• We strive to be a place where there can be honest discussion, debate and fellowship. The rules are few so you can speak your mind. We know we are living in tough times and we hope to share answers and help with each other. Please join us.

LOOKING FOR EZRA

____________________________________________________________

  • Remember Eleazar the priest: HE TOOK A SPEAR AND HE KILLED THE ISRAELITE AND THE MIDIANITE WOMAN WHO WERE COMMITTING IMMORALITY IN FRONT OF ALL THE ISRAELITES WHEN THEY WERE WEEPING!

  • WITH ONE ACTION HE STOPPED THE SCOURGE AGAINST
ISRAEL AND YAH.WEH’S ANGER WENT AWAY!

  • BUT 24,000 DIED!

- WHAT ABOUT US?

____________________________________________________________

  • Many people think they read the Bible but when you listen to them, it is clear they don’t read it!
  • THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO READ THE BIBLE: TO TELL THE PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT YOU READ!
  • IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU MAKE MISTAKES!
  • YOU MUST DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN, THEN YOU WILL START TO LEARN ABOUT THE BIBLE!
____________________________________________________________
  • In Luke 19, Jesus tells us an interesting illustration about God’s kingdom!
  • An important man must go to a distant land to secure kingly power!
  • To his ten slaves he gives money to do business with it till he comes back!
  • When he comes back, he wants to know what his slaves have done with their business activity!
  • According to what they have done he gives them authority over cities!
  • BUT ONE SLAVE HASN’T DONE ANYTHING!
  • And he takes what he gave to this slave and gives it to the one who did the best job!
  • SO THOSE WHO HAVE MORE WILL BE GIVEN!
  • BUT THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE IT WILL BE TAKEN AWAY WHAT THEY HAVE!
  • What about you?

_______________________________________________________

  • Maybe you remember that Yah.weh prevented David from building his temple because he was a soldier and he spent a big part of his life making war!
  • Jesus clearly said a Christian can’t do that!
  • In fact, everything we hear in the first part of the Bible has nothing but nothing to do with what a Christian must or mustn’t do!
  • THUS WHEN PEOPLE USE THE FIRST PART OF THE BIBLE TO JUSTIFY ANY PRACTICE IS TOTALLY WRONG AND HAS NOTHING BUT NOTHING TO DO WITH JESUS’ TEACHING!
  • I CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE HOW IT IS POSSIBLE TO THINK ABOUT IT!
__________________________________________________________________________

EXODUS 3:15

YAH.WEH THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS – THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB – HAS SENT ME TO YOU.
THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER, AND THIS IS HOW I AM TO BE REMEMBERED IN EVERY GENERATION IN EVERY GENERATION.

__________________________________________________________________________

Jesus had siblings :

- Guess what: the Bible is the history of the Israelites!
- Each page tells you that!
- Each story tells you that!
- Each family tells you that!
- The book of Adam's story tells you that!

__________________________________________________________________________

  • Remember that Ezra restored the worship when he returned to Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon!
  • Remember that Ezra’s effective ministry included:
  • Teaching the Word of Yah.weh!
  • Initiating reforms!
  • Restoring worship!
  • Leading spiritual revival in Jerusalem!
  • Remember that Ezra’s goal was to implement the Torah!
  • Remember that his impeccable priestly and scribal credentials allowed him to remain the model leader!
__________________________________________________________________________

Remember:

  • If you think like today’s people, you will never understand the Bible!
  • They used to write differently!
  • They used to speak differently!
  • They used to think differently!
  • They used to act differently!
__________________________________________________________________________

Remember:

Biblical Hebrew has a very small number of words, about 8,000, and around 1,700 of those words are hapax legomena (being said once) in the Hebrew Bible. Modern Hebrew has about 100,000 words. For comparison modern English has over 450,000 words, and Spanish has just over 175,000 words. Standard English dictionaries typically have about 200,000 words, whereas Spanish dictionaries have about 80,000 words.

This means words often have multiple meanings determined by context.

Although yom is commonly rendered as day in English translations, the word yom can be used in different ways to refer to different time spans:


  • Point of time (a specific day)
  • time period of a whole or half a day:
    • Period of light (as contrasted with the period of darkness),
    • Sunrise to sunset
    • Sunset to next sunset
  • General term for time ( as in 'days of our lives')
  • A year "lived a lot of days"
  • Time period of unspecified length. "days and days"
__________________________________________________________________________

The Greek language is ranked as the richest in the world with 5 million words and 70 million word types. According to Dr. MacDonald, only 600,000 Greek words are used today, making the Greek vocabulary the largest in the world and 3.5 times bigger than the English vocabulary.

Though there are 138,607 words in the Greek New Testament, only 5,394 are unique.

