Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 1:4

And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that [is] in Jerusalem.

4. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth ] R.V. And whosoever is left, in any place where he sojourneth. The wording of this clause is a little ambiguous. The following paraphrase will give the meaning. ‘In any place where survivors of the Jewish captivity are to be found sojourning, there let the natives of the place, the non-Israelite neighbours, render him all assistance.’ That this is the right interpretation is shown by the passages Neh 1:2, ‘The Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity’ and Hag 2:3, ‘Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory’. Cf. 2Ki 25:22 and ‘the residue’ (R.V.) in Jer 8:3; Jer 24:8; Jer 39:9, &c.

The A.V. gives no intelligible sense. The R.V. (1) by altering ‘remaineth’ to ‘is left’ preserves the application of the word in the original to the survivors of the Captivity, (2) by punctuation indicates the construction of the verse, in which ‘whosoever is left’ is placed independently as a heading to the whole sentence; while the words ‘in any place where he sojourneth’ do not belong to ‘whosoever is left’ but introduce the succeeding clause ‘let the men &c.’

The passage is somewhat awkwardly worded, but with the above explanation is rendered quite clear in meaning. The decree made no universal requisition for aid to the Jews. It only enjoined that local assistance should be given by neighbours, wherever any resident Jew availed himself of the king’s edict for the Return.

sojourneth ] The word in the original regularly used in the sense of ‘to dwell as a stranger’. Cf. Lev 19:34.

help ] The A.V. margin has ‘Heb. lift him up’. The word in the original is the intensive Mood of the verb ‘to lift or carry’, and occurs in 1Ki 9:11 = ‘furnished’. The LXX. ( ) renders the sense well by the Greek word so familiar to English readers in the words ‘He hath holpen Israel his servant’ (Luk 1:54).

with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts ] The assistance should be given in money for the journey, in necessaries for the new homes, and in means of transport. “Goods” a vague word, reproducing the indefiniteness of the original. It occurs again Ezr 8:21, Ezr 10:8, = ‘substance’ in A.V. and R.V. (LXX. and , Vulgate ‘substantia’). Here the LXX. has and the Vulgate ‘substantia’. From its use in these passages and in Gen 12:5; Gen 13:6, we gather that the word means the moveables of a household. ‘Beasts’ i.e. beasts of burden horses, camels and asses. Cf. Ezr 2:66-67.

besides the freewill offering ] ‘beside’, i.e. along with (Vulg. wrongly ‘excepto quod’) certain voluntary gifts of a more private nature especially intended for the Temple, as in chap. Ezr 8:25. Compare the freewill-offerings mentioned in Exo 35:29; Lev 22:23. This freewill offering is not to be restricted, as by some commentators, to the gifts either of Cyrus or of the Jews who remained behind. Any one, Jew or Gentile, could make such offerings, in Ezr 3:5.

for the house of God ] These words denote the object of the free-will offering: and are not, as the Hebrew accents interpret, to be taken as following after ‘help him’, the intervening words being taken parenthetically.

that is in Jerusalem ] R.V. which is, consistently with Ezr 1:2-3. The clause refers to ‘the house’. Some understand ‘God’ as the antecedent to ‘which’; but see note on a similar interpretation in Ezr 1:3. The expression is in its explicitness similar to ‘Jerusalem which is in Judah’ (Ezr 1:2).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Let the men of his place help him – i. e., Let the pagan population help him (see Ezr 1:6).

The freewill offering – Probably that made by Cyrus himself Ezr 1:7-11.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Ezr 1:4

Let the men of the place help him with silver.

Spontaneous offering

Not many years since, writes a clergyman, I had occasion to solicit funds to aid in the prosecution of a work of benevolence. I stepped into the office of a Christian friend, with whom I had a partial acquaintance, and incidentally mentioned the unpleasant business before me, and inquired of him for the residence of a certain benevolent individual, and added that I hoped to get one dollar of him. After receiving directions, I turned to go out. But stop, said this brother, suppose you let me have the privilege of contributing a little of the money which the Lord has lent me to this cause. Put down 20 for me. I expressed my surprise that he should contribute so liberally, and remarked that I should feel myself in duty bound not to call on him very soon on a similar errand. Well, then, said he, my brother, I think you will very much mistake your duty. If you knew how much pleasure it gave me to contribute of my substance to the Lord, you would feel no reluctance in calling again. And now let me charge you, when engaged in similar business, never to pass me by. Call, and I think I shall be able to do something; and if not, my prayers shall go with you. (Signal.)

