up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of olive oil, and salt without limit. up to one hundred talents of silverThe phrase "up to one hundred talents of silver" indicates a significant amount of wealth. In the ancient Near Eastern context, a talent was a large unit of weight, approximately 75 pounds or 34 kilograms. Silver was a precious metal, often used in trade and as a standard of wealth. The provision of such a substantial amount of silver underscores the king's support for the temple activities in Jerusalem. Historically, this reflects the Persian policy of supporting local religious practices to maintain stability in their vast empire. one hundred cors of wheat
A "cor" was a unit of dry measure, roughly equivalent to 6 bushels or 220 liters. Wheat was a staple food in the ancient world, essential for making bread, which was a dietary mainstay. The provision of wheat highlights the practical needs of the temple staff and the community, ensuring that those serving in the temple had their basic needs met. This reflects the importance of sustaining the religious community, which was central to Jewish identity and worship. one hundred baths of wine
A "bath" was a unit of liquid measure, approximately 6 gallons or 22 liters. Wine was commonly used in religious rituals and daily life in ancient Israel. It was a symbol of joy and blessing, often associated with celebrations and offerings. The inclusion of wine in this decree emphasizes the importance of maintaining the full range of temple services, including drink offerings, which were integral to worship practices. one hundred baths of olive oil
Olive oil was a valuable commodity in the ancient world, used for cooking, lighting, anointing, and as part of offerings. The provision of "one hundred baths of olive oil" ensured that the temple had enough oil for the menorah (lampstand) and other ritual uses. Olive oil's significance in anointing and consecration ceremonies also underscores its spiritual importance, symbolizing the presence and blessing of God. and salt without limit
Salt was a crucial preservative and seasoning agent in the ancient world. Its mention "without limit" suggests an abundant provision, ensuring that the covenant of salt, a symbol of enduring agreement and loyalty, could be maintained. In Levitical law, salt was required in grain offerings (Leviticus 2:13), symbolizing the covenant between God and His people. The unlimited supply of salt highlights the enduring nature of God's covenant and the king's commitment to supporting the religious practices of the Jewish people. 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 to the people and ensuring the proper worship practices were restored. 2. ArtaxerxesThe Persian king who issued the decree allowing Ezra and the exiles to return to Jerusalem. He provided resources and authority to Ezra to re-establish the Jewish religious practices. 3. JerusalemThe city to which Ezra and the exiles returned. It was the center of Jewish worship and the location of the Temple, which was in need of restoration and proper administration. 4. The ExilesThe Jewish people who had been living in Babylon following their captivity. They were returning to their homeland to rebuild their lives and religious practices. 5. The TempleThe central place of worship for the Jewish people in Jerusalem. The Temple required resources and proper administration to function according to the Law of Moses. Teaching Points God's ProvisionGod provides for His people through various means, including unexpected sources like foreign kings. Trust in God's provision even when it comes from unlikely places. Stewardship of ResourcesThe resources given to Ezra were specific and abundant, indicating the importance of stewardship. We are called to manage God's provisions wisely and for His glory. Importance of WorshipThe detailed list of resources underscores the importance of worship and the need for proper preparation and resources to honor God. Community SupportThe communal aspect of worship is highlighted by the provision for the entire community. We should support one another in our spiritual journeys and communal worship. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the provision of resources in Ezra 7:22 reflect God's faithfulness to His people, and how can we see this in our lives today? 2. In what ways can we be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us, both individually and as a church community? 3. How does the cooperation between Ezra and King Artaxerxes demonstrate the potential for God to use secular authorities for His purposes? 4. What parallels can we draw between the rebuilding efforts in Ezra's time and the spiritual rebuilding we may need in our own lives or communities? 5. How can we ensure that our worship is adequately supported and prioritized in our personal and communal lives, similar to the provisions made for the Temple in Ezra's time? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 30:11-16This passage discusses the census tax, which was used for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It highlights the importance of providing resources for worship and the maintenance of religious practices. 1 Kings 5:10-11Solomon's provision of resources for the building of the Temple shows the importance of having adequate supplies for the worship of God. Nehemiah 2:8Nehemiah also received resources from a Persian king for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, showing a pattern of God using foreign rulers to support His people. 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 Baths, Cors, Hundred, Limit, Measures, Oil, Olive, Salt, Silver, Talents, Wheat, WineDictionary of Bible Themes Ezra 7:22 5616 measures, dry Ezra 7:21-22 4363 silver
5617 measures, liquid Ezra 7:21-23 4357 salt
4492 olive 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 7:22 NIVEzra 7:22 NLTEzra 7:22 ESVEzra 7:22 NASBEzra 7:22 KJV
Ezra 7:22 Commentaries
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