Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezra 10:7-17

"And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; and that whosoever came not within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within the three days; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth [day] of the month: and all the people sat in the broad place before the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have trespassed, and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel. Now therefore make confession unto Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women. Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said concerning us, so must we do. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without: neither is this a work of one day or two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. Let now our princes be appointed for all the assembly, and let all them that are in our cities that have married foreign women come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God be turned from us, until this matter be despatched. Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this [matter]: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, [with] certain heads of fathers` [houses], after their fathers` houses, and all of them by their names, were set apart; and they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. And they made an end with all the men that had married foreign women by the first day of the first month." — Ezra 10:7-17 (ASV)

Conference of the people and commission to try individual cases.

(8) Forfeited. —This, just as what precedes and what follows, again recalls the express commission of Ezra 7:0. But according to the counsel removes all appearance of any arbitrariness by Ezra.

Within three days. —From the time of hearing the summons. No town was more than forty miles distant, and of course only those would come who were able, and who fell within the scope of the proclamation, the precise terms of which are not given. Their numbers were not more than could assemble in the street, or open court of the Temple. The minute specifications of date, the two reasons for the trembling of the people, and the whole tone of the narrative testify to the truthfulness of an eyewitness.

It was the ninth month. —Chislev, our December, the rainy month in Palestine.

Ezra the priest. —He stood up, not as the commissioner of Artaxerxes, not at this moment as the scribe, but as the representative of God.

Do his pleasure. —This procedure, humanly severe, is connected with the Divine will.

From the people of the land, and from the strange wives. —The marriages were but a subordinate branch, though a very important one, of the wider sin: that of confederacy with idolaters.

We are many. —Better, we have greatly offended in this thing. The greatness of the offense of course implied the number of the offenders.

Stand. —As a representative body in session.

Until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us. —A difficult verse, due to a slight peculiarity in the original. The meaning seems to be: until the fierce wrath of our God — fierce while this matter lasts — be turned away from us.

Were employed about. —Rather, stood against. Nothing is said regarding the reason for opposition by these and the two who abetted them. But the reason is obvious enough. Some modern expositors agree with them and regard the act of Ezra as remedying one sin with another still greater. They bring Malachi (Ezra 2:15) to their support; but nothing in his prediction about the wife of thy youth, rightly understood, tends to condemn the conduct here described.

By their names. —As in Ezra 8:20, the names were available to the writer but are not given.

And sat down. —That is, held a session. This was ten days after the general assembly.

And they made an end. —Though the number of transgressors was only one hundred and thirteen, two months were occupied, which shows the care taken to do justice, especially to the claims of the women put away.