Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 10:6
Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and [when] he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.
6 15. The Assembly and the Reform
6. went into the chamber ] See on Ezr 8:29, and cf. Neh 13:4.
Johanan the son of Eliashib ] R.V. Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. The best-known Eliashib of this period is the High-priest who appears as a contemporary of Nehemiah (Neh 3:1; Neh 13:4; Neh 13:28). In Neh 12:23 we find the mention of a ‘Johanan the son of Eliashib’, but who, by comparison with Ezr 10:7; Ezr 10:22, must have been this Eliashib’s grandson. It is probable that the ‘Jehohanan the son of Eliashib’ is the same as that ‘Johanan the son of Eliashib’. If so, how are we to account for a chamber, presumably in the Temple precincts, being assigned to one who was the grandson of the High-priest Eliashib? ( a) Some suppose that Johanan the grandson of Eliashib was old enough at this time to receive as one of the High-priestly family a special chamber. But why should Ezra betake himself to the chamber of one who must have been but a mere boy? For Eliashib was living 20 years later (cf. Neh 13:7). ( b) Others suppose the Compiler to be using the language of a considerably later generation than that of Ezra; he knew of a certain chamber in the Temple’s precincts as Johanan’s chamber, because it had become associated with the name of Eliashib’s grandson during his High-priesthood. This appears to be the most probable explanation. If so, the use of the name helps to determine the date at which Ezra’s Memoirs were compiled. It is however possible that the Jehohanan the son of Eliashib was of a different family from the Johanan the son of Joiada and grandson of Eliashib, and that the difficulty is only an apparent one arising from the similarity of names in the families of the same great house or tribe.
and when he came thither, he did eat, &c.] So the R.V. text. The R.V. marg. says ‘According to some ancient versions, and he lodged there ’. The Hebrew word for ‘he came’ is the same as that for ‘went’ in the previous clause. This reading is supported by the Hebrew text and by the LXX. ( ). It is however hard to believe that it can be the original reading. (1) The repetition of the word is awkward. (2) The clause, stating that he refused to taste food, does not follow suitably upon the mention of his arrival. (3) The adverb in the original does not strictly mean ‘thither’, but ‘there’. The parallel passage in 1 Esdras (Ezr 9:2) has ‘and having lodged there’, and this reading is supported by the Syriac Peshitto and the Arabic. The variation in the Hebrew text requisite to give this meaning is exceedingly small. In the old Hebrew characters the two letters ( and ) are very liable to be confused, while the use of the very similar verb just before made an accidental repetition very possible.
This reading is probably correct, and we should accordingly translate ‘And he lodged (or passed the night) there’. The words are then the same as in Gen 28:11, ‘And he tarried there all night’; Gen 32:13, ‘And he lodged there that night’; Jos 8:9, ‘but Joshua lodged that night’. The point emphasized is that Ezra continued in the precincts of the Temple all that night and protracted his fast. ‘He lodged there and did eat no bread nor drink water’: i.e. while he lodged there, he fasted.
because of the transgression of them that had been carried away ] R.V. because of the trespass of them of the captivity. ‘Trespass’, cf. Ezr 9:4. ‘Them of the captivity’, i.e. ‘haggolah’, cf. on Ezr 8:35.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The chamber of Johanan was probably one of those attached externally to the temple (see 1Ki 6:5-6). Eliashib was the grandson of Jeshua Ezr 3:2, and was high priest under Nehemiah Neh 3:1. He could assign chambers in the temple to whomever he pleased (see Neh 13:4-5).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. Johanan the son of Eliashib] Eliashib was high priest, and was succeeded in that office by his son Joiada, Ne 12:10. Probably Johanan here is the same as Jonathan in Nehemiah, who was the son of Joiada, and grandson of Eliashib. Some suppose that Johanan and Joiada were two names for the same person.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Went into the chamber, that he with the princes and elders, as it follows, Ezr 10:8, might consult about the execution of their resolution.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God,…. Departed from thence:
and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib; who was of the family of the high priest. Eliashib was grandson of Joshua the high priest, and succeeded his father Joiakim as such; but though Johanan was never high priest, being a younger son, however he was a person of note, and had a chamber in the temple, whither Ezra went, either to advise with the princes and elders in it, Ezr 10:8 or to refresh himself with food:
and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water; or rather “not yet had he ate bread” o, as some render it; that is, not till he came thither, from the time he first heard of the evil the people had committed; which very probably was early in the morning, and it was now evening:
for he mourned for the transgression of them that had been carried away; into captivity, but were now returned from it, and it grieved him the more, that, after such kindness shown them, they should be guilty of such an evil.
