Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 4:4

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

4. Then the people of the land ] i.e. the Samaritans, as opposed to ‘the people of Judah’. It is noteworthy that this expression ‘the people of the land’ (’am hare) became a synonym for ‘the ignorant’ or ‘the vulgar’ in contrast to ‘the wise’, with special reference to a knowledge of ‘the law’. Cf. Joh 7:49 ‘This people who knoweth not the law are cursed’. Buxtorf gives illustrations by the Jewish proverbs ‘Better is the bastard who is the disciple of the wise than the high-priest of the people of the land’ (i.e. who is ‘vulgar’) ‘The people of the land (i.e. the ‘vulgar’) have degrees of morals but none of intelligence’.

weakened the hands ] The Hebrew construction gives the idea of a continuous policy of weakening, terrifying, and bribing. For the phrase itself compare Jer 38:4.

the people of Judah ] ‘The children of the captivity’ are here given the name of the old southern kingdom. Cf. Ezr 4:12.

troubled ] so R.V.: marg. Or ‘ terrified ’. There are two readings. The reading of the Hebrew text or K’thib gives a word that does not occur elsewhere in the O.T. but is connected with a substantive rendered ‘terror’ (R.V. Isa 17:14). The reading of the Hebrew tradition or K’ri, preserved with the text, gives an otherwise unused form of a common word meaning ‘to trouble’. In all probability the letters of the unused root were transposed by a scribe so as to give the familiar root; preference should be given to the harder rendering, ‘terrified them from building’.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Ezr 4:4-24

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah.

The hostility of the Samaritans to the Jews

I. The tactics of the wicked. If they cannot bend the good to their wishes and aims by plausible pretences, they alter their tactics and betake themselves to unscrupulous opposition in various forms.

II. The venality of the wicked. The Samaritans hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purposes. It is reasonable to infer that these counsellors were men of some skill and resource and power of persuasion who deliberately exercised their abilities in an evil cause for gain.

III. The temporary triumph of the wicked.

IV. The freedom allowed by God to the wicked. (William Jones.)

The antagonism of the world to the Church

This antagonism as here illustrated is–

I. Persistent.

II. Authoritative.

III. Combined.

IV. Unscrupulous.

V. Plausible.

1. In their profession of loyalty to the king.

2. In their presentation of proof of their assertions. (J. Parker, D. D)

.

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 4. Weakened the hands] Discouraged and opposed them by every possible means.

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

The people of the land, Heb. of that land; the present inhabitants of that province, to wit, the Samaritans.

Troubled them in building; by false reports and threats, and other means, described afterwards.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

4, 5. Then the people of the landweakened the hands of the people of Judah, c.Exasperated bythis repulse, the Samaritans endeavored by every means to molest theworkmen as well as obstruct the progress of the building and, thoughthey could not alter the decree which Cyrus had issued regarding it,yet by bribes and clandestine arts indefatigably plied at court, theylabored to frustrate the effects of the edict. Their success in thoseunderhand dealings was great; for Cyrus, being frequently absent andmuch absorbed in his warlike expeditions, left the government in thehands of his son Cambyses, a wicked prince, and extremely hostile tothe Jews and their religion. The same arts were assiduously practisedduring the reign of his successor, Smerdis, down to the time ofDarius Hystaspes. In consequence of the difficulties and obstaclesthus interposed, for a period of twenty years, the progress of thework was very slow.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building. By threatening them, or by dissuading the workmen from going on, by endeavouring to hinder their having materials from the Tyrians and Zidonians, or money out of the king’s revenues to bear the expenses as ordered; see Ezr 6:4.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

In consequence of this refusal, the adversaries of Judah sought to weaken the hands of the people, and to deter them from building. , the people of the land, i.e., the inhabitants of the country, the colonists dwelling in the land, the same who in Ezr 4:1 are called the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin. followed by the participle expresses the continuance of the inimical attempts. To weaken the hands of any one, means to deprive him of strength and courage for action; comp. Jer 38:4. are the inhabitants of the realm of Judah, who, including the Benjamites, had returned from captivity, Judah being now used to designate the whole territory of the new community, as before the captivity the entire southern kingdom; comp. Ezr 4:6. Instead of the Chethiv , the Keri offer , from , Piel, to terrify, to alarm, 2Ch 32:18; Job 21:6, because the verb nowhere else occurs; but the noun , fear, being not uncommon, and presupposing the existence of a verb , the correctness of the Chethiv cannot be impugned.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

4. Weakened the hands of the people By throwing all possible difficulties in their way. We have no mention of the particular measures they took to weaken and trouble the Jews, except what is related in the sequel of their accusation against them before successive Persian kings.

