¹ sn In addition to the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, there are two deuterocanonical books that are also called “Ezra.” Exactly how these are designated varies in ancient literature. In the Septuagint (LXX) our Ezra is called Second Esdras, but in the Latin Vulgate it is called First Esdras. Our Nehemiah is called Third Esdras in some manuscripts of the LXX, but it is known as Second Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. (In the earliest LXX manuscripts Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as one book, as they were in some Hebrew manuscripts.) The deuterocanonical books of Ezra are called First and Fourth Esdras in the LXX, but Third and Fourth Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. The titles for the so-called books of Ezra are thus rather confusing, a fact that one must keep in mind when consulting this material.
²sn The first year of Cyrus would be ca. 538 BC. Cyrus reigned in Persia from ca. 538-529 BC.
³tn Heb “from the mouth of.” MT mippi should probably be emeded here to bepi (“in the mouth of”), which is the way the parallel passage in 2 Chr 36:22 reads.
⁴tn Heb “heart.”
⁵tn Heb “caused to pass.”
⁶tn Heb “a voice.”
⁷tn Heb “saying.”
⁸tn Heb “house.” So also often elsewhere in Ezra and Nehemiah.
⁹tn Heb “from all.”
¹⁰tn Heb “the men of his place.”
¹¹tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”
¹²tn Heb “strengthened their hands.”
¹³tn Instead of “with silver utensils” we should perhaps read “everywhere, with silver” (Heb., bakkol bakkesep). Cf. LXX.
¹⁴tn Heb “and he gave them.”
¹⁵tn Heb “brought them forth.”
¹⁶tn Heb “upon the hand of.”
¹⁷tn Heb “to Judah.”
¹⁸tn Heb “these are their number.”
¹⁹tn The exact meaning of the Heb. word ’agartele is a bit uncertain. The translation adopted above follows BDB in rendering the word as “basin,” but some interpreters understand the word to refer to a basket-shaped container of some sort.
²⁰tn The Heb. word mahalapim, rendered here as “knives,” is found only here in the OT. Its exact meaning is rather uncertain.
²¹tn The Heb. word misnim (“double,” “second”) is of uncertain meaning here. It may be, as BDB suggests, originally a numeral which has become garbled in the transmission process. The editor of BHS suggests emending the word to read mesunnim (“changed”).
¹sn The list of names and numbers in this chapter of Ezra has a parallel account in Neh 7:6-73. The fact that the two lists do not always agree in specific details suggests that various textual errors have crept into the accounts during the transmission process.
²tn Heb “the sons of.”
³tn Heb “men of the people of Israel.”
⁴tn Heb “the sons of.”
⁵tn Heb “to the sons of.” Cf. v. 40.
⁶tc Read weyoab (“and Joab”) rather than MT yoab (“Joab”).
⁷tc Read ’anse (“the men of”) rather than MT bene (“the sons of”). So also in vv. 25, 26, 33.
⁸tc Read ’anse bet (“men of the house of”) rather than MT bene (“the sons of”).
⁹tc Read ye`arim rather than MT `arim.
¹⁰tn Heb “the house of.”
¹¹tn Delete MT bene (“the sons of”).
¹²tc Read the qere “Shalmai” rather than MT kethib “Shamlai.”
¹³tn Heb “relate.”
¹⁴tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”
¹⁵tn Heb “their seed.”
¹⁶tc Read umin (“and from”) rather than MT umibbene (“and from the sons of”).
¹⁷tn Heb “their.”
¹⁸tn Heb “they were desecrated.”
¹⁹tn The Heb. word is tirsata’, apparently the title of a Persian governor in Judea (so BDB).
²⁰tn Heb “stood.”
²¹tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”
²²tn Heb “cause it to stand.”
²³tn Heb “according to their strength.”
²⁴tn The Hebrew word darkemonim (cf. Neh 7:69, 70, 71) is of uncertain meaning. It may be a Greek loanword meaning “drachmas,” which is the view adopted in the present translation. Others understand the word to be referring to the daric, a Persian gold coin.
²⁵sn The mina (Heb. manim, cf. Neh 7:71, 72) is a weight for valuable metals, equal to 1/60 of a talent according to BDB.
¹tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”
²tc Read with some medieval Heb. manuscripts and ancient versions be`arehem (“in their cities”), rather than MT be`arim (“in the cities”). Cf. Neh 7:72 [ET 73].
³tn The Heb. text includes “like one man.”
⁴tn Heb “to.”
⁵tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”
⁶tn Heb “written in.” Cf. v. 4.
⁷tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
⁸tn Heb “stood.”
⁹tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”
¹⁰tn Heb “they answered.”
¹¹tn Heb “great.”
¹²tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”
¹³tn Heb “with a great voice.”