o “nondum comederat”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Hereupon Ezra left the place before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib, to fast and mourn there for the unfaithfulness (transgression) of them that had been carried away ( like Ezr 9:4). Johanan the son of Eliashib cannot actually be Johanan ben Eliashib (Neh 12:23) the high priest, however natural it may be to understand by the chamber of Johanan one of the chambers in the out-buildings of the temple, called after the name of some well-known individual. For the high priest Eliashib was a contemporary of Nehemiah, and the high priest Johanan was not the son, but, according to the definite statement, Neh 12:10, the grandson, of Eliashib, and the son of Joiada (the correct reading of Neh 12:11 being: Joiada begat Johanan and Jonathan). Now a chamber of the temple could not in Ezra’s time have been as yet called after a grandson of Eliashib the contemporary of Nehemiah;
(Note: This would not, indeed, be impossible, because, as we shall subsequently show (in our Introduction to the book of Nehemiah, 2), Eliashib’s grandson Johanan might be already ten years of age at the time of the transaction in question; so that his grandfather, the high priest Eliashib, might have called a chamber of the temple after the name of his grandson. This view is not, however, a very probable one.)
and both Johanan and Eliashib being names which frequently occur (comp. Ezr 10:24, Ezr 10:27, Ezr 10:36), and one of the twenty-four orders of priests being called after the latter (1Ch 24:12), we, with Ewald ( Gesch. iv. p. 228), regard the Johanan ben Eliashib here mentioned as an individual of whom nothing further is known-perhaps a priest descended from the Eliashib of 1Ch 24:12, and who possessed in the new temple a chamber called by his name. For there is not the slightest reason to suppose, with Bertheau, that a subsequent name of this chamber is used in this narrative, because the narrator desired to state the locality in a manner which should be intelligible to his contemporaries. Cler. and Berth. desire, after 1 Esdr. 9:1 ( ), to change into : and he passed the night there without eating bread or drinking water. But the lxx having , and the repetition of the same word being, moreover, by no means infrequent, comp. e.g., in Ezr 10:5, Ezr 10:6, and finally repeatedly standing for thither, e.g., 1Sa 2:14 ( ), there are no adequate grounds for an alteration of the text. The paraphrase of 1 Esdr. arises merely from the connection, and is devoid of critical value. To eat no bread, etc., means to fast: comp. Exo 34:28; Deu 9:9.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. 7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; 8 And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. 9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. 10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. 11 Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. 12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. 14 Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.
We have here an account of the proceedings upon the resolutions lately taken up concerning the strange wives; no time was lost; they struck when the iron was hot, and soon set the wheels of reformation a-going. 1. Ezra went to the council-chamber where, it is probable, the priests used to meet upon public business; and till he came thither (so bishop Patrick thinks it should be read), till he saw something done, and more likely to be done, for the redress of this grievance, he did neither eat nor drink, but continued mourning. Sorrow for sin should be abiding sorrow; be sure to let it continue till the sin be put away. 2. He sent orders to all the children of the captivity to attend him at Jerusalem within three days (Ezr 10:7; Ezr 10:8); and, being authorized by the king to enforce his orders with penalties annexed (ch. vii. 26), he threatened that whosoever refused to obey the summons should forfeit his estate and be outlawed. The doom of him that would not attend on this religious occasion should be that his substance should, in his stead, be for ever after appropriated to the service of their religion, and he himself, for his contempt, should for ever after be excluded from the honours and privileges of their religion; he should be excommunicated. 3. Within the time limited the generality of the people met at Jerusalem and made their appearance in the street of the house of God, v. 9. Those that had no zeal for the work they were called to, nay, perhaps had a dislike to it, being themselves delinquents, yet paid such a deference to Ezra’s authority, and were so awed by the penalty, that they durst not stay away. 4. God gave them a token of his displeasure in the great rain that happened at that time (Ezr 10:9; Ezr 10:13), which perhaps kept some away, and was very grievous to those that met in the open street. When they wept the heavens wept too, signifying that, though God was angry with them for their sin, yet he was well pleased with their repentance, and (as it is said, Judg. x. 16) his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel; it was also an indication of the good fruits of their repentance, for the rain makes the earth fruitful. 5. Ezra gave the charge at this great assize. He told them upon what account he called them together now, that it was because he found that since their return out of captivity they had increased the trespass of Israel by marrying strange wives, had added to their former sins this new transgression, which would certainly be a means of again introducing idolatry, the very sin they had smarted for and which he hoped they had been cured of in their captivity; and he called them together that they might confess their sin to God, and, having done that, might declare themselves ready and willing to do his pleasure, as it should be made known to them (which all those will do that truly repent of what they have done to incur his displeasure), and particularly that they might separate themselves from all idolaters, especially idolatrous wives, Ezr 10:10; Ezr 10:11. On these heads, we may suppose, he enlarged, and probably made such another confession of the sin now as he made ch. ix., to which he required them to say Amen. 6. The people submitted not only to Ezra’s jurisdiction in general, but to his inquisition and determination in this matter: “As thou hast said, so must we do, v. 12. We have sinned in mingling with the heathen, and have thereby been in danger, not only of being corrupted by them, for we are frail, but of being lost among them, for we are few; we are therefore convinced that there is an absolute necessity of our separating from them again.” There is hope concerning people when they are convinced, not only that it is good to part with their sins, but that it is indispensably necessary: we must do it, or we are undone. 7. It was agreed that this affair should be carried on, not in a popular assembly, nor that they should think to go through with it all on a sudden, but that a court of delegates should be appointed to receive complaints and to hear and determine upon them. It could not be done at this time, for it was not put into a method, nor could the people stand out because of the rain. The delinquents were many, and it would require time to discover and examine them. Nice cases would arise, which could not be adjudged without debate and deliberation, v. 13. “And therefore let the crowd be dismissed, and the rulers stand to receive informations; let them proceed city by city, and let the offenders be convicted before them in the presence of the judges and elders of their own city; and let them be entrusted to see the orders executed. Thus take time and we shall have done the sooner; whereas, if we do it in a hurry, we shall do it by halves, v. 14. If, in this method, a thorough reformation be made, the fierce wrath of God will be turned from us, which, we are sensible, is ready to break forth against us for this transgression.” Ezra was willing that his zeal should be guided by the people’s prudence, and put the matter into this method; he was not ashamed to own that the advice came from them, any more than he was to comply with it.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Instruction, Verses 6-17
Ezra did not cease his fasting and mourning over the transgression of the Jews. But he did begin at once to act on the proposal of Shechaniah. He went into the living quarters of one of the chief priests, Johanan, the son of the high priest, Eliashib (Neh 3:1). There he joined with the priests to make proclamation that all those guilty of this transgression should gather to Jerusalem within three days. The inhabitants of the land are referred to as the children of the captivity, referring to the descendants of those who had been carried from Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar and who had returned to Jerusalem by the decree of Cyrus. It also included their children who had been born since the return from Babylon.
Sentence was decreed against those who refused to come. They would lose their privileges and rights as Jews. Their substance would be forfeited, for they would have no further rights to their land and houses which were granted to the Jews who had returned. He would be no longer counted as part of the congregation of the repatriates from captivity.
In obedience to this proclamation the Scriptures say “all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days” (verse 9). This may have involved several thousand, and the account says the street around the temple was filled with them. The date was the twentieth of the ninth month, which would be about December 13th, in the present calendar. It was the rainy season of the year in that climate, and the people shivered in the cold rain and for the thing being required of them by the Lord.
Ezra addressed the assembly, first bringing accusation of their transgression in taking the heathen wives. He said they had added thus to the transgression of which they were already guilty. This he followed with exhortation to them to confess their guilt before the Lord, then to do His will by separating themselves from their pagan wives and from association with the alien inhabitants of the land.
The people agreed to abide by the decree of the priests, but they gave three reasons why the work should not be attempted in one day. These were 1) there were a great many guilty patties; 2) the rain was cold, and they were unable to stand outside exposed to it; 3) the work would require planning and several days in order to accomplish it. They advised that Ezra and those joined with him in working out the problem appoint different days for the men of each city who were guilty, and let them come on those days to be judged until they had finally appeased the fierce wrath” of God.