A stimulus to generous offering

Two weeks ago I told you that three thousand dollars had got to be raised to pay for the repairs of this house. The plates were sent round, and about six hundred dollars were raised. I was heartily ashamed, and have not got over it yet. Last week the trustees came, and asked me if I would name the matter again, and I said, No, I will not. But this week, upon their renewed application, I have consented to speak once more. If this dont do, you may pay your debt how you can, for I will never mention it again. Im not going to be a pump to be thrust into mens pockets to force up what ought to come up freely. When the surgeon comes to a place where he must cut, he had better cut. For more than a year Ive seen that our plate collections grew meaner and meaner. I didnt want to face you with such things as Ive got to say to-day, and I put it off as long as I could. Now I shall speak plainly once for all, not having the face to bring the matter up again. This debt has got to be paid, and will you meet it honourably, and pay it like men, or will you let it drip, drip, drip out of you reluctantly, a few dollars st a time? You can take your choice. Im not going to try to drill money out of you as I would drill stones. The amount of meanness among respectable people is appalling. One needs to take a solar microscope in order to see some men. (H. W. Beecher.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 4. Whosoever remaineth in any place] Every one was at liberty to go, but none was obliged to go. Thus their attachment to God was tried; he whose heart was right with God went; he who was comfortably settled in Babylon, might go if he chose. Those who did not go, were commanded to assist their brethren who went.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Whosoever remaineth; who, when his brethren were gone up, was desirous to go with them, but forced to tarry there for want of necessaries for his journey.

Let the men of his place help him; I require my officers to take care that they may be supplied, either by the voluntary contributions of the people, or by a moderate tax to be laid either only upon those Jews who were resolved to stay, or upon the Gentiles also, which the Persian monarchs, being absolute, had a power to do; and which was the more reasonable, because the king himself submitted to it, and bore a great part of the burden, and because it was for the house of that great God to whom they all owed their present peace and great felicity.

With silver and with gold, which upon this occasion I give you leave to transport.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth,…. Is left behind, and cannot go up through poverty, not having a sufficiency to bear his charges in his journey to Jerusalem:

let the men of his place keep him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts; with money to bear the expenses of his journey, with goods to furnish his house, or trade with, when he came to Judea, and with cattle to carry him, and his goods, and to till the ground with, when he came thither; and the men exhorted to this are either the Gentiles that dwelt in the cities where these poor Jews were, or the richer Jews, who chose as yet not to go up until they saw how things would succeed; and are therefore called upon to assist their brethren who had a will, but not ability:

besides the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem: which they freely gave, and sent by them for the rebuilding of the temple.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

4. Whosoever remaineth Or rather, all the remnant, that is, all the exiles still living. Compare the use of the same word in Neh 1:2. The word is best taken as nominative absolute, and as for all the remnant.

In any place where he sojourneth Rather, From all the places where he has been dwelling. This phrase is to be construed with what follows, thus: Let the inhabitants of any place out of all the places where the exiles have been dwelling, help those exiles, etc.

The men of his place The non-Israelitish population, or any others who do not accompany the exiles that volunteer to return to Jerusalem. Josephus states that many of the wealthier Jews remained at Babylon, not being willing to leave their possessions there.

Goods Movable property; perhaps especially, household goods.

Freewill offering Gifts of money, or vessels, or beasts for sacrifice any oblation that might be deemed appropriate or of value.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Ezr 1:4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that [is] in Jerusalem.

Ver. 4. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth ] Heb. Gershom. A name that Moses gave his eldest son born in his banishment; for he said, “I have been a stranger in a strange land,” Exo 2:22 . These poor captives had been longer so than Moses in Midian, and met with more hard measure, Psa 137:1 ; Psa 137:8 . But as those who are born in hell know no other heaven (as the proverb is), so fared it not with a few of these; loth to be at the pains and run the hazard of a voyage to the Holy Land. A little with ease is held best. Let us, who are strangers here, haste homeward, heavenward. Some of these poor Jews had a mind to return, but wanted means. For these necessitous people the king takes care and course here, that they be supplied and set forward on their journey, after a godly sort, or worthy of God, as St John phraseth it, 3Jn 1:6 , who else will require it.

