Ezra 4:1-10 NIV

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezra 4:9

Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions ,.... who all signed the letter; namely, the governors of the following nations: the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites ; which were colonies from several parts of Chaldea, Media, and Persia, and were settled in the several cities of Samaria, as several of their names plainly show, as from... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezra 4:10

And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over ,.... The river Euphrates: and set in the cities of Samaria ; placed there in the room of the Israelites carried captive; this Asnappar was, according to Jarchi and others F12 Kimchi Sepher Shorash. fol. 166. 2. & Vajikra Rabba in ib. T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 94. 1. Sennacherib; but, with Grotius, Shalmaneser; rather he was Esarhaddon, the son of the former, and grandson of the latter; so Dr. Prideaux ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:1

Now when the adversaries - These were the Samaritans, and the different nations with which the kings of Assyria had peopled Israel, when they had carried the original inhabitants away into captivity, see Ezra 4:9 , Ezra 4:10 . read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:2

Let us build with you - We acknowledge the same God, are solicitous for his glory, and will gladly assist you in this work. But that they came with no friendly intention, the context proves. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:3

Ye have nothing to do with us - We cannot acknowledge you as worshippers of the true God, and cannot participate with you in anything that relates to his worship. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:4

Weakened the hands - Discouraged and opposed them by every possible means. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:5

Hired counsellors - They found means to corrupt some of the principal officers of the Persian court, so that the orders of Cyrus were not executed; or at least so slowly as to make them nearly ineffectual. Until the reign of Darius - This was probably Darius the son of Hystaspes. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:6

In the reign of Ahasuerus - This is the person who is called Cambyses by the Greeks. He reigned seven years and five months; and during the whole of that time the building of the temple was interrupted. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:7

In the days of Artaxerxes - After the death of Cambyses, one of the Magi named Oropaestus by Trogus Pompeius, Smerdis by Herodotus, Mardus by Aeschylus, and Sphendatates by Ctesias, usurped the empire, feigning himself to be Smerdis, the brother of Cambyses, who had been put to death. This is the person named Artaxerxes in the text: or, following the Hebrew, Artachshasta. It is generally believed, that from the time of Cyrus the great, Xerxes and Artaxerxes were names assumed by the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:8

Rehum the chancellor - With this verse the Chaldee part of the chapter begins; and the same language continues to the end of Ezra 6:18 . These men wrote to Darius in their own language; and the king in the same dialect returns an answer, chap. 5. This circumstance adds authenticity to what is written: so scrupulous was the inspired penman, that he not only gave the words which each spoke and wrote, but he gave them also in the very language in which they were conceived and in the... read more

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezra 4:9

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezra 4:10

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:1

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:2

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:3

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:6

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:7

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ezra 4:8

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