Ezra 8 commentary

EZRA 8 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
1
These are the family heads and those registered
with them who came up with me from Babylon
during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
GILL, "These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of
them,.... Which follows from hence to the end of Ezr_8:14,
that went up with me from Babylon; with Ezra the priest and scribe, the writer of
this book:
in the reign of Artaxerxes the king; that is, Darius Hystaspis, in the seventh year of
his reign, see Ezr_7:1, though many think Artaxerxes Longimanus is meant.
HE RY, "Ezra, having received his commission from the king, beats up for
volunteers, as it were, sets up an ensign to assemble the outcasts of Israel and the
dispersed of Judah, Isa_11:12. “Whoever of the sons of Sion, that swell with the
daughters of Babylon, is disposed to go to Jerusalem, now that the temple there is
finished and the temple-service set a-going, now is their time.” Now one would think
that under such a leader, with such encouragements, all the Jews should at length have
shaken themselves from their dust, and loosed the bands of their neck, according to that
call, Isa_52:1, Isa_52:2, etc. I wonder how any of them could read that chapter and yet
stay behind. But multitudes did. They loved their ease better than their religion, thought
themselves well off where they were, and either believed not that Jerusalem would better
their condition or durst not go thither through any difficulties. But here we are told,
JAMISO , "Ezr_8:1-14. Ezra’s companions from Babylon.
this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon — The
number given here amounts to 1754. But this is the register of adult males only, and as
there were women and children also (Ezr_8:21), the whole caravan may be considered as
comprising between six thousand and seven thousand.
K&D, "A list of those heads of houses who returned with Ezra from Babylon to
Jerusalem. Compare the parallel list, 1 Esdr. 8:28-40. - Ezr_8:1 The tithe: ”These are the

heads of the houses, and (this is) their genealogy, who went up with me.” ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יה‬ ֵ‫ּת‬‫ב‬ ֲ‫א‬ ‫י‬ ֵ‫אשׁ‬ ָ‫ר‬ for
‫ם‬ ֶ‫יה‬ ֵ‫ּת‬‫ב‬ ֲ‫ית־א‬ ֵ ‫י‬ ֵ‫אשׁ‬ ָ‫,ר‬ as frequently. ‫ם‬ ָ‫שׂ‬ ְ‫ח‬ַ‫י‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫ה‬ְ‫,ו‬ “and their genealogy,” is added, because in the list
following the heads of the different houses are not merely enumerated according to their
own names, but the names of the races to which they belonged are also stated.
COFFMA , "Verse 1
FURTHER DETAILS OF EZRA'S JOUR EY TO JERUSALEM;
THE LIST OF FAMILIES; CHIEF ME ; WITH THE UMBERS OF
RETUR EES
" ow these are the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of them
that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: of the sons
of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of lthamar, Daniel, Of the sons of David,
Hattush. Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him
were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty. Of the sons of Pahath-
moab, EUe. hoenai the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males. Of the
sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males. And of
the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males. And of the
sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males. And of the
sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael; and with him fourscore males. Of
the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen
males. And of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him a hundred
and threescore males. And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai; and
with him twenty and eight males. And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of
Hakkatan; and with him a hundred and ten males. And of the sons of Adonikam,
that were the last: and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and
with them threescore males. And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with
them seventy males."
This list is parallel with that of Ezra 3:3-19, and there are many similarities.
Generally, the same family names appear in both lists, although not in the same
order. "The numbers here are much smaller, never reaching even a third of the
totals in the other list, and sometimes falling below one twelfth."[1] Only in Ezra 8:5
(Shecaniah), Ezra 8:9 (Joab) and Ezra 8:10 (Shelomith) do we find new families
mentioned; and two of these are disputed.
The authenticity of his list has been challenged; but Bowman mentioned that, "It
has also been defended, and that it fits."[2] "The reliability of this list is also
supported by its appearance with only slight variations in 1 Esdras 8:28-40."[3]
The whole number of those accompanying Ezra on this journey, including the
Levites and ethinim finally recruited by Ezra, was placed at 1,773 males.
Rawlinson placed the total number, including women and children, at about 9,000,
estimating five per family.[4] Wlliamson, however, estimated the total number as
"some 5,000."[5]

The most remarkable name in the whole list is that of Hattush the son of
Schechaniah. "Beyond any reasonable doubt, he was the descendant of David (1
Chronicles 3:22), through Shemaiah; and he was Zerubbabel's great-great-
grandson."[6]
BE SO , "That went up with me from Babylon — Multitudes of the Jews, who
loved their ease better than their religion, thinking themselves well where they were,
and either not believing that Jerusalem would better their condition, or being
deterred by a prospect of the difficulties they might meet with on their journey,
preferred staying in Babylon. Some, however, willingly offered themselves to go
with Ezra, and the heads of their several families are here recorded for their
honour, and the number of males that each brought in, amounting in all to one
thousand four hundred and ninety- six.
LA GE, "B.—EZRA’S OW DOCUME TARY REPORT
Ezra 8:1-36
I. Respecting his Companions. Ezra 8:1-14
1These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went
up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king 2 Of the sons of
Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush 3
Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were
reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty 4 Of the sons of Pahath-
moab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males 5 Of the sons
of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males 6 Of the sons
also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males 7 And of the sons
of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males 8 And of the sons
of Shephatiah: Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males 9 Of the
sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen
males 10 And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him a
hundred and threescore males 11 And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of
Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males 12 And of the sons of Azgad: Johanan
the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males 13 And of the last sons
of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them
threescore males 14 Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them
seventy males.
LA GE, "Ezra 8:1-14. The register of those heads of families who went up to
Jerusalem with Ezra is here inserted as a second important document. It originated
from Ezra himself, as the use of the first person in Ezra 8:1 shows; it is the
foundation on which his narrative of his journey and activity in Jerusalem rests. It
is distinguished from the register in chap 2 by giving not only the names of the

families to which those returning belonged, but also the heads themselves of those
households who returned. It is as if they became gradually more and more conscious
that the existence of the Jewish congregation no longer depended upon nationality,
but the free resolution of individuals, that the individual accordingly, that especially
the deciding heads of households had an entirely different significance from ever
before, and that this their significance might be exhibited by their express mention
by name in the sacred history. That the names of families here almost exclusively,
yea, if we accept the very natural emendation in Ezra 8:3; Ezra 8:5; Ezra 8:10, are
without exception the same as those that occurred already in chap2, is explained
simply from the fact that of the families which returned with Zerubbabel,
households had still remained behind in Babylon, which now with Ezra followed
their relatives; and that this very relationship might have been decisive for the
resolution to go up with Ezra. It is worthy of note that in this emigration just twelve
families were represented. In connection with the importance then ascribed to the
number twelve (comp. Ezra 2:1 sq.; Ezra 6:17; Ezra 8:35) Bertheau finds it
probable that Ezra’s company was to be a representation of the congregation of
Israel in its totality.—In Ezra 8:28-36 are found some other deviations, which now
perhaps are worthy of consideration. As regards the sum total of those who
returned with Ezra, it amounted to one thousand four hundred and ninety-six men
and fifteen heads according to the Massoretic text; but according to Esdras one
thousand six hundred and ninety men and thirteen heads without counting the
priests and sons of David, whose number is not given, and in comparison with the
number of the rest was perhaps but small, since Zerubbabel had already led back
with him a relatively large number of priests and sons of David. In the numerical
signs corruption might easily creep in, and we must leave it undecided, which
statements are more correct.
Ezra 8:1. These are now the heads of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them
that went up.—= ‫ֶם‬‫ה‬‫י‬ֵ‫ֹת‬ ‫ב‬ֲ‫ֵית־א‬‫ב‬ ‫י‬ ֵ‫אשׁ‬ ָ‫ר‬ ‫ם‬ֶ‫ית‬ֵ‫ֹת‬ ‫ב‬ֲ‫א‬ ‫י‬ֵ‫אשׁ‬ ָ‫,ר‬ not only here but usually, house of
their fathers=their household. The head of the house of their father=the head of the
household. In a household, however, the sons are often again fathers, without their
forming on this account households of their own. Thus often many fathers belong to
the household, and under a common head of the household. Thus the head of the
father’s houses can easily be head of fathers. The suffix of ‫ֶם‬‫ה‬‫י‬ֵ‫ֹת‬ ‫ב‬ֲ‫א‬ refers without
doubt to the totality, that Isaiah, to the children of Israel. ‫ַשׂ‬‫ח‬ַ‫י‬ְ‫ִת‬‫ה‬ is first “record
itself;” then the “register of families” Isaiah, however, sometimes used for the family
itself. It is here added, because the name of the heads of households is to be followed
by the name of the family to which they belonged.
2
of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom; of the

descendants of Ithamar, Daniel; of the
descendants of David, Hattush
BAR ES, "Punctuate as follows:
Ezr_8:2. ... of the sons of David, Hattush of the sons of Shechaniah.
Ezr_8:3. Of the sons of Pharosh, Zechariah ....
Hattush, the descendant of David, was the grandson of Shechaniah (see marginal
reference).
Most of these names Ezr_8:2-14 occur also as those of heads of families in the list of
the Jews who returned with Zerubbabel Ezr_2:3-15. The Septuagint and Syriac versions
supply omissions in Ezr_8:5, Ezr_8:10.
CLARKE, "Gershom - One of the descendants of Phinehas, son of Eliazar.
GILL, "Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel,....
Not Daniel the prophet, he was of the royal blood, and of the tribe of Judah; this was a
priest, a descendant of Ithamar, as Gershom was of Eleazar in the line of Phinehas:
of the sons of David; Hattush; perhaps the same with him in 1Ch_3:22, who was a
descendant of David the king; these three men seem to have come alone without any of
their families, at least they are not mentioned, nor their numbers given, as the rest that
follow be.
HE RY, "That some offered themselves willingly to go with Ezra. The heads of the
several families are here named, for their honour, and the numbers of the males that
each brought in, amounting in all to 1496. Two priests are named (Ezr_8:2) and one of
the sons of David; but, it should seem, they came without their families, probably
intending to see how they liked Jerusalem and then either to send for their families or
return to them as they saw cause. Several of their families, or clans, here named, we had
before, ch. 2. Some went up from them at that time, more went up now, as God inclined
their hearts; some were called into the vineyard at the third hour, others not till the
eleventh, yet even those were not rejected. But here we read of the last sons of Adonikam
(Ezr_8:13), which some understand to their dispraise, that they were the last that
enlisted themselves under Ezra; I rather understand it to their honour, that now all the
sons of that family returned and none staid behind.
K&D, "Ezr_8:2
Priests and descendants of David. Of priests, Gershom of the sons of Phinehas, and
Daniel of the sons of Ithamar. Gershom and Daniel are the names of heads of priestly
houses, and “sons of Phinehas and sons of Ithamar” designations of races. Phinehas was

