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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Ezra 4 Pulpit Commentary</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/ezra/4.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/ezra/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">Pulpit Commentary</a> > Ezra 4</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../ezra/3.htm" title="Ezra 3">◄</a> Ezra 4 <a href="../ezra/5.htm" title="Ezra 5">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Pulpit Commentary</div><div class="chap"><div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-1.htm">Ezra 4:1</a></div><div class="verse">Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel;</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 1.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">The adversaries</span>. Notwithstanding the friendly guise in which they came, the historian sees from the first that the Samaritans are in reality "adversaries," or "persecutors" (<span class="accented">tsazey</span>), identical in spirit with Sanballat and his followers, whom Nehemiah designates by the same word (<a href="/ezra/4-11.htm">Ezra 4:11</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-2.htm">Ezra 4:2</a></div><div class="verse">Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye <i>do</i>; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 2.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">We seek your God, as ye do. "</span>We seek your God" was true; "as ye do" was not true. The Samaritans worshipped Jehovah, but not, as the Jews did, exclusively. "They feared the Lord, <span class="accented">and worshipped their own gods"</span> (<a href="/2_kings/17-33.htm">2 Kings 17:33</a>). Such worship dishonours Jehovah almost more than total neglect of him. <span class="cmt_word">Since the</span> <span class="cmt_word">days of Esar-haddon.</span> There was more than one colonisation of Central Palestine by the Assyrians. Sargon relates that he placed Arabians in the country; the writer of Kings tells us that it was occupied by Babylonians, Cuthaeans, Avites, Hamathites, and Sepharrites (<a href="/2_kings/17-24.htm">2 Kings 17:24</a>); the Samaritans themselves said that they were "Dinaites, Apharsathchites, Tarpelites, Apharsites, Archevites, Babylonians, Susanchites, Debarites, and Elamites" (<span class="accented">infra</span>, ver. 9). They attributed this last colonization to Esar-haddon. We may suspect that the second colonisation was by Sennacherib, who appears to have taken Babylon, Hamath, Sepharvaim, and Ivah or Avah (<a href="/2_kings/18-34.htm">2 Kings 18:34</a>). The result was that the Samaritans were a very mixed race. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-3.htm">Ezra 4:3</a></div><div class="verse">But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 3.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Ye have nothing to do with us to build a</span> <span class="cmt_word">house unto our God.</span> You have no ground on which to rest your claim of uniting with us in this matter. You do not really wish to build to our God simply and singly; nor were you mentioned in the decree of Cyrus, which is our warrant for what we are doing. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-4.htm">Ezra 4:4</a></div><div class="verse">Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 4.</span> - Then <span class="cmt_word">the people of the land</span> (<span class="accented">i.e.</span> the Samaritans) <span class="cmt_word">weakened the hands of the people of Judah.</span> As aiding is called "strengthening the hands (<span class="accented">infra</span>, <a href="/ezra/6-22.htm">Ezra 6:22</a>; <a href="/isaiah/35-3.htm">Isaiah 35:3</a>; <a href="/jeremiah/23-14.htm">Jeremiah 23:14</a>; <a href="/ezekiel/16-49.htm">Ezekiel 16:49</a>, etc.), so hindering is expressed by "weakening the hands" (<a href="/jeremiah/38-4.htm">Jeremiah 38:4</a>), though this latter phrase is, comparatively speaking, unusual. <span class="cmt_word">And troubled them in building</span>. Probably as Sanballat and his followers troubled the builders of the wall in Nehemiah's time (<a href="/nehemiah/4-1.htm">Nehemiah 4:1-12</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-5.htm">Ezra 4:5</a></div><div class="verse">And hired counsellers against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 5.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And hired counsellors against</span> <span class="cmt_word">them.</span> It is always possible at an Oriental court to bribe some of the royal favourites, and induce them to use their influence with the monarch for the furtherance, or hindrance, of any work that is being proceeded with in any part of the country. The Samaritans now had recourse to this system, and employed it with great success for a considerable period. <span class="cmt_word">All the days</span> <span class="cmt_word">of Cyrus.</span> <span class="accented">i.e.</span> "all the remaining days," from <span class="date">B.C. 537</span> to <span class="date">B.C. 529</span>, when Cyrus died, and was succeeded by his son Cambyses. <span class="cmt_word">Even until</span> <span class="cmt_word">the reign of Darius.</span> It is implied that the reign of Darius did not immediately follow on that of Cyrus. Profane history tells us of two intermediate kings, via, Cambyses, son of Cyrus, who reigned from <span class="date">B.C. 529</span> to <span class="date">B.C. 522</span>, and Smerdis, or Bardes, a usurper, who occupied the throne for about ten months in the years <span class="date">B.C. 522</span>, 521. Darius became king in this last-named year, but seems to have counted his reign from the date of the decease of Cambyses. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-6.htm">Ezra 4:6</a></div><div class="verse">And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they <i>unto him</i> an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 6.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And in</span> <span class="cmt_word">the reign of Ahasuerus.</span> Some critics regard this Ahasuerus as identical with the Ahasuerus of Esther, who is generally allowed to be Xerxes, the son and successor of Darius Hystaspis, and the invader of Greece. In this case the Artaxerxes of the next verse is taken to be Artaxerxes Longimanus, and the entire passage, from ver. 6 to ver. 23 inclusively, is regarded as parenthetic, having reference to events which happened later than any of those recorded in ch. 6. But the evident <span class="accented">nexus</span> of vers. 23, 24 is fatal to this view, which has nothing in its favour beyond the sequence of the royal names, an uncertain argument in this instance, since we know that Persian kings had often more than one name. If on these grounds we reject the proposed identification, and regard the chapter as chronologically consecutive, Ahasuerus here must be explained as Cambyses, and the Artaxerxes of ver. 7 as Smerdis. This is the view most usually taken, and it seems to the present writer to present fewer difficulties than any other. <span class="cmt_word">In</span> <span class="cmt_word">the beginning of his reign.</span> As soon as ever a new king mounted the throne, fresh representations were made to him by the "adversaries," lest the work should be recommenced<span class="cmt_word">. Wrote they an accusation.</span> Comp. vers. 12-16, by which we see the sort of "accusation that could be plausibly brought. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> CHAPTER 4:7-116. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-7.htm">Ezra 4:7</a></div><div class="verse">And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter <i>was</i> written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 7.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And in the days of Artaxerxes.</span> See the comment on ver. 6. If Artaxerxes be the Pseudo-Smerdis, we can readily understand why an application was not made to him at once, and how it came about that the Jews recommenced their building, as they appear from vers. 12, 13 to have done. The Pseudo-Smerdis was a usurper; his reign was a time of partial anarchy; in a distant part of the empire it would not be known for a while who was king. Men would be thrown on themselves, and would do as it seemed good in their own eyes. Later, there may have been some doubt whether a king, who was known to be a religious reformer, would follow the policy of his predecessor with respect to the Jews, or reverse it. Hence a delay, and then a more formal application than before for a positive decree to stop the building (see ver. 21). <span class="cmt_word">The rest of their companions</span>. Literally, of their companies - the abstract for the concrete. <span class="cmt_word">The writing</span> <span class="cmt_word">of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue.</span> Rather, "in the Syrian fashion," <span class="accented">i.e.</span> in Syriac characters. <span class="cmt_word">And interpreted in the Syrian tongue.</span> Or "translated into the Syriac language." The character and the words were alike Syriac (comp. <a href="/2_kings/18-26.htm">2 Kings 18:26</a>). Ezra gives the letter in Chaldee. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-8.htm">Ezra 4:8</a></div><div class="verse">Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 8.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Rehum</span> <span class="cmt_word">the chancellor.</span> Literally, "the lord of judgment." It may be conjectured that Rehum was the sub-satrap (<span class="greek">ὑποσατράπης</span>, Xen.), of the province of Samaria. <span class="cmt_word">And Shimshai the scribe.</span> Or "secretary." Herodotus tells us that in every Persian province the governor had a secretary attached to him, who was appointed by the crown, and acted as a check upon his nominal master (Herod., 3:128). The position assigned to Shim-shai in this chapter (see especially vers. 9, 17, 23) is such as might be expected under these circumstances. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-9.htm">Ezra 4:9</a></div><div class="verse">Then <i>wrote</i> Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, <i>and</i> the Elamites,</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 9.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">The Dinaites</span>, etc. It is curious that the Samaritans, instead of using a general appellation, describe themselves under the names of the various nations and cities which had furnished the colonists of whom they were the descendants. It would seem that they were not yet, in the time of the Pseudo-Smerdis, amalgamated into a single people. From the list of names we may gather that the colonists of Esar-haddon's time had been derived chiefly from Southern Babylonia and the adjacent regions of Susiana, Persia, and Elymais. The Babylonians, Susanchites, and Elamites speak for themselves, and require no explanation. The Archevites are the people of Ereeh or Orchoe (now Warka), a city to the south-east of Babylon. The Apharsites are no doubt Persians; the Dehavites, Dai or Dahae, a tribe located in Persia Proper ('Herod.,' 1:125). If uncertainty attaches to any of the names, it is to two only - the Dinaites and the Tarpelites. Of these, the Dinaites are probably the people of Dayan, a country bordering on Cilicia, whose inhabitants are often mentioned by the Assyrian monarchs. The Tarpelites have been regarded as the people of Tripolis; but it is improbable that that city had as yet received its Greek name. Perhaps they are the Tuplai, or people of Tubal, mentioned in Scripture and the Assyrian inscriptions, the letter <span class="accented">r</span> being a euphonic addition, as in Darmesek for Dammesek <span class="accented">sharbith</span> for <span class="accented">shebeth</span>, and the like. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-10.htm">Ezra 4:10</a></div><div class="verse">And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest <i>that are</i> on this side the river, and at such a time.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 10.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">The rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over.</span> Nothing more is known of "the great and noble Asnapper," who is here mentioned as bringing the colonists and setting them in the cities of Samaria. We must suppose him to have been an officer employed by Esar-haddon on this service. The name is Assyrian in form, and may have meant "Asshur pursues." <span class="cmt_word">The rest that are on this side the river</span>. Rather, "<span class="accented">across</span> the river." As Romans in North Italy, writing to Rome, would have spoken of themselves as "<span class="accented">Trans</span>padani," so Persian subjects, writing to Susa from the west of the Jordan, speak of theft country as "<span class="accented">across</span> the Jordan." <span class="cmt_word">And at such a time</span>. Rather, "and so forth." This and the preceding verse set forth the address of Rehum's letter. The whole address not being given, the writer ends with the phrase <span class="accented">uk'eneth</span>, which means "and so forth," or "et cetera" (comp. <a href="/ezra/7-12.htm">Ezra 7:12</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-11.htm">Ezra 4:11</a></div><div class="verse">This <i>is</i> the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, <i>even</i> unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 11.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">This is</span> <span class="cmt_word">the copy of the letter.</span> The address having been given, the writer now proceeds to the contents of the letter. <span class="cmt_word">Thy servants the men on this side the river</span>, etc. This was a sort of heading inside the letter - a repetition in brief of the address. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-12.htm">Ezra 4:12</a></div><div class="verse">Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls <i>thereof</i>, and joined the foundations.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 12.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">The Jews which came up from</span> <span class="cmt_word">thee.</span> <span class="accented">i.e.</span> from the central provinces - from that part of the empire where thou dwellest. To us. To our part of the world - to Palestine. <span class="cmt_word">Are... building the rebellious</span> <span class="cmt_word">and the bad city.</span> The ground of this accusation must be sought in the various revolts of the Jews from the Babylonians recorded in <a href="/2_kings/24.htm">2 Kings 24, 25</a>. There had been one, or perhaps two, previous revolts from Assyria (<a href="/2_kings/18-7.htm">2 Kings 18:7</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/33-11.htm">2 Chronicles 33:11</a>); but of these the Samaritans probably knew nothing. They would, however, be likely to know that before Nebuchadnezzar took the extreme measure of removing the Jews from their own land to Babylon, they had rebelled against him three several times - once under Jehoiakim (<a href="/2_kings/24-1.htm">2 Kings 24:1</a>), once under his son Jehoiachin (<span class="accented">ibid.</span> vers. 9, 10), and once under Zedekiah, the last king (<span class="accented">ibid.</span> ver. 20). Thus they had a basis of truth on which to ground their charge that Jerusalem was "the rebellious and the bad city." <span class="cmt_word">And</span> <span class="cmt_word">have set up the walls thereof.</span> It appears very clearly from the book of Nehemiah that the walls of Jerusalem were not restored till his time, seventy-five years after this. The Samaritans, however, would naturally exaggerate, and call the rebuilding of the temple, and of a certain number of dwelling-houses, a fortifying of the place. The exaggeration, however, is not so great in the Chaldee text as in the Authorized Version. What is said seems to be, that "they <span class="accented">are setting up the walls and joining the foundations."</span> That the work was far from complete is admitted in the next verse. We may doubt whether it was really begun. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-13.htm">Ezra 4:13</a></div><div class="verse">Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up <i>again, then</i> will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and <i>so</i> thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 13.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Then will they not pay toll, tribute,</span> <span class="cmt_word">and custom.</span> This was plausible reasoning. In Greece, if a subject city set to work to fortify itself, rebellion was immediately anticipated, not unfairly. But the circumstances of the Persian empire were different. In the remoter parts of that empire the central government was weak, and disorders frequently occurred. A city might need fortifications to protect it against its immediate neighbours, when it had not the slightest intention of asserting independence. Judging from the later history, which shows no revolt of the Jews against Persia, we may say that the accusation now alleged was unfounded, though perhaps it was not made in bad faith. <span class="cmt_word">Toll</span>, <span class="cmt_word">tribute, and custom</span> represent the chief heads of Persian taxation, which, however, did not include "custom" in our sense of the word. The three terms used by the Samaritans really represent, respectively, "tribute," or the money payment required from each province, "provision," or the payment in kind equally required (Herod., 1:192; 3:91), and "toll," or contributions from those who made use of the Persian highways. According to the Samaritans, none of these would be paid by the Jews if Jerusalem was once fortified. <span class="cmt_word">And so thou shalt endamage the revenue.</span> The general meaning is given correctly enough by this rendering, but "revenue" is not expressly mentioned. <span class="accented">Aphthom</span>, the word so translated, means really "at length," "at last." Translate, "And so <span class="accented">at last</span> thou shalt endamage the kings." </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-14.htm">Ezra 4:14</a></div><div class="verse">Now because we have maintenance from <i>the king's</i> palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king;</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 14.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">We have maintenance from the king's palace</span>. The marginal rendering is better, and shows the true sense. "Eating a man's salt" in the East is deriving one's subsistence from him. The man who eats another's salt is bound to look after his interests<span class="cmt_word">. It was not meet for us to see the king's dishonour.</span> Rather, "the king's <span class="accented">detriment</span> or <span class="accented">loss"</span> - it was not meet for us to stand by tamely and see the king stript of his due. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-15.htm">Ezra 4:15</a></div><div class="verse">That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city <i>is</i> a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 15.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers.</span> It was the practice at the Persian court to register all important events in a book, which from time to time was read to the kings (<a href="/esther/2-23.htm">Esther 2:23</a>; <a href="/esther/6-1.htm">Esther 6:1</a>). The Samaritans suggest a consultation of this book, which would at any rate contain their own previous accusations against Jerusalem (<span class="accented">supra</span>, vers. 5, 6), and might make some mention of the revolts from Babylon (see the comment on ver. 12). <span class="cmt_word">For</span> <span class="cmt_word">which cause was this city destroyed.</span> This was the great fact on which the Samaritans relied. Nebuchadnezzar had only destroyed Jerusalem in consequence of repeated rebellions. True; but no sufficient indication that there would be revolt from <span class="accented">Persia</span>, which was anti-idolatrous, and had proved herself so true a friend to the Jews. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-16.htm">Ezra 4:16</a></div><div class="verse">We certify the king that, if this city be builded <i>again</i>, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 16.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Thou</span> <span class="cmt_word">shalt have no portion on this side the river</span>. It is not quite clear whether the river intended here and in ver. 10 is the Euphrates or the Jordan. Generally in the Old Testament <span class="accented">hannahar</span> means the Euphrates, but the exaggeration is gross if that river was intended here. Only twice in their history had the Israelites advanced their frontier as far as that stream - under Solomon (<a href="/1_kings/4-21.htm">1 Kings 4:21</a>) and under Menahem (<a href="/2_kings/15-16.htm">2 Kings 15:16</a>); in their present depressed condition it was absurd to imagine that they could rival those early glories. But jealousy does not stop to weigh the reasonableness of its accusations. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> CHAPTER 4:17-24. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-17.htm">Ezra 4:17</a></div><div class="verse"><i>Then</i> sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and <i>to</i> Shimshai the scribe, and <i>to</i> the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and <i>unto</i> the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 17.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Then</span> <span class="cmt_word">sent the king an answer.</span> The complaint made was of such importance that an answer was returned without delay. It was addressed both to Rehum and Shimshai, since they were independent authorities.. <span class="cmt_word">Peace, and at such a time</span>. "Peace" (<span class="accented">sheldm</span>) is the ordinary Oriental salutation. The other word, <span class="accented">uk'eth</span>, is taken by our translators to refer to the date; but it really means, like <span class="accented">uk'eneth</span> (ver. 10), "and so forth," or "<span class="accented">et</span> cetera." </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-18.htm">Ezra 4:18</a></div><div class="verse">The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 18.</span> - The <span class="cmt_word">letter hath been plainly</span> <span class="cmt_word">read before me</span>. Despatches are read <span class="accented">to</span>, not <span class="accented">by</span>, Oriental sovereigns, who have often no literary education. (Compare <a href="/esther/6-1.htm">Esther 6:1</a>.) </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-19.htm">Ezra 4:19</a></div><div class="verse">And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and <i>that</i> rebellion and sedition have been made therein.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 19.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">I commanded, and search has been made</span>. The Pseudo-Smerdis, who was a fanatical adherent of Magism, which disallowed temples altogether (Herod., 1:130), and who had already destroyed the temples of Ormuzd in Persia ('Behistun Ins.,' col. 1. par. 14, 5), was naturally willing enough to do as the Samaritans desired, and stop the restoration of the Jewish temple. Accordingly, he had a search made among the state records, and found, as they had expected he would, evidence of insurrections on the part of the Jews against the foreign countries to which they had been subject, as Assyria (<a href="/2_kings/18-7.htm">2 Kings 18:7</a>) and Babylon (<span class="accented">ibid.</span> 24:1; <a href="/jeremiah/52-3.htm">Jeremiah 52:3</a>), and also proof of the formidable power possessed by certain Jewish or Israelite kings; upon which he thought himself justified in complying with the Samaritan request, and ordering the work that was going on at Jerusalem to cease (see ver. 21). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-20.htm">Ezra 4:20</a></div><div class="verse">There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all <i>countries</i> beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 20.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Mighty kings</span>. David and Solomon best answer to this description, possessing as they did a kingdom which extended from the Euphrates to the borders of Egypt (<a href="/1_kings/4-21.htm">1 Kings 4:21, 24</a>), and drawing tribute from the various petty princes or chiefs of the nations dwelling within those limits (<a href="/2_samuel/8-6.htm">2 Samuel 8:6-12</a>; <a href="/1_kings/10-14.htm">1 Kings 10:14, 25</a>). Josiah had perhaps, more recently, possessed an almost equally extensive sway. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-21.htm">Ezra 4:21</a></div><div class="verse">Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until <i>another</i> commandment shall be given from me.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 21.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Until another commandment shall be given</span>. It can scarcely be supposed that the Pseudo-Smerdis had any intention of issuing "another commandment;" but, since "the laws of the Medes and Persians," as a general rule, "altered not" (<a href="/esther/1-19.htm">Esther 1:19</a>; <a href="/daniel/6-15.htm">Daniel 6:15</a>), it may well be that the clause before us was one inserted as a matter of form in most decrees, to prevent them from being irrevocable. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-22.htm">Ezra 4:22</a></div><div class="verse">Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?</div><div class="comm"></div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-23.htm">Ezra 4:23</a></div><div class="verse">Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter <i>was</i> read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 23.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">They went up in</span> <span class="cmt_word">haste.</span> The "adversaries" lost no time. Having obtained the decree which forbad further building, they proceeded with it to Jerusalem, and by a display of force compelled the Jews to submission. No doubt resistance might have been made, but resistance would have been rebellion. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/ezra/4-24.htm">Ezra 4:24</a></div><div class="verse">Then ceased the work of the house of God which <i>is</i> at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 24.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Then ceased the work... until the second year of the reign of Darius.</span> The interval of compelled inaction was not long. The Pseudo-Smerdis reigned, at the utmost, ten months; after which a revolution occurred, and the throne was occupied by Darius, the son of Hystaspes. If the work was resumed early in this monarch's second year, the entire period of suspension cannot have much exceeded a year and a half. <span class="cmt_word">King of Persia</span>. There is probably no intention of distinguishing the Darius of this book from "Darius the Mede" (<a href="/daniel/5-31.htm">Daniel 5:31</a>; <a href="/daniel/6-1.htm">Daniel 6:1</a>). "King of Persia" is appended to his name merely out of respect and honor, as it is to the names of Cyrus (<a href="/daniel/1-1.htm">Daniel 1:1, 2, 8</a>), Artaxerxes I. (<a href="/daniel/4-7.htm">Daniel 4:7</a>), and Artaxerxes II. (<a href="/daniel/6-14.htm">Daniel 6:14</a>). Such a superfluous attachment to his name of the style and title of a monarch is common throughout the Old Testament, and generally marks a distinct intention to do the individual honour (see <a href="/genesis/41-46.htm">Genesis 41:46</a>; <a href="/1_kings/3-1.htm">1 Kings 3:1</a>; <a href="/1_kings/9-11.htm">1 Kings 9:11, 16</a>; <a href="/1_kings/11-18.htm">1 Kings 11:18</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/36-22.htm">2 Chronicles 36:22</a>, etc.). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> </div></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. 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