Albert Barnes Commentary Ezra 2
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezra 2
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezra 2
"Now these are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and that returned unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;" — Ezra 2:1 (ASV)
The province - Judaea was no longer a kingdom, but a mere “province” of Persia. The children of the province are the Israelites who returned to Palestine, as distinct from those who remained in Babylonia and Persia.
Every one unto his city - That is, to the city to which his forefathers had belonged. Of course, in the few cases where this was not known (Ezra 2:59–62), the plan could not be carried out.
Two other copies of the following list have come down to us—one in (Nehemiah 7:7–69), and the other in . All seem to have been taken from the same original document, and to have suffered more or less from corruption. Where two out of the three agree, the reading should prevail over that of the third.
"The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth," — Ezra 2:43 (ASV)
The Nethinims - The hieroduli or sacred slaves, “given” to the Levites to assist them in their work (see 1 Chronicles 9:2 note).
"And these were they that went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, [and] Immer; but they could not show their fathers` houses, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:" — Ezra 2:59 (ASV)
Tel-melah, Tel-harsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, were probably cities, or villages, of Babylonia, where the Jews spoken of here had been settled. The first and third have been reasonably identified with the Thelme and Chiripha of Ptolemy. Of the rest, nothing is known at present.
"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." — Ezra 2:63 (ASV)
The Tirshatha - that is, 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 (Exodus 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 , expected that the loss would be only temporary.
"The whole assembly together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore," — Ezra 2:64 (ASV)
The sum total is given without any variation by Ezra, by Nehemiah (see the marginal reference), and by Esdras , who adds that in this reckoning only those of twelve years of age and upward were counted.
It is curious that the total, 42,360, is so greatly in excess of the items. Ezra’s items make the number 29,818; Nehemiah’s, 31,089; and Esdras’s, 33,950. The original document was probably illegible in places, and the writers were forced to make omissions.
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