Ezra 7:(1-10) 11-26

The Coming and Work of Ezra

7:1 After this, in the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of the chief priest Aaron– 6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the LORD the God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.

7 Some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants also went up to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 They came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 On the first day of the first month the journey up from Babylon was begun, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel. (Ezra 7:1-10, NRSV)

The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra

11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to the priest Ezra, the scribe, a scholar of the text of the commandments of the LORD and his statutes for Israel: 12 "Artaxerxes, king of kings, to the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven: Peace. And now 13 I decree that any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom who freely offers to go to Jerusalem may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand, 15 and also to convey the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, given willingly for the house of their God in Jerusalem. 17 With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and your colleagues to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. 19 The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which you are responsible for providing, you may provide out of the king's treasury.

21 "I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred cors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and unlimited salt. 23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, or wrath will come upon the realm of the king and his heirs. 24 We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

25 "And you, Ezra, according to the God-given wisdom you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God; and you shall teach those who do not know them. 26 All who will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on them, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of their goods or for imprisonment." (Ezra 7:11-26, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from November 3, 2005 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year One):

In the book that bears his name Ezra appears himself for the first time in chapter 7, and he remains active through the remainder of the book (i.e through chap. 10). Ezra is also prominent in the book of Nehemiah, beginning with his reading of “the law of Moses” to all the “people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate” (Neh. 8:1, cf. vv. 1-12). “Ezra-Nehemiah forms a single book in the Hebrew Bible, though its two parts are separated in Christian tradition” (Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Introduction to Ezra, NOAB, 3^rd ed.). {The books are printed continuously as one book in my Hebrew Bible [Rud. Kittel, ed., Biblia Hebraica, 12^th ed., 1937, but page headers and the chapter numbers] distinguish the Ezra part from the Nehemiah part.)

This reading begins by reporting the coming of Ezra from Babylonia to Jerusalem “in the reign of Artaxerxes of Persia” (Ezra 7:1a). In the previous chapter, it is reported that the Jewish returnees from Babylon completed building the temple “on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius” (Ezra 6:15), or March 12, 515 BCE (David J. A. Clines, HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Ezra 6:15). According to Clines, “The narrative moves suddenly from the end of the sixth century to the middle of the fifth (or beginning of the fourth, if the king is Artaxerxes II . . .)” (on Ezra 7:1). We are presented with Ezra’s priestly lineage, sixteen generations back to “the chief priest Aaron” (vv. 1b-5). If the Israelite exodus from Egypt is to be dated early in the thirteenth century B.C. (cf. William Sanford LaSor, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic Wm. Bush, Old Testament Survey; The Message, Form and Background of the Old Testament, 2^nd ed., 1996, pp. 59-60), that would allow about nine centuries for these sixteen generations, or approximately fifty-six years per generation. It is probable, however, that the list contains some gaps (as biblical genealogies occasionally do). “Ezra’s genealogy,” says Clines, “shows him to be a member of the high-priestly family, though not high priest himself” (on v. 1). Ezra is introduced as “a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the LORD the God of Israel had given” (v. 6a), and we are told that “the king [i.e. Artaxerxes] granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him” (v. 6b).

So Ezra comes to Jerusalem with “some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants . . . in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes” (v. 7). According to Clines, that would be “458 BCE if the king is Artaxerxes I (465-424), 398 BCE if it is Artaxerxes II (404-358)” (on v. 7). According to Eskenazi, the king is “probably Artaxerxes I” (on Ezra 7:1-10). She offers a brief sketch of “the return and rebuilding . . . in three or four stages”:

First, the initial returnees, led by Sheshbazzar in 538, began to rebuild the Temple but were forced to abandon the project. Second, a further group of exiles, under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua, returned during the reign of the Persian king Darius I (522-486) and completed the Temple reconstruction in 515. Third, a group led by Ezra in 458 during the reign of Artaxerxes I (465-424) reestablished the Torah, i.e. law of Moses, as the authority for Jews in Judah. Finally, a group led by Nehemiah beginning in 445, also during the time of Artaxerxes I, restored Jerusalem’s walls and repopulated Jerusalem. Some scholars have suggested that Ezra’s return took place after Nehemiah’s. The majority of scholars, however, favor the reconstruction noted above, which will be used in the annotations. (From the Introduction to Ezra, NOAB, 3^rd ed.)

Ezra and his group of returnees “came to Jerusalem in the fifth month [Ab, i.e. July-August], which was in the seventh year of the king [i.e. 458 B.C., following the earlier date]” (v. 8). They left Babylon “on the first day of the first month [Nissan, i.e. March-April],” and arrived in Jerusalem “on the first day of the fifth month” (v. 9a). Clines says, “On the assumption that Ezra’s journey took place in 458 BCE, he left Babylonia on April 8 and arrived in Jerusalem on August 4” (on v. 9). It is added that “the gracious hand of his God was upon him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel” (v. 9b, 10).

Ezra was revered in later Judaism as the model scribe.

