Ezra 1:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ezra 1:3
Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
God
אֱלֹהָיו֙'e.lo.Hav
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
up
וְיַ֕עַלve.Ya.'al
H5927
to ascend · conjunction + verb, qal jussive, 3rd person masculine singular
Jerusalem
לִירוּשָׁלִַ֖םli.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · preposition + proper noun, a place name
Judah
בִּיהוּדָ֑הbi.hu.Dah
H3063
Jehudah (or Judah) · preposition + proper noun, a place name
build
וְיִ֗בֶןve.Yi.ven
H1129
to build (literally and figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal jussive, 3rd person masculine singular
house
בֵּ֤יתbeit
H1004
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָה֙Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God
אֱלֹהֵ֣י'e.lo.Hei
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
God
הָאֱלֹהִ֖יםha.'E.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
Jerusalem
בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽםbi.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · preposition + proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Daniel 6:26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast…
Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not…
Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whith…
Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Acts 10:36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Deuteronomy 32:31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
1 Chronicles 28:20 And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ezra 1:1-4
It will be proper for us here to consider, 1. What was the state of the captive Jews in Babylon. It was upon many accounts very deplorable; they were under the power of those that hated them, had nothing they could call their own; they had no temple, no altar; if they sang psalms, their enemies ridiculed them; and yet they had prophets among them. Ezekiel and Daniel were kept distinct from the heathen. Some of them were preferred at court, others had comfortable settlements in the country, and they were all borne up with hope that, in due time, they should return to their own land again, in expectation of which they preserved among them the distinction of their families, the knowledge of the…
Who is there among you of all his people--The purport of the edict was to grant full permission to those Jewish exiles, in every part of his kingdom, who chose, to return to their own country, as well as to recommend those of their countrymen who remained to aid the poor and feeble on their way, and contribute liberally towards the rebuilding of the temple.
Adam Clarke on Ezra 1:2
The Lord God of heaven - It is not unworthy of remark, that in all the books written prior to the captivity, Jehovah is called The Lord of Hosts; but in all the books written after the captivity, as 2 Chronicles, Ezra Nehemiah, and Daniel, he is styled The God of Heaven. The words however have the same meaning.
All the kingdoms of the earth. At this time the empire of the Medo-Persians was very extensive: according to ancient writers, Cyrus, at this time, reigned over the Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Armenians, Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, Phrygians, Lydians Phoenicians, Babylonians, Bactrians, Indians, Saci, Cilicians, Paphlagonians, Moriandrians, and many others. His empire…
Who is there among you of all his people?.... The people of God, the Israelites, as well of the ten tribes, as of the two of Judah and Benjamin; for this edict was published throughout all his dominions, where were the one as well as the other:
his God be with him; to incline his heart to go, to protect him in his journey, and succeed and prosper him in what he goes about:
and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, he is the God; the one only living and true God:
which is in Jerusalem; who has been in former times, and is to be worshipped there; though Aben Ezra says, this is to be connected with "the house of the Lord"; as if the sen…
The Church Fathers
Who among you of all His people, let his God be with him, etc. Great is the faith of the king in these words, great shines his piety. Faith indeed, that he understood the people of Israel to be the people of God above all other nations. Piety, that he allowed all who wished without exception to return to their country as free men. Faith, that he confessed that the same Lord God both dwells in heaven and is in Jerusalem and can go up with each of those returning from Babylon to Jerusalem. Is it not clearer than light that he believed this one to be not corporeal and confined to one place, but a Spirit present everywhere? He confessed that he has a place in Jerusalem and in the temple such that he did not doubt that He presides in the kingdom of heaven; he believed so much that He reigns in the heavens, while nonetheless He is with His faithful on earth and directs their minds and hands to do what is salutary. Moreover, all the words of this Scripture exude a spiritual sense. For whom is it not easily evident that only those with whom God is, from the confusion of sins, to the works of virtues, as if from Babylonian captivity, can pass to Jerusalem to freedom? Because without Him we can do nothing (John XV). Who does not see rightly that ascension is named in the same sentence? Because surely all who sin, and who serve the cares of this world, are in the lowest place. But those who desire to please God must necessarily lift their minds to higher things, yearn for heavenly things, surpass all the pomp and enticements of the world with the love of eternal things. Jerusalem is also mentioned to be in Judah, that is in confession, so that we who deserved to be captivated by Chaldeans through forgetfulness of God, who are interpreted as demons, that is, by malignant spirits, may return through confession of divine piety to the vision of free peace and light; and there we build a house for the Lord God of Israel, that is in the unity of catholic peace, confessing either our iniquity or divine mercy and grace. Let us prepare our hearts in which the Lord Himself may deign to dwell graciously and illuminate with His presence. And let us also care to kindle the hearts of our neighbors to praise their Creator and perform works of piety. For in both ways we build a house for the Lord, either by exercising ourselves in works of justice or by encouraging those whom we can…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Babylon — The Greek form of BABEL; Semitic form Babilu, meaning “The Gate of God.” In the Assyrian tablets it means “The city of the dispersion of the tribes.” The monumental list of its kings reaches back to…
Captivity — (1.) Of Israel. The kingdom of the ten tribes was successively invaded by several Assyrian kings. Pul (q.v.) imposed a tribute on Menahem of a thousand talents of silver (2 Kings 15:19, 20; 1 Chr.…
Cyrus — (Heb. Ko’resh), the celebrated “King of Persia” (Elam) who was conqueror of Babylon, and issued the decree of liberation to the Jews (Ezra 1:1, 2). He was the son of Cambyses, the prince of Persia,…
Jerusalem — Called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the “city of God,” the “holy city;” by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning “the holy;” once “the city of Judah” (2 Chr. 25:28). This name is in the original in the…
Palestine — Originally denoted only the sea-coast of the land of Canaan inhabited by the Philistines (Ex. 15:14; Isa. 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4), and in this sense exclusively the Hebrew name Pelesheth (rendered…
Persia — An ancient empire, extending from the Indus to Thrace, and from the Caspian Sea to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Persians were originally a Medic tribe which settled in Persia, on the eastern…
Emancipation · .By Cyrus — .By Cyrus
Heathen · .Cyrus — .Cyrus
Jerusalem · Rebuilt after the captivity by order of Cyrus — Rebuilt after the captivity by order of Cyrus
Jews, The · Restored to their own land by Cyrus — Restored to their own land by Cyrus
Kings · Should: Promote the interests of the Church — Should: Promote the interests of the Church
In the first year of his rule over Babylon, Cyrus king of Persia proclaimed throughout his whole kingdom, both by voice and writing, that the God of heaven had commanded him to build His temple at Jerusalem, and called upon the Jews living in exile to return to Jerusalem, and to build there the house of the God of Israel. At the same time, he exhorted all his subjects to facilitate by gifts the journey of the Jews dwelling in their midst, and to assist by free-will offerings the building of the temple (Ezr 1:1-4). In consequence of this royal decree, those Jews whose spirit God had raised up prepared for their return, and received from their neighbours gifts and free-will offerings (Ezr 1:5…
Any of you who are his people may go: The Assyrians and Babylonians had ruled their empires by deporting people and spreading them out in cities throughout their empires. The Persians, by contrast, returned exiled people to their homelands, expecting the returned people to be thankful, obey the Persians, and pay their taxes.
Rashi on Ezra 1:3
Who is among you So did he announce and write to all the kingdoms, “Who is among you of all His people,” [i.e., of the people] of the Holy One, blessed be He, may the Holy One, blessed be He, be at his assistance, and let him ascend to build His house that is in Jerusalem.
Medo-Persian Kingdom · The Jews delivered from captivity by means of — The Jews delivered from captivity by means of
Proclamation · Emancipation — Emancipation
Temple, The Second · Cyrus: Gave permission to the Jews to go to Jerusalem to build — Cyrus: Gave permission to the Jews to go to Jerusalem to build
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