¹tn Heb “the sons of the exile.”
²tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.” So also in v. 3.
³tc Read with the qere, a Qumran manuscript, LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Arabic version welo (“and him”) rather than the kethib of the MT welo’ (“and not”).
⁴tn Heb “not to you and to us.”
⁵tn Heb “the people of the land.”
⁶tn Heb “were making slack the hands of.”
⁷tn Heb “all the days of.”
⁸sn Darius ruled Persia ca. 521-485 BC.
⁹sn Ahasuerus, or Xerxes I, ruled ca. 485-464 BC.
¹⁰tc Read with the qere the plural rather than the singular of the kethib of the MT.
¹¹tc Delete MT uketab.
¹²sn The double reference in v. 7 to the Aramaic language is difficult. It would not make sense to say that the letter was written in Aramaic and then translated into Aramaic. Some interpreters understand the verse to mean that the letter was written in the Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language, but this does not seem to give sufficient attention to the participle “translated” at the end of the verse. The second reference to Aramaic in the verse is more probably a gloss that calls attention to the fact that the following verses retain the Aramaic language of the letter in its original linguistic form. A similar reference to Aramaic occurs in Dan 2:4b, where the language of that book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. Ezra 4:8-6:18 and 7:12-26 are written in Aramaic, whereas the rest of the book is written in Hebrew.
¹³tn Heb “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.
¹⁴tc Read with the ancient versions the plural bequryah (“in the cities”) rather than the singular (“in the city”) of MT.
¹⁵tn Heb “men of.”
¹⁶tn MT takes this word with the latter part of v. 11.
¹⁷tn Heb “of kings.”
¹⁸tn Heb “we eat the salt of the palace.”
¹⁹tn Heb “we have made known.”
²⁰tn Heb “the book of the minutes.”
²¹tn Heb “of your fathers.”
²²tn Heb “from olden days.” So also in v. 19.
²³tn Heb “will not be to you.”
²⁴tn Heb “peace.”
²⁵tn Heb “and they searched and found.”
²⁶tn Heb “until a command is issued from me.”
²⁷tn Heb “to Jerusalem against the Jews.”
²⁸tn Heb “by force and power,” a hendiadys.
¹tn Heb “who placed to you a command?” So also v. 9.
²tn The exact meaning of the Aramaic word ’ussarna’ here and in v. 9 is uncertain. LXX and Vg understand it to mean “wall.”
³tc Read with one medieval Heb. manuscript, LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta ’amaru rather than MT ’amarna’.
⁴tn Heb “the eye of God was on.”
⁵tn Heb “they did not stop them.”
⁶tn Heb “go.”
⁷tn Heb “all peace.”
⁸sn This great king of Israel would of course be Solomon.
⁹tn Heb “fathers.”
¹⁰tn The Heb. word is singular.
¹¹tn Heb “gave.”
¹²tn Heb “upon its place.”
¹³tn Heb “from then until now.”
¹tn Heb “the house of the archives.”
²tc Read bireta (“citadel”) rather than MT bebireta (“in the citadel”). MT has probably experienced dittography here.
³tc The Syriac Peshitta has “twenty” here.
⁴tn Heb “given.”
⁵tn Heb “house.”
⁶tc For “the work on this temple of God” LXX has “the servant of the Lord Zurababel.”
⁷tn Heb “according to the word of.”
⁸tn Heb “for this.”
⁹tn Heb “who sends forth his hand.”
¹⁰tn Heb “sent.”
¹¹tn Heb “in” or “by,” in the sense of accompaniment.
¹²sn The sixth year of the reign of Darius would be ca. 516 BC.
¹³tn Heb “sons of.”
¹⁴tn Heb “sons of the exile.”
¹⁵sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (4:8-6:18) back to Hebrew. Aramaic will again be used in Ezra 7:12-26.
¹⁶tn Heb “heart.”
¹⁷tn Heb “to strengthen their hands.”
¹sn If the Artaxerxes of Ezra 7:1 is Artaxerxes I Longimanus (ca. 464-423 BC), Ezra must have arrived in Jerusalem ca. 458 BC, since Ezra 7:7-8 connects the time of his arrival to the seventh year of the king. The arrival of Nehemiah is then linked to the twentieth year of the king (Neh 1:1), or ca. 445 BC. Some scholars, however, have suggested that Ezra 7:7 should be read as “the thirty-seventh year” rather than “the seventh year.” This would have Ezra coming to Jerusalem after, rather than before, the arrival of Nehemiah. Others have taken the seventh year of Ezra 7:7-8 to refer not to Artaxerxes I but to Artaxerxes II, who ruled ca. 404-358 BC. In this understanding Ezra would have returned to Jerusalem ca. 398 BC, a good many years after the return of Nehemiah. Neither of these views is certain, however, and it seems better to retain the traditional understanding of the chronological sequence of returns by Ezra and Nehemiah.
