →
כַּזָּהָֽב׃like <the> gold
kazahavH2091 →389 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Lamentations 4:2How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in pure gold, are now esteemed as jars of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!
it leads to
- Isaiah 30:14
It will break in pieces like a potter’s jar, shattered so that no fragment can be found. Not a shard will be found in the dust large enough to scoop the coals from a…
- Romans 9:21–23
Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?
- Jeremiah 19:11
and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again…
- 2 Timothy 2:20
A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.
- 2 Corinthians 4:7
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
- Isaiah 30:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).