Raish Lakish said, "When the Torah became forgotten from Israel, Ezra came up from Babylon and revitalized it. Again, when it was about to be forgotten, Hillel came up from Babylon and revitalized it. And later Rabbi Chiya and his sons did the same" (Succah 20a). (cited by Chaim Shapiro, “Torah Pioneers,” (http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/jo/tworld/frank.html, accessed again November 7, 2007; you may have to copy and paste the URL in your browser)

Hillel lived and worked in Jerusalem during the time of Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.).

Beginning in Ezra 7:12, the text of Artaxerxes’ letter is in Aramaic (7:12-26; cf. 4:8-6:16, and NRSV footnote a on 4:7). According to Clines, the letter which King Artaxerxes provided for Ezra is a “firman, or letter of authorization” (Clines, on vv. 11-26). “After an introductory verse in Hebrew (v. 11), there follows a long official document in Aramaic (vv. 12-26), the language in which most documents of this kind are found in Ezra” (Ibid.). According to Eskenazi,

This final Aramaic royal letter establishes Ezra’s credentials within the Persian bureaucratic structures. It reauthorizes immigration to Judah (v. 13) and royal subsidy for the Temple (vv. 14-24). It refers to the Torah but does not overly emphasize itl; in fact, in v. 26 it is mentioned alongside royal law. (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Ezra 7:11-26)

The letter closes with this charge to Ezra:

And you, Ezra, according to the God-given wisdom you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God; and you shall teach those who do not know them. All who will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on them, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of their goods or for imprisonment. (Ezra 7:25-26, NRSV)

or Zechariah 1:7-17 (alternative reading, Presbyterian and Lutheran traditions)

For the text and comments of this reading see the text and comments of Monday, October 29, 2007, ten days ago.

Revelation 14:1-13

The Lamb and the 144,000

14:1 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless. (Revelation 14:1-5, NRSV)

The Messages of the Three Angels

6 Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water."

8 Then another angel, a second, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

9 Then another angel, a third, followed them, crying with a loud voice, "Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands, 10 they will also drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image and for anyone who receives the mark of its name."

12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them." (Revelation 14:6-13, NRSV)

On November 6, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year Two), comments were combined with revision and supplement from November 1, 2004 (Monday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year Two), from November 3, 2005 (Thursday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year One), and from September 10, 2006 (the Sunday closest to Sept. 7, Year Two). The combined comments are repeated here:

Earlier in Revelation, war broke out in heaven, and “the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world–he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev. 12:9). This conflict continues in chapters 12 and 13, but encouragement is provided by the vision of the Lamb with those “redeemed from humankind” (14:4), the announcement that “Babylon” is fallen (14;8), the blessing on “the dead who . . . die in the Lord” (v. 13) and demonstration of God’s power, the God “who lives for ever and ever” (15:7). In Revelation, chapter 14, we meet “the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him . . . one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads” (v. 1), not the mark of the beast (13:16-17; 14:9. They “have been redeemed from the earth” and “they sing a new song before the throne” (14:3). The “eternal gospel,” from the first angel, is to be proclaimed “to those who live on the earth–to every nation and tribe and language and people” (v. 6). The angel calls upon them to “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water” (v. 7). The second angel announces the fall of Babylon (v. 8). The third angel warns against worshiping “the beast” or receiving his “mark” (v. 9), for if they do, “they will also drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever” (vv. 10-11a). In the midst of judgment, “the wine of God’s wrath” (v. 10), there is “a call for the endurance of the saints” who “keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus” (v. 12), and the labors, for their deeds follow them” (v. 13). Those who “die in the Lord” are blessed.

Matthew 14:1-12

The Death of John the Baptist (Lk 9.7-9; Mk 6.14-29)

14:1 At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus; 2 and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him." 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 4 because John had been telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5 Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod 7 so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter." 9 The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; 10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus. (Matthew 14:1-12, NRSV)

For comments on Mark’s version of this reading, see the Archive for July 30, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 27, Year One). The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from November 3, 2005 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 2, Year One, with some reference to the comments on Mark’s version mentioned above. For parallel passages for this reading see the separate file, Opinions about Jesus, Death of John the Baptist.

Consider the sequence of events in the three Gospels as presented in the following table:

In the above table, bold-face references are used for sections that are in sequence within that Gospel. Other references indicate sections repeated from another sequence for comparison with the other Gospels. The reference to Luke 4:16-30, Jesus is Rejected at Nazareth, for example, is out of sequence as compared with the order of events in Mark’s Gospel, for reasons discussed in the comments on yesterday’s reading. So the Luke 4:16-30 reference is not in bold-face type. The table also shows that, apart from two verses in Mark (Mk. 6:30-32, the Return of the Apostles), both Matthew and Mark present the account of the Death of John the Baptist (Mt. 14:3-12; Mk. 6:17-19; cf. Lk. 3:19-20) and the Feeding of the Five thousand (Mt. 14:13-21; Mk. 6:32-44; Lk. 9:10b-17; Jn. 6:1-15) juxtaposed in sequence. Both Matthew and Mark likely did this intentionally, to put the contrast in stark relief between Satan’s banquet–that is, the banquet thrown by Herod Antipas at which John’s severed head was brought in on a platter–and the banquet of the Lord where five thousand were fed.

Luke’s variation from Mark’s order in reporting the death of John the Baptist in chapter 3 has been understood by some, Hans Conzelmann, for instance, as an indication that Luke regarded John as the last of the prophets of the previous dispensation. He seeks to separate the ministries of John and of Jesus into separate historical periods.

The reference to the imprisonment [of John the Baptist] in iii, 19 f. divides the section concerning John from the section concerning Jesus in the sense of drawing a distinction between the epochs of salvation, for which xvi, 16 provides the clue. Now the way is open for the story of Jesus. The fact that the activity of the two still overlaps cannot be entirely eliminated, but Luke deprives it of any real significance. According to iii, 21 f. Jesus is baptized as one of the people, like everyone else [contrast Mk. 1:9-11]. Luke excludes any suggestion that John plays an important part in the incident. This is in keeping with his whole conception of the significance of John. (The Theology of St. Luke, trans., Geoffrey Buswell, 1961, p. 21)

The original title of Conzelmann’s book, Die Mitte der Zeit (i.e. “The Middle of Time”), implied that the period of Jesus’ ministry on earth was the center of time in God’s plan of salvation, preceded by the time of the prophets, and followed by the age of the church (2^nd ed., 1957). The title in English, The Theology of St. Luke, doesn’t so clearly underscore this point. We might have expected such a perspective from Luke the historian, but of course this is at most is only one aspect of Luke’s vision of the beginnings of Christianity in the Roman Empire. But all of the Gospels report the death of John as a past event. Herod “had sent men who arrested John” (Mk. 6:17; cf. Mt. 14:3; Lk. 9:9), an event called to mind here in connection with Herod’s guilty conscience.

In Mark and Matthew, the account of Herod’s banquet and the death of John follows notice that King Herod Antipas had heard about Jesus (Mk. 6:14-16; Mt. 14:1-2; cf. Lk. 9:7-9). Herod heard that people were saying “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead” (Mk. 6:14b; cf. Lk. 9:7b). Mark reports the speculation of others that Jesus was Elijah, or one of the prophets (Mk. 6:15; cf. Lk. 9:8). But Matthew cuts to the chase, as it were, and has Herod say, “This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him” (Mt. 14:1; cf. Mk. 6:16; Lk. 9:9). Luke, having already reported the arrest of John (Lk. 3:19-20), has Herod say, “John I beheaded” in this context (Lk. 9:9), but this is a past event for him and he does not report the banquet or the beheading here. When Herod assumes that Jesus is John the Baptist raised from the dead, it leads Krister Stendahl to ask, is this “a revealing insight into religious expectations of Israel at the time” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, sec. 686d, p. 786, on Mt. 14:1-12), or the voice of Antipas’ conscience? Perhaps both, but the gruesome tale which follows anticipates Jesus’ own death, and this belief that John could be raised perhaps anticipates the real resurrection of Jesus to come later. This event “also serves as a reason for Jesus to withdraw from the public scene into remote and partly Gentile territory” (Ibid.).

Mark, on the other hand, tells the story in considerable detail, and Matthew reduces the story to the essential points, as is evident in the table in the separate file mentioned above, Opinions about Jesus, Death of John the Baptist. Matthew mentions Herodias, Herod’s brother Philip’s wife, early (Mt. 14:3), but Mark elaborates. “And Herodias had a grudge against him [i.e., the Baptist], and wanted to kill him but she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him” (Mk. 6:19-20). Matthew reduces that to one verse: “Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet” (Mt. 14:5). It is interesting to note that when Antipas “heard reports about Jesus” (Mt. 14:1), he assumed that it was “John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him” (v. 2). Mark describes Herod’s birthday as “an opportunity” (Mk. 6:21), apparently for Herodias, whereas in Matthew, it is said that “Herod wanted to put him to death” (Mt. 14:5), a desire doubtlessly influenced by Herodias. In both accounts Herodias’s daughter, apparently also named Herodias (Mk. 6:22), is “prompted by her mother” to request “the head of John the Baptist here on a platter” (Mt. 14:8). According to Josephus, the daughter was named Salome (Ant. x.viii.5.4, cited by Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Mt. 14:6), but Tilden and Metzger say “Contrary to Josephus . . . the daughter of Herodias may also have been named Herodias” (on Mk. 6:22). Both accounts report that the girl danced and pleased Herod (Mt. 14:6; Mk. 6:22), but only Mark adds that the guests were also pleased. Mark tells us that the daughter had to leave and ask her mother for instructions (Mk. 6:24). Both mention the oath as Herod’s reason for complying the request (Mt. 14:9; Mk. 6:26), but Mark has earlier spelled it out in more detail (v. 23). And the gruesome result, when “the head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother” (Mt. 14:11; Mk. 6:28) sets in bold relief the stark contrast with the account of the feeding of the five thousand that follows. So one is inclined to see the juxtaposition of the two “banquets” as deliberate. Whose “dinner invitation” shall we accept?

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net