Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 8:33
Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him [was] Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them [was] Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites;
33, 34. The Presentation of the Gifts and Offerings
33. weighed by the hand of ] R.V. weighed into the hand of. Marg. by. The expression “into the hand” has occurred in Ezr 8:26, and is probably right both here and in chap. Ezr 1:8. Meremoth and his three companions were probably deputed by ‘the chiefs of the people’ to receive the treasure, upon its being weighed and found to tally with the ‘invoice’, and to convey it to the sacred treasury. These official receivers, consisting of two priests and two Levites, corresponded with the priestly and Levitical commissioners appointed by Ezra for the transport.
The rendering “by the hand of” supposes that the act of weighing was performed by a special body of four men, two priests and two Levites, appointed by the people.
But the other rendering is more suitable. The names not of those who weighed the treasure, but of those who were deemed worthy to be entrusted with its charge were most likely to be preserved.
Meremoth the son of Uriah ] is mentioned also in Neh 3:4; Neh 3:21; Neh 12:3.
Eleazar, &c.] See Neh 12:42.
Jozabad ] Perhaps mentioned in Ezr 10:23; Neh 8:7. ‘The son of Jeshua’, see on Ezr 2:40.
Noadiah the son of Binnui ] The name of Binnui occurs in Neh 10:10; Neh 12:8. The first two names are those of priests; the latter two those of Levites.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
33-36. Now on the fourth day was thesilver . . . weighed in the house of our GodThe first threedays after their arrival in Jerusalem were undoubtedly given torepose; on the next, the treasures were weighed and handed over tothe custody of the officiating priests of the temple. The returnedexiles offered burnt offerings, and Ezra delivered the royalcommission to the satraps and inferior magistrates; while theLevitical portion of them lent all the assistance they could inperforming the additional work which the arrival of so many newworshippers occasioned.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now on the fourth day,…. After their arrival at Jerusalem:
was the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, weighed in the house of our God; the temple, that it might be seen and known that the exact weight which had been deposited with them was now faithfully delivered:
this was done by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; these were priests:
and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites; two priests and two Levites; for since there were of both that were charged with the above things, it was proper there should be some of both, when weighed, that they might be witnesses of their fidelity.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(33) Meremoth the son of Uriah . . .These names of priests and Levites, who had officially received the treasures, occur again in Nehemiah.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
33. Meremoth Eleazar Jozabad Noadiah Two priests and two Levites. These were the chief priests and Levites who, according to Ezr 8:29, were to receive the new treasures in the chambers of the temple at Jerusalem. They were not members of Ezra’s company, but persons who had previously gone up to Jerusalem.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ezr 8:33
‘And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levite.’
Then on the fourth day they had reported at the Temple taking with them the gold and the silver and the sacred vessels, which were weighed and handed over to the Temple authorities. These Temple authorities consisted of Meremoth, the son of Uriah the priest and Eleazar, the ‘son’ of Phinehas, who would therefore also have been a priest. And together with them were two Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui. The priests would probably be responsible for the weighing and recording, while the Levites did the carrying.
Two priests would be required so as to establish the receipt of the treasures on a twofold witness. It would be the minimum required. The number of Levites would match that of the priests. In Neh 13:13 Nehemiah assumes the same pattern which was probably a long established one.
Meremoth, the son of Uriah the priest, was presumably one of the Temple treasurers (compare Neh 13:13 where two others are named as appointed by Nehemiah, which may suggest that at that stage he was demoted, although he may have died meanwhile). ‘Uriah the priest’ indicates a priest of some importance. Ezra was also regularly called ‘Ezra the priest’, and ‘Shelemoth the priest’ was appointed as a Temple treasurer (Neh 13:13). The title does not therefore mean High Priest, but indicates a leading priest. Meremoth thus came from an important priestly family.
It must be seen as unlikely that Meremoth, son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz who was a prominent wall builder under Nehemiah (Neh 3:4; Neh 3:21) was the same one. He is not there directly related to the priesthood, and the names were popular ones. Indeed Neh 3:17 may suggest that this latter was a Levite. The sons of Hakkoz had not been accepted as priests because they could not prove their genealogy (Ezr 2:62), although it may be that by this time that had been remedied. In Neh 10:6 a Meremoth is listed as eleventh among the priests, but seen as important enough to be called on as a sealant of the covenant of Nehemiah. In Neh 12:3 a Meremoth, (clearly not the same one), was one of the chiefs of the priests who had come up with Zerubbabel. Meremoth the son of Uriah may have been his grandson.
Eleazar the son of Phinehas may be the Eleazar mentioned in Ezr 10:18 as having taken a foreign wife, but the name was a common one (see Ezr 10:23; Ezr 10:31) and identity is by no means certain. He is clearly different from the Eleazar in Ezr 8:16 who had arrived with Ezra, for he was already a high level priest in the Temple.
‘Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui.’ A Jozabad, who may well be the same one, is named as living in Jerusalem and as being a chief Levite who had oversight of the work on the outside of the Temple (Neh 11:16). He may also have been one of those who had married foreign wives (Ezr 10:23), although that might have been a different Jozabad. Nothing further is known about Noadiah.
But Jozabad and Noadiah were the ‘sons’ of two prominent men, Jeshua and Binnui. These were both sealants of the covenant of Nehemiah (Neh 10:9) although it is possible that Jeshua and Binnui were ancestors and that others signed in the family name. Alternately they might have taken the name of their ancestors as the signal of a new beginning. Compare how a Jeshua and Binnui also came back to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel over 80 years earlier (Neh 12:8), as did ‘sons of Jeshua’ (Neh 7:43 compare Ezr 2:40). There was much duplication of names among the returnees, and possibly a taking of family names in honour of the new beginning.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ezr 8:33 Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him [was] Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them [was] Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites;
Ver. 33. Now on the fourth day ] viz. Of their fifth month. After a short repose, they set close to work. To recreations God allows men to stoop for their bodies’ sake, as the eagle to the prey; or as Gideon’s soldiers to sup their handful, not to swill their belly full.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
weighed: Ezr 8:26, Ezr 8:30, 1Ch 28:14-18, 2Co 8:20, 2Co 8:21
Meremoth: Neh 10:5
Uriah: Neh 3:4, Urijah
Jozabad: Neh 8:7
Binnui: Neh 10:9
Reciprocal: Num 1:50 – thou shalt 1Ch 6:50 – Eleazar 1Ch 28:13 – the vessels Ezr 1:6 – strengthened their hands Ezr 7:19 – The vessels Ezr 8:25 – weighed Ezr 8:29 – until ye weigh them before Ezr 10:23 – Jozabad
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8:33 Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him [was] Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them [was] Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, {l} Levites;
(l) This was a token of a good conscience and of his integrity that he would have witnesses of his fidelity.