__________________________________________________________________________
 
Ezra 3:7

They gave
וַיִּ֨תְּנוּ־ (way·yit·tə·nū-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

money
כֶ֔סֶף (ḵe·sep̄)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3701: Silver, money

to the masons
לַחֹצְבִ֖ים (la·ḥō·ṣə·ḇîm)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2672: To cut, carve, to hew, split, square, quarry, engrave

and carpenters,
וְלֶחָרָשִׁ֑ים (wə·le·ḥā·rā·šîm)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2796: A fabricator, any material

and food
וּמַאֲכָ֨ל (ū·ma·’ă·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3978: An eatable

and drink
וּמִשְׁתֶּ֜ה (ū·miš·teh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4960: Drink, drinking, a banquet, feast

and oil
וָשֶׁ֗מֶן (wā·še·men)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8081: Grease, liquid, richness

to the people of Sidon
לַצִּֽדֹנִים֙ (laṣ·ṣi·ḏō·nîm)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 6722: Sidonians -- an inhabitant of Sidon

and Tyre
וְלַצֹּרִ֔ים (wə·laṣ·ṣō·rîm)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6876: Tyrians -- inhabitants of Tyre

to bring
לְהָבִיא֩ (lə·hā·ḇî)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

cedar
אֲרָזִ֤ים (’ă·rā·zîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 730: A cedar tree

logs
עֲצֵ֨י (‘ă·ṣê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

Lebanon
הַלְּבָנוֹן֙ (hal·lə·ḇā·nō·wn)
Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3844: Lebanon -- a wooded mountain range on the northern border of Israel

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Joppa
יָפ֔וֹא (yā·p̄ō·w)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3305: Joppa -- a seaport city of Palestine

by sea,
יָ֣ם (yām)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3220: A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basin

as authorized
כְּרִשְׁי֛וֹן (kə·riš·yō·wn)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7558: Permission

by King
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

Cyrus
כּ֥וֹרֶשׁ (kō·w·reš)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3566: Cyrus -- a person king

of Persia.
פָּרַ֖ס (pā·ras)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6539: Persia -- a country in west Asia which conquered Babylon

  • So everything is organized to build Yah.weh’s house!
  • They put Yah.weh first!
  • But they used to put him last!
  • A new start!
  • But it’s not natural!
  • It’s necessary to learn how to do it!
  • And keep it!
  • It should be a lesson for us!
  • Yah.weh must be first!
  • Otherwise the door will be closed!
 
____________________________________________________________

  • Remember Eleazar the priest: HE TOOK A SPEAR AND HE KILLED THE ISRAELITE AND THE MIDIANITE WOMAN WHO WERE COMMITTING IMMORALITY IN FRONT OF ALL THE ISRAELITES WHEN THEY WERE WEEPING!

  • WITH ONE ACTION HE STOPPED THE SCOURGE AGAINST
ISRAEL AND YAH.WEH’S ANGER WENT AWAY!

  • BUT 24,000 DIED!

- WHAT ABOUT US?

____________________________________________________________

  • Many people think they read the Bible but when you listen to them, it is clear they don’t read it!
  • THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO READ THE BIBLE: TO TELL THE PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT YOU READ!
  • IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU MAKE MISTAKES!
  • YOU MUST DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN, THEN YOU WILL START TO LEARN ABOUT THE BIBLE!
____________________________________________________________
  • In Luke 19, Jesus tells us an interesting illustration about God’s kingdom!
  • An important man must go to a distant land to secure kingly power!
  • To his ten slaves he gives money to do business with it till he comes back!
  • When he comes back, he wants to know what his slaves have done with their business activity!
  • According to what they have done he gives them authority over cities!
  • BUT ONE SLAVE HASN’T DONE ANYTHING!
  • And he takes what he gave to this slave and gives it to the one who did the best job!
  • SO THOSE WHO HAVE MORE WILL BE GIVEN!
  • BUT THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE IT WILL BE TAKEN AWAY WHAT THEY HAVE!
  • What about you?

_______________________________________________________

  • Maybe you remember that Yah.weh prevented David from building his temple because he was a soldier and he spent a big part of his life making war!
  • Jesus clearly said a Christian can’t do that!
  • In fact, everything we hear in the first part of the Bible has nothing but nothing to do with what a Christian must or mustn’t do!
  • THUS WHEN PEOPLE USE THE FIRST PART OF THE BIBLE TO JUSTIFY ANY PRACTICE IS TOTALLY WRONG AND HAS NOTHING BUT NOTHING TO DO WITH JESUS’ TEACHING!
  • I CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE HOW IT IS POSSIBLE TO THINK ABOUT IT!
__________________________________________________________________________

EXODUS 3:15

YAH.WEH THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS – THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB – HAS SENT ME TO YOU.
THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER, AND THIS IS HOW I AM TO BE REMEMBERED IN EVERY GENERATION IN EVERY GENERATION.

__________________________________________________________________________

Jesus had siblings :

- Guess what: the Bible is the history of the Israelites!
- Each page tells you that!
- Each story tells you that!
- Each family tells you that!
- The book of Adam's story tells you that!

__________________________________________________________________________

  • Remember that Ezra restored the worship when he returned to Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon!
  • Remember that Ezra’s effective ministry included:
  • Teaching the Word of Yah.weh!
  • Initiating reforms!
  • Restoring worship!
  • Leading spiritual revival in Jerusalem!
  • Remember that Ezra’s goal was to implement the Torah!
  • Remember that his impeccable priestly and scribal credentials allowed him to remain the model leader!
__________________________________________________________________________

Remember:

  • If you think like today’s people, you will never understand the Bible!
  • They used to write differently!
  • They used to speak differently!
  • They used to think differently!
  • They used to act differently!
__________________________________________________________________________

Remember:

Biblical Hebrew has a very small number of words, about 8,000, and around 1,700 of those words are hapax legomena (being said once) in the Hebrew Bible. Modern Hebrew has about 100,000 words. For comparison modern English has over 450,000 words, and Spanish has just over 175,000 words. Standard English dictionaries typically have about 200,000 words, whereas Spanish dictionaries have about 80,000 words.

This means words often have multiple meanings determined by context.

Although yom is commonly rendered as day in English translations, the word yom can be used in different ways to refer to different time spans:


  • Point of time (a specific day)
  • time period of a whole or half a day:
    • Period of light (as contrasted with the period of darkness),
    • Sunrise to sunset
    • Sunset to next sunset
  • General term for time ( as in 'days of our lives')
  • A year "lived a lot of days"
  • Time period of unspecified length. "days and days"
__________________________________________________________________________

The Greek language is ranked as the richest in the world with 5 million words and 70 million word types. According to Dr. MacDonald, only 600,000 Greek words are used today, making the Greek vocabulary the largest in the world and 3.5 times bigger than the English vocabulary.

Though there are 138,607 words in the Greek New Testament, only 5,394 are unique.

__________________________________________________________________________
 
Ezra 3:8

In the second
הַשֵּׁנִ֗ית (haš·šê·nîṯ)
Article | Number - ordinal feminine singular
Strong's 8145: Second (an ordinal number)

month
בַּחֹ֖דֶשׁ (ba·ḥō·ḏeš)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2320: The new moon, a month

of the second
הַשֵּׁנִ֑י (haš·šê·nî)
Article | Number - ordinal masculine singular
Strong's 8145: Second (an ordinal number)

year
וּבַשָּׁנָ֣ה (ū·ḇaš·šā·nāh)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8141: A year

after they had arrived
לְבוֹאָ֞ם (lə·ḇō·w·’ām)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

at
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the house
בֵּ֤ית (bêṯ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of God
הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

in Jerusalem,
לִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם (lî·rū·šā·lim)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389: Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel

Zerubbabel
זְרֻבָּבֶ֣ל (zə·rub·bā·ḇel)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 2216: Zerubbabel -- 'begotten in Babylon', a leader of returning Israelite exiles

son
בֶּן־ (be·nōš-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Shealtiel,
שְׁ֠אַלְתִּיאֵל (’al·tî·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7597: Shealtiel -- 'I have asked of God', an Israelite name

Jeshua
וְיֵשׁ֨וּעַ (wə·yê·šū·a‘)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3442: Jeshua

son
בֶּן־ (ben-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Jozadak,
יֽוֹצָדָ֜ק (yō·w·ṣā·ḏāq)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3136: Jotsadak

and the rest
וּשְׁאָ֥ר (ū·šə·’ār)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7605: Rest, residue, remnant

of their associates
אֲחֵיהֶ֣ם ׀ (’ă·ḥê·hem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 251: A brother, )

including the priests,
הַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים (hak·kō·hă·nîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3548: Priest

the Levites,
וְהַלְוִיִּ֗ם (wə·hal·wî·yim)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 3881: Levites -- descendant of Levi

and all
וְכָל־ (wə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

who had returned
הַבָּאִים֙ (hab·bā·’îm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to Jerusalem
יְרֽוּשָׁלִַ֔ם (yə·rū·šā·lim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389: Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel

from the captivity,
מֵהַשְּׁבִ֣י (mê·haš·šə·ḇî)
Preposition-m, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7628: Exiled, captured, exile, booty

began [the work].
הֵחֵ֡לּוּ (hê·ḥêl·lū)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2490: To bore, to wound, to dissolve, to profane, to break, to begin, to play

They appointed
וַיַּעֲמִ֣ידוּ (way·ya·‘ă·mî·ḏū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5975: To stand, in various relations

Levites
הַלְוִיִּ֗ם (hal·wî·yim)
Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 3881: Levites -- descendant of Levi

twenty
עֶשְׂרִ֤ים (‘eś·rîm)
Number - common plural
Strong's 6242: Twenty, twentieth

years of age
מִבֶּ֨ן (mib·ben)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

or older
וָמַ֔עְלָה (wā·ma‘·lāh)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb | third person feminine singular
Strong's 4605: The upper part, with prefix upward, above, overhead, from the top

to supervise
לְנַצֵּ֖חַ (lə·naṣ·ṣê·aḥ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5329: To glitter from afar, to be eminent, to be permanent

the construction
מְלֶ֥אכֶת (mə·le·ḵeṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4399: Deputyship, ministry, employment, work, property

of the house
בֵּית־ (bêṯ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of the LORD.
יְהוָֽה׃ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

  • In the second month of the second year!
  • Quite a long time to wait!
  • They begin to work!
  • Levites are appointed to supervise the construction of the house of Yah.weh!
 
- First I don't teach people!

- I read the Bible and I tell people about what I learn!

- When they ask me questions, I try to answer them!

- When it is possible to have a discussion, we have a discussion!

- If you look at the titles of my threads, I speak about the books of the Bible and especially about the faithful servants of Yah.weh!

- When it is different, it is because many people repeat the same arguments without knowing so I have to show how it works!

- It is necessary to check!

- About John 1:1, it is necessary to check through the Gospel of John about the use of the definite article or not!

- About Jesus' siblings, it is necessary to check the vocabulary used and the context in the different Gospels!

- About the reality of translations, it is necessary to analyze them!

- Before publishing a message, I usually publish the same information connected to the usual mistakes people make!

- Or important facts which must be remembered!


____________________________________________________________

  • Remember Eleazar the priest: HE TOOK A SPEAR AND HE KILLED THE ISRAELITE AND THE MIDIANITE WOMAN WHO WERE COMMITTING IMMORALITY IN FRONT OF ALL THE ISRAELITES WHEN THEY WERE WEEPING!

  • WITH ONE ACTION HE STOPPED THE SCOURGE AGAINST
ISRAEL AND YAH.WEH’S ANGER WENT AWAY!

  • BUT 24,000 DIED!

- WHAT ABOUT US?

____________________________________________________________

  • Many people think they read the Bible but when you listen to them, it is clear they don’t read it!
  • THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO READ THE BIBLE: TO TELL THE PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT YOU READ!
  • IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU MAKE MISTAKES!
  • YOU MUST DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN, THEN YOU WILL START TO LEARN ABOUT THE BIBLE!
____________________________________________________________
  • In Luke 19, Jesus tells us an interesting illustration about God’s kingdom!
  • An important man must go to a distant land to secure kingly power!
  • To his ten slaves he gives money to do business with it till he comes back!
  • When he comes back, he wants to know what his slaves have done with their business activity!
  • According to what they have done he gives them authority over cities!
  • BUT ONE SLAVE HASN’T DONE ANYTHING!
  • And he takes what he gave to this slave and gives it to the one who did the best job!
  • SO THOSE WHO HAVE MORE WILL BE GIVEN!
  • BUT THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE IT WILL BE TAKEN AWAY WHAT THEY HAVE!
  • What about you?

_______________________________________________________

  • Maybe you remember that Yah.weh prevented David from building his temple because he was a soldier and he spent a big part of his life making war!
  • Jesus clearly said a Christian can’t do that!
  • In fact, everything we hear in the first part of the Bible has nothing but nothing to do with what a Christian must or mustn’t do!
  • THUS WHEN PEOPLE USE THE FIRST PART OF THE BIBLE TO JUSTIFY ANY PRACTICE IS TOTALLY WRONG AND HAS NOTHING BUT NOTHING TO DO WITH JESUS’ TEACHING!
  • I CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE HOW IT IS POSSIBLE TO THINK ABOUT IT!
__________________________________________________________________________

EXODUS 3:15

YAH.WEH THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS – THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB – HAS SENT ME TO YOU.
THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER, AND THIS IS HOW I AM TO BE REMEMBERED IN EVERY GENERATION IN EVERY GENERATION.

__________________________________________________________________________

Jesus had siblings :

- Guess what: the Bible is the history of the Israelites!
- Each page tells you that!
- Each story tells you that!
- Each family tells you that!
- The book of Adam's story tells you that!

__________________________________________________________________________

  • Remember that Ezra restored the worship when he returned to Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon!
  • Remember that Ezra’s effective ministry included:
  • Teaching the Word of Yah.weh!
  • Initiating reforms!
  • Restoring worship!
  • Leading spiritual revival in Jerusalem!
  • Remember that Ezra’s goal was to implement the Torah!
  • Remember that his impeccable priestly and scribal credentials allowed him to remain the model leader!
__________________________________________________________________________

Remember:

  • If you think like today’s people, you will never understand the Bible!
  • They used to write differently!
  • They used to speak differently!
  • They used to think differently!
  • They used to act differently!
__________________________________________________________________________

Remember:

Biblical Hebrew has a very small number of words, about 8,000, and around 1,700 of those words are hapax legomena (being said once) in the Hebrew Bible. Modern Hebrew has about 100,000 words. For comparison modern English has over 450,000 words, and Spanish has just over 175,000 words. Standard English dictionaries typically have about 200,000 words, whereas Spanish dictionaries have about 80,000 words.

This means words often have multiple meanings determined by context.

Although yom is commonly rendered as day in English translations, the word yom can be used in different ways to refer to different time spans:


  • Point of time (a specific day)
  • time period of a whole or half a day:
    • Period of light (as contrasted with the period of darkness),
    • Sunrise to sunset
    • Sunset to next sunset
  • General term for time ( as in 'days of our lives')
  • A year "lived a lot of days"
  • Time period of unspecified length. "days and days"
__________________________________________________________________________

The Greek language is ranked as the richest in the world with 5 million words and 70 million word types. According to Dr. MacDonald, only 600,000 Greek words are used today, making the Greek vocabulary the largest in the world and 3.5 times bigger than the English vocabulary.

Though there are 138,607 words in the Greek New Testament, only 5,394 are unique.

__________________________________________________________________________
 
Ezra 3:9

Jeshua
יֵשׁ֡וּעַ (yê·šū·a‘)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3442: Jeshua

and his sons
בָּנָ֣יו (bā·nāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

and brothers
וְ֠אֶחָיו (wə·’e·ḥāw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 251: A brother, )

joined
וַיַּעֲמֹ֣ד (way·ya·‘ă·mōḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5975: To stand, in various relations

together
כְּאֶחָ֔ד (kə·’e·ḥāḏ)
Preposition-k | Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

with Kadmiel
קַדְמִיאֵ֨ל (qaḏ·mî·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6934: Kadmiel -- 'God is the ancient one', a Levite name

and his sons,
וּבָנָ֤יו (ū·ḇā·nāw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

the descendants
בְּנֵֽי־ (bə·nê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Yehudah,
יְהוּדָה֙ (yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

[and with] the sons
בְּנֵי֙ (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Henadad
חֵֽנָדָ֔ד (ḥê·nā·ḏāḏ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 2582: Henadad -- a Levite

and their sons
בְּנֵיהֶ֥ם (bə·nê·hem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 1121: A son

and brothers—
וַאֲחֵיהֶ֖ם (wa·’ă·ḥê·hem)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 251: A brother, )

all Levites—
הַלְוִיִּֽם׃ (hal·wî·yim)
Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 3881: Levites -- descendant of Levi

to supervise
לְנַצֵּ֛חַ (lə·naṣ·ṣê·aḥ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5329: To glitter from afar, to be eminent, to be permanent

those working
עֹשֵׂ֥ה (‘ō·śêh)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6213: To do, make

on the house
בְּבֵ֣ית (bə·ḇêṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of God.
הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative


  • We are told about Levites!
  • Sons and brothers!
  • Who supervise the building of the house of Yah.weh!
  • Everything is under control!
 
Ezra 3:10

When the builders
הַבֹּנִ֖ים (hab·bō·nîm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 1129: To build

had laid the foundation
וְיִסְּד֥וּ (wə·yis·sə·ḏū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3245: To set, to found, to sit down together, settle, consult

of the temple
הֵיכַ֣ל (hê·ḵal)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1964: A large public building, palace, temple

of the LORD,
יְהוָ֑ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

the priests
הַכֹּהֲנִ֨ים (hak·kō·hă·nîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3548: Priest

in their apparel
מְלֻבָּשִׁ֜ים (mə·lub·bā·šîm)
Verb - Pual - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 3847: Wrap around, to put on a, garment, clothe

with trumpets,
בַּחֲצֹֽצְר֗וֹת (ba·ḥă·ṣō·ṣə·rō·wṯ)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 2689: (an ancient) trumpet

and the Levites
וְהַלְוִיִּ֤ם (wə·hal·wî·yim)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 3881: Levites -- descendant of Levi

(the sons
בְּנֵֽי־ (bə·nê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Asaph)
אָסָף֙ (’ā·sāp̄)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 623: Asaph -- 'gatherer', the name of several Israelites

with cymbals,
בַּֽמְצִלְתַּ֔יִם (bam·ṣil·ta·yim)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - cd
Strong's 4700: Double tinklers, cymbals

took their positions
וַיַּעֲמִידוּ֩ (way·ya·‘ă·mî·ḏū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5975: To stand, in various relations

to praise
לְהַלֵּל֙ (lə·hal·lêl)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1984: To shine

the LORD,
יְהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

as
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

King
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

David
דָּוִ֥יד (dā·wîḏ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1732: David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse

of Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

had prescribed.
יְדֵ֖י (yə·ḏê)
Noun - fdc
Strong's 3027: A hand

  • First they lay the foundations of the temple!
  • Then they praise Yah.weh!
 
Ezra 3:11

And they sang responsively
וַֽ֠יַּעֲנוּ (way·ya·‘ă·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6030: To answer, respond

with praise
בְּהַלֵּ֨ל (bə·hal·lêl)
Preposition-b | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1984: To shine

and thanksgiving
וּבְהוֹדֹ֤ת (ū·ḇə·hō·w·ḏōṯ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 3034: To throw, at, away, to revere, worship, to bemoan

to the LORD:
לַֽיהוָה֙ (Yah·weh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

“For
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

He is good;
ט֔וֹב (ṭō·wḇ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

for
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

His loving devotion
חַסְדּ֖וֹ (ḥas·dōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2617: Kindness, piety, reproof, beauty

upon
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

endures forever.”
לְעוֹלָ֥ם (lə·‘ō·w·lām)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5769: Concealed, eternity, frequentatively, always

Then all
וְכָל־ (wə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the people
הָעָ֡ם (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

gave a great
גְדוֹלָ֤ה (ḡə·ḏō·w·lāh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 1419: Great, older, insolent

shout
הֵרִיעוּ֩ (hê·rî·‘ū)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7321: To mar, to split the ears, shout

of praise
בְהַלֵּל֙ (ḇə·hal·lêl)
Preposition-b | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1984: To shine

to the LORD,
לַֽיהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

because {the foundation}
עַ֖ל (‘al)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

of the house
בֵּית־ (bêṯ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of the LORD
יְהוָֽה׃ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

had been laid.
הוּסַ֥ד (hū·saḏ)
Verb - Hofal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3245: To set, to found, to sit down together, settle, consult

  • They sing with praise and thanksgiving to Yah.weh!
  • Then the people give a shout of praise to Yah.weh!
  • For the foundation of Yah.weh’s house!
 
Ezra 3:12

But many
וְרַבִּ֡ים (wə·rab·bîm)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 7227: Much, many, great

of the older
הַזְּקֵנִ֗ים (haz·zə·qê·nîm)
Article | Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 2205: Old

priests,
מֵהַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים (mê·hak·kō·hă·nîm)
Preposition-m, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3548: Priest

Levites,
וְהַלְוִיִּם֩ (wə·hal·wî·yim)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 3881: Levites -- descendant of Levi

and family
הָאָב֜וֹת (hā·’ā·ḇō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1: Father

heads
וְרָאשֵׁ֨י (wə·rā·šê)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 7218: The head

who
אֲשֶׁ֨ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

had seen
רָא֜וּ (rā·’ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7200: To see

the first
הָֽרִאשׁוֹן֙ (hā·ri·šō·wn)
Article | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7223: First, in place, time, rank

temple
הַבַּ֤יִת (hab·ba·yiṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

wept
בֹּכִ֖ים (bō·ḵîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 1058: To weep, to bemoan

loudly
בְּק֣וֹל (bə·qō·wl)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6963: A voice, sound

when they saw
בְּעֵ֣ינֵיהֶ֔ם (bə·‘ê·nê·hem)
Preposition-b | Noun - cdc | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

the foundation
בְּיָסְד֔וֹ (bə·yā·sə·ḏōw)
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3245: To set, to found, to sit down together, settle, consult

of this
זֶ֤ה (zeh)
Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

temple.
הַבַּ֙יִת֙ (hab·ba·yiṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

Still, many
וְרַבִּ֛ים (wə·rab·bîm)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 7227: Much, many, great

others shouted
בִּתְרוּעָ֥ה (biṯ·rū·‘āh)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8643: Clamor, acclamation of joy, a battle-cry, clangor, of trumpets, as an alarum

joyfully.
קֽוֹל׃ (qō·wl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6963: A voice, sound

  • The older people weep when they see the foundation of the new temple!
  • It is nothing compared to the original one!
  • They have lost so much because of their spiritual prostitution!
  • And they will start doing the same!
  • What a shame!
  • They showed the way to mankind!
 
Ezra 3:13

The people
הָעָ֗ם (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

could not
וְאֵ֣ין (wə·’ên)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

distinguish
מַכִּירִים֙ (mak·kî·rîm)
Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 5234: To regard, recognize

the shouts
תְּרוּעַ֣ת (tə·rū·‘aṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 8643: Clamor, acclamation of joy, a battle-cry, clangor, of trumpets, as an alarum

of joy
הַשִּׂמְחָ֔ה (haś·śim·ḥāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8057: Blithesomeness, glee

from the sound
לְק֖וֹל (lə·qō·wl)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6963: A voice, sound

of weeping,
בְּכִ֣י (bə·ḵî)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1065: A weeping, a dripping

because
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the people
הָעָ֑ם (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

were making so much noise.
מְרִיעִים֙ (mə·rî·‘îm)
Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 7321: To mar, to split the ears, shout

And the sound
וְהַקּ֥וֹל (wə·haq·qō·wl)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6963: A voice, sound

was heard
נִשְׁמַ֖ע (niš·ma‘)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

from
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

afar.
לְמֵרָחֽוֹק׃ (lə·mê·rā·ḥō·wq)
Preposition-l, Preposition-m | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7350: Remote, of place, time, precious

  • The people are making a lot of noise!
  • A mixture of joy and weeping!
 
Ezra 4:1

When the enemies
צָרֵ֥י (ṣā·rê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6862: Narrow, a tight place, a pebble, an opponent

of Judah
יְהוּדָ֖ה (yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

and Benjamin
וּבִנְיָמִ֑ן (ū·ḇin·yā·min)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1144: Benjamin -- 'son of the right hand', youngest son of Jacob, also the name of two other Israelites

heard
וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֔וּ (way·yiš·mə·‘ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

that
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the exiles
בְנֵ֤י (ḇə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

were building
בּוֹנִ֣ים (bō·w·nîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 1129: To build

a temple
הֵיכָ֔ל (hê·ḵāl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1964: A large public building, palace, temple

for the LORD,
לַיהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

the God
אֱלֹהֵ֥י (’ĕ·lō·hê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

of Israel,
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

  • We are told about the enemies of Judah and Benjamin hearing about the building of Yah.weh’s temple!
  • We can imagine they are going to do anything against it!
 
Ezra 4:2

they approached
וַיִּגְּשׁ֨וּ (way·yig·gə·šū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5066: To draw near, approach

Zerubbabel
זְרֻבָּבֶ֜ל (zə·rub·bā·ḇel)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 2216: Zerubbabel -- 'begotten in Babylon', a leader of returning Israelite exiles

and the heads
רָאשֵׁ֣י (rā·šê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 7218: The head

of the families,
הָֽאָב֗וֹת (hā·’ā·ḇō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1: Father

saying,
וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Let us build
נִבְנֶ֣ה (niḇ·neh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Cohortative if contextual - first person common plural
Strong's 1129: To build

with you
עִמָּכֶ֔ם (‘im·mā·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

because,
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

like you,
כָכֶ֔ם (ḵā·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew

we seek
נִדְר֖וֹשׁ (niḏ·rō·wōš)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common plural
Strong's 1875: To tread, frequent, to follow, to seek, ask, to worship

your God
לֵֽאלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם (lê·lō·hê·ḵem)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

and have been sacrificing
זֹבְחִ֗ים (zō·ḇə·ḥîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 2076: To slaughter for sacrifice

to Him since
וְל֣וֹ ׀ (wə·lōw)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3808: Not, no

the time
מִימֵי֙ (mî·mê)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3117: A day

of
אֵסַ֤ר (’ê·sar)
0
Strong's Hebrew

King
מֶ֣לֶךְ (me·leḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

Esar-haddon
חַדֹּן֙ (ḥad·dōn)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 634: Esarhaddon -- 'Ashur has given a brother', an Assyrian king

of Assyria,
אַשּׁ֔וּר (’aš·šūr)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 804: Ashshur

who brought
הַמַּעֲלֶ֥ה (ham·ma·‘ă·leh)
Article | Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

us
אֹתָ֖נוּ (’ō·ṯā·nū)
Direct object marker | first person common plural
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

here.�
פֹּֽה׃ (pōh)
Adverb
Strong's 6311: This place, here

  • Their enemies say they want to help build Yah.weh’s temple!
  • For what purpose?
 
