And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.

Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.

Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.

And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,

And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge ° all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not.

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

28:30 Urim and the Thummim. The mysterious Urim and Thummim, set in the twelve-jeweled breastplate of the high priest (Leviticus 8:8), evidently had something to do with recognizing God’s will for the twelve tribes in their wanderings and conflicts (Note Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; I Samuel 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Nehemiah 7:65). Exactly what they were and how they functioned has been the object of much speculation; if their meaning was something like “lights and perfections,” as most scholars believe, they must have been in some way a medium of special divine guidance during this strategic period in God’s plan for His people Israel.

3:28 the wisdom of God. This important phrase, “the wisdom of God,” occurs seven times in the Bible. Here and in Ezra 7:25, it is used to indicate that the wisdom of God may be manifested by chosen men, but only in agreement with His revealed word in the Scriptures. Christ used it in Luke 11:49 with the same emphasis. Paul used it three times (I Corinthians 1:21,24; 2:7) to contrast human wisdom with God’s wisdom in Christ and the Scriptures. He used it once more (Ephesians 3:10) to reveal that we ourselves can manifest by our lives and words God’s revealed wisdom, even to angels.

17:24 instead of the children of Israel. The “mongrelization” of the remaining Israelite population would take about sixty-five years, according to the prophecy of Isaiah 7:8. This would probably identify the “king of Assyria” mentioned in this verse as Esar-haddon, the grandson of Sargon (note Ezra 4:2).

Introduction to I Chronicles The two books of Chronicles, like the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings, were originally one book. I Chronicles deals mainly with the reign of David, substantially paralleling but abbreviating Samuel’s accounts. II Chronicles begins with the reign of Solomon and continues through Judah’s entire history to the time of the Babylonian invasion and exile, thus paralleling the two books of Kings. However, Chronicles all but ignores the corresponding history of the northern kingdom. There are many indications that the two books of Chronicles date from the post-exilic period (for example, some of the genealogies in the first nine chapters extend into that period; also, the note in the final two verses of II Chronicles speak of the decree of Cyrus authorizing the rebuilding of the temple), and this suggests that Ezra the scribe probably was the final editor and author. In fact, there exists significant evidence that Chronicles was originally one book with Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra’s authorship is not unquestioned, of course, but it seems reasonable and is confirmed by almost unanimous Jewish tradition. Thus, the books of Chronicles were written long after Samuel and Kings, and the Chronicler no doubt had these two (or four) books to select from in developing his account. There were also numerous other ancient documents and records available, some of which are actually mentioned in the Bible. Note for example, the mention of the writings of the prophets Nathan and Gad (I Chronicles 29:29). In II Chronicles the authors mention: “the book of the kings of Judah” (II Chronicles 16:11); “the book of the kings of Israel” (II Chronicles 20:34); and the “book of the kings of Judah and Israel” (II Chronicles 25:26). There are numerous other sources listed, some twenty in all. Since all these ancient documents are lost, there is no way of knowing which of them were used by Ezra (or whoever the Chronicler may have been). He undoubtedly used Samuel and Kings, since many sections in Chronicles are almost exact quotes (I Chronicles 11:1-3 with II Samuel 5:1-3). A natural question is why such duplication was necessary, when the four books of Samuel and Kings were already available. From the viewpoint of the returning exiles, however, it was important for them to have a document establishing their ties with their founding fathers, with their continuing role in the plan of God for His chosen people, and with the eventual Messianic kingdom. Therefore, the detailed genealogies and the strong emphasis on David and the Davidic line leading ultimately to the Messiah are again recorded in these books. This theme not only explains why certain events were duplicated but why certain new records were added and why there were many omissions. As far as the latter are concerned (the events of Saul’s reign, the history of the northern kingdom, David’s sin and Absalom’s rebellion, Solomon’s moral decline in his later years), these were records of failure and rebellion which had no ultimate bearing on that great theme which the Chronicler needed to emphasize. The ultimate apostasy of Judah and her exile, of course, had to be included to explain the situation in which the returning exiles now found themselves. Just as there is duplication in the four gospels of the New Testament, so also there is duplication between the book of Chronicles and the books of Samuel and Kings. Nevertheless, in both cases, the superficial amount of duplication merely serves as confirmation of the historicity of the events from a different perspective and also provides additional information. The net effect of this duplication is to give a greater in-depth understanding of God’s great plan.