the son of the high priest Eleazar, the son of Aaron, and Ithamar a younger son of Aaron,
1Ch_6:4 and 1Ch_6:3. This does not signify that only the two priests Gershom and
Daniel went up with Ezra; for in Ezr_8:24 he chose twelve from among the chief of the
priests, who went up with him, to have charge of the gifts (Bertheau). The meaning is,
that Gershom and Daniel, two heads of priestly houses, went up, and that the house of
Gershom belonged to the race of Phinehas, and that of Daniel to the race of Ithamar. A
Daniel is named among the priests in Neh_10:7, but whether he is identical with the
Daniel in question does not appear. Of the sons (descendants) of David (the king),
Hattush, as head of a house. A Hattush, son of Hashabniah, occurs Neh_3:10, and a
priest of this name Neh_10:5 and Neh_12:2. Hattush also holds the first place among
the sons of Shemaiah enumerated 1Ch_3:22, who probably were among the descendants
of David. It seems strange that the numbers neither of the priests nor of the sons of
David who went up with Ezra should be given, since from v. 3 onwards, in the case of the
houses of lay races, the numbers of those who returned to the home of their ancestors is
regularly stated.
ELLICOTT, "(2, 3) According to 1 Chronicles 3:22, Huttush was a descendant of
David, and grandson of Shechaniab. The difficulty of the text therefore may
probably be best solved by punctuating thus: “Of the sons of David. Hattush of the
sons of Shechaniab. Of the sons of Pharosh, Zechariah.”
LA GE, "Ezra 8:2. Here are first mentioned two heads of households of two
priestly families; of the family of Phineas, who was a son of Eleazar, thus a
grandson of Aaron, Gerson; and of the family of Ithamar, who was Aaron’s younger
son (comp 2 Chronicles30, 29), Daniel; whether the latter is identical with the one
mentioned in ehemiah 10:7 is uncertain. Both are to be regarded as accompanied
by their households; for in Ezra 8:24 Ezra is able to select from the priests who went
up with him, twelve to take care of the presents. Then follows a head of a household
of the family of David, without doubt the king David, namely, Hattush, possibly to
be identified with Hattush, the son of Hashaniah ( ehemiah 3:10), but to be
distinguished from the priest Hattush, ehemiah 10:5; ehemiah 12:2. It is
questionable, however, whether he is not more closely defined by the first words of
Ezra 8:3.
3
of the descendants of Shecaniah; of the
descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him
were registered 150 men;

CLARKE, "Of the sons of Shechaniah - There were three of this name; the
second is mentioned Ezr_8:6, and the third Ezr_10:2. They were all different persons, as
may be seen from their fathers’ houses.
GILL, "Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh,.... Who is so
described, to distinguish him from another Shechaniah, Ezr_8:5,
Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy, of the males an
hundred and fifty; males only were reckoned, not women and children; though that
there were such that went up is clear from Ezr_8:21, from hence to the end of Ezr_8:14
an account is given of the number of the males that went up with Ezra, who were chiefly,
if not altogether, sons of those that went up with Zerubbabel; such of them as were left
there behind, and now returned, at least a great number of them, see Ezr_2:1, it is
particularly remarked of the sons of Adonikam, Ezr_8:13, that they were the last of
them; not that they were the last that came in to go with Ezra, or were backward and
dilatory, but the last with respect to the first of his sons that were gone before, and seem
with them to be the whole of his family; the number of all that went up under their
respective heads amounts to 1496.
K&D, "Ezr_8:3-12
Twelve lay houses are named both in the present text and in 1 Esdr. 8:30-40. In ten
cases the names of the races, which are uniformly introduced with ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫,מ‬ are identical in
both texts, viz., Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Adin, Elam, Shephatiah, Joab, Bebai, Azgad,
Adonikam, and Bigvai. On the other hand, it appears surprising, 1st, that in the first
house mentioned, before the name ‫ה‬ָ‫י‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַ‫כ‬ְ‫,ז‬ besides “of the sons of Parosh,” we have also
‫ה‬ָ‫י‬ְ‫נ‬ ַ‫כ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫מ‬ (Ezr_8:3), while before all the other names we find only “of the sons of” one
individual; 2ndly, that in Ezr_8:5, after ‫ה‬ָ‫י‬ְ‫נ‬ ַ‫כ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ , instead of a name of the head of a
house, only Ben Jahaziel follows; 3rdly, that in Ezr_8:10 also, after ‫ית‬ ִ‫ּומ‬‫ל‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫,וּמ‬ we have
merely Ben Josiphiah, the names themselves being apparently omitted in these two last
cases. This conjecture is corroborated by a comparison with the lxx and 1 Esdr. 8, which
shows, moreover, that it is not the personal name of the head of the house, but the name
of the race, which has been lost. For ‫יחזיאל‬ ‫בן‬ ‫שׁכניה‬ ‫,מבני‬ Ezr_8:5, we find in the lxx ᅊπᆵ
τራν υᅷራν Ζαθόης Ζεχενίας υᅷᆵς ᅒζιήλ, and in 1 Esdr. 8:32, ᅚκ τራν υᅷራν Ζαθόης Σεχενίας
ᅾεζήλου; and for ‫יוספיה‬ ‫בן‬ ‫שׁלומית‬ ‫,ומבני‬ Ezr_8:10, in the lxx καᆳ ᅊπᆵ τራν υᅷራν Βαανί Σελιµοᆷθ
υᅷᆵς ᅾωσεφία, and in 1 Esdr. 8:36, ᅚκ τራν υᅷራν Βανίας Σαλιµᆹθ ᅾωσαφίου. In Ζαθόης and
Βαανί (Βανίας) we recognise ‫וּא‬ ַ‫ז‬ and ‫י‬ִ‫נ‬ ָ of Ezr_2:8 and Ezr_2:10. Hence the text of Ezr_
8:5 needs emendation, and should run ‫ה‬ָ‫י‬ְ‫נ‬ ַ‫כ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ‫וּא‬ ַ‫ז‬ ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫,מ‬ and that of Ezr_8:10, ‫ית‬ ִ‫ּומ‬‫ל‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ‫י‬ִ‫נ‬ ָ‫ב‬ ‫י‬ִ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫וּמ‬
. It is more difficult to decide concerning ‫ה‬ָ‫י‬ְ‫נ‬ ַ‫כ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫מ‬ of Ezr_8:3, though undoubtedly we
have here too a corruption of the text. For, first, there is no other instance in the whole

list of the sons of two men being cited before the proper name of the house; and then,
too, the absence of the ‫ו‬ copulative before ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫מ‬ ‫פ‬ is opposed to the notion that the house
of Zechariah was formed by a union of the sons of Shecaniah and Parosh, since in this
case the and could not be omitted. It is true that we have in the lxx ᅊπᆵ υᅷራν Σαχανία καᆳ
ᅊπᆵ υᅷራν Φόρος; but in this case the καᆳ is certainly derived from the translator, who was
thus seeking to make sense of the words. In 1 Esdr. 8 we read ∆αττοᆷς τοሞ Σεχευίου; and
∆αττοᆷς corresponding with ‫וּשׁ‬ ַ‫,ח‬ the words ‫שׁכניה‬ ‫בני‬ (or ‫)בן‬ are taken into the preceding
verse. This treatment of the words Bertheau considers correct, because Hattush in 1Ch_
3:22 is reckoned among the descendants of Shecaniah. This conjecture is, however, a
very doubtful one. For, first, in 1Ch_3:22 Hattush is said to be of the sons of Shemaiah,
and Shemaiah of the sons of Shecaniah; then we should as little expect any further
statement in the case of Hattush as in the cases of Daniel and Gershom; and further, if
he had been thus more precisely designated by naming his father, we should
undoubtedly read ‫ה‬ָ‫י‬ְ‫נ‬ ַ‫כ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ‫ן‬ ֶ , not ‫שׁ‬ ‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ִ‫,מ‬ and thus the Masoretic text would at any rate be
incorrect; and finally, 1 Esdras, where it differs from the lxx, is, generally speaking, no
critical authority upon which to base safe conclusions. Under these circumstances, we
must give up the hope of restoring the original text, and explaining the words ‫שׁבניה‬ ‫.מבני‬
‫שׂ‬ ֵ‫ח‬ַ‫י‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫ה‬ ‫ּו‬ ִ‫,ע‬ “and with Zechariah, his genealogy of 150 males,” i.e., with him his race,
consisting of 150 males, registered in the genealogy of the race. In the case of the names
which follow, the number only is given after the briefer expression ‫ּו‬ ִ‫.ע‬
A review, then, of the twelve races, according to the restoration of the original text in
Ezr_8:5 and Ezr_8:10, presents us with names already occurring in the list of the races
who came from Babylon with Zerubbabel, Ezr_2:3-15, with the exception of the sons of
Joab, Ezr_8:9, who are wanting in Ezra 2, where, on the other hand, several other races
are enumerated. Bertheau seeks to identify the sons of Joab, Ezr_8:9, with the sons of
Joab who in Ezr_2:6 are reckoned with the sons of Pahath-Moab, and to explain their
special enumeration in the present list, by the conjecture that the one house
subsequently separated into the two houses of Pahath-Moab and Joab, This is, indeed,
possible; but it is quite a probable that only one portion or branch of the sons
(descendants) of Joab was combined with the race of the sons of Pahath-Moab, and that
the rest of the bne Joab formed a separate house, no family of which returned with
Zerubbabel. The occurrence of the other races in both lists is to be explained by the
circumstance that portions of them returned with Zerubbabel, and that the rest did not
follow till Ezra's departure.
LA GE, "Ezra 8:3. Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh.—The twice-
repeated ‫ֵי‬‫נ‬ְ‫בּ‬ִ‫מ‬ following one another and unconnected is striking. The Sept. has
supplied an “and” before the second, so that it designates at once two families as
such to which the head of household next following belongs. But this is certainly
only to improve the text which was at that time just the same as ours. Esdras, on the
other hand, has Λαθοὺς τοῦ Σεχενιόυ, since it renders the ‫ַטּוּשׁ‬‫ח‬ of Ezra 8:2 by
Λαθούς, attached ‫ָה‬‫י‬ְ‫נ‬ַ‫כ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ‫ֵי‬‫נ‬ְ‫בּ‬ִ‫מ‬ of verse 3 as a much closer definition, and besides read
the singular ‫ֵן‬‫בּ‬ for ‫ֵי‬‫נ‬ְ‫בּ‬ִ‫מ‬. It is very probable that there has been a corruption of the
text in this passage, and the conjecture that Esdras makes recommends itself all the

