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| EZRA |
| Explanatory Footnotes |
| 1:1 Prediction Fulfilled The fulfilled prophecy was probably Jeremiah 29:10, God's promise to bring Israel back to Jerusalem after 70 years. Additionally, Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1, 13 had named Cyrus of Persia as God's agent to see Jerusalem and the temple rebuilt. This is not eveidence that Cyrus worshiped Israel's God. He had a policy of religious toleration and contributed to the rebuilding of several nations' temples. 2:1 A People Preserved Lists of names, whether in the Bible or the telephone book, make dull reading. But the way these names are grouped reveals God's care for the people of Israel. They had not lost track of their Israelite identity during two generations in Babylon. They knew their family record, and they could place themselves according to Israelite families, Israelite towns, and Israelite religious duties in the temple. Like the temple articles, carefully stored in readiness (1:7), these were a people preserved to serve God again. 2:63 The Need for Guidance The Urim and Thummim were possibly something like dice, which the priests in the Old Testament used to determine God's will. Until the Urim and Thummim could be used, the families whose records were lost (verse 62) had no way to establish themselves as genuine priests. 4:6 A Flash Forward The section from 4:6 to 4:23 is a glance forward in history. The Israelites would continue to feel opposition from their neighbors even long after the temple was successfully completed. The quarrel described here, during Xerxes' and Artaxerxes' reigns was not over the temple but the defensive wall to be built around Jerusalem - a wall Nehemiah, with Ezra's help, completed years later. 6:2 The Ring of Truth In a made-up legend, there is no need to add insignificant, |