9:1 away to Babylon. This verse, among others, confirms that Israel’s leaders placed great importance on keeping genealogies, for reasons of maintaining definitive records of the respective inheritances given to the various families when they conquered the land. It also shows that the two books of Chronicles (originally one book) were written after the tribes had been carried away into their Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. See also II Chronicles 36:20-23, which shows they were completed during or after the return from the Babylonian exile. Comparison of the latter with Ezra 1:1-4 indicates that the compiler and writer of Chronicles may well have been Ezra.

29:29 they are written. The author of I Chronicles (presumably Ezra), drew on earlier writings for his histories. This, however, while indicating historical authenticity, in no way minimizes the fact that what he finally wrote down had been “God-breathed” (II Timothy 3:16).

5:9 there it is unto this day. The ark and its staves were gone by the time Ezra (or someone of his generation) compiled and edited the two books of Chronicles, which climax with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. This section, therefore, must have been written originally by some earlier scribe, possibly during the times of Hezekiah or Josiah. Then the Chronicler decided to let the statement stand as it was, probably for the emotional impact it would have on the returning exiles as they realized the ark could never again be in the post-exile temple.

3:17 Salathiel. Salathiel is said to be the father of Zerubbabel in Matthew 1:12 and Luke 3:27, whereas his brother Pedaiah is listed as Zerubbabel’s father in I Chronicles 3:19. Zerubbabel is called “the son of Shealtiel (another form of Salathiel)” in Ezra 3:2. Possibly Salathiel adopted Zerubbabel as his son, or else Pedaiah “raised up seed unto his brother” (Matthew 22:24) by Levirate marriage, making Zerubbabel Salathiel’s legal son even though he was the physical son of Pedaiah. Zerubbabel was the governor when the exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem after the captivity (Ezra 2:2). In either case, Zerubbabel was ancestor to both Joseph and Mary, and thus to Jesus, assuming that Matthew and Luke have preserved both Joseph’s and Mary’s genealogy, respectively (see notes on these passages, Matthew 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-38). However, both this passage and Matthew 1:12 give Jechoniah as father of Salathiel, while Luke says Neri was father of Salathiel. A possible resolution is to assume Jechoniah adopted Salathiel after Neri’s death. In any case, none of Jechoniah’s seed could have inherited David’s throne, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah 22:28-30, and this was fully assured by the fact that the physical body of Jesus was specially created in Mary’s womb.

4:1 sons of Judah. The descendants of Judah (note especially I Chronicles 2–4) and Levi (I Chronicles 6, 9) are given in more detail than those from the other ten tribes. This correlates with the fact that one was the kingly tribe (Genesis 49:10), the other the priestly tribe (Deuteronomy 33:8-10). All of these genealogies, however, seem superficially incomplete, sometimes even contradictory and unorganized. No doubt most of the problems could be solved if they had been preserved in complete form, recognizing that many different men had identical names in ancient Israel, just as in modern America. These lists were apparently compiled by Ezra the scribe (or at least someone of his time) after the return from the Babylonian captivity, using all the available records he could find still preserved. It was important for him to establish the inheritance of the various families as accurately as possible, since they had originally been given by God in perpetuity (Leviticus 25:23-55). Incomplete though these may have been on the human level, they do give us assurance that God does not forget His promises and that He has kept these genealogies in complete form on the divine level. Furthermore, their inclusion in the divinely inspired Scriptures of the Old Testament (note Paul’s testimony in II Timothy 3:16, 17), assures us that these lists of names are “profitable” to the “man of God.” If nothing else, they show us that God does care about all individuals—not just nations or leaders of nations—and also that these Old Testament records are not just myths or allegories but are real historical records of real people and events.

29:29 book of Samuel the seer. The “book of Samuel the seer” undoubtedly means I and II Samuel. However, the books of Nathan and Gad have been lost. Other ancient books mentioned in the Old Testament include the book of Jasher (Joshua 10:13; II Samuel 1:18); the book of the acts of Solomon (I Kings 11:41); the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah (I Kings 14:29); etc.); the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and the visions of Iddo the Seer (II Chronicles 9:29); the book of Shemaiah the Prophet (II Chronicles 12:15); the story of the book of the kings (II Chronicles 24:27); the book of Jehu (II Chronicles 20:34); and the book of the wars of the Lord” (Numbers 21:14). Probably none of these were divinely inspired, as our present canonical books, but the portions incorporated by Ezra or others in their own inspired writings were so used by inspiration.