Ezra 10:40
Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
Maknadebai
The name Maknadbay could be interpreted as Gatherer of the House or Assembly of the House. It might refer to a person known for bringing people together or a place where gatherings occur.

Shashai
The name Shashai, derived from a root meaning to be white, could imply purity or brightness

Sharai
Probably from sharar; hostile; Sharay, an Israelite

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ezra
A scribe and priest who led the second group of exiles back to Jerusalem. He was instrumental in the spiritual and religious reform of the Jewish people.

2. The Exiles
The Jewish people who returned from Babylonian captivity to rebuild Jerusalem and restore their covenant relationship with God.

3. Jerusalem
The central place of worship for the Jewish people, representing their spiritual and national identity.

4. The Covenant
The agreement between God and the Israelites, which they had broken by intermarrying with foreign nations.

5. The Assembly
The gathering of the Israelites in Jerusalem to address the issue of intermarriage and to renew their commitment to God's laws.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Obedience
Ezra 10:40 highlights the need for obedience to God's commands, especially regarding relationships that can lead us away from Him.

Community Accountability
The assembly in Jerusalem shows the importance of community in holding each other accountable to God's standards.

Repentance and Renewal
The actions taken by the Israelites demonstrate the necessity of repentance and the renewal of one's commitment to God.

Guarding Against Compromise
The issue of intermarriage serves as a warning against compromising one's faith and values for the sake of cultural assimilation.

The Role of Leadership
Ezra's leadership was crucial in guiding the people back to faithfulness, emphasizing the importance of godly leaders in spiritual reform.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the issue of intermarriage in Ezra 10:40 relate to the broader theme of obedience to God's commands in your own life?

2. In what ways can your community of faith help hold you accountable to God's standards, similar to the assembly in Jerusalem?

3. Reflect on a time when you had to repent and renew your commitment to God. What steps did you take, and how did it impact your spiritual journey?

4. What are some modern-day "foreign influences" that might lead you to compromise your faith, and how can you guard against them?

5. How can you support and encourage godly leadership within your church or community, following the example of Ezra's leadership?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 7:3-4
This passage warns the Israelites against intermarrying with foreign nations, which is directly related to the issue addressed in Ezra 10.

Nehemiah 13:23-27
Nehemiah also deals with the issue of intermarriage, showing the ongoing struggle to maintain the purity of the Israelite community.

Malachi 2:11
This verse condemns Judah for marrying the daughter of a foreign god, highlighting the spiritual implications of intermarriage.
The ReformationsJ.A. Macdonald Ezra 10:6-44
Sin and RepentanceW. Clarkson Ezra 10:9-44
Cheap ExpiationsJ. Parker, D. DEzra 10:18-44
The List of OffendersWilliam Jones.Ezra 10:18-44
People
Abdi, Adaiah, Adna, Amariah, Amram, Asahel, Athlai, Azareel, Aziza, Bani, Bebai, Bedeiah, Benaiah, Benjamin, Bezaleel, Binnui, Chelal, Chelluh, Elam, Elasah, Eleazar, Eliah, Eliashib, Eliezer, Elijah, Elioenai, Eliphelet, Ezra, Gedaliah, Hanani, Hananiah, Harim, Hashum, Iddo, Immer, Ishijah, Ishmael, Israelites, Jaasau, Jadau, Jahaziah, Jarib, Jashub, Jehiel, Jehohanan, Jeiel, Jeremai, Jeremoth, Jeshua, Jeziah, Joel, Johanan, Jonathan, Joseph, Jozabad, Jozadak, Kelaiah, Kelita, Levites, Maadai, Maaseiah, Machnadebai, Malchiah, Malchijah, Malluch, Manasseh, Mattaniah, Mattathah, Mattenai, Mattithiah, Meremoth, Meshullam, Miamin, Mijamin, Nathan, Nethaneel, Pahathmoab, Parosh, Pashur, Pethahiah, Ramiah, Shabbethai, Shallum, Sharai, Shashai, Sheal, Shecaniah, Shelemiah, Shemaiah, Shemariah, Shimei, Shimeon, Simeon, Telem, Tikvah, Uel, Uri, Uzziah, Vaniah, Zabad, Zabbai, Zattu, Zebadiah, Zebina, Zechariah
Places
Jerusalem, Nebo
Topics
Machnadbai, Machnadebai, Machnad'ebai, Sharai, Sha'rai, Shashai
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Ezra 10:10-44

     5711   marriage, restrictions

Library
Ezra, the Praying Reformer
Before the Great War there were many signs of a new interest in PRAYER and new hope from its exercise. How these signs have multiplied is known to every one. This one thing at least that is good the War has done for us already. Let us not miss our opportunity. Prayer is not an easy exercise. It requires encouragement, exposition, and training. There never was a time when men and women were more sincerely anxious to be told how to pray. Prayer is the mightiest instrument in our armory, and if we are
Edward M. Bounds—Prayer and Praying Men

Some Other Memorable Places of the City.
I. There was a street leading from the Gate of Waters to the mount of the Temple, which seems to be called "the street of the Temple," Ezra 10:9. This way they went from the Temple to mount Olivet. II. The ascent to the mount of the Temple was not so difficult but cattle and oxen might be driven thither; nor so easy, but that it required some pains of those that went up. "A child was free from presenting himself in the Temple at the three feasts, until" (according to the school of Hillel) "he was
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Old Testament Canon from Its Beginning to Its Close.
The first important part of the Old Testament put together as a whole was the Pentateuch, or rather, the five books of Moses and Joshua. This was preceded by smaller documents, which one or more redactors embodied in it. The earliest things committed to writing were probably the ten words proceeding from Moses himself, afterwards enlarged into the ten commandments which exist at present in two recensions (Exod. xx., Deut. v.) It is true that we have the oldest form of the decalogue from the Jehovist
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

Of a Private Fast.
That we may rightly perform a private fast, four things are to be observed:--First, The author; Secondly, The time and occasion; Thirdly, The manner; Fourthly, The ends of private fasting. 1. Of the Author. The first that ordained fasting was God himself in paradise; and it was the first law that God made, in commanding Adam to abstain from eating the forbidden fruit. God would not pronounce nor write his law without fasting (Lev. xxiii), and in his law commands all his people to fast. So does our
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Covenanting Performed in Former Ages with Approbation from Above.
That the Lord gave special token of his approbation of the exercise of Covenanting, it belongs to this place to show. His approval of the duty was seen when he unfolded the promises of the Everlasting Covenant to his people, while they endeavoured to perform it; and his approval thereof is continually seen in his fulfilment to them of these promises. The special manifestations of his regard, made to them while attending to the service before him, belonged to one or other, or both, of those exhibitions
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Ezra-Nehemiah
Some of the most complicated problems in Hebrew history as well as in the literary criticism of the Old Testament gather about the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Apart from these books, all that we know of the origin and early history of Judaism is inferential. They are our only historical sources for that period; and if in them we have, as we seem to have, authentic memoirs, fragmentary though they be, written by the two men who, more than any other, gave permanent shape and direction to Judaism, then
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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