more that ‫ַטּוּשׁ‬‫ח‬ in 1 Chronicles 3:22 is adduced as a son of Shemaiah, and therewith
also is a grandson of Shechaniah [so Rawlinson.—Tr.] Accordingly we have left in
Ezra 8:3 only the family of Pharosh, as such, to which Zechariah with his household
belonged. The next clause we may translate: And with him belonged genealogically
one hundred and fifty men, since ‫התיחשׂ‬ is taken as preterit, and the singular is
explained from the fact that it precedes the verb. ‫התיחשׂ‬ might, however, be a noun,
so that the sense would be: and with a family, ‫ים‬ ִ‫ָר‬‫כ‬ְ‫ז‬ִ‫ל‬ = of men.
4
of the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai
son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men;
GILL 3-14, "Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh,.... Who is so
described, to distinguish him from another Shechaniah, Ezr_8:5,
Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy, of the males an
hundred and fifty; males only were reckoned, not women and children; though that
there were such that went up is clear from Ezr_8:21, from hence to the end of Ezr_8:14
an account is given of the number of the males that went up with Ezra, who were chiefly,
if not altogether, sons of those that went up with Zerubbabel; such of them as were left
there behind, and now returned, at least a great number of them, see Ezr_2:1, it is
particularly remarked of the sons of Adonikam, Ezr_8:13, that they were the last of
them; not that they were the last that came in to go with Ezra, or were backward and
dilatory, but the last with respect to the first of his sons that were gone before, and seem
with them to be the whole of his family; the number of all that went up under their
respective heads amounts to 1496.
5
of the descendants of Zattu, [22] Shecaniah son of
Jahaziel, and with him 300 men;

ELLICOTT, "(5) The son of Janaziel.—Obviously a name is omitted. The LXX.
have, “of the sons of Zattu, Shechaniah,” before Jahaziel.
LA GE, "Ezra 8:5. Of the sons of Shechaniah the son of Jahaziel.—It is singular
that the son of Jahaziel is not mentioned by name. The Sept. has ἀπὸ τῶν ὑιῶν
Σαυόης Σεχενίας ὑιὸς ’Αζιήλ, and Ezra 8:32 essentially the same Ζαθόης seems. to
be the same as ‫ַתּוּא‬‫ז‬, Ezra 2:8. Thus the Sept. and Esdras seem to have read ‫,מבניזתוא‬
so that it is to be translated: of the children of Zattu, Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel
[so Rawlinson.—Tr.]
6
of the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan,
and with him 50 men;
7
of the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of
Athaliah, and with him 70 men;
8
of the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of
Michael, and with him 80 men;
9
of the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel,
and with him 218 men;
LA GE, "Ezra 8:9. Here the sons of Joab are treated as a particular family, whilst
in Ezra 2:6 they are counted with the sons of Jeshua as of the family of Pahath-
Moab. Probably only a few of them belonged to those who returned under
Zerubbabel, so that they were then not counted with that family with which they

were nearest related, although the number of the children of Pahath-Moab, in
consequence of this, became rather large.
10
of the descendants of Bani, [23] Shelomith son of
Josiphiah, and with him 160 men;
ELLICOTT, "(10) Here also a name is wanting. The LXX. have, “of the sons of
Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah.”
LA GE, "Ezra 8:10. Here the Masoretic text has: of the sons of Shelomith the son
of Josiphiah.—It is the same as in Ezra 8:5, according to the Sept. and Esdras, and
we are to read: Of the sons of Bani (comp. Ezra 2:10) Shelomith, the son of
Josiphiah [so Rawlinson.—Tr.].
11
of the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of
Bebai, and with him 28 men;
12
of the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of
Hakkatan, and with him 110 men;
13
of the descendants of Adonikam, the last ones,
whose names were Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah,
and with them 60 men;

K&D, "Ezr_8:13
The addition ‫ים‬ִ‫ּנ‬‫ר‬ ֲ‫ח‬ፍ, last (comp. 2Sa_19:12), is thus explained by J. H. Mich.: respectu
eorum qui primum cum Zorobabele sub Cyro in patriam redierunt c. ii. 13. Bertheau,
however, considers this explanation untenable, because ‫אחרנים‬ stands in the present
series only with the sons of Adonikam, while it is nevertheless certain, that many
families belonging also to other races than this had returned with Zerubbabel, in
comparison with whom all who returned with Ezra might be called last. This reason,
however, is not conclusive; for in Ezr_8:13 the further statement also differs, both in
form and matter, from those in the former verses. Here, instead of the name of the head
of the house, we read the words “last, and these their names;” whereupon three names
are given, and not till then ‫וגו‬ ‫ם‬ ֶ‫ה‬ ָ ִ‫ע‬ְ‫,ו‬ “and with them sixty males.” Here, then, it is not the
head of the house who is named, but in his place three heads of families, amounting
together to sixty males. Now, as these three families did not form a house, these sixty
sons of Adonikam who returned with Ezra are, with regard to the six hundred and sixty-
six sons of Adonikam who returned with Zerubbabel, designated the last, or last arrived,
and thus comprised with them as one house.
ELLICOTT, "13) And of the last sons.—The younger branches, the elder being
reported in Ezra 2:13.
LA GE, "Ezra 8:13. And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these,
Eliphelet, etc.—It is strange that a common head of a household should be
mentioned first. Keil supposes that the sons of Adonikam, here referred to, because
they did not constitute a proper father’s house, are embraced together with the sons
of Adonikam, who returned under Zerubbabel, and distinguished from the latter as
‫ִים‬‫נ‬ֹ ‫ֲר‬‫ח‬‫.אַ‬ But all the new comers here mentioned would have united with their fellow-
members of the same families who already dwelt in Judah from the time of
Zerubbabel. Besides the reference to those who previously returned is so entirely
without support that ‫אחרנים‬ cannot well be explained from it. Perhaps the meaning
is: not a first-born of the first line, who as such would have been head of the father’s
house, but only a later born, none of whom had the dignity of a head of a father’s
house, but only that of subordinate heads of families. Accordingly only lesser
divisions of that father’s house went up with Ezra. Thus would ‫אחרנים‬ be explained
from the same circumstance from which the name of a common head of a household
fails. It is true we must then suppose that ‫אחרנים‬ had gained such a general sense in
itself that it had become a technical term for those later born.
14
of the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur,

and with them 70 men.
K&D, "Ezr_8:14
Of the sons of Bigvai also two heads are named, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them
seventy males. In 1 Esdr. 8:40, the names Uthai and Zabbud are corrupted into Οᆒθᆳ ᆇ
τοሞ ᅾσταλκούρου. The total number of individuals belonging to these twelve races, who
returned with Ezra, amounts, according to the Hebrew text, to 1496 males and fifteen
heads; according to 1 Esdras, to 1690 males, and the thirteen heads of the twelve races,
without reckoning the priests and sons of David, whose numbers are not stated.
LA GE, "Ezra 8:14. Instead of one head of the sons of Bigvai, two are mentioned,
Uthai and Zabbud, yet not as later born sons, but as it seems as real heads of
father’s houses. The author of Esdras8:40 has οὐθί ὁ τοῦ ’Ισταλκόυρου, so that it
might be asked, whether the two names are not to be reduced to one.
15
I assembled them at the canal that flows toward
Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I
checked among the people and the priests, I found
no Levites there.
BAR ES, "Ahava was both a town and a river Ezr_8:21. The modern name of the
place is Hit. It is famous for its bitumen springs, and is situated on the Euphrates, at a
distance of about 80 miles from Babylon, toward the northwest.
None of the sons of Levi - The Levites appear to have been disinclined to return to
Jerusalem (see Ezr_3:8 note).

CLARKE, "The river that runneth to Ahava - Ahava was a river itself, which is
supposed to be the same that is called Diava or Adiava, in the province of Adiabene; and
perhaps the place whence the people of Ava came who were brought by the king of
Assyria to Palestine, 2Ki_17:24.
None of the sons of Levi - None that were simply Levites. He found priests, and
they were sons of Levi; but no Levites that were not priests.
GILL, "And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava,....
From whence also the river bore the same name; or that from the river, see Ezr_8:21,
and may be the same with Adiabene, a country in Assyria, which had its name from the
river Adiava:
and there abode we in tents three days; or pitched their camp; this was the place
of their rendezvous:
and I viewed the people and the priests; mustered them, took the number of them,
and what tribe and families they were of:
and found there none of the sons of Levi; excepting the priests.
HE RY 15-20. "That the Levites who went in this company were in a manner
pressed into the service. Ezra appointed a general rendezvous of all his company at a
certain place upon new-year's day, the first day of the first month. Ezr_7:9. Then and
there he took a view of them, and mustered them, and (which was strange) found there
none of the sons of Levi, Ezr_8:15. Some priests there were, but no others that were
Levites. Where was the spirit of that sacred tribe? Ezra, a priest, like Moses proclaims,
Who is on the Lord's side? They, unlike to Levi, shrink, and desire to abide among the
sheep-folds to hear the bleatings of the flock. Synagogues we suppose they had in
Babylon, in which they prayed, and preached, and kept sabbaths (and, when they could
not have better, they had reason to be thankful for them); but now that the temple at
Jerusalem was opened, to the service of which they were ordained, they ought to have
preferred the gates of Zion before all those synagogues. It is upon record here, to their
reproach; but tell it not in Gath. Ezra, when he observed that he had no Levites in his
retinue, was much at a loss. He had money enough for the service of the temple, but
wanted men. The king and princes had more than done their part, but the sons of Levi
had not half done theirs. Eleven men, chief men, and men of understanding, he chooses
out of his company, to be employed for the filling up of this lamentable vacancy; and
here we are informed, 1. Of their being sent. Ezra sent them to a proper place, where
there as a college of Levites, the place Casiphia, probably a street or square in Babylon
allowed for that purpose - Silver Street one may call it, for ceseph signifies silver. He
sent them to a proper person, to Iddo, the chief president of the college, not to urge him
to come himself (we will suppose him to be old and unfit for such a remove), but to send
some of the juniors, ministers for the house of our God, Ezr_8:17. The furnishing of
God's house with good ministers is a good work, which will redound to the comfort and
credit of all that have a hand in it. 2. Of their success. They did not return without their
errand, but, though the warning was short, they brought about forty Levites to attend

