Commentary on the book of ezra by matthew henry old. Ezra overview, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary provides notes on all 66 books of the bible, and contain more than 7,000 pages of material. Wilson if you are working with a class or small group, feel free to duplicate the following handouts at no. Then there is the return led by ezra in chapters 710, and about two thousand people followed ezra. The same man wrote both books ezra and nehemiah are one book in the hebrew canon. Study ezra 1 using matthew henrys bible commentary concise to better understand scripture with full outline and verse meaning. It includes the sevenvolume seventhday adventist bible commentary, the twovolume seventhday adventist encyclopedia, as well as the single volumes seventhday adventist bible dictionary, seventh. Why was ezra astonished until the evening sacrifice. Study the bible online using commentary on ezra 2 and more. The book of ezra should not be confused with either first or second esdras. Joel beeke, march 2009 ot series or overall ot emphasis keil, carl friedrich and franz delitzsch. The book of ezra was originally combined with the book of nehemiah and served as a continuation of first and second chronicles. Study the bible online using commentary on ezra and more. Ezra records the events relating to the first two groups, and discusses especially the rebuilding of the temple.
For this reason, this study guide commentary is designed to provide an introduction to each book of the bible. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. Top 5 commentaries on the books of ezra and nehemiah. We do not hear a word from them after they were captured until ezra picks up. As the curtain rises and the orchestra dramatically swells, king cyrus of persia has just defeated the babylonians. The seventhday adventist commentary reference series is a set of volumes produced primarily by seventhday adventist scholars, and designed for both scholarly and church member use.
The book of ezra is the historical record of gods people returning to jerusalem after the. They appear as one book in all hebrew manuscripts until the fifteenth century a. Hebrew and english lexicon of the old testament by francis brown, s. At one time, however, ezra and nehemiah followed 1 and 2 chronicles and were generally considered to be the work of one and the same author known as the chronicler. The two became separated with the first printed rabbinic bibles of the early 16th century, following late medieval latin christian tradition. The book of nehemiah jerusalem walls summary overview. The books bear the names of three jewish heroes of the faithordinary believers who accomplished extraordinary things as a result of gods mighty, providential hand and their bold, obedient faith. Ezra commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole bible.
How did ezra react to the news from the leaders of the people. The last four books of the hebrew canon are ezra, nehemiah, and 1 and 2 chronicles, in that order. Ezra commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. The book of ezra is part of the historical books of the bible. These additional chapters occur in no other version of the book, though a greek fragment of 5 ezra has been found on papyrus. Nehemiah led the third 3rd exodus back to jerusalem, 94 years after zerubbabel 1st exodus of approx. The eight handbooks were dedicated to people who, in different ways, had a. This commentary has been through advanced checking words in boxes are from the bible. Ezra 2 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. These books contain much that edifies and that strengthens faith in the unfailing leadership of god. The book of ezra the books of ezra and nehemiah and esther cover about 100 years, closing the old testament historical books. Ezra nehemiah commentary exilic and postexilic history. Have you ever wondered if god is really involved in the circumstances of your life. In fact, ezra and nehemiah were originally regarded as one book by ancient jewish and early christian scribes.
There is the return of the captives from babylon led by zerubbabel in the first six chapters. It is arminian in viewpoint and thus helpful, for example, in showing the reader how this approach deals with texts involving the eternal security question. That is, there is no and a prophet spoke in the assembly, thus saith the. Twelve years latter we are introduced to nehemiah i. This commentary has been through advanced checking.
In the ancient hebrew manuscripts the books of ezra and nehemiah were written as if they were one. Although ezra is a continuation of the historical books begun with. When we conclude 2 chronicles, we see that the southern kingdom of judah went into captivity for seventy years. Record of gods providence the books of ezra, nehemiah, and esther are unique among the historical writings in that they give us no new communication from god within the context of the respective stories themselves. This introduces a central theme for the book of ezra the rebuilding of the temple. Ezra is the first postcaptivity books ezra, nehemiah, esther, haggai. The books of ezra and nehemiah are the only completely historical books in the third section of the hebrew bible, the ketuvim writings. James rosscup this old, conservative wesleyan methodist work is good devotionally and aggressive for righteous living.
The book of ezra is the historical record of gods people returning to jerusalem after the long captivity to rebuild the city, walls, and temple. The chequered story of the kings, a matter of nearly five centuries, had ended disastrously in 587 b. Besides the freewill offerings for the house of god which is in jerusalem. The book of ezra commentary f b hole what the bible teaches a very brief commentary with some useful spiritual applications, which sees the return at the commencement of ezra as a picture of the sixteenth century reformation, and the evils at the end of the book as typical of the union of church and state which did so much harm to the true. The books of samuel, kings, and chronicles closed with the southern kingdom judah going into captivity. Loring woart batten 18591946, a critical and exegetical commentary on the books of ezra and nehemiah. Yahwehs congregation at jefferson all praise unto our father yahweh for his bountiful. Aside from esther, ezra and nehemiah are the only historical books of the postexilic period, and are of great importance for a reconstruction of. Author the inspired author is generally believed to be ezra. Lexical there are several excellent lexicons available for ancient hebrew. The decree authorizing ezra and a caravan of others to return to judea in. Sayce 18451933, an introduction to the books of ezra.
Read ezra commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. Yet, there were instances of nineteenthcentury word usage and syntactic issues that i thought a commentary might help to clarify. The first return and rebuilding under zerubbabel chaps. Bible class book and study guide on ezra david padfield. Yet if we do not pause and contemplate the historical events as a whole we may miss out on information that may encourages us today. Past, present and future banned from the bible, second ezra. An easyenglish bible version and commentary 2800 word vocabulary on the book of ezra. If ezra was the writer, he was copying from the journal of nehemiah.
Bible commentary seventhday adventistegw vol 18 pdf. Ezra although modern readers of the bible are accustomed to treating the books of ezra and nehemiah separately, ancient tradition regards them as one see below. Itspeaksofthetransmissionofsecretteachingstoanelectgroup,and initsconcludingscene,ezrawritesninetyfourbooks,seventyofwhichare. The postexilic books of ezra, nehemiah, haggai, zechariah, and malachi. These postexile books record the return from babylon after. Nehemiah a2 classic bible study guide 3 nehemiah 1. Ezranehemiah commentary exilic and postexilic history. Fulfilling lifes mission introduction why read this book. The old testament books of esther, ezra, and nehemiah chronicle events surrounding the lords restoration of jewish exiles to the promised land. Ezra and nehemiah tyndale old testament commentaries kidner, derek on. Bright argued that ezra followed nehemiah to jerusalem rather than preceding him, but this is a minority view. The book of nehemiah introduction we may read the book of nehemiah and come away with a general appreciation for a mans conviction and spiritual energy to get work accomplished and move on to another story. Nehemiahs objective was to construct the wall around. What happened while ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping.
Inspired by gods spirit, he tells the israelites that they can head home and rebuild their temple. Separation from heathen is demanded and maintained, chapter 10 the books of haggai and zechariah ezra 5. Ezra 6 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, filling six volumes, provides an exhaustive look at every verse in the bible. Nehemiah, who was a contemporary or served around the same time as ezra, was a cupbearer to the king in the persian empire. Those eight books are now combined into the onevolume bridgeway bible commentary, which is a companion in size, style and format to the bridgeway bible dictionary, an a to z of biblical information. Ezra and nehemiah illustrate, by a series of instructive examples, how a few people can do great things for god when led by godfearing, sincere, unselfish, but fearless and determined leaders. Some have claimed that the inspired writer of the book was ezra, but horne states.
The book of esther, like much of the bible, tells the story of gods involvement with. Fenshams study on the books of ezra and nehemiah is a contribution to the new international commentary on the old testament. What i seek to demonstrate below is that the events of ezra 4. Book 1 philip and pat juler book 2 chun kertyoo book 3 reg and marjorie vines book 4 david clines book 5 john and grace robertson book 6 bob and vic mccallum book 7 chue petnamngern book 8 vic and jean fleming in the present book, as in my other books, my aim is to provide biblical reference material that bridges two gaps at the same time. Or perhaps this is an at least partially an afterward because i write this after i have completed half of the melding together of roger hahns online crivoice bible study and the excerpts from john c. Beginning with the decree of cyrus, the intention was not merely to return and reoccupy jerusalem but to also rebuild the temple. Seventhday adventist bible commentary 1978 revised vols. Study guide for ezra 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. The books of ezra, haggai, esther and nehemiah lessons. All the events described in ezra and nehemiah took place during the first half of the period of the persian empire, which lasted from 539 b. Although ezra is a continuation of the historical books begun with joshua, the precaptivity and captivity books could be profitably studied before beginning with ezra. The book of ezra should not be confused with either first or second esdras, also known as 3 ezra and 4 ezra, which are two apocryphal books. A comprehensive commentary of the book of ezra together with references for further study from the general conferences of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints the encyclopedia of mormonism and other doctrinal texts by general authorities of the church written and compiled by.
As the scene opens in ezra 1, the jews have just seen the overthrow of the hated babylonian empire, in 539 b. Did god give his people more or less than they deserved. Read ezra 2 commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible concise. Introduction to the book of ezra background of the book theme ezra and nehemiah give the historical accounts of the return of the jews from babylonian captivity. The book is comprised of an approximately 80year time frame in which ezra reveals that god has fulfilled his promise to cause the jews to return to jerusalem cf. In english bibles, they are usually split into two, with the book of nehemiah appearing as a separate book from ezra, but in the hebrew tradition, they are one book, entitled ezra, and nehemiah is simply the second part of ezra. Ezra gathered the people of jerusalem and read before the assembly the book of the law of moses which the lord prescribed for israel nehemiah 8. The book of daniel takes up the narrative of the captivity where chronicles leaves it.
The titles of the individual books reflect the two main characters of the book. The book of ezra thereby ends during the 8th year of the reign of artaxerxes i. The book of ezra is the last of the historical books, but they do not follow ad seriatum one right after the other. Aug 29, 2016 general info2 esdras also called 4 esdras, latin esdras, or latin ezra is the name of an apocalyptic book in many english versions of the bible. A word list at the end explains words with a star by them. Ezra is clearly the subject of the firstperson pronouns referring to the author of the book of ezra ezra 7. Ezra, nehemiah, and esther bible study notes, commentary, and. Ezra and nehemiah tyndale old testament commentaries. It is based on the german lexicon by william gesenius.