together with all the silver and gold you may find in all the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem. together with all the silver and goldThis phrase emphasizes the wealth and resources being gathered for the mission to Jerusalem. In the ancient Near East, silver and gold were not only forms of currency but also symbols of power and divine favor. The Hebrew words for silver ("kesef") and gold ("zahav") often appear in contexts of temple offerings and royal treasuries, underscoring the importance of these materials in religious and political life. The collection of such wealth signifies a communal investment in the restoration of the temple, reflecting a deep commitment to the worship of God. you may find in all the province of Babylon
The phrase highlights the extensive reach of the Persian Empire, under which Babylon was a significant province. Historically, Babylon was a center of wealth and culture, and its resources were vast. The use of "find" suggests a diligent search and gathering, indicating that the return to Jerusalem was not just a spiritual journey but also a logistical and economic endeavor. This reflects the providence of God in using the resources of a foreign land to fulfill His purposes for His people. as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests
"Freewill offerings" (Hebrew: "nedavah") were voluntary contributions, distinct from obligatory tithes or sacrifices. This phrase underscores the heartfelt devotion and generosity of the Jewish community, both laypeople and priests, towards the rebuilding of the temple. It reflects a spirit of unity and shared purpose, as the community collectively supports the worship of God. The inclusion of both "people and priests" highlights the collaborative effort across different societal roles, emphasizing that the restoration of worship is a communal responsibility. for the house of their God in Jerusalem
This phrase centers the entire verse on the ultimate purpose of the gathered resources: the restoration and maintenance of the temple, referred to as "the house of their God." The temple in Jerusalem was not merely a physical structure but the spiritual heart of Jewish identity and worship. The use of "their God" personalizes the relationship between the Israelites and Yahweh, emphasizing covenantal faithfulness. Historically, the temple was a place of divine presence, and its restoration symbolized the renewal of the covenant and the hope of national and spiritual revival. Persons / Places / Events 1. EzraA scribe and priest, Ezra was a leader of the Jewish exiles returning from Babylon to Jerusalem. He was tasked with teaching the laws of God and restoring proper worship in the temple. 2. BabylonThe province from which the Jewish exiles, including Ezra, were returning. It was a center of power and wealth, and the source of the silver and gold mentioned in the verse. 3. JerusalemThe holy city where the temple of God was located. It was the destination of the returning exiles and the focus of their efforts to restore worship. 4. The House of GodRefers to the temple in Jerusalem, which was central to Jewish worship and the place where sacrifices and offerings were made. 5. Freewill OfferingsVoluntary gifts given by the people and priests for the temple. These offerings were an expression of devotion and support for the worship of God. Teaching Points The Importance of GenerosityThe verse highlights the role of freewill offerings in supporting God's work. Believers are encouraged to give generously and willingly to support the ministry and mission of the church. God's Provision through OthersThe silver and gold from Babylon illustrate how God can use unexpected sources to provide for His people. Trust in God's provision, even when it comes from unlikely places. The Role of Leadership in WorshipEzra's leadership in organizing the return and the offerings underscores the importance of godly leadership in guiding worship and spiritual renewal. The Significance of the TempleThe focus on the house of God in Jerusalem reminds us of the centrality of worship in the life of God's people. Today, believers are called to prioritize worship and the community of faith. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the concept of freewill offerings in Ezra 7:16 challenge or inspire your current approach to giving within your church community? 2. In what ways can you see God providing for your needs through unexpected sources, similar to the silver and gold from Babylon? 3. How can you support and encourage the leaders in your church as they guide the congregation in worship and spiritual growth? 4. Reflect on the significance of the temple in Jerusalem. How does this inform your understanding of the church's role in your life today? 5. Consider the historical context of Ezra 7:16. How does understanding the return from exile and the rebuilding of the temple deepen your appreciation for God's faithfulness to His people? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 35:29This verse describes the Israelites bringing freewill offerings for the construction of the tabernacle, showing a parallel in the willingness of God's people to support His dwelling place. 2 Corinthians 9:7This New Testament verse emphasizes the importance of giving willingly and cheerfully, reflecting the spirit of the freewill offerings mentioned in Ezra. 1 Chronicles 29:9King David and the people of Israel gave generously for the building of the temple, demonstrating a historical precedent for the kind of giving seen in Ezra 7:16. People Aaron, Abishua, Ahitub, Amariah, Artaxerxes, Azariah, Bukki, Eleazar, Ezra, Hilkiah, Israelites, Levites, Meraioth, Phinehas, Seraiah, Shallum, Uzzi, Zadok, ZerahiahPlaces Babylonia, Beyond the River, Jerusalem, PersiaTopics Along, Babylon, Babylonia, Besides, Canst, Findest, Freely, Freewill, Free-will, Freewill-offering, Free-will-offering, Gold, Jerusalem, Obtain, Offer, Offered, Offering, Offerings, Priests, Province, Silver, Temple, Voluntary, Vowed, WillinglyDictionary of Bible Themes Ezra 7:16 7366 freewill offering
7402 offerings Ezra 7:1-21 7464 teachers of the law Ezra 7:11-17 7468 temple, rebuilding Ezra 7:12-18 4333 gold Ezra 7:12-20 7505 Jews, the Ezra 7:13-16 4363 silver Ezra 7:15-17 5415 money, uses of Library Appendix. The Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament.