Ezra, Sherebiah, noted as a very intelligent man, and eighteen with him (Ezr_8:18).
Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah, and twenty with them, Ezr_8:19. By this it appears that they
were not averse to go, but were slothful and inattentive, and only wanted to be called
upon and excited to go. What a pity it is that good men should omit a good work, merely
for want of being spoken to! What a pity that they should need it, but, if they do, what a
pity that they should be left without it! Of the Nethinim, the servitors of the sacred
college, the species infima - the lowest order of the temple ministers, more appeared
forward to go than of the Levites themselves. Of them 220, upon this hasty summons,
enlisted themselves, and had the honour to be expressed by name in Ezra's muster-roll,
Ezr_8:20. “Thus,” says Ezra, “were we furnished with Levites, by the good hand of our
God upon us.” If, where ministers have been wanting, the vacancies are well supplied, let
God have the glory, and his good hand be acknowledged as qualifying them for the
service, inclining them to it, and then opening a door of opportunity for them.
JAMISO , "Ezr_8:15-20. He sends to Iddo for ministers for the Temple sevice.
I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava — This river has
not been ascertained. It is probable that the Ahava was one of the streams or numerous
canals of Mesopotamia communicating with the Euphrates [Cyclopaedia of Biblical
Literature]. But it was certainly in Babylonia on the banks of that stream; and perhaps
the place appointed for general rendezvous was in the neighborhood of a town of the
same name. The emigrants encamped there for three days, according to Oriental custom,
while the preparations for the departure were being completed and Ezra was arranging
the order of the caravan.
I ... found there none of the sons of Levi — that is, the ordinary Levites.
Notwithstanding the privilege of exemption from all taxes granted to persons engaged in
the temple service, none of the Levitical tribes were induced to join the settlement in
Jerusalem; and it was even not without difficulty Ezra persuaded some of the priestly
families to accompany him.
K&D, "Account of the journey. - Ezr_8:15 The assembling of the expedition. When
the Israelites who were about to return to Jerusalem had assembled, and were ready for
starting, Ezra perceived that there were no Levites among them. He then sent for certain
chief men among them, and by means of the influence of Iddo, the chief at the place
Casiphia, induced a number of Levites and Nethinim to determine on joining the
expedition (Ezr_8:15). He then proclaimed a fast at the place of meeting, for the purpose
of supplicating God to grant them a prosperous journey (Ezr_8:21).
Ezr_8:15-17
The travellers assembled at the river Ahava, where they encamped three days. In Ezr_
8:15 the river is designated ‫א‬ָ‫ו‬ ֲ‫ה‬ፍ‫ל־‬ ֶ‫א‬ ‫א‬ ָ ַ‫,ה‬ i.e., either which comes (flows) towards Ahava,
or flows into Ahava; in Ezr_8:21 it is more briefly called ‫א‬ָ‫ו‬ ֲ‫ה‬ፍ ‫ר‬ ָ‫ה‬ָ‫,נ‬ and in Ezr_8:31 ‫א‬ָ‫ו‬ ֲ‫ה‬ፍ
‫ר‬ ַ‫ה‬ְ‫,נ‬ which may mean the river of Ahava, of the region or district called Ahava, or, after
the analogy of ‫ת‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ ‫ר‬ ַ‫ה‬ְ‫,נ‬ merely the river of the name of Ahava. It is doubtful which of
these meanings is correct, the name Ahava being still unexplained. Comp. the various
conjectures in A. G. F. Schirmer, observationes exeg. crit. in libr. Esdrae, Vratisl. 1820,
p. 28ff. The connection points to a place or district in the neighbourhood of Babylon;
hence Bertheau is inclined to regard Ahava as a tributary or canal of the Euphrates,

flowing through a place, perhaps only a field or open space, of the same name, in the
immediate neighbourhood of Babylon; while Ewald supposes it may be the river
somewhat to the west or south of Euphrates, called by the Greeks Pallacopas, whose
situation would suit the context, and whose name might arise from ‫אהוא‬ ‫,פלג‬ the river
Ahwa or Aba. The lxx gives the name Εᆒί; in 1 Esdr. 8:40 and 61 we find Θερά, evidently
a false reading. Josephus says quite generally, εᅶς τᆵ πέραν τοሞ Εύφράτου. - When Ezra,
during the three days' encampment at this place, directed his attention to the people and
the priests ( ְ‫ב‬ ‫ין‬ ִ‫ב‬ ֵ‫,ה‬ to give heed, Neh_13:7; Dan_9:23, and elsewhere), he found no
Levites among those who had assembled. Ezr_8:16 He then sent several chief men to
Iddo, the chief man in the place Casiphia, to beg him and his brethren to bring him
servants for the house of God. The lxx translates ְ‫ל‬ ‫ה‬ ָ‫ח‬ ְ‫ל‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫,א‬ “I sent to (or for) Eliezer,” etc.,
which would mean to fetch them: “that I might then send them to Iddo.” The Vulgate, on
the other hand, and many expositors, understand ְ‫ל‬ as nota accus., like 2Ch_17:7, which
is simpler. Of the nine men here designated as ‫ים‬ ִ‫אשׁ‬ ָ‫,ר‬ the names of Eliezer, Shemaiah,
Jarib, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam occur again in Ezr_10:15, Ezr_10:18-31,
though we cannot certainly infer the identify of those who bear them. The appellation
‫ים‬ ִ‫אשׁ‬ ָ‫ר‬ does not determine whether they belonged to the priesthood or laity. The two
remaining are called ‫ים‬ִ‫ינ‬ ִ‫ב‬ ְ‫,מ‬ teachers; comp. Neh_8:7, Neh_8:9; 1Ch_15:22; 1Ch_25:8,
and elsewhere. Although this word is, in the passages cited, used of Levites, yet we
cannot suppose those here named to have been teaching Levites, because, according to
Ezr_8:16, there were as yet no Levites amongst the assemblage; hence, too, they could
not be teachers properly so called, but only men of wisdom and understanding. The
Chethiv ‫ואוצאה‬ must be read ‫ה‬ፎ ִ‫ּוצ‬‫א‬ָ‫:ו‬ I sent them to (‫ל‬ ַ‫,ע‬ according to later usage, for ‫ל‬ ֶ‫;)א‬
the Keri is ‫ה‬ֶ‫וּ‬ ַ‫צ‬ ֲ‫א‬ַ‫,ו‬ I despatched, sent them. Both readings suit the sense. The place
Casiphia is entirely unknown, but cannot have been far from the river Ahava. Caspia, the
region of the Caspian Sea, is out of the question, being far too remote. “I put words in
their mouth to speak to Iddo,” i.e., I told them exactly what they should say to Iddo;
comp. 2Sa_14:3, 2Sa_14:19. The words ‫ים‬ִ‫תוּנ‬ְ ַ‫ה‬ ‫יו‬ ִ‫ח‬ፎ ‫ּו‬ ִ‫א‬ give no intelligible meaning; for
‫יו‬ ִ‫ה‬ፎ we must, with the Vulgate, 1 Esdras, and others, read ‫יו‬ ָ‫ח‬ ֶ‫א‬ַ‫:ו‬ to Iddo and his brethren,
the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia. This would seem to say that Iddo was one of the
Nethinim. Such an inference is not, however, a necessary one; for the expression may
also, like “Zadok the (high) priest and his brethren, the (ordinary) priests,” 1Ch_16:39,
be understood to mean that Iddo, the chief man of that place, was a Levite, and that the
Nethinim were, as a lower order of temple servants, called brethren of Iddo the Levite.
The circumstance that not only Nethinim, but also Levites, were induced by Iddo to join
the expedition (Ezr_8:8), requires us thus to understand the words. ‫אל‬ ‫ית‬ ֵ‫ב‬ ְ‫ל‬ ‫ים‬ ִ‫ת‬ ְ‫ֽר‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫,מ‬
servants for the house of God, are Levites and Nethinim, the upper and lower orders of
the temple ministers. From Ezr_8:17 it appears that both Levites and Nethinim had
settled in the place Casiphia, and that Iddo, as the chief man of the place, held an
influential position among them. No further inferences, however, concerning their
settlement and employment can be drawn from this circumstance.
COFFMA , "Verse 15
A SECO D BEGI I G OF THE JOUR EY AT AHAVA

"And I gathered them together at the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we
encamped three days; and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there
none of the sons of Levi. Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for
Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for athan, and for Zechariah, and
for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were teachers.
And I sent them forth unto Iddo the chief of the place Casiphia; and I told them
what they should say unto Iddo, and his brethren the ethinim, at the place
Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of God. And
according to the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of
discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi the son of Israel; and Sherebiah with
his sons and his brethren, eighteen; and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the
sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; and of the ethinim, whom
David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and
twenty ethinim: all of them were mentioned by name."
"I gathered them together to the river than runneth to Ahava" (Ezra 8:15). Ezra's
company had already left Babylon on the first day of the month; and they were
delayed here until the twelfth day when the journey was resumed. Some time had
elapsed in their journey to this station, and there was more delay while Ezra
recruited the Levites and the ethinim.
"The river that runneth to Ahava" (Ezra 8:15) Several current scholars insist that
this place is unknown; but Rawlinson wrote that, "It is now generally identified
with the place IS in Herodotus (i. 179), a small stream flowing into the Euphrates
from the east, some eight days' journey from Babylon. This place is mentioned
under the slightly variant names of Ava and Ivah in 2 Kings 17:24; 19:13, and in the
Septuagint (LXX) under the name Aba ... the modern name is Hit.[7] This
information fully explains why the departure from Ahava was on the twelfth day of
the month. Eight days had been required for their journey to that place, and the
other four days were for recruiting the Levites.
Casiphia, also unknown, was evidently quite near this first way-station, otherwise,
more time would have been required for enlisting the Levites. "Ezra knew of a
settlement of Levites nearby at a place called Casiphia (the location of which is
unknown to us)."[8]
"I found there none of the sons of Levi" (Ezra 8:15). The difficulty in recruiting
Levites was probably due to the reduction of their status by the encroaching
activities of the post-exilic priesthood, whose criminal activity was so dramatically
exposed in the Book of Malachi, so terrible, in fact, that God even cursed them
(Malachi 2:1-2). The disaffection of the Levites is demonstrated by the fact that,
"Only 341 returned with Zerubbabel, compared with 4,289 priests."[9]
Regarding Ezra's determination to include Levites in his migration, Williamson
pointed out that, "Ezra regarded his company as `an ideal Israel,"[10] which of
course required the presence of Levites. "And as presented in the Book of Ezra, it

