Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 4:15
That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city [is] a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.
15. that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers ] Literally, that one may search, i.e. the officials in whose keeping the records were. Perhaps the plural should be read, as in Ezr 4:19.
For this appeal to ‘the book of records’, compare chap. Ezr 6:1-2, and the allusions in the book of Esther to the existence of such an official register recording facts and events of State importance, Est 2:23; Est 6:1; Est 10:2. Rawlinson refers to Diodorus Siculus (II. 32) who speaks of ‘the royal parchments in which the Persians in accordance with some law preserved the record of the deeds of former time’ ( , ).
thy fathers ] This expression might be adduced to prove that the Artaxerxes addressed could not be Pseudo-Smerdis. But it would be unfair to lay stress upon it. The context shows that the king’s predecessors in the rule of Western Asia are intended, Assyrian and Babylonian no less than Median and Persian.
hurtful ] i.e. as a nucleus of revolt.
kings and provinces ] i.e. to subject kings as well as to the great king.
‘Provinces’ (cf. the use of the word, Ezr 2:1) applied to the large districts into which the Empire was divided. See Dan 2:48; Dan 3:2; Est 1:22; Est 3:8, &c. They are described as 127 in number in Est 1:1; Est 8:9.
they have moved sedition within the same ] i.e. the Jews within the city of Jerusalem; cf. 19.
of old time: for which cause, &c.] An expression better suited to writers in the days of Artaxerxes than in the reign of Pseudo-Smerdis, only 65 years from the date of the destruction of Jerusalem (586 b.c.).
destroyed ] R.V. laid waste.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The book of the records – Compare Est 2:23; Est 6:1; Est 10:2. The existence of such a book at the Persian court is attested also by Ctesias.
Of thy fathers – i. e., thy predecessors ripen the throne, Cambyses, Cyrus, etc. If Artaxerxes was the Pseudo-Smerdis (Ezr 4:7 note), these persons were not really his fathers or ancestors; but the writers of the letter could not venture to call the king an impostor.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Ezr 4:15
That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers.
Church registers
in a general view, all human records are interesting, if they are scarcely more than registers of names. Those names are always appended to some act or event, however concisely stated, and thus these mere catalogues serve to show us how they who have gone before us have been occupied, and are the founts and rills which flow into the great stream of human history; or, rather perhaps, to change the metaphor, are among the foundation-stones on which the fabric of human history is reared; they are low and concealed from observation, but are nevertheless essential to the building. Nothing can be apparently more devoid of interest than the pages of a church register; and yet, let us look at it nearly and intently, and with a reference to the principle just intimated, and interest will be found in every column, in every name. Consider–
I. The register of baptisms.
II. The register of marriages.
III. The register of deaths. (F. W. P. Greenwood.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. The book of the records of thy fathers] That is, the records of the Chaldeans, to whom the Persians succeeded.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The records of thy fathers; political fathers, i.e. thy predecessors, the former emperors of this empire, namely, in the Assyrian and Babylonish records, which together with the empire were now in the hands of the Persian kings, to be searched or read as the kings pleasure was, or as the affairs of the empire required.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers,…. That is, his predecessors in the Babylonian monarchy; though, as the Medes and Persians were included in that, and joined the Babylonians in their wars with others, and particularly with the Jews, the records of the Medes and Persians might also be applied to:
so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time; against the king of Babylon, particularly in the times of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah:
for which cause was this city destroyed; as it was by Nebuchadnezzar; see 2Ki 24:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(15) The book of the records of thy fathers.The book of the records of the Chronicles which in Est. 6:1 is read before the king. This extended beyond his own fathers back to the times of the predecessors of the Median dynasty.
Of old time.From the days of eternity, or time immemorial. The spirit of exaggeration if not of falsehood appears in every word here.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Book of the records Public and official annals of the kingdom, and of the acts of its kings, prepared by the scribes and recorders, and deposited for reference and use among the archives of the nation. See Introduction to the Books of Kings, (chapter on the sources.)
Of thy fathers This word is here used of the king’s predecessors on the throne records of previous kings and dynasties that had held dominion over all Western Asia. These records contained accounts of the rebellions in different provinces of the empire, and of the efforts that had been made to suppress them; and prominent among them must have been the rebellions and wars of Judah and Jerusalem the causes of their exile.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ezr 4:15 That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city [is] a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.
Ver. 15. In the book of the records ] Chaldee, of the remembrances, that is, the chronicles usual in all kingdoms.
And know that this city is a rebellious city
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
made: within the same, Chal, in the midst thereof
this city: Ezr 4:12, Neh 2:19, Neh 6:6, Est 3:5-8, Dan 6:4-13, Act 17:6, Act 17:7
moved: Chal
for which: 2Ki 24:20, 2Ki 25:1, 2Ki 25:4, Jer 52:3-34
Reciprocal: Ezr 4:19 – search Ezr 5:17 – let there be Ezr 6:1 – and search Pro 25:2 – the honour Act 25:7 – and laid
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ezr 4:15. In the book of the records of thy fathers That is, thy predecessors, the former emperors of this empire; namely, in the Assyrian and Babylonish records; which, together with the empire, were now in the hands of the Persian kings.