Ezra 1:1-2 -
"Cyrus, king of Persia" - until ca. 650 BC the Persians
were a relatively small nation, living to the north of what is
now the Persian Gulf. Around 650 BC Zarathustra (Zoroaster)
founded Zoroastrianism, a dualistic religion which teaches that
the Universe is a battle-ground between a Good God (Ahura-Mazda)
and a Bad God (Shaitan). The Persians set out to conquer the
world for Ahura-Mazda. Cyrus was probably a Zoroastrian, and
wanted to enlist the gods of all other nations in the battle for
Ahura-Mazda. The dates given for Cyrus in the text-book need some
explanation - he ascended the throne of Persia ca. 559 BC, and
conquered the Kingdom of the Medes ca. 550 BC, but did not
conquer Babylon until ca. 539 BC. The "Edict of Cyrus:,
which allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem.
Ezra 1:8 - "Sheshbazzar, prince of Judah" - his name was Babylonian rather than Hebrew; he may
have been a son of Jeconiah (I Chronicles 3:18)
Ezra 2:2 - Zerubbabel may have been another name
for Sheshbazzar, or this may be a second group of people returning from the Exile.
Ezra chapter 2 - The genealogy was very
important to the returning Jews - it allowed them to show whether
or not someone was legally a Jew.
Ezra 2:63 - "the Tirshatha" - a title
meaning "Governor" - Judah was no longer an indepemdemt
nation, but was now a province of the Persian Empire.
Ezra 2:63 - the Urim and Thumim were used by the
Priests to find God's will when pronouncing judgements to the people (Exodus 28:30)
Ezra 3:11 - see Psalms 118, 136 & 106
Ezra 4:1-2 - "the adversaries of Judah" - in the Hebrew lierally "the sons of the
transportation" - these were the descendents of the peoples
who were moved into northern Israel by the Assyrians after the
Fall of the Northern Kingdom (see II Kings 17:24-41) - they
worshipped God, but also continued to worship other gods and
godesses as well. They were the ancestors of the Samaritans, who
only accept the Pentateuch as being Scripture, and who do not
include the Prophets in their "Bible". Esar-haddon,
king of Asshur (Assyria) was the son of Sennacherib, the king who
invaded Judah and beseiged Jerusalem, and who was mudered by two
of his other sons (see II Kings 19:32-37)
Ezra 4:5 - from the days of Cyrus the Persian
until the reign of Darius king of Persia : Cyrus the Persian
(Cyrus II) conquered Media 549 BC, then Lydia in 546 BC, and
Babylonia in 539 BC. He reigned as king of Babylon 539-530 BC. Darius I reigned 522-486 BC
Ezra 4:6 - Ahasuerus - the Persian form of the
name of Xerxes I, who ruled 486-465 BC and who married Esther
Ezra 4:7 - Artaxerxes I ruled 465-424 BC
Ezra 4:10 - Asnapper - refers either to Esar-haddon or to his son Ashurbanipal
Ezra 4:12 - "the Jews . . " from now
on, the term "Israelite" drops out of use, and is
replaced by "Judahite" or "Jew", as the
territory round Jerusalem had belonged to the tribe of Judah.
Ezra 4:24 - the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia - ca. 520 BC.
Ezra 5:1 - the prophets Haggai and Zechariah -
their prophecies are contained in the Biblical books named for them.
Ezra 6:15 - the sixth year of the reign of king Darius - ca. 516 BC.
Ezra 7:1 - "in the reign of Artaxerxes" - ca. 465-424 BC
Ezra 7:7 - the Nethinim were Temple servants who
may have been non-jewish slaves. The seventh year of Artaxerxes was around 458 BC.
Ezra 8:1-14 - the genealogy was important because only those who could trace their genealogy back to jewish
ancestors could be counted as part of the nation.
Ezra 8:21-22 - Ezra had told the king that God
would look after them, but now he realized that they had to
cross potentially hostile territory, carrying a large amount of
gold and silver which would attract thieves and robbers. So he
called for a time of fasting and prayer before starting the journey.
Ezra 9:1-2 - some of those who had returned earlier had entered into marriages with foreigners. The Priests
in particular were only supposed to marry someone from the family of Aaron.
Ezra 9:8 - "a remnant" - only a
relatively few Jews returned from the Exile - the majority chose to remain in Babylon.
Ezra 9:12 - see Exodus 34:12-16, Deuteronomy 7:3-6
Ezra 10:44 - the children of the foreign wives,
who had been brought up to worship several gods and goddesses were
not eligible for inclusion in the nation.
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
Department of Religion
ENMU
Portales, NM 88130
Last Updated: January 1, 2007
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