Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 3:9
Then stood Jeshua [with] his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, [with] their sons and their brethren the Levites.
9. This verse presents considerable difficulty: ( a) The English reader cannot fail to be struck with the awkwardness of the final clause, ‘the sons of Henadad the Levites’. ( b) The names here mentioned have been understood by different commentators to represent four, two and three families.
( a) The manifest dislocation of the verse has caused some to conjecture that it is a gloss, which has found its way into the text, having been originally introduced to supplement the previous verse by the names of those who had been appointed to the work and by emphasizing the fact that they undertook the duty. This conjecture, which is not without probability, would assign a very early date to the gloss, since the verse appears in the LXX. and, though in a corrupt form, in 1Es 5:58 , ‘Then stood up Jesus, and his sons and brethren, and Cadmiel his brother and the sons of Madiabun, with the sons of Joda the son of Eliadun, with their sons and brethren, all Levites, with one accord, betters forward of the business, labouring to advance the works in the house of God’ (A.V.).
If we dismiss this conjecture on the ground of its lack of external evidence, we must be prepared to treat the verse as having come down to us in some way corrupted or mutilated.
The key to the verse lies in the last words, ‘the Levites’. The verse describes who the Levites were that received the commission (described in Ezr 3:8), and how they discharged it. The student therefore will take care not to confound the Jeshua here mentioned with the Jeshua (the high-priest) mentioned in the previous verse. This Jeshua is the Levite whose name occurs in chap. Ezr 2:40.
The natural arrangement of the words (illustrated by 1Es 5:58 quoted above) would be, ‘Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, ( and) the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren (i.e. all) the Levites together, to have the oversight of the workmen in the house of God.’ The verse thus specifies the Levites who undertook the oversight of the workmen.
( b) The names of the Levitical families who returned appear in chap. Ezr 2:40, where there is some uncertainty whether the expression ‘of the children of Hodaviah’ refers to Kadmiel alone or to ‘the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel’ taken together.
The ‘Judah’ of our verse is probably a misreading for Hodaviah, not, as some prefer, an alternative name of the same person.
(1) Some see in the verse a mention of four Levitical families, i.e. those of Jeshua, Kadmiel, Judah, and Henadad.
(2) Others think that only two are intended, i.e. those of Jeshua and Kadmiel, who are further defined as sons of Hodaviah (=Judah), and as sons of Henadad.
(3) It seems better to suppose that there are three families referred to: (i) ‘Jeshua with his sons and his brethren,’ apparently a complete family, (ii) ‘Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Hodaviah’, apparently a special branch of the family of Kadmiel, (iii) ‘And the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren’, who, though not mentioned in Ezr 2:40, are represented in Nehemiah’s time (Neh 3:18; Neh 3:24; Neh 10:9).
The absence of Henadad’s name from the list in chap. Ezr 2:40 is strange. But we must account for it by supposing either that the Henadad family never left Palestine, or that they came to Jerusalem between the arrival of Zerubbabel and the beginning of the second year, or that they belonged to the class more numerous than scholars have hitherto taken account of, i.e. those who returned to Jerusalem from exile in other countries. Perhaps the family of Henadad (‘the grace or favour of Hadad’, cf. Hadad, Benhadad, Hadadrimmon) had Syrian connexions or had found refuge in Syria during the disasters of Israel and Judah. Compare Ezr 6:21, ‘all such as had separated themselves from the filthiness of the heathen of the land’.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jeshua – See the marginal reference. Not the high priest, but the head of one of the two Levitical houses which had returned.
Together – The Hebrew phrase is very emphatic – they stood up as one man.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jeshua; not the high priest so called, but a Levite, of whom see Ezr 2:40.
To set forward the workmen; by their presence and favour to encourage them to a cheerful and vigorous prosecution of the work.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. Jeshua with his sonsnotthe high priest, but a Levite (Ezr2:40). To these, as probably distinguished for their mechanicalskill and taste, the duty of acting as overseers was particularlycommitted.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then stood Jeshua, with his sons,…. Not Jeshua the high priest before mentioned, but Jeshua the Levite, Ezr 2:40,
and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together; the same with Hodaviah, Ezr 2:40
to set forward the workmen in the house of God; to give them orders to begin and lay the foundation, and hasten and animate them to it:
the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites: two of this man’s sons are mentioned in Ne 3:18.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(9) TogetherAs one man. Jeshua and Kadmiel, both of the stock of Judah, or Hodaviah (Ezr. 2:40), or Hodevah (Neh. 7:43), were the two heads of Levitical families; and their fewness is compensated by their unanimity and vigour. Henadad is not mentioned in Ezr. 2:40, though it is a Levitical name in Nehemiah. Why omitted there, or why inserted here, it is not possible to determine.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Jeshua Kadmiel Levites mentioned in the list of the returned, Ezr 2:40. This Jeshua is not to be confounded with the high priest, the son of Jozadak, of the same name.
Sons of Judah Instead of Judah, we should probably read Hodevah (Neh 7:43) or Hodaviah, who is also mentioned in Ezr 2:40.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ezr 3:9 Then stood Jeshua [with] his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, [with] their sons and their brethren the Levites.
Ver. 9. Then stood Jeshua ] Not the high priest, but another, a Levite.
The sons of Henadad, with their sons
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Judah: or Hodaviah, as in Ezr 2:40.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jeshua: Not Jeshua the high-priest, before mentioned, but another Jeshua, a Levite, mentioned in the parallel passage. Ezr 2:40
Judah: Hodaviah, [Strong’s H1938], is called Hodevah, [Strong’s H1937], by the elision of , yood, and was probably named Judah, from the word having the same signification. Ezr 2:40, Hodaviah, Neh 7:43, Hodevah
together: Heb. as one
Reciprocal: Ezr 2:2 – Jeshua Ezr 2:36 – Jeshua Neh 7:7 – Jeshua
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ezr 3:9. Then stood Jeshua with his sons This person was not the high- priest, so called, but a Levite, of whom see Ezr 2:40. To set forward the workmen To encourage them to a cheerful and vigorous prosecution of the work.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3:9 Then stood Jeshua {f} [with] his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, [with] their sons and their brethren the Levites.
(f) They gave them exhortations and encouraged every man forward in the work.