With Ezra in passing judgment in the cases were two men named Jonathan and Jahaziah. They had helpers in the person of two Levites, Meshullam and Shabbethai. These men seemed to be those who passed judgment on advice of Ezra “with certain chief of the fathers.” It is not said why judgment was necessary if one was married to a pagan spouse. It would seem that would have settled the person’s guilt. But it seems probable there may have been those who had been converted to the true God, in which case it might not have been necessary to compel separation. The whole work was completed by new year’s day, or in about two and a half months.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. Chamber of Johanan One of the chambers or cells of the temple where this son of Eliashib abode. Compare Neh 13:4-5. Johanan, or Jehohanan, was probably the same as Jonathan in Neh 12:11. In that case we must understand the word son here as grandson. Davidson asserts ( Kitto’s Cyc.) that Eliashib lived after Nehemiah, but this does not show but that he lived at the time of Nehemiah and of Ezra also, and long before his death his grandson might have occupied a chamber of the temple, and exercised the priestly functions.
Did eat no bread, nor drink water Like Moses when he mourned for the transgression of Israel, Deu 9:18.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ezr 10:6
‘Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water, for he mourned because of the trespass of those of the captivity.’
His mission accomplished Ezra rose up from his position before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan, the son of Eliashib. This would be one of the side chambers in the Temple. And once he was there he fasted, taking no bread or water, for he was ‘in mourning over the trespass of the returnees’. We can presume that he also prayed, and expressed his grief to God. This confirms the genuineness of his grief. He was heartbroken over the sins of the people.
Note On Jehoanan, the son of Eliashib.
The first thing we have to recognise is that Jehoanan, the son of Eliashib may be the name given to the chamber after some past celebrity. Both Jehoanan and Eliashib were popular names in Israel. No Jehoanan, son of Eliashib is otherwise known apart from the one who was probably son of the Eliashib who was over the chamber in the house of God (Neh 12:23; Neh 13:4; Neh 13:7). This would be a strange description for a High Priest.
Jehoanan (YHWH is gracious) was the name given to Jehoanan the son of Kareah, a warlord in the days of Gedaliah (Jer 40:7 ff; 2Ki 25:23); Jehoanan the eldest son of king Josiah (1Ch 3:15); Jehoanan a son of Elioenai, who was a post exilic prince (1Ch 3:24); Jehoanan was the father of Azariah who was a priest in Solomon’s time (1 Chronicles 5:35-36); Jehoanan was a Benjamite recruit of David at Ziklag (1Ch 12:5); Jehoanan was a Gadite recruit of David at Ziklag (1Ch 12:13); Jehoanan was an Ephraimite chief (2Ch 28:12); Jehoanan, son of Hakkatan, was an exile who returned with Ezra (Ezr 8:12). So the name was very popular.
In this very chapter three other Eliashibs are mentioned, a singer (Ezr 10:24); a son of Zattu (Ezr 10:27); and a son of Bani (Ezr 10:36). It was the name given to a descendant of David (1Ch 3:24); the name of the head of the eleventh course of priests (1Ch 24:12); the name of a priest who was ‘appointed over the chamber of the house of our God’ (Neh 13:4; Neh 13:7), who was later allied to Tobiah the Ammonite (Neh 13:4), and allowed him the use of a great chamber in the Temple (Neh 13:5). We are not told the name of his son.
Finally it was the name of a High Priest in the time of Nehemiah whose son was named Joiada (Neh 13:28), whose grandson was called Jonathan, and whose great-grandson was called Jaddua. This Eliashib helped with the rebuilding of the wall (Neh 3:1). His name appears in the list of High Priests (Neh 12:10-11; Neh 12:22), where again his son was Joiada and his grandson Jonathan, and his great grandson Jaddua.
In Neh 12:22 a Johanan is mentioned in the sequence Eliashib, Joiada and Johanan and Jaddua, but it does not say that they were High Priests. On the basis of this sequence some have equated Johanan with Jonathan, but in Ezr 10:23 this Johanan is named as the son of Eliashib. And furthermore we have no grounds for seeing the four named as being father to son. Johanan and Jaddua may well have been otherwise related to Eliashib, with Eliashib’s great grandson being named after this Jaddua, for it will be noted that they are all seemingly connected with the reign of Darius. It was common for names to run in families. Furthermore if we see Johanan as also being named Jonathan, he would therefore be the grandson of Eliashib. But if this is so why is he called the son of Eliashib in a context where that would be deceptive? Johanan is never stated to be the grandson of Eliashib.