Ezra 4:3

But Zerubbabel,
זְרֻבָּבֶ֜ל (zə·rub·bā·ḇel)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 2216: Zerubbabel -- 'begotten in Babylon', a leader of returning Israelite exiles

Jeshua,
וְיֵשׁ֗וּעַ (wə·yê·šū·a‘)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3442: Jeshua

and the other
וּשְׁאָ֨ר (ū·šə·’ār)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7605: Rest, residue, remnant

heads
רָאשֵׁ֤י (rā·šê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 7218: The head

of the families
הָֽאָבוֹת֙ (hā·’ā·ḇō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1: Father

of Israel
לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (lə·yiś·rā·’êl)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

replied,
וַיֹּאמֶר֩ (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“You have no
לֹֽא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

part with us
לָ֣כֶם (lā·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew

in building
לִבְנ֥וֹת (liḇ·nō·wṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1129: To build

a house
בַּ֖יִת (ba·yiṯ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

for our God,
לֵאלֹהֵ֑ינוּ (lê·lō·hê·nū)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

since
כִּי֩ (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

we
אֲנַ֨חְנוּ (’ă·naḥ·nū)
Pronoun - first person common plural
Strong's 587: We

alone
יַ֜חַד (ya·ḥaḏ)
Adverb
Strong's 3162: A unit, unitedly

must build
נִבְנֶ֗ה (niḇ·neh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common plural
Strong's 1129: To build

it for the LORD,
לַֽיהוָה֙ (Yah·weh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

the God
אֱלֹהֵ֣י (’ĕ·lō·hê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

of Israel,
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

as
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר (ka·’ă·šer)
Preposition-k | Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

Cyrus
כּ֥וֹרֶשׁ (kō·w·reš)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3566: Cyrus -- a person king

the king
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Persia
פָּרָֽס׃ (pā·rās)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6539: Persia -- a country in west Asia which conquered Babylon

has commanded us.�
צִוָּ֔נוּ (ṣiw·wā·nū)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular | first person common plural
Strong's 6680: To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order


  • The heads of the families of Israel answer that it is up to them to build Yah.weh’s house and nobody else according to Cyrus the king of Persia!
  • Thus they take their responsibilities!
 
Ezra 4:4

Then
וַיְהִי֙ (way·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

the people
עַם־ (‘am-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

of the land
הָאָ֔רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

set out to discourage
מְרַפִּ֖ים (mə·rap·pîm)
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 7503: Sink, relax

the people
עַם־ (‘am-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

of Judah
יְהוּדָ֑ה (yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

and make them afraid
וּֽמְבַהֲלִ֥ים (ū·mə·ḇa·hă·lîm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 1086: To fail, to wear out, decay

to build.
לִבְנֽוֹת׃ (liḇ·nō·wṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1129: To build

  • Their enemies try to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid!
  • They don’t want them to come back!
 
Ezra 4:5

They hired
וְסֹכְרִ֧ים (wə·sō·ḵə·rîm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 7936: To hire

counselors
יוֹעֲצִ֖ים (yō·w·‘ă·ṣîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 3289: To advise, to deliberate, resolve

against them
עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם (‘ă·lê·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

to frustrate
לְהָפֵ֣ר (lə·hā·p̄êr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 6565: To break up, to violate, frustrate

their plans
עֲצָתָ֑ם (‘ă·ṣā·ṯām)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 6098: Advice, plan, prudence

throughout
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the reign
יְמֵ֗י (yə·mê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3117: A day

of Cyrus
כּ֚וֹרֶשׁ (kō·w·reš)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3566: Cyrus -- a person king

king
מֶ֣לֶךְ (me·leḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Persia
פָּרַ֔ס (pā·ras)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6539: Persia -- a country in west Asia which conquered Babylon

and down to
וְעַד־ (wə·‘aḏ-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

the reign
מַלְכ֖וּת (mal·ḵūṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4438: Royalty, royal power, reign, kingdom

of Darius
דָּרְיָ֥וֶשׁ (dā·rə·yā·weš)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1867: Darius -- the name of several person kings

king
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Persia.
פָּרָֽס׃ (pā·rās)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6539: Persia -- a country in west Asia which conquered Babylon

  • Their enemies hire counselors against them to influence the decisions of the kings of persia!
  • So what we see today is nothing new!
  • We can call it corruption!
  • Or legal corruption!
  • Or tolerated corruption!
  • In a word: CORRUPTION!
  • That’s the oldest way of man!
  • Since the creation of man!
  • Since Adam and Eve decided to oppose Yah.weh!
  • There can only be a bad end for mankind!
  • Time is coming to cleanse mankind!
  • Time is coming for Yah.weh’s kingdom!
  • Then man’s corruption will come to an end!
  • With no room for those who only think about corruption!
 
Ezra 4:6

At the beginning
בִּתְחִלַּ֖ת (biṯ·ḥil·laṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 8462: A commencement, rel, original

of the reign
וּבְמַלְכוּת֙ (ū·ḇə·mal·ḵūṯ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4438: Royalty, royal power, reign, kingdom

of Xerxes,
אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ (’ă·ḥaš·wê·rō·wōš)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 325: Ahasuerus -- king of Persia

an accusation
שִׂטְנָ֔ה (śiṭ·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7855: Opposition

was lodged
כָּתְב֣וּ (kā·ṯə·ḇū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3789: To grave, to write

against
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the people
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י (yō·šə·ḇê)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

of Judah
יְהוּדָ֖ה (yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

and Jerusalem.
וִירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ (wî·rū·šā·lim)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389: Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel


  • Their enemies are ready to do anything to oppose the people of Judah!
  • Thus they accuse them!
 
Someone says:

Do you think that there is an eighty or so year gap between Ezra 6 and Ezra 7?
 
My answer:

- I have no idea!

- But we can imagine there is a different time for establishing a decree and going to Jerusalem and organizing the rebuilding and starting the rebuilding and fighting against those who want to stop the rebuilding!

https://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/temple-by-darius-i-the-second-decree-to-rebuild-the/


The Second Decree to Rebuild the Temple

The rebuilding of the temple started with Cyrus the Great but was completed under the reign of Darius I. This is recorded on the Bible Timeline Chart with World History about 500 BC.

After the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great in 539 BC, the exiled Jews were absorbed into the vast Persian empire. Since the fall of Judah and their captivity in Babylon, the Jews had been looking forward to their liberation. It seemed that they looked on Cyrus the Great as the liberator they had been promised in Isaiah 45.

Cyrus allowed the exiles to return to Judah and build a temple for God in Jerusalem by issuing a decree. Nearly 50,000 Jews traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:64). They brought with them silver and gold, as well as other important articles from Solomon’s temple that were looted by Nebuchadnezzar. These were entrusted to the care of Sheshbazzar (Zerubbabel) and were carried to Jerusalem.

Rebuilding the temple was not an easy task after their arrival in Jerusalem, and they faced opposition from people who were resettled there by King Esarhaddon of Assyria (Ezra 4:1-5). The construction work stopped because of strong opposition from the locals, and it was not until Darius I became king of the Persian empire when the rebuilding of the temple resumed.

Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, sent a letter to Darius to stir trouble for the temple builders. He asked the king to investigate if Cyrus indeed issued a decree for rebuilding the temple during the first year of his reign. Tattenai’s plot to discourage the Jews backfired when Darius found a scroll of Cyrus’ decree in the citadel of Ecbatana in Media which allowed the exiles to return and rebuild the temple. In addition, Tattenai received additional instruction from Darius to help the Jews rebuild their Temple by paying for the construction cost. Anyone who changed the edict would be punished severely according to the edict of Darius (Ezra 5:1-17 and 6:1-12).

Tattenai and the people who banded with him stopped opposing the builders after the second decree by Darius I was issued. The temple was finished and blessed in 516 BC with a lavish celebration. The celebration of the Passover was revived shortly after the temple was rebuilt (Ezra 6:13-22).
 
Someone says:

Thanks for your reply. Most commentators think that the Artaxerxes mention in Ezra and Nehemiah was Artaxerxes longimanus. As Nehemiah was one of the Jews who returned with the first returnees, Ezra 2.2, and they seemed to be the elders so must have been at least 30. then if that was true, Nehemiah must have been at least 155 when when he rode round the walls. Josephus says that the father of Darius was Astyages. (Ahasuerus in Daniel.) Josephus also said Darius had another name under the Greeks.


Also Ezra gives the Persian succession as Cyrus, Ahasuerus, Artaxerxes, Darius, whereas history names them as Cyrus, Cambyses, Bardia or the magi fraud, who reigned for 8 months (Herodotus) or 1 year (Josephus), the difference presumably being the different ways of calculating reigns. So we see that Persian kings can have different name in history and scripture,


Herodotus said Darius means merchant, Xerxes means Warrior, Artaxerxes means Great Warrior.


Martin Anstey in his The Romance of Bible Chronology. Suggests that Darius made great gains when he captured the Greek Islands and then took the title of Artaxerxes. Xerxes, he says could ot be the king in Esther as this king captured the island but it was Xerxes that lost the island.. Mordecai was also one of the leading returnees who must have been very old at the time of Esther, it Xerxes was the king.
 
Ezra 4:7

And in the days
וּבִימֵ֣י (ū·ḇî·mê)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3117: A day

of Artaxerxes king
אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֗שְׂתָּא (’ar·taḥ·šaś·tā)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 783: Artaxerxes -- a son and successor of Xerxes, king of Persia

of Persia,
פָּרָ֑ס (pā·rās)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6539: Persia -- a country in west Asia which conquered Babylon

Bishlam,
בִּשְׁלָ֜ם (biš·lām)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1312: Bishlam -- perhaps 'son of peace', a Pers

Mithredath,
מִתְרְדָ֤ת (miṯ·rə·ḏāṯ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4990: Mithredath -- two Persians

Tabeel,
טָֽבְאֵל֙ (ṭā·ḇə·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 2870: Tabeal -- 'good for nothing', an Aramean (Syrian)

and the rest
וּשְׁאָ֣ר (ū·šə·’ār)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7605: Rest, residue, remnant

of
כנותו (kə·nā·wō·ṯōw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

his associates
כְּנָוֺתָ֔יו (kə·nā·wō·ṯāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3674: Associate, colleague

wrote [a letter]
כָּתַ֨ב (kā·ṯaḇ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3789: To grave, to write

to
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

Artaxerxes.
אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּ (’ar·taḥ·šaśt)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 783: Artaxerxes -- a son and successor of Xerxes, king of Persia

[It]
הַֽנִּשְׁתְּוָ֔ן (han·niš·tə·wān)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5406: An epistle

was written
כָּת֥וּב (kā·ṯūḇ)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular
Strong's 3789: To grave, to write

in Aramaic
אֲרָמִ֖ית (’ă·rā·mîṯ)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 762: The language of Aram (Syria)

and translated [for the king].
וּמְתֻרְגָּ֥ם (ū·mə·ṯur·gām)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Pual - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 8638: To interpret, translate

The Aramaic script [read as follows]:
אֲרָמִֽית׃ (’ă·rā·mîṯ)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 762: The language of Aram (Syria)


  • A letter is sent to Artaxerxes the king of persia!
  • From opponents to the Jews!
 
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