Let the men of his place ] Whether Jews or proselytes, brethren by race, grace, or place only.

Help him with silver ] Heb. Give him a lift out of the dust, as Job’s friends did him off the dunghill; as Joseph did his brethren when he filled their bags, and returned them their moneys; and as all Christians are bound and bid to support or shore up their weaker brethren, 1Th 5:14 ( A ).

With silver, and with gold ] These are notable good levers at a dead lift in this present world where money bears the mastery, and answereth all things, Ecc 10:14 , a satisfactory answer it giveth to whatsoever is desired or demanded. He that helpeth a man, therefore, in his necessity with silver and gold is a friend indeed. Let a man make God his friend, and then (saith Eliphaz) the Almighty shall be his gold, and he shall have plenty of silver, Job 22:25 ; Jacob shall be sure of so much as shall bring him to his journey’s end, a sufficiency, if not a superfluity, of all things needful to life and godliness.

And with goods ] Heb. Recush (whence haply our English words riches and cash), chattels, movables, gathered substance, as the word signifieth, which whosoever he was that first called substance was utterly mistaken; sith wisdom only (that is, godliness) is durable substance, Pro 8:21 . Wealth is but a semblance, Pro 23:5 1Co 7:31 And he that first called riches goods was a better husband than divine. But it may be thought the most are such husbands; since the common cry is, Who will show us any good? a good booty, a good bargain, a good beast? &c., Psa 4:6 . That one thing necessary, that is both Bonum hominis, the good of man, Mic 6:8 , and Totum hominis, the whole of man, Ecc 12:13 , lieth wholly neglected by the most.

And with beasts ] Those most serviceable creatures, both ad esum and ad usum, for food and other uses, as sheep, horses, camels, dromedaries, swift, patient, painful.

Besides the freewill offering ] Which the king presumeth all God’s free-hearted people (volunteers, every soul of them, Psa 110:3 ) will be most forward unto in so good a work, so acceptable a service. See Lev 5:6 ; Lev 5:12 ; Lev 14:10 ; Lev 14:21 ; Lev 14:30 . God straineth upon no man, Exo 25:2 ; Exo 35:5 . Lex quaerit voluntarios, The law calleth for volunteers, saith Ambrose, see Isa 56:6 2Co 8:12 ; 2Co 9:7 , and learn to come off roundly and readily in works of piety and charity; for else all is lost; since Virtus nolentium nulla est, unwilling service is nothing set by.

That is in Jerusalem ] This city he so often nameth, that he may seem delighted with the very mention of it; and to be of the same mind with those pious captives that vowed to prefer Jerusalem (that joy of the whole earth) before their chief joy, to make it ascend above the head of their joy, as the Hebrew hath it, Psa 137:6 . How then should it cheer up our hearts to think of heaven, and that we are written among the living in Jerusalem, Isa 4:3 ; fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of heaven, Eph 2:19 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

whosoever [of the captive people] remameth in any place, &c. Note the Figure of speech Ellipsis.

remaineth = is left.

the men of his place: i.e. his Persian neighbours.

God. Hebrew. Elohim.(with Art.) = the [true] God, App-4.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

let the men: Ezr 7:16-18, Act 24:17, 3Jo 1:6-8

help him: Heb. lift him up, Ecc 4:9, Ecc 4:10, Gal 6:2

the freewill: Ezr 2:68-70, 1Ch 29:3, 1Ch 29:9, 1Ch 29:17

Reciprocal: 1Ch 29:5 – General 2Ch 29:31 – and as many 2Ch 31:14 – the freewill Ezr 1:6 – willingly offered Psa 28:9 – lift Eze 46:12 – a voluntary

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Ezr 1:4. Whosoever remaineth in any place where be sojourneth, &c. This seems to relate to such as were desirous to go up with their brethren, but were forced to stay behind for want of necessaries to support them in so long a journey. To such he would have a supply of all things needful to be given by the inhabitants of the places where they lived, who could afford it, besides sending by them an offering toward the rebuilding of the temple.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

1:4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, {e} let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, {f} beside the freewill offering for the house of God that [is] in Jerusalem.

(e) If any through poverty were not able to return, the king’s commission was that he should be furnished with all he needed.

(f) Which they themselves should send for the repairing of the temple.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes