And Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord ,.... Or ordered them to be brought forth: which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem ; out of the temple there, when he took it and burnt it: and had put them in the house of his gods ; in the temple of Belus at Babylon, see 2 Chronicles 36:7 , by which means they were providentially preserved. read more
Even these did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer ,.... Or Mithridates, a name common with the Persians, from their god Mithras, the sun they worshipped: and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar prince of Judah ; delivered them by tale to him; who, according to the Jewish rabbins, as Jarchi says, was Daniel, who was so called, because he stood in six tribulations; but it does not appear that Daniel went up to Jerusalem with the captivity, as this man did,... read more
And this is the number of them ,.... Of the vessels delivered, as follows: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver ; these, according to Ben Melech, were vessels in which water was put to wash hands in; but rather they were, as Aben Ezra observes from the Jerusalem Talmud F18 T. Hieros. Yoma, fol. 41. 1. , vessels in which they gathered the blood of lambs and bullocks slain for sacrifices: nine and twenty knives ; which, because the handles of them were of gold... read more
The king brought forth the vessels - See on Ezra 1:9-11 ; (note). read more
Sheshbazzar , the prince of Judah - This was probably the Chaldean name of him who was originally called Zerubbabel: the former signifies joy in affliction; the latter, a stranger in Babylon. The latter may be designed to refer to his captive state; the former, to the prospect of release. Some think this was quite a different person, a Persian or Chaldean, sent by Cyrus to superintend whatever officers or men Cyrus might have sent to assist the Jews on their return; and to procure... read more
The wide reach of the rule of God. We are accustomed to pray that the kingdom of God may come; we desire, and therefore ask, that men may offer themselves in willing subjection to the service of their Divine Sovereign. For this we must labour and pray, and always shall do so the more earnestly as we ourselves are the more unreservedly subject to his benign and gracious rule. Meantime there is a sense in which God's rule is a present thing. The kingdom of God is among us; the arms of his... read more
The beginning of a great religious movement. Israel had experienced long bondage in a foreign land under a heathen king; this would have a beneficial influence. 1. It would tend to cultivate within them a right view of the sorrow consequent upon sin. Their captivity was a punishment for idolatry. Sin sends men into slavery. 2. It would tend to cultivate within them a right view of the external in religion. Solomon's temple was the pride of Israel. They prided themselves in the... read more
The muster. We have noted already that the great and primary feature in the restoration of Israel from captivity was the restoration of the house. With a view to this restoration, as we have seen, the whole edict of Cyrus was framed. In the passage now before us we shall see, in the next place, that the results of that edict were in accordance with this design. They secured, i.e; the two first requisites for carrying out this design, providing, as they did, on the one hand, the requisite... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezra 1:5-11
We are here told, I. How Cyrus's proclamation succeeded with others. 1. He having given leave to the Jews to go up to Jerusalem, many of them went up accordingly, Ezra 1:5. The leaders herein were the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, eminent and experienced men, from whom it might justly be expected that, as they were above their brethren in dignity, so they should go before them in duty. The priests and Levites were (as became them) with the first that set their faces again towards... read more