was a second exodus."[11]
"And of the ethinim ... two hundred twenty" (Ezra 8:20). The original ethinim
were the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:23).
COKE, "Verse 15
Ver. 15. Ahava— This was a river of Assyria, and, very probably, that which ran
along the Adiabene, where the river Diava, or Adiava, is known to be, and upon
which Ptolemy places the city of Abane, or Avano. Here, as some imagine, was the
country which, in the 2nd book of Kings, 2 Kings 17:24 is called Ava, whence the
king of Assyria translated the people called Avites into Palestine, and in their room
settled some of the captive Israelites. It was a common thing for those who travelled
from Babylon to Jerusalem, in order to avoid the scorching heat of the desart of
Arabia, to shape their course northward at first, and then, turning westward, to
pass through Syria into Palestine. But Ezra had a further reason for taking this
route; for, as he intended to get together as many Israelites as he could, to carry
along with him to Jerusalem, he took his course this way, and made a halt in the
country of Ava, or Ahava, from which place he might send emissaries into the
Caspian mountains, to invite such Jews as were there to come and join them. See
Calmet.
BE SO , "Ezra 8:15. To the river that runneth to Ahava — Or the river of Ahava,
as it is called, Ezra 8:21; Ezra 8:31. By comparing of these places, it seems that
Ahava was the name both of the river and of the town or place by which it ran.
Either this was that river of Assyria, which other writers call Adiava, or Diava,
which ran along the Adiabene, upon which Ptolemy places the city of Abane, or
Aavane; or some other river which ran into the Euphrates. Here, some imagine, was
the country which (2 Kings 17:24) is called Ava, from whence the king of Assyria
translated the people called Avites into Palestine, and in their room settled some of
the captive Israelites. It was a common thing for those who travelled from Babylon
to Jerusalem, in order to avoid the scorching heat of the desert of Arabia, to shape
their course northward at first, and then turning westward, to pass through Syria
into Palestine. But Ezra had a further reason for his taking this route; for, as he
intended to get together as many Israelites as he could, to carry along with him to
Jerusalem, he took his course this way, and made a halt in the country of Ava, or
Ahava, from whence he might send emissaries, to a place afterward mentioned, to
invite such Jews as were there to come and join him. See Calmet’s Dict. on the word
Ahava. And found there none of the sons of Levi — To wit, who were simple
Levites, and not priests; and therefore the Levites mentioned Ezra 7:7, by
anticipation, were not yet come to him.
CO STABLE, "Ezra 8:36. They delivered the king’s commissions to the
lieutenants, and they furthered the people — Even the enemies of the Jews became
their friends, yielded to Ezra’s commission, and, instead of hindering the people of
God, furthered them, purely out of complaisance to the king. When he appeared
moderate, they all coveted to appear so too. And the house of God — The
completion of which they furthered, adorning and furnishing it with these vessels

and other conveniences, and promoting God’s worship and service therein.
ELLICOTT, "(15) Ahava.—Both river and town. ine days’ journey brought them
thither; and there is a place now called Hit, about eighty miles from Babylon, which
has been identified with it.
one of the sons of Levi.—Only seventy-four had returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra
2:40); and hero we have evidence that the disinclination continued. The importance
of Levitcal service in the Temple accounts for the anxiety of Ezra.
LA GE, "II. Respecting a Rendering of this Band Complete. Ezra 8:15-20
15And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode
we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priest, and found there none
of the sons of Levi 16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for
Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for athan, and for Zechariah, and
for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding
17 And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia,
and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the ethinim,
at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our
God 18 And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of
understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and
Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; 19And Hashabiah, and with
him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; 20Also of
the ethinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the
Levites, two hundred and twenty ethinim: all of them were expressed by name.
LA GE, "Ezra 8:15-20. Above all Ezra was anxious to gain for the emigration some
persons capable of ministering in the worship. Ezra 8:15 is probably to be
translated: I gathered them together to the river, that runneth to Ahava, not that
floweth into the Ahava. Ahava is probably the name of a place or region, after
which the river there flowing was named; in Ezra 8:21 it occurs briefly as ‫ָא‬‫ו‬ֲ‫ה‬‫אַ‬ ‫ָר‬‫ה‬ָ‫נ‬,
and in Ezra 8:31‫ָא‬‫ו‬ֲ‫ה‬‫אַ‬ ‫ַר‬‫ה‬ְ‫נ‬, which is either: the river of Ahava; or also after the
analogy of the ‫ת‬ ָ‫ְר‬‫פּ‬ ‫ַר‬‫ה‬ְ‫נ‬, the river Ahava. Where we are to seek the river and region is
not known; probably, however, in the vicinity of Babylon; probably it is a tributary
or canal of the Euphrates, according to Ewald, Gesch. IV, S154, perhaps the
Pallacopas, in favor of which is certainly the name (‫אהוא‬ ‫,)פּלג‬ and indeed the more
northern, which lay more in a direction towards Canaan.[F 1]—And I viewed the
people.—Respecting the lengthened form by the addition of the ‫ָה‬‫נ‬‫ִי‬‫ב‬‫ָאָ‬‫ו‬,‫ה‬ here and
‫ָה‬‫ח‬ְ‫ל‬ ְ‫ש‬ֶ‫ָא‬‫ו‬ in ver16, comp. Ewald, § 232, g [Green, § 99, 3.—Tr.].
PETT, "Verses 15-20
Ezra Discovers That o Levites Have Joined The Returnees And Makes
Arrangements For Some To Join The Party (Ezra 8:15-20).

Gathering his party together at the Canal which runs to Ahava, which was probably
an important caravan junction (possibly Strabo’s ‘Scenae’), Ezra reviewed those
who were present, both of priests and of people, and discovered no Levites among
them. Possibly in view of the already small number of Levites who had previously
returned (Ezra 2:40), possibly in order to make the caravan a mirror image of the
Exodus (although he could hardly have used this as an argument in order to
persuade the Levites to go with him from their comfortable lives in Babylonia), and
probably because they would be needed to carry the Temple vessels, he then
proceeded to take measures in order to add some to his party.
Ezra 8:15
‘And I gathered them together to the river or canal) which runs to Ahava, and there
we encamped three days, and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there
none of the sons of Levi.’
Babylon itself was surrounded by rivers and canals, and this was probably a
recognised assembly spot for caravans. Some identify it with Strabo’s ‘Scenae’, an
important caravan junction near Babylon. Whilst they were encamped there ‘for
three days’ (i.e. a few days) Ezra, as caravan leader, reviewed the people and the
priests who were with him. ote the usual distinction between ‘people’ and ‘priests’.
‘Levites’ are notably missing as soon became obvious to Ezra.
16
So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah,
Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, athan, Zechariah
and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib
and Elnathan, who were men of learning,
GILL, "Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan,
and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for
Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of
understanding. These were all in the camp, in some part of it, to whom Ezra sent
messengers to come unto him; three of them are of the same name; the first nine were
men of chief note, rank, and dignity in their family, and the other two were noted for
men of good sense, and that could speak to a case well, and so fit to be sent on such an

affair as they were.
JAMISO , "then sent I for Eliezer ... with commandment unto Iddo the
chief — Ezra sent this deputation, either by virtue of authority which by his priestly
character he had over the Levites, or of the royal commission with which he was
invested. The deputation was dispatched to Iddo, who was a prince or chief of the
Nethinims - for the Persian government allowed the Hebrews during their exile to retain
their ecclesiastical government by their own chiefs, as well as to enjoy the privilege of
free worship. Iddo’s influence procured and brought to the camp at Ahava thirty-eight
Levites, and two hundred twenty Nethinims, the descendants of the Gibeonites, who
performed the servile duties of the temple.
BE SO , "Ezra 8:16. Then sent I for Eliezer, &c. — To come to me, and go along
with me to Jerusalem. He sent for these eleven persons, that he might employ them
in a message to a place where he knew there were a great many Levites, as it follows
in the next verse. Also for Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding — Who
seem to have had more knowledge than pious zeal for God and his house, and
solemn worship, which was confined to Jerusalem.
ELLICOTT, "(16) Men of understanding.—Teachers, and perhaps priests. These
were joined with nine chief men as a deputation to Iddo.
LA GE, "Ezra 8:16. The Sept. translates: And I sent to or for Elieser, etc. [so A.
V.]. This might mean in connection with Ezra 8:17 : I sent thither in order to have
him come and use him as a messenger to Iddo. We may, however, take the ְ‫ל‬ in this
later usage of the language with the Vulg. and many interpreters without hesitation,
as nota accus., according to 2 Chronicles 17:7, where it is used in this very way with
‫,שׁלח‬ thus: I sent Elieser, etc. The first name messengers were ‫ים‬ ִ‫אשׁ‬ ָ‫,ר‬ probably heads
of little communities; the remaining two ‫ִים‬‫נ‬‫ִי‬‫ב‬ְ‫מ‬, that Isaiah, teachers, ehemiah 8:7;
ehemiah 8:9; 1 Chronicles 15:22; 1 Chronicles 28:8, etc. Keil takes it in a more
general sense, judicious, prudent; but this is opposed by its connection with ‫ים‬ ִ‫אשׁ‬ ָ‫ר‬
and the circumstance that Ezra would have sent men who could make an impression
in accordance with their entire position. According to Ezra 8:15 these men did not
belong to the Levites, who usually carried on the office of instruction, comp. 1
Chronicles 15:22; 1 Chronicles 28:8, etc. But scholarship in the Scriptures might
have gradually become more widely diffused, especially in Babylon. It is possible,
also, that they were priests. In Ezra 10:15; Ezra 10:18-31, many of the names here
mentioned recur again; but probably different persons were meant there.
PETT, "Ezra 8:16
‘Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib,
and for Elnathan, and for athan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, (these
were) chief men. And for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were ‘men of discretion.’
oting the absence of Levites Ezra chose out some important men whom he could
send to remedy the need, for Levites would be required in order to carry the sacred
Temple vessels. It was to Levites that God had given that privilege in the Law of

Moses. ine of these were ‘chief men’, and therefore men of influence, and two were
‘men of discretion’. This last phrase may have been used to describe men who had a
special gift of friendly persuasion. If the idea was to see them as priests why did he
not follow his usual method of distinguishing people and priests? (In Ezra 8:18 a, a
Levite is a ‘man of discretion’). The importance of those in the delegation would be
in order to impress those to whom they were going. The necessity for ‘persuaders’
indicated the sensitivity of the task in hand. It is possible that the ‘men of discretion’
were in fact the Jarib (Joiarib is an alternative rendering of Jarib) and Elnathan
already mentioned but now defined. ote that there are two (or three) Elnathans
and one athan. athan means ‘given’, Elnathan ‘given by God’. It was probably a
popular name among the Exiles as indicating that even in their Exile God had not
forgotten them but had ‘given’ them heirs.
Of the nine men here designated as ‘chief men’, the names of Eliezer, Shemaiah,
Jarib, athan, Zechariah, and Meshullam occur again in Ezra 10:15; Ezra 10:18-31,
where they are connected with the taking of ‘foreign wives’, although we cannot
necessarily assume that they are the same men.
17
and I sent them to Iddo, the leader in Casiphia. I
told them what to say to Iddo and his kinsmen,
the temple servants in Casiphia, so that they
might bring attendants to us for the house of our
God.
BAR ES, "Casiphia - Its situation is wholly unknown; but it cannot have been far
from Ahava.
CLARKE, "At the place Casiphia - The most judicious commentators are agreed
that by Casiphia, the Caspian mountains, between Media and Hyrcania, are intended;
where, probably, the Nethinim were employed in working silver mines: ‫כסף‬ keseph, from
which the word comes, signifies silver.