²tn The words “came up from Babylon” do not appear in the Heb. text until v. 6. They have been supplied here for the sake of clarity.
³tc Read the hiphil singular wayya`al (“he brought up”) rather than MT qal plural wayya`alu (“they came up”).
⁴tc Read yissad (he appointed”) rather than MT yesud (“foundation”).
⁵tn Heb “his heart.”
⁶tn Heb “this.”
⁷tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.
⁸sn Ezra 7:12-26 are written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.
⁹tn Heb “sent.”
¹⁰tn Heb “in your hand.”
¹¹tn Heb “find.”
¹²tc Read mesah battin rather than MT battin mesah.
¹³tn Heb “in your hand.”
¹⁴tc For MT sapetin (“judges”) LXX has grammateis (“scribes”).
¹⁵tc For MT ra’sim (“heads”) LXX has andras (“men”).
¹tn Heb “the heads of their families.”
²tc MT has here “from the sons of Shecaniah” with no descendant identified in what follows, contrary to the pattern of the context elsewhere. However, it seems better to understand the first phrase of v. 3 with the end of v. 2; the phrase would then modify the name “Hattush.” This understanding requires emending MT mibbene (“from the sons of”) to ben (“the son of”).
³tc MT lacks “of Zattu.” Cf. LXX.
⁴tc The Heb. text lacks “Bani.” It is restored on the basis of certain LXX manuscripts.
⁵tc Read with the qere, the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vg wezakkur (“and Zaccur”) rather than the kethib of MT wezabbud (“and Zabbud”).
⁶tn Heb “river.” So also in vv. 21, 31.
⁷tn Heb “I placed in their mouth words.”
⁸tc Read with LXX and Vg we’ehayw (“and his brethren”) rather than MT ’ahiyw (“his brother”).
⁹tn There is no “this” in the Heb. text, nor is there a verb after “Sherebiah.”
¹⁰tn Heb “his strength and his anger.” The expression is a hendiadys.
¹¹tc Read weserebyah wahasabyah (“and Sherebiah and Hashabiah”) rather than MT leserebyah hasabyah (“to Sherebiah Hashabiah”).
¹²tn Heb “upon their hand.”
¹³tn Heb “from the hand of the enemy and the lier-in-wait.”
¹⁴tn Heb “upon the hand of.”
¹tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
²tn “The people of the exile” reads simply “the exile” in the Hebrew text.
³tn Heb “I said.”
⁴tc MT lacks “and,” but see LXX and Vg.
⁵tn Heb “the kings of the lands.”
⁶tn Heb “according to a little moment.”
⁷tn Heb “a peg.”
⁸tn Heb “to cause to stand.”
⁹tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
¹⁰tn Heb “held back downwards from.”
¹¹tn Heb “this.”
¹tc Read with the qere, many medieval Heb. manuscripts, LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vg `elam (“Elam”) rather than MT `olam (“eternity”).
²tn Heb “we have given a dwelling to.” So also in vv. 14, 17, 18.
³tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
⁴tn Heb “upon this.”
⁵tn Heb “cut.”
⁶tn Heb “tremble at.”
⁷tc Read wayyalen (“and he stayed”) rather than MT wayyelek (“and he went”). Cf. LXX.
⁸tn Heb “voice.”
⁹tn Heb “they sent.”
¹⁰tn Heb “the peoples of the land.”
¹¹tn Heb “thus according to your word [singular = qere] concerning us, to do.”
¹²tn Heb “the time of the rains.”
¹³tc Read the hiphil singular wayyabdel lo (“separated for himself”) rather than the niphal plural wayyibbadelu (“were separated”) of MT.
¹⁴tn Heb “the heads of the fathers, to the house of their fathers, and all of them by name.”
¹⁵tn Heb “hand.”
¹⁶tc Read with many medieval Heb. manuscripts and ancient versions umibbene (“and from the sons of”) rather than MT ubene (“and the sons of”).
¹⁷tn The name “Bani” appears in both v. 29 and v. 34. One of these names has probably undergone alteration in the transmission process, but it is not clear exactly where the problem lies or how it should be corrected.
¹⁸tc Read umibbene binnuy (“and from the sons of Binnui”) rather than MT ubani ubinnuy (“and Bani and Binnui”).
¹⁹tn The final statement in v. 44 is difficult in terms of both its syntax and its meaning. The present translation attempts to make sense of the MT here. But the passage may have undergone corruption in the transmission process. One proposal is that we should emend the text to read “and they sent these wives and children away.”