1. The Greek word Apocrypha, hidden, that is, hidden or secret books, was early applied by the fathers of the Christian church to anonymous or spurious books that falsely laid claim to be a part of the inspired word. By some, as Jerome, the term was extended to all the books incorporated by the Alexandrine Jews, in their Greek version, into the proper canon of the Old Testament, a few of which books, though not inspired, are undoubtedly genuine. Another designation of the books in question …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the BibleReading the Law with Tears and Joy
'And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. 2. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate, from the morning until midday, before …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Rome and Ephesus
Corinth as portrayed in the Epistles of Paul gives us our simplest and least contaminated picture of the Hellenic Christianity which regarded itself as the cult of the Lord Jesus, who offered salvation--immortality--to those initiated in his mysteries. It had obvious weaknesses in the eyes of Jewish Christians, even when they were as Hellenised as Paul, since it offered little reason for a higher standard of conduct than heathenism, and its personal eschatology left no real place for the resurrection …
Kirsopp Lake—Landmarks in the History of Early Christianity Authorship of the Pentateuch.
The term Pentateuch is composed of the two Greek words, pente, five, and teuchos, which in later Alexandrine usage signified book. It denotes, therefore, the collection of five books; or, the five books of the law considered as a whole. 1. In our inquiries respecting the authorship of the Pentateuch, we begin with the undisputed fact that it existed in its present form in the days of Christ and his apostles, and had so existed from the time of Ezra. When the translators of the Greek version, …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
BY JOHN BUNYAN PREFATORY REMARKS BY THE EDITOR This important treatise was prepared for the press, and left by the author, at his decease, to the care of his surviving friend for publication. It first appeared in a collection of his works in folio, 1692; and although a subject of universal interest; most admirably elucidated; no edition has been published in a separate form. Antichrist has agitated the Christian world from the earliest ages; and his craft has been to mislead the thoughtless, by …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Brave Encouragements
'In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, 2. Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, 3. Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? 4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture General Account of Jesus' Teaching.
^A Matt. IV. 17; ^B Mark I. 14, 15; ^C Luke IV. 14, 15. ^a 17 From that time Jesus began to preach [The time here indicated is that of John the Baptist's imprisonment and Jesus' return to Galilee. This time marked a new period in the public ministry of Jesus. Hitherto he had taught, but he now began to preach. When the voice of his messenger, John, was silenced, the King became his own herald. Paul quoted the Greeks as saying that preaching was "foolishness," but following the example here set by …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Section Chap. I. -iii.
The question which here above all engages our attention, and requires to be answered, is this: Whether that which is reported in these chapters did, or did not, actually and outwardly take place. The history of the inquiries connected with this question is found most fully in Marckius's "Diatribe de uxore fornicationum," Leyden, 1696, reprinted in the Commentary on the Minor Prophets by the same author. The various views may be divided into three classes. 1. It is maintained by very many interpreters, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Formation and History of the Hebrew Canon.
1. The Greek word canon (originally a straight rod or pole, measuring-rod, then rule) denotes that collection of books which the churches receive as given by inspiration of God, and therefore as constituting for them a divine rule of faith and practice. To the books included in it the term canonical is applied. The Canon of the Old Testament, considered in reference to its constituent parts, was formed gradually; formed under divine superintendence by a process of growth extending through …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Appendix v. Rabbinic Theology and Literature
1. The Traditional Law. - The brief account given in vol. i. p. 100, of the character and authority claimed for the traditional law may here be supplemented by a chronological arrangement of the Halakhoth in the order of their supposed introduction or promulgation. In the first class, or Halakhoth of Moses from Sinai,' tradition enumerates fifty-five, [6370] which may be thus designated: religio-agrarian, four; [6371] ritual, including questions about clean and unclean,' twenty-three; [6372] concerning …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Historical Books.
1. In the Pentateuch we have the establishment of the Theocracy, with the preparatory and accompanying history pertaining to it. The province of the historical books is to unfold its practiced working, and to show how, under the divine superintendence and guidance, it accomplished the end for which it was given. They contain, therefore, primarily, a history of God's dealings with the covenant people under the economy which he had imposed upon them. They look at the course of human events on the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Influences that Gave Rise to the Priestly Laws and Histories
[Sidenote: Influences in the exile that produced written ceremonial laws] The Babylonian exile gave a great opportunity and incentive to the further development of written law. While the temple stood, the ceremonial rites and customs received constant illustration, and were transmitted directly from father to son in the priestly families. Hence, there was little need of writing them down. But when most of the priests were carried captive to Babylonia, as in 597 B.C., and ten years later the temple …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament 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 Links Ezra 7:16 NIVEzra 7:16 NLTEzra 7:16 ESVEzra 7:16 NASBEzra 7:16 KJV
Ezra 7:16 Commentaries
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