GILL, "And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief, at the place
Casiphia,.... Not a place by the Caspian sea, and near the Caspian mountains, as
Munster, which was too far off to go and return in the time they must, see Ezr_7:9, but,
as Jarchi, a place in Babylon so called, a village near it, or a parish or street in it, where
Ezra knew lived many of the Levites and Nethinims, and where Iddo was the chief of the
Levites, and over them both:
and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the
Nethinims, at the place Casiphia; but Iddo was not one of the Nethinims; for he
was chief of the Levites, and by his authority many of them were sent as well as of the
Nethinims; but none of the latter were over the Levites, for they were servants to them,
Ezr_8:20, but, according to Jarchi, the Nethinims are not at all intended in this clause,
who reads the words:
to Iddo and Achim, (the name of a man with him; perhaps it may be better rendered,
"to Iddo and his brother",)
who were appointed, or settled, in the place Casiphia; and with him De Dieu
agrees, and so the Syriac version:
who dwelt in Casiphia: that they should bring unto us ministers for the
house of our God; both Levites to be singers and porters there, and the Nethinims to
wait on them.
COKE, "Verse 17
Ver. 17. Casiphia— It is not easy to guess what place this was. The text calls it
Casiphia the place. Some have taken it for the Caspian mountains situate between
Media and Hyrcania, in the mines of which these captive ethinims are supposed to
have been sent to work; if so, it is no wonder that they should be so ready to
embrace the benefit of the king's decree. The LXX render it a place of silver; for ‫ףּכס‬
keseph signifies silver.
BE SO , "Ezra 8:17. And I sent them unto Iddo the chief — Chief among the
Levites, who dwelt at the place here mentioned, and there had the free exercise of
their religion, as this and many other passages in this book plainly enough prove.
For we find the people resorting to Ezekiel in their captivity, and him preaching to
them the word of God, in many places of his book, particularly Ezekiel 33:30-31,
&c. And Ezra, in all likelihood, was an instructer among them, as Joiarib and
Elnathan also were, and Iddo, to whom these were sent. By which means many
proselytes were made, who left their own country, and came with them to Jerusalem
when they returned, Ezra 6:21. At the place Casiphia — It is not easy to guess what
place this was. The text calls it Casiphia the place. Some have taken it for the
Caspian mountains, situate between Media and Hyrcania. But certainly these must
have been at too great a distance from the road he was taking. Perhaps it was in
Parthia, where was a city called Caspi, known to the ancient geographers. The LXX.
render it, a place of silver, for ‫כס‬ Š, keseph, signifies silver. That they should bring

us ministers for the house of our God — The furnishing of God’s house with good
ministers is a good work, and which will redound to the comfort and credit of all
that have any hand it.
ELLICOTT, "(17) The place Casiphia.—Evidently near Ahavah, and a colony of
Jews presided over by Iddo, one of the humble race of the ethinims, but at present
chief under the Persians. Ezra was aware of their existence in these parts.
Ministers.—A term obviously including Levites and ethinims.
LA GE, "Ezra 8:17. And I sent them with commandment; thus the Qeri. According
to the Kethib, whether now the ‫ו‬ in ‫ִאָה‬‫צ‬‫ָאוֹ‬‫ו‬ be genuine, or first added by the
Masoretes, it is to be understood: I had them go forth, ‫ֹאשׁ‬ ‫ָר‬‫ה‬ ‫ִדּוֹ‬‫ע‬‫ַל־‬‫ע‬unto Iddo.—‫ַל‬‫ע‬,
according to later usage is for ‫ל־‬ֶ‫.א‬ What kind of a head or chief Iddo was, what
society he was of, whether merely religious, or also learned, why Ezra did not above
all seek to influence Iddo himself to the return to Palestine: all this we must leave
undetermined.—At the place Casiphia.—We know not, as a matter of course, how
we are to take the clause ‫ָקוֹם‬‫מּ‬ַ‫ח‬ ‫ָא‬‫י‬ְ‫פּ‬ְ‫ס‬ָ‫כ‬ְ‫בּ‬. The Sept. and Esdras have not regarded
‫כספיא‬ as a proper name. The former has ἐν ἀργυρίῳ τοῦ τόπου, and the latter makes
Iddo the head of the treasury without doubt in Babylon. It is probable, if it be a
place, it is one in the vicinity of Babylon and Ahava.—To his brethren, etc.— ‫ִיו‬‫ח‬‫אָ‬
‫ִים‬‫נ‬‫ְתוּ‬‫נּ‬ַ‫ה‬, which thus gives no sense, should probably be: to his brothers (the Levites)
and to the ethinim, namely, besides to himself, I ordered them to go; not to his
brothers, the ethinim [as A. V.]; for that Iddo himself was one of the ethinim is
improbable from his honorable position; that they, moreover, should be designated
as his brethren without any natural relationship would be against all analogy.—To
bring us ministers for the house of our God.—Those are especially meant who, when
they had performed the service in the house of God at the feasts, should be able
besides to instruct the people in the law.
PETT, "Ezra 8:17
‘And I sent them forth to Iddo the chief man at the place Casiphia, and I told them
what they should say to Iddo, his brothers, the ethinim, at the place Casiphia, that
they should bring unto us servants for the house of our God.’
These chief men were sent to ‘Iddo, the chief man at the place (maqowm) Casiphia’.
Casiphia was clearly a place where Ezra knew that many Levites would be found.
The word maqowm is regularly connected with sacred sanctuaries (see our
commentary on Deuteronomy 12), and here it is clear that it is a place where the
Levites were to be found in numbers, but seemingly not priests (otherwise they
would surely have been approached). It may suggest, not so much that Casiphia
contained a specific sanctuary (otherwise priests would have been there), but that
the Levites had made it a Levitical city so that it was seen as a place for gathering
for worship and religious guidance (note how the Levites participate in teaching and
prayer in ehemiah 8:7-8; ehemiah 9:4 ff.; etc.), especially now that so few priests
remained (note the number who had gone with Zerubbabel in chapter 2). Some

relate the name to ‘ceseph’ = silver, money, and 1 Esdras 8:45 has ‘the place of the
treasury’. LXX has literally ‘the rulers of the money of the place’ which indicates
the same idea. Thus it may also have been a place where tithes and/or freewill
offerings were gathered by the Levites in order to assist the poor and needy among
the exiles (see Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
‘To Iddo, his brothers, the ethinim’. In other words to Iddo, to his brothers the
Levites, and to the Temple servants, over all of whom Iddo was head. ‘Brother’ is
singular but must clearly be seen as a compound singular indicating his family of
brothers, or be repointed as a plural using the same consonantal text.
‘That they should bring unto us servants for the house of our God.’ That it says
‘they’ and not ‘he’ demonstrates that it was calling for voluntary response from the
Levites. It was an honoured service to which they were being called. They were to be
YHWH’s servants, His inheritance. And they would be needed in order to bear the
sacred Temple vessels. But we can understand why men who were free to live life as
they liked, balked at the idea of becoming restricted to lowly service in the Temple.
Exile would have given them a new perspective. This was no doubt why not one of
them had responded to Ezra’s original call.
‘Our God.’ The continual repetition of these words (see Ezra 8:18; Ezra 8:21-23;
Ezra 8:25; Ezra 8:30-31; Ezra 8:33) may suggest that Ezra was writing a report for
the eyes of king Artaxerxes, or his underlings, ‘our God’ being used in order to
make clear that it was the God of Israel to Whom they had been responsible, and on
behalf of Whom they had acted.
18
Because the gracious hand of our God was on us,
they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from
the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of
Israel, and Sherebiah's sons and brothers, 18
men;
BAR ES, "And Sherebiah - Either a name has fallen out before the words “a man
of understanding,” or the “and” here has crept into the text by accident. Sherebiah

appears among the most earnest of the Levites under Nehemiah (see the marginal
references).
GILL, "And by the good hand of our God upon us,.... Favouring their designs and
orders, protecting those that were sent, and inclining those they were sent to use their
interest and authority with those that were under them, and making them willing also to
agree to what was proposed to them:
they brought us a man of understanding of the sons of Mahli, the son of
Levi, the son of Israel; an Israelite, of the tribe of Levi, in the line of Mahli a son of
Merari, the third son of Levi:
and Sherebiah; or rather "even Sherebiah"; so Aben Ezra; for he is the understanding
man that is meant, and described by his pedigree:
with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; all together made this number.
K&D, "Ezr_8:18-19
The delegates sent to Iddo succeeded, through the gracious assistance of God (‫אל‬ ‫ד‬ַ‫י‬ ְ ,
see Ezr_7:6), in inducing forty Levites, and two hundred and twenty Nethinim, by
means of Iddo's influence, to join their fellow-countrymen in their journey to Jerusalem.
They brought to us ... ‫נוּ‬ ָ‫ל‬ and ‫ינוּ‬ ֵ‫ל‬ ָ‫ע‬ refer to Ezra and his fellow-travellers. ‫ל‬ ֶ‫כ‬ ֶ‫שׂ‬ ‫ישׁ‬ ִ‫,א‬ a man
of understanding, seems to be a proper name, being joined to Sherebiah, the name
following, by a ‫ו‬ copulative. He was one of the descendants of Mahli, the son, i.e.,
grandson, of Levi the son of Israel, i.e., Jacob: comp. Exo_6:16, Exo_6:19; 1Ch_6:4.
Sherebiah occurs again in Ezr_8:24, and Neh_8:7; Neh_9:4, etc., Ezr_10:13; 12:24. The
Levite Hashabiah, Ezr_10:19, is also named again, Ezr_8:24, Neh_10:2, and Neh_12:24,
while the name of the Levite Jeshaiah, on the contrary, is not again met with in the
books of either Ezra or Nehemiah.
BE SO , "Ezra 8:18. By the good hand of our God — That is, by the blessing of
God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, &c. — They did not return
without their errand; but, though the warning was short, they brought about forty
Levites to attend Ezra. By this it appears they were not averse to go, but were
slothful, and only wanted to be called upon to go.
ELLICOTT, "(18) A man of understanding.—Probably a proper name, Ishsekel.
This is required by the “and” before “Sherebiah,” who was a Levite, referred to by
ehemiah (Ezra 8:7).
LA GE, "Ezra 8:18. And they brought us.—‫וּ‬ִ‫ִיא‬‫ב‬ָ‫יּ‬ַ‫ו‬ is written with dagesh in ‫א‬ as
Genesis 43:26, as also ‫וּ‬ִ‫ִיא‬‫ב‬ָ‫,תּ‬ Leviticus 23:17, as then ‫ה‬ ‫ח‬ and ‫ע‬ sometimes occur with
dagesh, “quorum omnium ratio nota est in Arcanis Cabbalæ,” R. Mose bar
achman in Comm. upon Jezir fol61.—Under the gracious help of God (‫ָד‬‫י‬, as Ezra

