Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 4:12
Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls [thereof], and joined the foundations.
12. the Jews ] We have here practically the first application of this name to the new community at Jerusalem. It had been used of the Southern Kingdom (2Ki 16:6; 2Ki 25:25; 2Ch 32:18) and of its exiles (Jer 32:12; Jer 34:9; Jer 38:19; Jer 40:11-12; Jer 40:15; Jer 41:3; Jer 44:1; Jer 52:28; Jer 52:30; Dan 3:8; Dan 3:12). As the return from the Captivity almost exclusively affected the exiles of the Southern Kingdom, the name was naturally applied to the new dwellers in Jerusalem and the neighbourhood, and was quickly adopted as the designation of all members of the race; cf. Zec 8:23; Ezr 4:23; Ezr 5:1; Ezr 5:5; Ezr 6:7-8; Ezr 6:14; ten times in Nehemiah, fifty-one times in Esther. The History of Israel had become the History of the Jews.
which came up from thee to us are come ] R.V. which came up from thee are come to us, generally expressed; i.e. from exile on the banks of the Euphrates to dwell in Juda and Jerusalem. The introductory statement of the subject.
building ] R.V. they are building. A separate clause, containing an epitome of the charge against the Jews. ‘The rebellious and the bad city’, cf. Ezr 4:15. An appeal to its antecedents was calculated to prejudice the king against Jerusalem.
and have set up the walls ] R.V. finished: the verb in the original has the idea of completion.
and joined the foundations ] R.V. repaired, which gives the sense of the word better, and is more intelligible than the A.V.
The accusation that the Jews were engaged in rebuilding the city, strengthening and repairing the walls, seems to refer to the days of Artaxerxes and to the work either of Nehemiah or, as is more probable, of Ezra before Nehemiah’s arrival. Those who see Pseudo-Smerdis in Artaxerxes (Ezr 4:7; Ezr 4:11) maintain that the accusation is designedly false, and intended to incense the Government against the Jews for exceeding the instructions of Cyrus’s decree, which limited them to the restoration of the Temple.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Have set up the walls thereof: either,
1. The Jews had begun to build or repair some part of the walls which Nebuchadnezzar had left, which they aggravate in this manner. Or,
2. This is a mere fiction, which, being confidently affirmed, they thought would easily find belief with a king whose heart and ears they possessed by their hired counsellors, and others of their friends, or the enemies of the Jews.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. the Jews which came up from theeto usThe name “Jews” was generally used after thereturn from the captivity, because the returning exiles belongedchiefly to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Although the edict ofCyrus permitted all who chose to return, a permission of which someof the Israelites availed themselves, the great body who went tosettle in Judea were the men of Judah.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Be it known unto the king,…. The intent of this letter was, that it might be known to the king what follows:
that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem; this they observe partly out of contempt of the Jews, having been lately captive in Babylon, and partly to insinuate what ingratitude they were guilty of; that having got their liberty, and come to Jerusalem, they made use of it to the king’s detriment:
building the rebellious and the bad city; as they suggest it had been to kings, even his predecessors, in former times, Ezr 4:15
and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations; which was a falsehood; for the most they had done was setting up the walls of their houses in Jerusalem, and laying the foundation of the temple; as for the walls of the city, they had not as yet done anything unto them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) Virulence and craft and exaggeration are stamped on every sentence of the letter. It only says, however, that they are preparing the walls thereof, and joining the foundations. Afterwards, however, the charge is modified in Ezr. 4:13; Ezr. 4:16.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. The Jews This name came to be the common appellation of all Israelites after the exile. It was, doubtless, due to the permanence of the kingdom of Judah long after the northern kingdom of Israel had ceased, and to the fact that by far the greater portion of the exiles who returned were of the tribe and kingdom of Judah.
The rebellious and the bad city “In their craftiness they do not mention the temple which the Jews were building, and which Cyrus had encouraged them to build, but they mention the city, which they were not building.” Wordsworth.
Set up the walls It was perfectly in keeping with the character of these enemies of the Jews to misrepresent their work in this way. The exiles had received a royal charter permitting them to rebuild the temple, but not to rebuild the walls of the city. By confounding the two things these crafty Samaritans make out a damaging case against the Jews.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 12. The Jews After the return from the captivity, the people in general came to be called Jews, because, though there were many Israelites among them, yet they chiefly consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin; and though the edict of Cyrus gave all permission to return when they pleased, yet the sacred writers take notice only of those who returned in a body.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Ezr 4:12 Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls [thereof], and joined the foundations.
Ver. 12. The rebellious and the bad city ] After so many years doth Jerusalem rue one perfidious act of Zedekiah; and, having once been treacherous, it still hears, “The rebellious and bad city,” as if it had been a very , a professed sanctuary of roguery (as the Jesuits say of Geneva), and as Florus saith of the temple at Jerusalem, that it was impiae gentis arcanum.
And have set up the walls thereof
And joined the foundations
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jews. Nehemiah, Hanani, and friends. Occurs eight times in Ezra, viz. Ezr 4:12, Ezr 4:23; Ezr 5:1, Ezr 5:5; Ezr 6:7, Ezr 6:7, Ezr 6:8, Ezr 6:14. The name by which they were known to Gentiles, because the majority belonged to Judah.
set up the walls. Quite true; for Nehemiah’s work had long preceded this. And note that, when Nehemiah’s work was done (Ezr 7:4) and the houses built, the house of God was still lying waste (Hag 1:1-4). The Temple not mentioned here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
rebellious: Ezr 4:15, Ezr 4:19, 2Ki 18:20, 2Ki 24:1, 2Ch 36:13, Jer 52:3, Eze 17:12-21, Luk 23:2-5, Act 24:5, 1Th 5:22, 1Pe 2:13-15
bad city: Psa 48:1, Psa 48:2, Isa 1:21-23, Luk 13:34
set up: or, finished, Neh 1:3, Dan 9:25
joined: Chal, sewed together
Reciprocal: Neh 6:6 – that thou and Est 3:8 – their laws Jer 38:4 – thus Dan 3:8 – and accused Mic 7:11 – shall Mar 12:14 – is it Joh 18:35 – Amos I Act 16:20 – being Act 17:7 – and these
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ezr 4:12. Thy servants, and at such a time, &c. The particular time when the letter was written was no doubt expressed therein; but in this narrative it was sufficient to mention it in general.