And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God. FurthermoreThis word serves as a continuation or an addition to what has been previously stated. In the context of Ezra 7, it signifies the ongoing instructions and decrees given by King Artaxerxes to Ezra. The use of "furthermore" emphasizes the importance and seriousness of the decree, ensuring that the reader understands that this is an extension of the king's authoritative command. you are to be aware
This phrase indicates a directive for conscious acknowledgment and understanding. It implies a responsibility on the part of the recipients to recognize and adhere to the instructions given. In the historical context, it underscores the importance of the decree being known and respected by all officials and subjects within the Persian Empire. you have no authority
This phrase is a clear prohibition, emphasizing the limits of power and jurisdiction. In the context of the Persian Empire, where authority was centralized under the king, this statement underscores the king's absolute power to grant exemptions and privileges. It reflects the divine favor and protection over the temple and its servants, as decreed by the king. to impose tribute, duty, or toll
These terms refer to various forms of taxation or financial obligations that were common in ancient empires. "Tribute" often involved payments made by subject peoples or regions, "duty" could refer to taxes on goods, and "toll" might involve fees for using roads or facilities. The exemption from these financial burdens highlights the special status and protection afforded to the temple workers, allowing them to focus on their religious duties without economic hindrance. on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God
This list encompasses the various roles and functions within the temple service. Each group had specific duties related to worship and the maintenance of the temple. The priests and Levites were responsible for sacrifices and rituals, singers led worship in song, gatekeepers managed the entrances, and temple servants assisted in various tasks. The comprehensive nature of this list underscores the holistic protection and provision for all who served in the house of God, ensuring that the worship and service to God could continue unhindered. This reflects the high regard and respect for the religious practices of the Jewish people, even within a foreign empire, and highlights God's providential care for His people and His house. Persons / Places / Events 1. EzraA scribe and priest who led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem and was instrumental in re-establishing the Law of Moses among the people. 2. ArtaxerxesThe Persian king who issued the decree allowing Ezra to return to Jerusalem and provided support for the temple and its services. 3. Priests and LevitesReligious leaders responsible for temple worship and sacrifices, exempted from taxes to focus on their spiritual duties. 4. Singers and GatekeepersIndividuals assigned specific roles in temple worship, ensuring the proper conduct of services and security. 5. Temple ServantsAlso known as Nethinim, these were assistants to the Levites, helping with various tasks in the temple. Teaching Points Support for Spiritual LeadersJust as the priests and Levites were exempt from taxes to focus on their duties, modern believers should ensure that those who serve in ministry are supported and able to focus on their spiritual responsibilities. The Importance of WorshipThe roles of singers and gatekeepers highlight the importance of organized and reverent worship, reminding us to prioritize worship in our own lives. God's ProvisionThe decree from Artaxerxes demonstrates God's provision for His people through unexpected means, encouraging us to trust in God's ability to provide for our needs. Separation for ServiceThe exemption from taxes signifies a separation for service, reminding believers of the call to be set apart for God's purposes in their own lives. Community ResponsibilityThe community's role in supporting the temple workers underscores the collective responsibility of believers to contribute to the work of the church. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the exemption from taxes for temple workers in Ezra 7:24 reflect God's priorities for His people? 2. In what ways can we support those who are dedicated to full-time ministry in our own communities? 3. How does the concept of being "set apart" for service apply to modern believers, and what practical steps can we take to live this out? 4. What lessons can we learn from the Persian king's support of the temple, and how does this encourage us to trust in God's provision? 5. How do the roles of singers and gatekeepers in the temple inform our understanding of the importance of worship and order in our church services today? Connections to Other Scriptures Nehemiah 10This chapter outlines the commitments made by the people of Israel, including the support of the temple and its workers, highlighting the importance of maintaining the house of God. 1 Corinthians 9Paul discusses the rights of those who preach the gospel to receive support, drawing a parallel to the Old Testament practice of supporting temple workers. Malachi 3The prophet Malachi speaks against robbing God by withholding tithes and offerings, emphasizing the need to support those who serve in the temple. 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 Custom, Duty, Gatekeepers, Impose, Inform, Lawful, Levites, Nethinim, Porters, Priests, Servants, Singers, Taxes, Temple, Toll, Touching, Tribute, WorkersDictionary of Bible Themes Ezra 7:24 5216 authority, nature of
5324 gatekeepers
5594 tribute 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 7:24 NIVEzra 7:24 NLTEzra 7:24 ESVEzra 7:24 NASBEzra 7:24 KJV
Ezra 7:24 Commentaries
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