7:6), and through the influence of Iddo, they gained forty Levites and two hundred
and twenty ethinim. first of all the ‫ֶל‬‫כ‬ ֶ‫שׂ‬ ‫ישׁ‬ִ‫א‬ (that this is a proper name is shown by
the ְ‫ו‬ before the following names), a descendant of Mahli, the grandson of Levi (
Exodus 6:16; Exodus 6:19; 1 Chronicles 6:4), then Sherebiah, who again occurs in
Ezra 8:24 and ehemiah 8:7; ehemiah 9:4; also ehemiah 10:13; ehemiah 12:24;
then in Ezra 8:19 Hashabiah, who likewise is again mentioned in Ezra 8:24;
ehemiah 10:12; ehemiah 12:24, and finally Jeshaiah, who does not again meet us
in Ezra or eh.; in Ezra 8:20 the ethinim, who had been appointed already by
Jeshua (comp. note on Ezra 2:43 sq.), then more definitely as it is here alone
mentioned, by David and the princes, that, Isaiah, the high officials, to perform the
heavier work for the Levites. The last words of Ezra 8:20 mean[F 2] according to 1
Chronicles 12:31; they were all expressed by name (particularly), namely, for the
going up with Ezra.
PETT, "Ezra 8:18
‘And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of
discretion, from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel,’
‘They brought us a man of discretion.’ Presumably the Levites and ethinim came
together in order to discuss who should respond to the call of God, for it was ‘they’
who, as a result of ‘the good hand of our God upon us’, brought to his
representatives a number of Levites and ethinim who were willing to respond to
his call. These were headed by a worthy man of ‘the sons of Mahli, who was the son
of Levi, who was the son of Israel’. The ‘son of Israel’ may simply signify ‘a true
Israelite’. Alternatively it might be seen as stressing his descent from the man who
was transformed as a result of meeting God at the Brook Jabbok as he journeyed to
the land of promise, (in the same way as they were proposing to do) when Jacob
became Israel (Genesis 32:28). Mahli was in fact a son of Merari, and grandson to
Levi (Exodus 6:19; umbers 3:20).
Ezra 8:18
‘ amely Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen,’
‘The man of discretion was unnamed, and as that is unlikely it presumably referred
to Sherebiah, the first named, who came with his sons and his kinsmen, numbering
eighteen in all. The name Sherebiah occurs regularly in Ezra/ ehemiah. See Ezra
8:24 where it refers to him as one of those to whom the treasures were entrusted for
the journey. Furthermore in ehemiah 8:7 a Sherebiah is one of the Levites who
taught the Law; in ehemiah 9:4-5 he participated in prayer and worship; and in
ehemiah 10:12 he was one of those who sealed ehemiah’s covenant, indicating his
important status. These references probably refer to this man. In ehemiah 12:8
there is a Sherebiah who was a chief of the Levites, who accompanied Zerubbabel,
possibly his grandfather.

19
and Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the
descendants of Merari, and his brothers and
nephews, 20 men.
GILL, "And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari,....
These were of the same division of Levites as Sherebiah:
his brethren and their sons, twenty; these thirty eight, with those they came with,
were all Levites; the Nethinims follow.
PETT, "Ezra 8:19
‘And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and
their sons, twenty,’
Along with Sherebiah came Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah, a Merarite, along
with his kinsmen and their sons. Hashabiah, like Sherebiah, was also the name of
one of those to whom gold was entrusted for the journey (Ezra 8:24). In ehemiah
3:17 a Hashabiah, who was a Levite, and was ruler over half of Keilah, worked on
the wall being built by ehemiah. In ehemiah 12:24 Hashabiah, a chief of the
Levites, along with Sherebiah and Jeshua, was of those who offered praise and
thanksgiving. These may all have been the same Heshabiah. But that Hashabiah was
a popular name comes out in its mention in 1 Chronicles 6:45; 1 Chronicles 9:14; 1
Chronicles 25:3; 1 Chronicles 27:17; 2 Chronicles 35:9; ehemiah 11:15; ehemiah
11:22; ehemiah 12:21.
This Jeshaiah and his kinsmen were ‘sons of Merari’ who was a son of Levi. The
name Jeshaiah is also found as the ‘son’ of Hananiah, who was the son of
Zerubbabel (1 Chronicles 3:21; as a "son" of Jeduthun, and like him a temple
musician (1 Chronicles 25:3; 1 Chronicles 25:15); as a Levite, ancestor of
Shelemoth, one of David's treasurers (1 Chronicles 26:25); as a descendant of Elam;
who went with Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 8:7); and as a Benjamite who
was the ancestor of Sallu in ehemiah 11:7.
So thirty eight Levites demonstrated their willingness to accompany Ezra which,
considering the short time being allowed, would have been very encouraging. (There
were apparently only nine days, that is from the first of the month to the twelfth of
the month, after taking into account the three days of review - Ezra 7:9; Ezra 8:15;
Ezra 8:21). They would be later be joining the Levites who had come up with

Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:40).
20
They also brought 220 of the temple servants--a
body that David and the officials had established
to assist the Levites. All were registered by name.
GILL, "Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed
for the service of the Levites,.... To wait upon them, and minister to them, as they
did to the priests; some think those were the same with the Gibeonites, whom Joshua
gave to the service of the sanctuary, and David confirmed; but others are of opinion
these were different from them, and an addition to them:
two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name; in
the history that Iddo sent of them to Ezra; and so the names of the Levites, t
K&D, "Ezr_8:20
With respect to the Nethinim, whom David and the princes (of Israel) had given for
the service of the Levites (i.e., made servants of the temple, to perform the lowest offices
for the Levites), comp. Jos_9:21 and Ezr_2:43. “They all were distinguished by name,”
i.e., were men of note; comp. remarks on 1Ch_12:31.
BE SO , "Ezra 8:20. Also of the ethinims, whom David and the princes had
appointed — The Gibeonites, who were devoted to the service of the Levites by
Joshua and the princes of his time, (Joshua 9:21,) and are said to have been
appointed by David and his princes, because they were confirmed by them in their
former office, and more particularly applied to the several services of the temple. Of
them two hundred and twenty, upon this hasty summons, listed themselves, and had
the honour to be expressed by name in Ezra’s muster-roll. This success Ezra
ascribes to the good hand of God upon them. If, where ministers have been wanting,
the vacancies are well supplied, let God have the glory, and his good hand,
qualifying them for the service, inclining them to it, and then opening a door of
opportunity for them.
ELLICOTT, "(20) The ethinims—It is here alone recorded that David appointed

these to aid the Levites.
All of them were expressed by name.— ot, as some think, that they were all
famous, but that Iddo sent their names in a list not given. The relief of their coming
is gratefully ascribed to the “good hand of our God upon us.”
PETT, "Ezra 8:20
‘And of the ethinim, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the
Levites, two hundred and twenty ethinim.’
Of the ethinim, who had been gifts of the Davidic house (‘David’ often indicates
the Davidic house) for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty
volunteered to go with Ezra. The large number may suggest that they felt that they
had little to lose, and they would be required to watch over the bearing of the
treasures as assistants to the Levites.
Ezra 8:20
‘All of them were mentioned by name.’
This probably indicates that the names of the volunteering Levites and ethinim
were listed, although it might have been by a public roll-call. To be mentioned by
name regularly indicated praise and approval. This mentioning by name explains
how we know their numbers, for as the priests had not been numbered we would
expect the same of the Levites. But that numbering was of those who, among other
factors, were available to guard the caravan. The naming and numbering here had
nothing to do with that. It was in respect of who was volunteering to go with Ezra to
Jerusalem. It will be noted that in umbers 1-4, whilst the Levites were excluded
from the numbering of the adult males for the purpose of being available to fight,
they are later numbered with regard to their service. So the same thing happens
here.
21
There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so
that we might humble ourselves before our God
and ask him for a safe journey for us and our
children, with all our possessions.

GILL, "Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava,.... After the
messengers to Iddo were returned with those they brought with them:
that we might afflict ourselves before our God; humble themselves before him for
their sins, confess them, and declare their repentance of them, and ask forgiveness for
them:
to seek of him a right way for us; to take from thence towards Jerusalem, to be
directed by him in it: either by a prophet, or by a vision in a dream, as Eben Ezra; or
rather by the guidance of his providence; this they sought in prayer by the river side,
where it had been usual with them, and since has been, to perform religious exercises,
see Eze_1:1, hence Tertullian (z) calls the prayers of the Jews "orationes littorales"; they
sought not so much which was the shortest and easiest way for them to travel in, as
which was the safest:
and for our little ones and for all our substance; for the safe conveyance of them;
this shows, that though males only are numbered, as before, yet they had their wives and
children with them; for little ones cannot be supposed without women to take care of
them.
HE RY, "Ezra has procured Levites to go along with him; but what will that avail,
unless he have God with him? That is therefore his chief care. In all our ways we must
acknowledge God, and in those particularly wherein we are endeavouring to serve the
interest of his kingdom among men. Ezra does so here. Observe,
The solemn application he made to God in that confidence: He proclaimed a fast,
Ezr_8:21. No doubt he had himself begged of God direction in this affair from the first
time he had it in his thoughts; but for public mercies public prayers must be made, that
all who are to share in the comfort of them may join in the request for them. Their
fasting was, 1. To express their humiliation. This he declares to be the intent and
meaning of it. “that we might afflict ourselves before our God for our sins, and so be
qualified for the pardon of them.” When we are entering upon any new condition of life
our care should be to bring none of the guilt of the sins of our former condition into it.
When we are in any imminent peril let us be sure to make our peace with God, and then
we are safe: nothing can do us any real hurt. 2. To excite their supplications. Prayer was
always joined with religious fasting. Their errand to the throne of grace was to seek of
God the right way, that is, to commit themselves to the guidance of the divine
Providence, to put themselves under the divine protection, and to beg of God to guide
and keep them in their journey and bring them safely to their journey's end. They were
strangers in the road, were to march through their enemies' countries, and had not a
pillar of cloud and fire to lead them, as their fathers had; but they believed that the
power and favour of God, and the ministration of his angels, would be to them instead of
that, and hoped by prayer to obtain divine assistance. Note, All our concerns about
ourselves, our families, and our estates, it is our wisdom and duty by prayer to commit
to God, and leave the care of with him, Phi_4:6.

JAMISO , "Ezr_8:21-36. A fast proclaimed.
Then I proclaimed a fast there — The dangers to travelling caravans from the
Bedouin Arabs that prowl through the desert were in ancient times as great as they still
are; and it seems that travelers usually sought the protection of a military escort. But
Ezra had spoken so much to the king of the sufficiency of the divine care of His people
that he would have blushed to apply for a guard of soldiers. Therefore he resolved that
his followers should, by a solemn act of fasting and prayer, commit themselves to the
Keeper of Israel. Their faith, considering the many and constant perils of a journey
across the Bedouin regions, must have been great, and it was rewarded by the enjoyment
of perfect safety during the whole way.
K&D, "Ezr_8:21-30
The last preparations for the journey. - Ezr_8:21 Then the company of fellow-
travellers was thus completed, Ezra proclaimed a fast at the place of meeting at the river
Ahava, “that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a prosperous
journey for ourselves, our families, and our goods,” Fasting, as a means of humbling
themselves before God, for the purpose of obtaining an answer to their petitions, was an
ancient custom with the Israelites: Jdg_20:26; 1Sa_7:6; Joe_1:14; 2Ch_20:3. ‫ה‬ ָ‫ר‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ְ‫י‬ ְ‫ך‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ , a
straight way, a way made level by the removal of obstructions, i.e., a prosperous journey;
comp. Psa_112:7. ‫ף‬ ַ‫,ט‬ a noun collective, properly the little children, more frequently
denoted the entire family, a man's wives and children; see remarks on Exo_12:37. ‫כוּשׁ‬ ְ‫,ר‬
possessions in cattle and other goods.
COFFMA , "Verse 21
EZRA PROCLAIMS A FAST FOR THREE DAYS
"Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves
before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for
all our substance. For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and
horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken unto the
king saying, The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him for good; but his
power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought
our God for this: and he was entreated of us."
"I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava" (Ezra 8:21). Ezra had good reason
behind this proclamation. Due to his previous remarks to the king, he was ashamed
to request a military escort to Jerusalem; and, since he was transporting a vast sum
of money, and as the way was always a dangerous one, he felt a special need of
God's protection.
Fasting, as a means of seeking God's favor, was a common practice in Israel; and
even in the ew Testament, Jesus prophesied that his followers would fast (Matthew
6:15; 8:14).

There was a long tradition in Israel that the rulers had the authority to proclaim a
fast; and one was even called by Jezebel (1 Kings 21:12).
"And he was entreated of us" (Ezra 8:23). Ezra wrote this after his safe arrival in
Jerusalem; but here he included this word that God had indeed answered their
prayers. As a consequence of their prayers, "The journey was successfully
accomplished, God's gracious protection delivering them from the bands of enemies
and marauders."[12]
COKE, "Ver. 21. I proclaimed a fast— They had the greater reason to do this,
because they carried with them things of considerable value, were apprehensive of
enemies who lay in wait for them, and were ashamed to ask any guard of the king,
who, being not much instructed in these matters, might possibly think, that what
they said of God's favour towards them, and the prophesies concerning their
restoration, were but vain boasts, if they should seem to distrust the power and
favour of that God of whom they had spoken so magnificently, by making
application to the king for his protection and defence. Rather, therefore, than give
any such umbrage, they were resolved to commit themselves entirely to God; but
then it was necessary that they should beseech that of him, which, without giving
offence, they could not request of the king. See Bishop Patrick.
BE SO , "Ezra 8:21. Then I proclaimed a fast there — Ezra had procured Levites
to go along with him, but what would that avail unless he had God with him? this is
therefore his chief care. o doubt he had himself begged of God direction in this
affair, from the first time he had it in his thoughts: but for public mercies, public
prayers must be made, that all who are to share in the comfort of them, may join in
requests for them. Thus, in all our ways we must acknowledge God, and in those
particularly wherein we are endeavouring to serve the interests of his kingdom
among men. That we might afflict ourselves before our God — For our sins, and so
be qualified for the pardon of them. When we are entering on any new condition of
life, our care should be to bring none of the guilt of the sins of our former condition
into it. When we are in any imminent peril, let us be sure to make our peace with
God, and then we are safe; nothing can do us any real hurt. To seek of him a right
way for us — A safe and prosperous journey; such a way and course as might be
best for us. And for our little ones, and for all our substance — They had the greater
reason to fast and pray, because they carried with them their little children,
treasures of gold and silver, and divers vessels, and other things, of very
considerable value, and were apprehensive of enemies, who would waylay them to
plunder them of their substance; namely, the Arabs, Samaritans, and others, against
whom they peculiarly needed the divine protection and aid.
CO STABLE, "The immigrants" spiritual preparation8:21-23
As is quite clear from these verses, Ezra sensed his great need for God"s help in the
dangerous trip that lay before them. This moved him to seek God"s favor in prayer.
Ezra 8:21 was the text of John Robinson"s last sermon at Leiden, etherlands,

before the Pilgrims sailed for the ew World in1620. [ ote: R. A. Bowman, "The
Book of Ezra and the Book of ehemiah ," in The Interpreter"s Bible, 3:632.]
Fasting enabled the people to give more time and concentration to their praying (cf.
ehemiah 1:4; Acts 13:3). Fasting facilitates prayer; it does not manipulate God.
Ezra"s primary concern, as these verses indicate, was God"s reputation.
"The refusal of an armed escort (historically surprising, given the amount of bullion
being transported) brought into play the same providence which was vouchsafed to
the ancestors in the wilderness ( Ezra 8:22)." [ ote: Blenkinsopp, "A Theological . .
.," p29.]
"It is well to affirm faith, as many Christians do regularly in the creeds. Yet it is
salutary to ask whether anything that one ever does actually requires faith." [ ote:
McConville, p58.]
ELLICOTT, "(21) To seek of him a right way for us.—The wilderness was now
before them, and an enemy, indefinitely referred to, was in the way: probably desert
tribes, always lying in wait for unprotected caravans.
Our little ones.—An intimation that whole households went up.
Our substance.—Chiefly the treasures for the Temple, though the term signifies
cattle and other goods, with an undertone of abundance.
LA GE, "III. Respecting the Preparation for the Journey, the Journey and Arrival
in Jerusalem. Ezra 8:21-36
21Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict
ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones,
and for all our substance 22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of
soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had
spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that 23
seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we
fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us 24 Then I
separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their
brethren with them, 25And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the
vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his
counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered: 26I even
weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels a
hundred talents, 27and of gold a hundred talents; Also twenty basins of gold, of a
thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold 28 And I said unto
them, Ye are holy unto the Lord; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the
gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers 29 Watch ye, and
keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and
chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord
30 So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the
vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God 31 Then we departed

from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem:
and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the
enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way 32 And we came to Jerusalem, and
abode there three days 33 ow on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the
vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah
the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was
Jozabad 34 the son of Jeshua, and oadiah the son of Binnui, Levites; By number
and 35by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time. Also the
children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity,
offered burnt-offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety
and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin-offering; all this
was a burnt-offering unto the Lord 36 And they delivered the kind’s commissions
unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they
furthered the people, and the house of God.
LA GE, "Ezra 8:21-30. The final preparation for the departure; at first the
arrangement of the feast. The fasting had the purpose of imploring from God a way
straight or level, free from hindrance, thus a prosperous journey. As an evidence of
a penitent self-humiliation, it contributed to gain the favor of Him who, since He is
throned on high, can only dwell among the lowly ( Isaiah 57:15), so already Judges
20:26; 1 Samuel 7:6; Joel 1:14; 1 Chronicles 20:3.
PETT, "Ezra 8:21
‘Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves
before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for
all our substance.’
The people who had gathered for the journey had had about twelve days to get
themselves organised for it, and towards the end of that period Ezra proclaimed a
fast where they were at the river Ahava so that they could humble themselves before
God, praying for their journey to be a safe one and to be relatively unhindered.
Fasting had always been a way of expressing humility and recognition of
unworthiness at difficult and dangerous times, and no more so than at this period
(compare Judges 20:26; 1 Samuel 7:6; Isaiah 58:3; Joel 1:8; Joel 1:14; Joel 2:12-17;
ehemiah 9:1; Esther 4:3; Esther 4:16). This is the first mention that we have of
‘little ones’ but it is a reminder that that all those who returned who were married
would have with them families and little ones. He was also concerned because he
knew that they were taking large amounts of gold and silver with them, to say
nothing of their own possessions. It was going to be a large caravan. Such a trip
always produced its own difficulties, and it was going to be a great temptation to
large bands of brigands, who tended to watch the trade routes. This may have been
one reason why the men of Israel had been ‘numbered’.

22
I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and
horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road,
because we had told the king, "The gracious hand
of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but
his great anger is against all who forsake him."
BAR ES, "What “enemy” menaced Ezra, and on what account, is wholly uncertain
(compare Ezr_8:31). Perhaps robber-tribes, Arab or Syrian, were his opponents.
CLARKE, "I was ashamed to require - a band - He had represented God, the
object of his worship, as supremely powerful, and as having the strongest affection for
his true followers: he could not, therefore, consistently with his declarations, ask a band
of soldiers from the king to protect them on the way, when they were going expressly to
rebuild the temple of Jehovah, and restore his worship. He therefore found it necessary
to seek the Lord by fasting and prayer, that they might have from Him those succours
without which they might become a prey to their enemies; and then the religion which
they professed would be considered by the heathen as false and vain. Thus we see that
this good man had more anxiety for the glory of God than for his own personal safety.
GILL, "For I was ashamed to require of the kings band of soldiers and
horsemen,.... Which he might have had, only asking for them; so great was the interest
he had in the king's favour:
to help us against the enemy in the way; the Arabs, Samaritans, and others, that
might lie in wait for them, to rob them of their substance:
because we had spoken unto the king: of the special favour of God to them, his
singular providence in the protection of them:
saying, the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; that pray
unto him, serve and worship him; his hand is open to them to bestow all needful good
upon them, temporal and spiritual, and his power and providence are over them, to
protect and defend them from all evil:
but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him; his word, his
ways and worship; his powerful wrath, or the strength and force of it, is exerted against
them and they are sure to feel the weight and dreadful effects of it: and now all this being

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