Reading for November 6th

Read Ezra 4.1-5. In 4.1-5: Opposition to rebuilding the Temple. This section shows the surrounding peoples opposing the rebuilding of the Temple, just as the following section will detail opposition by surrounding peoples to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem over a half of century later. Such opposition to sacred actions furthers the prohibition of intermarriage witht he surrounding peoples. In verse 1: The adversaries of Judah and Bejanmin: By charactererizing these persons as adversaries, the author makes their subsequent request less than truthful. In verse 2: We worship your God as you do: As deportees who have been settled in the land by the Assyrains, the "adversaries" would not have known the Pentateuch nor the orders of the Temple service attributed to King David. Consquently, they could not approach God inthe same way as the returned exiles. In verse 3: We alone will build to the Lord ... as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us: The community determines to show its devotion on its own, and claims this is reuired by Cyrus' orders. There is nothing in the decree that restricts who can participate in the rebuilding. In verse 4: The people of the land discouraged the people of Judah: Here the people of the land is defined by what preceeded it, namely they are deportees who were brought into the land by the Assyrains. However, the author will use the term simpley as a generic label for those who are not of Judah. The Hebrew term tranlated as discourged is better rendered "undermined." Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 5th

Read Ezra 3.8-13. In 3.8-13: Laying the foundation of the Temple. The author highlights the momentous beginning of the building of the Temple, emphasizing the devotion of the community. In verse 8: In the second year after their arrival at the house of God at Jerusalem may relate to the third year of Darius, around 519 BCE if the earlier reference was to a time in the reign of Darius. The community arrived at Jerusalem to find the Temple in ruins, hence the need to begin rebuilding. But the author, wanting to connect the Jerusalem community with the sanctified dwelling place of God, has the exiles arriving at the house of God. They appointed Levites: Most likely Zerubbabel and Jeshua appointed them. In verse 10: The priests in their vestments were stationed to praise the Lord with trumpets recalls the priestly trumpeters in 2 Chr.5.12 at the dedication of the Temple in the days of Solomon. According to the directions of King David empasizes the continuity between this Second Temple and the worship conducted in the First Temple. Despite the trauma of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the exile in Babylon, nothing has changed in the way the community worships God. In verse 11: They sang responsively: The leaders sang first and the assembly responded. Another possible meaning is "antiphonally," with one part of the choir initiating a verse and the other part completing it. The hymn that is sung appears as part of a number of Psalms (for example, Ps 106.1; 107.1; 136.1). In verse 12: Old people who had seen the first house: Sixty-eight years had elapsed since the destruction of the first Temple. Wept with a loud voice when they saw this house. Presumably what was planned for the rebuilt Temple was less is size and/or granduer than that of the Temple of Solomon (as in Hag 2.3). The weeping over what had been lost was drowned out by those who shouted for joy, shifting the focus to what could be anticipated for the future. Comments or Questions..

Reading for Novemeber 4th

REBUILDING THE HOUSE OF GOD. Chs. 3-6: This section, in the form of historicl narrative, includes citations from various documents designed to authenticate the contents. There are disruptions in the chronological order of the narrative, however, and in ch.4 there is a sudden shift from the Hebrew to the Aramaic language. Recounting events in chronological order is therefore probably not the intention of this section. Rather, the author is interweaving two actions by the community: The rebuilding of the Temple and the reconstitution of the community as the "house of God." The first happens within a generation of the return to Jerusalem from Exile, but the second can take place only serveral generations later, after Jerusalem community is separated by its walls and its covenant to refrain from inter-marriage. Read Ezra 3.1-7. In 3.1-7: The reinstitution of worship. This section describes the resumption of worship at the site of the ruined Temple as a prelude to the effort to rebuild the Temple, as decreed bythe Persian King Cyrus in the opening of the book. In verse 1: When the seventh month came is an enigmatic reference since the year is not disclosed. It may be the seventh month of the earlier date formula of 1.1, that is, the first year of Cyrus (around 539 BCE), though this presents a problem with what follows. The notices of Jeshua and Zerubbabel (v. 2) focus on two individuals who are usually dated to the early years of the rign of Darius (522-486 BCE). The seventh month may refer to the second year of Darius' rule, when a renewed commitment to rebuilding the Temple was made (Hag 2.1). In verse 2: As prescribed in the law of Moses, the man of God relates to rules on the compsition of the altar found in Ex 20.25. In verse 4: And they kept the Festival of Booths, as prescribed, relecting perhaps a concern to follow the rules found in Lev 23.33-43, where the fifteenth day of the seventh month is reserved for the beginning of this important festival. In verse 6: But the foundation of the Temple of the Lord was not yet laid distinguishes the resumption of worship from the beginning of rebuilding the physical Temple. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 3rd

Read Ezra 2.36-70. In verse 36: The priests: The decendants of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua: Jedaiah is named as one of the first priestly figures to return to Jerusalem after the Exile (1 Chr 9.10), and Jeshua was an important chief priest under the administrartion of Zerubbabel in the late sixth century (Ezra 3.8). Apparemtly, Jedaiah was regarded as the founder of a renewed line for the chief priesthood. In verse 43: The Temple servants is a technical name for a group devoted to serving the Levites. In verse 55: Solomon's servants appear to have been a similar group. In verse 59: Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer are place names of uncertain identification. Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 2nd

Read Ezra 2.1-35. In 2.1-70: The first list of those who returned from Babylon. At first glance, the list would seem to be a well- organized, coherent presentation broken into sections by category of occupations. A closer examination reveals that some persons are idenitifed by their family lineage, others by their place of resdence. This and other differences suggest the list is a composite product, possibly listing returnees from several different stages of the formation of the community in Jerusalem. From the meager records have survived, the usual conclusion drawn is that following Cyrus's decree several different groups left Babylon for Jerusalem at different times. The list is repeated with some variations in Neh 7.6-73. From a close comparison of the two lists, the list here in Ezra 2 appears to summarize the information in Neh 7, and consequently may be derived from that list. The use of duplicate lists in Ezra-Nehemiah is a deliberate framing device by the author, directing the reader's attention to the level of the individulas who form the "house of God." In verse 2: They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah ... : Several of these names are well-known govenors of Yehud, the persian province centered in Jerusalem, who were in office at various times from the sixth century onward. Others, such as Jeshua, were among the high priests. Some of the individuals were contemporaries of Nehemiah, bringing the close of the list to the mid fifth century. The incorporation of persons over such a range of time shows the essentially nonhistorical interest of the author. The number of the Israelite people: This term for number is more apporpriately "listing," since formal census does not follow. The first section (vv. 2b-20) lists names by clan group, the second (vv. 21-35) mainly by location, the third (vv. 36-39) lists priestly clans, the fourth (vv. 40-42) Levitical groups, and the fifth (vv. 43-58) various orders of Temple servants. These are followed by a miscellaneous group that could not demonstrate a connection to known family lineages (vv. 59-63). A numerical summary of the primary attributes of the community follows (vv. 64-67), then there is a report of the devotion of these goups to the Temple (vv. 68-70). The various numbers given are possible in some cases, though some of the amounts may be artifical, such as 666 (v. 13). Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 1st

Read Ezra 1.1-11. In 1.1-11: The decree of Cyrus and its results. The legitimation pattern is opened by having Cyrus, the dominat founder of the Persian empire as Israel experienced it, decree that all those from Jerusalem should return and rebuild the house of the Lord. In verses 1-2: In order that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished: Jeremiah had claimed the Exile in Babylon would last 70 years (Jer 29.10). The first year of Cyrus is probably a reference to his first year over the Babylonian empire, which he captured in 539 BCE. The decree that follows is substantially the one the closes 2 Chr 36. Charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem is not the confession of Cyrus's belief in Israel's God, but rather a balanced polytheistic way of claiming that all subjugated people's gods have empowered Persian rule. Thus the persian king, by virtue ofhaving rule, should honor the gods who have permitted it. In other ancient sources, Cyrus claims the same divine approval from Marduk, the chief Babylonian god. In verse 3: He is the God who is in Jerusalem reflects the common ancient Near Eastern concept that gods and goddesses are especially presenet and should be worshipped in particular locations. In verse 4: For the house of God in Jerusaelm is an expansion of the decree in 2 Chr 36 that allows for the collection of offering for the Temple in Jerusalem by all those living outside the city. In verse 5: The heads of the families of Judah and Bejamin, and the Priests and the Levites: The primary tribes populating the southern kingdom of Judah were Judah and Benjamin. The Priests and Levites were usually counted separately from the tribes. In verse 7: King Cyrus himself brought out the vessels of the house of thr Lord the Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem: When Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in 587 BCE, the Babylonians looted the Temple precinct, including the gold and silver vessels used in the Temple service. The return of these vessels links the Temple of Solomon that had been destroyed by the Babylonian with the Temple that will be built after the Exile. In verse 8: Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah: There is no consensus on what this title may have meant in this time period. In Ezra 5.14 Sheshbazzar is called "govenor" of the province, so it may be that the author is using "prince" to indicate a leading citizen. In verse 9: And this was the inventory: This list possibly has been copied from an authentic inventory of the returned vessels. Coments or Questions..

Reading for October 31st

Read 2 Thessalonians 3.16-18. In 3.16-18: Epistolary closing. Peace and grace for all of you suggests a desire to draw in the erring members. In verse 17: With my own hand in light of 2.2 suggests that the writer feels the need to authenticate his letter. Comments or Questions..