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

Ver. 4. Weakened the hands See Neh 6:9. Jer 38:4.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

By weakening the hands of the people, perhaps is meant, alarmed some weak minds to relax in their service. And by continually thwarting the people, no doubt it operated to their great discouragement. Such is not unfrequently the case now. But the Lord overrules these oppositions not unfrequently to good. Reader! mark it down as a certain truth, whatever drives a child of God to a throne of grace, and makes his visit’s there more frequent than otherwise they would be; these things must be mercies.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Ezr 4:4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

Ver. 4. Then the people of the land ] Who the nearer they came unto a conjunction with the Jews in matters of religion the deeper hatred they bare them. Thus at this day, a Jew hates a Christian worse than he doth a Pagan; so doth a Turk hate a Persian worse than he doth a Christian; a Papist, a Protestant worse than he doth a Turk; a formalist, a Puritan worse than he doth a Papist, Odia Theologica sunt acerbissima. Religious hatred is most shep.

Weakened the hands of the people of Judah ] Discouraged them all they could, endeavouring to transfuse, as it were, a dead palsy into their fingers, that they might surcease, or, at least, slack their pains. Well might Solomon say, Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous: but who can stand before envy? surely the venom of all vices is found in this sharp fanged malignity.

And troubled them in building ] Heb. Kept ado about them, and terrified them. This was to do the work of their father, the devil, that troubler of God’s Israel ( ad iniuriam inferendam totus comparatus, ), set upon it to vex such as begin but to build the tower of godliness, and to hinder them to the utmost.

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

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Ezr 4:4-5

4Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, 5and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Ezr 4:4 the people of the land Before the Exile this term referred to the landed nobility (JB notes, p. 573, says it refers to those with landed property, cf. 2Ki 23:30; 2Ki 23:35). After the Exile it referred to the poorest people of the land (cf. 2Ki 25:12; Jer 39:10; Jer 40:7; Jer 52:16). Here, in this context, it seems to refer to the people of the Persian province known as the land Beyond the River (i.e., Palestine and Lebanon). In Ezra it refers to the descendants of Jews and pagans (who were imported by Assyria) who had a partial knowledge of YHWH (cf. Ezr 10:2; Ezr 10:11; Neh 10:31). From Ezr 4:4-5 one would surmise that this term refers to the Persian governmental leadership of the province located in Samaria.

discouraged the people of Judah This is literally letting drop the hands (BDB 951, KB 1276, Peel PARTICIPLE, cf. Jer 38:4). It is an idiom for losing heart or energy (cf. 2Ch 15:7; Jer 38:4).

frightened them This is another Peel PARTICIPLE, which is used only here in the OT (BDB 117, KB 132). Apparently they mocked their ability, resources, and authority (cf. Ezr 4:5).

Ezr 4:5 hired counselors against them This would have involved a period from 536 B.C. to sometime in Darius I’s reign (522-486 B.C.). It was a consistent, sustained, political strategy!

Again the time element is problematic. Does this imply that the actions of Zerubbabel and Jeshua started in Cyrus’ day? If so, it seems that Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel must be the same person who began the temple in 536 B.C. (cf. Ezr 5:16) because if they are separate governors then a date of 520 B.C. (Haggai prophecies) fits Zerubbabel’s day better. Does this imply that there was legal opposition which started in Sheshbazzar’s day, but was continued and reinforced until Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the heads of families’ response in Ezr 4:3?

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

troubled them in = terrified them from.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

weakened: Ezr 3:3, Neh 6:9, Isa 35:3, Isa 35:4, Jer 38:4

troubled: Neh 4:7, Neh 4:8, Neh 4:11

Reciprocal: 2Sa 4:1 – his hands Neh 2:10 – there was come Dan 10:13 – the prince Zec 1:19 – scattered

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Ezr 4:4. But the people of the land Hebrew of that land; namely, the Samaritans, the present inhabitants of that province. Weakened the hands of the people of Judah As they could not divert them from the work, they endeavoured to discourage them in it, by persuading them it was in vain to attempt it, and that they would never be able to finish what they had begun. And troubled them in building Laying all the impediments they could in their way; by false reports and slanders; by threatenings; and by preventing materials or provisions from coming to them; or by enticing away their workmen, and other means described afterward.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments