Albert Barnes Commentary Ezra 8
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezra 8
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezra 8
"Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush. Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty." — Ezra 8:2-3 (ASV)
Punctuate as follows:
Ezra 8:2: ...of the sons of David, Hattush of the sons of Shechaniah.
Ezra 8:3: Of the sons of Pharosh, Zechariah...
Hattush, the descendant of David, was the grandson of Shechaniah (see marginal reference).
Most of these names (Ezra 8:2–14) also occur as those of heads of families in the list of the Jews who returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:3–15). The Septuagint and Syriac versions supply omissions in Ezra 8:5 and Ezra 8:10.
"And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we encamped three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi." — Ezra 8:15 (ASV)
Ahava was both a town and a river (Ezra 8:21). The modern name of the place is Hit. It is famous for its bitumen springs, and is situated on the Euphrates, at a distance of about 80 miles from Babylon, toward the northwest.
None of the sons of Levi - The Levites appear to have been disinclined to return to Jerusalem (see Ezra 3:8 note).
"And I sent them forth unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, [and] his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God." — Ezra 8:17 (ASV)
Casiphia - Its situation is wholly unknown; but it cannot have been far from Ahava.
"And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;" — Ezra 8:18 (ASV)
And Sherebiah - Either a name has fallen out before the words a man of understanding, or the “and” here has crept into the text by accident. Sherebiah appears among the most earnest of the Levites under Nehemiah (see the marginal references).
"For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him." — Ezra 8:22 (ASV)
What “enemy” menaced Ezra, and for what reason, is wholly uncertain . Perhaps robber-tribes, Arab or Syrian, were his opponents.
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