Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 5:8
Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands.
8. the province of Judea ] R.V. the province of Judah. On ‘the province’ see Ezr 2:1. The A.V. gives the title ‘Judea’, which belongs to a later time, as the name of a country inhabited by the Jews. It occurs first in the Apocrypha ( Tob 1:18 ; 1Ma 3:34 ; 2Ma 1:10, &c.). ‘Judah’ occurs frequently in Ezra, e.g. Ezr 4:6, Ezr 5:1. The LXX. gives : the Vulgate ‘ad Judam provinciam’.
to the house of the great God ] The governor uses terms of great reverence towards the God of the Jews. In consequence some have called in question the genuineness of this letter. But there is in reality nothing unusual in the use of such expressions by Eastern potentates with reference to the gods of a conquered or subject country.
with great stones ] Literally ‘stones of rolling’. Stone, that is to say, too large for ordinary transport and requiring to be moved on rollers. The immense size of the stones used in the construction of the temples in early days is an unending source of amazement, e.g. Baalbec.
The LXX. renders by ‘chosen stones’ 1Es 6:9, by ‘polished stones very precious’: misunderstanding the original. Such adjectives applied to the foundations of the Temple were perhaps before the mind of the Apostle when he employs the metaphor of the building, cf. 1Pe 2:4-7 (Isa 28:16). Vulg. ‘lapide impolito’.
timber is laid in the walls ] i.e. beams or joists for supporting floor or roof. Some suggest party-walls, for the division of chambers.
goeth fast on ] R.V. goeth on with diligence. ‘With diligence’, a Persian word ‘osparna’ (used also Ezr 6:8; Ezr 6:12-13, Ezr 7:17; Ezr 7:21; Ezr 7:26) which denotes care and attention as well as energy.
in their hands ] referring to the Jews, implied in the words ‘the province of Judah’.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Great stones – literally, as in the margin; i. e., stones so large that they were rolled along, not carried. Others translate polished stones.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. With great stones] They are making a very strong and a very costly building.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The great God; whom the Jews account the great God, the God of gods, esteeming all others to be but little and false gods.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. the house of the great God, whichis builded with great stonesliterally, “stones ofrolling”; that is, stones of such extraordinary size that theycould not be carriedthey had to be rolled or dragged along theground.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Be it known unto the king,…. This seems to have been the usual form of beginning a letter to a king in those days, Ezr 4:12 that we went into the province of Judea; which from a kingdom was reduced to a province, and was become a part of the Babylonian, now Persian, monarchy, see Ezr 2:1 to the house of the great God; as the Jews called the Lord their God; and even the Heathens had a notion that there was one supreme God, though they worshipped inferior ones; and some had a notion that Jehovah the God of the Jews was he:
which is builded with great stones; marble stones; as Jarchi q, stones of rolling, as it may be rendered; which, according to Aben Ezra, were so large and heavy, that they could not be carried, but were obliged to roll them:
and timber is laid in the walls, cedar wood, as Aben Ezra interprets it, for beams, for flooring and raftering; or rather, is put upon the walls, for the lining and wainscoting of them, which was done with cedar wood:
and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands; and, unless timely prevented, will soon be finished.
q So David de Pomis, Tzemach David, fol. 15. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(8) To the house of the great God.A solemn tribute to the God of the Jews, which, however, the decree of Cyrus enables us to understand in this official document. Tatnai probably dwelt at Damascus, and when he went to Jerusalem was deeply impressed. But he only gives a statement of the progress which he observed in the Temple. The walls here are the walls within the Temple, not the city walls.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Ezr 5:8 Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands.
Ver. 8. To the house of the great God ] So they style him, because the Pews called and counted him so. The Lord your God, saith Moses, is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, &c., Deu 10:17 . He is Fortissimus Maximus, Most strong and most great. as Tremelius there renders it: yea, he is a degree above the superlative. Not only is God great, as here; greater, Job 33:12 ; greatest, Psa 95:3 ; but greatness itself, Psa 145:3 , and to him all other gods (whether deputed or reputed) are but deastri, deunculi, dii minorum gentium, petty deities, poor businesses.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
province. Compare Neh 1:3.
great = rolling: i.e. too heavy to be moved without rolling.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
great stones
Chald. stones of rolling.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the province: Ezr 2:1, Neh 7:6, Neh 11:3, Est 1:1, Est 1:22
the great God: Ezr 1:2, Ezr 1:3, Ezr 6:10, Ezr 7:23, Deu 10:17, Deu 32:31, Psa 145:3, Dan 2:47, Dan 3:26, Dan 4:2, Dan 4:34-37, Dan 6:26
great stones: Chal, stones of rolling, Mar 13:1, Mar 13:2
Reciprocal: 2Ki 12:12 – masons Ezr 7:14 – thy God Neh 1:3 – the province Neh 4:7 – heard Hag 1:14 – and they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ezr 5:8. To the house of the great God Whom the Jews account the great God, the God of gods, esteeming all others to be but little, or rather false gods. And, indeed, thus far the greater part of the Samaritans agreed with them.