It is far more likely that the Jehohanan spoken of in Ezr 10:6 who had a chamber in the house was the son of the Eliashib who was appointed over the chamber of the house of God who may well have given his adult son a chamber in the Temple area. There is no good reason for identifying this Eliashib with the High Priest. But all in all it would be foolish to argue a case from this multiplicity of facts.
An added complication is that in the Elephantine papyri dated 408 BC a Jehohanan is named as High Priest. But that Jehohanan may well have been named after the Johanan mentioned above as a contemporary relation of Joiada who was at some stage High Priest, possibly due to the current High Priest being unable to function one year at the Day of Atonement because he was ritually defiled (unclean). Anyone who so acted as High Priest remained High Priest for life.
It is clear from all this that we cannot take the statement about Jehohanan the son of Eliashib as an indicator of the date of Ezra’s ministry in Jerusalem, because we do not know which Jehohanan it was.
End of Note.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ezr 10:6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and [when] he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.
Ver. 6. Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God ] Where God had promised to hear prayers for Christ’s sake, whereof that house was a type. See Ezr 10:1 .
And went into the chamber of Johanan
“ Hic locus odit, amat, punit, conservat, honorat,
Nequitiam, pacem, crimina, iura, bonos. ”
Think the same we must needs of this holy conclave or council chamber, where the Sanhedrim was present, and Ezra president.
He did eat no bread, nor drink water
For he mourned because of the transgression
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Then Ezra rose up. In response to Shechaniah.
Johanan. The son of Eliashib, the high priest who succeeded Joiakim, the successor of Jeshua (Neh 12:10, Neh 12:23).
came thither. According to Syriac and Arabic = “lodged (or spent the night) there”.
mourned. Compare the first occurance of Hebrew ‘abal. Gen 37:34.
transgression = unfaithfulness. Hebrew. ma’al. App-44. Compare Ezr 10:2; Ezr 10:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the chamber: Neh 13:5
Johanan: Neh 3:1, Neh 3:20, Neh 12:10, Neh 12:22, Neh 13:28
he did eat: Deu 9:18, Job 23:12, Joh 4:31-34
he mourned: Ezr 9:4, Isa 22:12, Dan 9:3
Reciprocal: Num 25:6 – weeping Psa 102:4 – so that Psa 119:53 – horror Isa 58:5 – it such
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
VICARIOUS PENITENCE
He mourned because of the transgression of them.
Ezr 10:6
I. An innocent yet penitent leader.It is certainly worthy of remark that it is not narrated of Ezra that he, as we should expect, expressly and severely denounced the men married to strange wives, but that we are only told of his prayer and confession of sin, in which he includes himself in the number of the guilty. Earnest sorrow for the sin to be denounced in others, and especially persevering prayer in their behalf, which in the nature of the case readily includes intercession, generally makes a deeper impression, as well upon the persons themselves as their adherents, than castigating sermons, for we are told that a great crowd of men, women, and children assembled about the praying and sorrowing Ezra, deeply affected by his sorrow.
II. A guilty but penitent people.If a head of a community sorrows in true sympathy and anxiety for his people, the better class of the people do not lack the earnest wish to remove his sorrow, and especially its cause: the love and respect which they entertain for him very easily pass over into this wish, and then there is easily found in the congregation itself a spokesman, who, as here Shechaniah, openly acknowledges the guilt, and correctly expresses what it is necessary to do in order to be free from it. Such a voice, moreover, arising out of the congregation itself, such willingness, springing up of itself, is the best result and reward of the sorrowing one. The willingness of the congregation, thus testified, is thereby at the same time still further intensified and enlarged, and the improvement which then takes place as a free act, has a truly ethical significance.
