Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezra 7:22

Unto a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing [how much].

22. unto an hundred talents of silver ] or 37, 500. Money reckoned by weight. A ‘kikkar’ or talent of silver was of value about 375. A talent contained 60 manim or 3000 shekels, cf. on Ezr 2:69.

an hundred measures of wheat ] The ‘measure’ or ‘cor’, equivalent to 8 bushels or 1 quarter. We learn from Eze 45:14 that the ‘cor’ contained 10 ‘baths’ and was the same as the ‘homer’, see also 1Ki 4:22; 1Ki 5:11 ; 2Ch 2:10; 2Ch 27:5.

an hundred baths of wine ] The ‘bath’ contained 6 or 7 gallons (= hins).

salt without prescribing how much] The importance of salt in the sacrificial system appears from Lev 2:13 ‘And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt, neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine oblations thou shalt offer salt’, cf. Ezr 6:9; Eze 43:24. The translation of the A.V. and R.V. gives the general sense of the original (= ‘which is not written’); LXX. . The Vulg. ‘absque mensura’.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

This verse assigns limits to the permission of Ezr 7:20. As the Persian tribute was paid partly in money and partly in kind (see Ezr 4:13 note), the treasuries would be able to supply them as readily as they could furnish money.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 22. A hundred talents of silver] The talent of silver was 450.

A hundred measures of wheat] A hundred cors; each cor was a little more than seventy-five gallons, one quart, and a pint, wine measure.

A hundred baths of wine] Each bath was seven gallons and five pints.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Because it was but of mean price, and of very common and necessary use in all their sacrifices, Lev 2:13; Mar 9:49.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

22-24. an hundred talents ofsilver22,000 according to the rate of the silver talent ofBabylon. Fourthly, Artaxerxes gave his royal sanction in theestablishment of the divine law, which exempted priests and Levitesfrom taxation or tribute and confirmed to them the exclusive right toofficiate in the sacred services of the sanctuary. And, finally, inthe expression of the king’s desire for the divine blessing upon theking and his government (Ezr 7:23),we see the strong persuasion which pervaded the Persian court, andhad been produced by the captivity of the Hebrew people, as to thebeing and directing providence of the God they worshipped. It will beobserved, however, that the commission related exclusively to therebuilding of the templenot of the walls. The Samaritans (Ezr4:20-22) had succeeded in alarming the Persian court by theirrepresentations of the danger to the empire of fortifying a citynotorious for the turbulent character of its inhabitants and theprowess of its kings.

Ezr 7:27;Ezr 7:28. EZRABLESSES GODFOR THIS FAVOR.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Unto one hundred talents of silver,…. Which amounted to 35,300 pounds sterling; these, according to Jarchi, were to buy the offerings or sacrifices with:

and an hundred measures of wheat; or corn, the same measure with the homer, each of which held ten ephahs, or seventy five wine gallons, five pints, and upwards; these, according to the same writer, were for meat offerings, made of fine flour, or rather bread offerings, as they may be called:

and to an hundred baths of wine; which was the same measure in liquids as the ephah in things dry, a tenth part of the cor or homer, and held seven wine gallons, five pints, and upwards u; these were for the drink offerings:

and to an hundred baths of oil; the same measure as before; these were to mix in the meat offerings:

and salt without prescribing how much; because it was used in all offerings, and was cheap, and therefore no measure is fixed, but as much as was wanting was to be given, see Le 2:1.

u See Cumberland’s Scripture Weights and Measures, ch. 4. p. 137.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(22) Unto an hundred talents of silver . . .A certain restriction is laid upon the amount, although the very restriction seems almost indefinite. The silver might reach 24,000 sterling. As to the rest, Palestine abounded in these productions, which were regularly remitted to the kings service. Salt especially was plentiful near the Dead Sea.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

22. A hundred talents of silver About one hundred and sixty-six thousand dollars.

A hundred measures of wheat Or a hundred cors, about one thousand one hundred bushels.

A hundred baths Nearly eight hundred and seventy-five gallons, or more than fifteen hogsheads.

Salt without prescribing “The enemies of God’s Church had before said that they were salted with the salt of the palace, (Ezr 4:14, margin,) but now the king’s decree gives salt without measure to Ezra and his company.” Wordsworth.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments