Ezra 4:16 - Exposition

Thou shalt have no portion on this side the river . It is not quite clear whether the river intended here and in Ezra 4:10 is the Euphrates or the Jordan. Generally in the Old Testament hannahar means the Euphrates, but the exaggeration is gross if that river was intended here. Only twice in their history had the Israelites advanced their frontier as far as that stream—under Solomon ( 1 Kings 4:21 ) and under Menahem ( 2 Kings 15:16 ); in their present depressed condition it was absurd to imagine that they could rival those early glories. But jealousy does not stop to weigh the reasonableness of its accusations.