Illustrations
(1) A true reformer should not hesitate to demand even the hardest things of the congregation of the Lord, and express his demand with clearness and definiteness. His rule is Gods word and will alone. Every modification, weakening, and rendering it easy on his part, renders his work of reformation all the more difficult. For it deprives him of his authority as an instrument of God; he thereby abandons the only safe foundation, besides passes over to act in his own name. It renders it difficult for the congregation to follow him. For to do Gods pure and clear will there is ever to be found fresh readiness, but to execute the will of a man, or what he may think proper, does not satisfy. The Divine will often demands muchvery muchbut its accomplishment has a corresponding blessing, but this fails if Gods demand is weakened by human devices.
(2) We cannot blame the authorities for assembling the people without delay even in the cold and rainy season of the year. The removal of transgressions against Gods law and will admits of no delay. But again, it would not have been justifiable for Ezra to have prepared additional unnecessary burdens for the people, who already had besides enough to bear in the burden they had taken on themselves if He exposed them to the injuries of the storm, so to speak, punished them. Towards him who is willing to impose upon himself every self-denial, even the hardest, for the sake of the word of God, every possible forbearance has ever its proper place. And under all circumstances he who would carry out a difficult work of reformation has to take care that everything moves on in order.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Ezr 10:6. Then rose up Ezra from before the house This seems to imply that he made them swear before he would rise up; and went into the chamber of Johanan That, with the princes and elders, he might consult about the execution of their resolution. And when he came thither The word when is not in the Hebrew: the clause, therefore, had better be translated, Till he came thither; that is, till he saw something done, he ate nothing.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ezr 10:6-17. The Jews Assemble in Jerusalem; Officers are Appointed from each City to See that the Foreign Wives are Put away.
Ezr 10:6. Jehohanan: cf. Neh 12:13.and when he came thither: read, and he lodged there (mg.), i.e. spent the night there.
Ezr 10:8. forfeited: devoted, i.e. put under a religious ban (see pp. 99, 114, Deu 2:34* Jos 6:17*).separated from the congregation: equivalent to the later put out of the synagogue; cf. Joh 9:22.
Ezr 10:9. within . . . of the month: Chislev was the ninth month = December approximately, in the rainy season. Ezra arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month of the seventh year of Artaxerxes (Ezr 7:8 f.); after three days a great burnt sacrifice was offered (Ezr 8:32 ff.); immediately after this (Ezr 9:1) the matter of the mixed marriages was brought to Ezras notice; this culminated in the calling of the assembly (Ezr 10:7 ff.), which took place three days after having been proclaimed, on the twentieth day of the ninth month! Clearly the sources have been somewhat mixed up.the broad place before the house of God: i.e. the open space before the water gate (see Neh 3:26; Neh 8:1).trembling because of this matter and . . .: the conjunction of these two thoughts is somewhat incongruous; it is possible that the words because of this matter and are a later addition. The parallel passage in the Greek Ezra (Ezr 9:6) runs more naturally: trembling in the broad place before the Temple because of the present foul weather; by trembling we must understand shivering, not the result of fear, but the physical discomfort of standing in the rain.
Ezr 10:10. Ezra the priest: cf. Ezr 7:11; Ezr 7:21, Neh 12:26.
Ezr 10:11. make confession: see Ezr 10:1, where the ordinary word for making confession is used; the Heb. word here means lit. give praise, but that is incongruous in this connexion. If the text is out of order the corruption must be old, for the same reading occurs in the Greek Ezra. Perhaps Batten is right in saying that the idea may be that praise was due to God because the culprits were brought to a state of amendment.the God of your fathers: read, with the Greek Ezra, our fathers.
Ezr 10:12. As thou hast said . . . do: the LXX has what certainly seems to be a more natural reply, viz. Great is this thy demand for us to do, i.e. thou hast asked a hard thing of us.
Ezr 10:15. Only: better, but.stood up against this matter: the RVm, were appointed over this, may be disregarded; for the Heb. phrase cf. Lev 19:16, 1Ch 21:1. Although here only a few are mentioned who withstood Ezras tyranny, it is clear (Ezr 10:17*) from the Book of Neh. that they were followed by many others who protested against their homes being broken up.
Ezr 10:16. the tenth month: Tebeth = January approximately.
Ezr 10:17. This does not agree with what is said in Neh 9:2; Neh 13:23; Neh 13:26-28.the first day of the first month: i.e. the 1st of Nisan, in the eighth year of Artaxerxes; the matter, therefore, took about three months.