Ezra 1:7

1:5-11 The same God that raised up the spirit of Cyrus to proclaim liberty to the Jews, raised up their spirits to take the benefit. The temptation was to some to stay in Babylon; but some feared not to return, and they were those whose spirits God raised, by his Spirit and grace. Whatever good we do, is owing to the grace of God. Our spirits naturally bow down to this earth and the things of it; if they move upward in any good affections or good actions, it is God who raises them. The calls and offers of the gospel are like the proclamation of Cyrus. Those bound under the power of sin, may be made free by Jesus Christ. Whosoever will, by repentance and faith, return to God, Jesus Christ has opened the way for him, and raises him out of the slavery of sin into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Many that hear this joyful sound, choose to sit still in Babylon, are in love with their sins, and will not venture upon a holy life; but some break through all discouragements, whatever it cost them; they are those whose spirit God has raised above the world and the flesh, whom he has made willing. Thus will the heavenly Canaan be filled, though many perish in Babylon; and the gospel offer will not have been made in vain. The bringing back the Jews from captivity, represents the redemption of sinners by Jesus Christ.

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.

Verse 7. - The vessels . Probably all that he could find, yet scarcely all that had been taken away, since many of these were of bronze ( 2 Kings 25:14 ), and the restored vessels seem to have been, all of them, either of gold or silver (see ver. 11). Which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth. The carrying off of sacred vessels, as well as images, from temples is often represented in the Assyrian sculptures. It was a practice even of the Romans, and is commemorated on the Pillar of Titus, where the seven-branched candlestick of the Jewish temple is represented as borne in triumph by Roman soldiers. And had put them in the house of his gods. Elohayv , which is the form used in the text, can only mean "his god ," not his gods. Nebuchadnezzar represents himself, in his inscriptions generally, as a special devotee of a single Babylonian god, Merodach, whose temple, called by the Greeks that of Bel, is no doubt here intended (comp. Daniel 1:2 ). Ezra 1:7

Object. These are said to have been cut in pieces, 2 Kings 24:13 ; how then are they here returned? Answ . That Hebrew word used 2 Kings 24:13 , signifies not so properly to cut in pieces as to cut off, as from the use of the word, Deu 25:12 2 Samuel 4:12 2 Kings 18:16 Jeremiah 9:26 . And these vessels, when they were taken away from the temple, might very well be said to be cut off from it, because they had for so long time been so constantly, and as it were inseparably, united to it, and kept in it. In like manner, the meat-offering and drink-offering are said to be cut off from the house of the Lord, Joel 1:9 . And it is very improbable that they should deface and cut in pieces these magnificent vessels, which they could so easily transport whole to Babylon. Although, if some of the larger of them had been cut into two or more parts, yet the parts of them might be delivered to the Jews, who could, without great difficulty, restore them to their former unity and form.

Ezr 1:7-11. Cyrus Restores the Vessels. 7. Cyrus … brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord—Though it is said (2Ki 24:13) that these were cut in pieces, that would not be done to the large and magnificent vases; and, if they had been divided, the parts could be reunited. But it may be doubted whether the Hebrew word rendered cut in pieces, does not signify merely cut off, that is, from further use in the temple.

CHAPTER 7 Ezr 7:1-10. Ezra Goes Up to Jerusalem. 1, 2. in the reign of Artaxerxes—the Ahasuerus of Esther. Ezra the son of Seraiah—that is, grandson or great-grandson. Seraiah was the high priest put to death by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah (2Ki 25:18). A period of one hundred thirty years had elapsed between that catastrophe and the journey of Ezra to Jerusalem. As a grandson of Seraiah, namely, Jeshua, who held the office of high priest, had accompanied Zerubbabel in the first caravan of returning exiles, Ezra must have been in all probability a grandson, descended, too, from a younger son, the older branch being in possession of the pontificate.Ezra’s genealogy, Ezra 7:1-5. The priests, Levites, and Ezra go up to Jerusalem, Ezra 7:6-10. The gracious commission of Artaxerxes to Ezra, Ezra 7:1-26. Ezra blesseth God for his favour to his people, Ezra 7:27,28. Artaxerxes; the same of whom he speaks Ezra 6:14. The son of Seraiah, i.e. his grandson. Here are divers persons omitted for brevity sake, which may be supplied out of 1Ch 6 1 Chronicles 7 1Ch 8 1Ch 9.

7 . Also Cyrus the king ] i.e. the Jews were assisted not only by private individuals their neighbours, but by the example of the king himself. the vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth &c.] This refers especially to the capture of Jerusalem in 598, when Jehoiachin, his household and 10,000 of the better classes were carried off to Babylon. 2 Kings 24:13 ‘And he (i.e. Nebuchadnezzar) carried out thence (i.e. from Jerusalem) all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord’. It may be noticed that in the original the expression ‘carried out’ in the passage just cited and so translated in A.V. and R.V. is identical with the ‘brought forth’ in this verse. At the final destruction of Jerusalem (586) eleven or twelve years later, by Nebuzaradan, Nebuchadnezzar’s general, the remainder of the valuables contained in the house of the Lord were ‘taken away’ to Babylon, 2 Kings 25:14-15 .

The passage in Daniel 1:1-2 , which attributes to the third year (606) of Jehoiakim’s reign a siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the capture of Jehoiakim, and the removal to Babylon of some of the sacred vessels, is chronologically incorrect. (1) The victory of Carchemish on the Euphrates was not won by Nebuchadnezzar till the fourth year of Jehoiakim (605). (2) According to 2 Kings 24:1 Jehoiakim, who had been tributary to the king of Egypt, did not become tributary to Nebuchadnezzar until after that battle, and, having remained so for three years only, then rebelled. This rebellion led to Nebuchadnezzar’s siege and capture of Jerusalem in Jehoiachin’s brief reign of three months. All that can be said is that we have in Daniel 1:1-2 , a certain chronological error, but that it is conceivable that when Nebuchadnezzar ‘came up’ ( 2 Kings 24:1 ) and Jehoiakim submitted, a siege may have preceded capitulation, and a carrying off to Babylon both of prisoners and of some vessels of the Lord may have taken place in 602 or 601. Of this we have no certain confirmation, and it is more probable that the passage in Daniel 1:1 may be a heading containing inaccurate historical statements or late tradition prefixed by a scribe to the narrative of Daniel. in the house of his gods ] So A.V. and R.V. The original is ‘in the house of his Elohim’. ‘Elohim’ may be rendered either as ‘God’ or ‘gods’ according as the context requires.

King Cyrus, moreover, caused those sacred vessels of the temple which had been carried away by Nebuchadnezzar to be brought forth, and delivered them by the hand of his treasurer to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah, for the use of the house of God which was about to be built. הוציא, to fetch out from the royal treasury. The "vessels of the house of Jahve" are the gold and silver vessels of the temple which Nebuchadnezzar, at the first taking of Jerusalem in the reign of Jehoiakim, carried away to Babylon, and lodged in the treasure-house of his god ( 2 Chronicles 36:7 and Daniel 1:2 ). For those which he took at its second conquest were broken up ( 2 Kings 24:13 ); and the other gold and silver goods which, as well as the large brazen implements, were taken at the third conquest, and the destruction of the temple ( 2 Kings 25:14 .; Jeremiah 52:18 .), would hardly have been preserved by the Chaldeans, but rather made use of as valuable booty.