Ezra & Nehemiah

by Israel Loken

General Editor: H. Wayne House

Old Testament Editor: William D. Barrick

Ezra-Nehemiah: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary

Copyright 2011 Israel Loken. All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America.

Published by Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

http://www.lexhampress.com

You may use brief quotations from this commentary in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at permissions@lexhampress.com

Author: Israel Loken

General Editor: H. Wayne House

Old Testament Editor: William D. Barrick

Copy Editor: Daniel Johnson

Acquisitions and Project Support: Bill Nienhuis, Anisa Lampton, and Jessi Gering

Publisher: John D. Barry

English quotations from Ezra and Nehemiah for this commentary are the author’s own translation.

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations in English from books other than Ezra or Nehemiah are from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation.

To Kimberley,

my loving wife and deepest inspiration.

Acknowledgments

I am most deeply indebted to the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary for providing me with the training necessary to accomplish this task. Of special note is the Department of Bible Exposition, which has provided me with the opportunity to teach seminary students what I have learned. I am likewise deeply indebted to the administration of the College of Biblical Studies for providing an environment in which I am able to study the Word of God and share with college students what I have learned.

I would also like to acknowledge those individuals who have made a special contribution to this project through their faithful prayers and encouragement: Mike Ayers, Charles Carpenter, Alex Hernandez, Ashley Jones, Peter and Dawn Loken, Paul Shockley, and Steve Sullivan.

Editors’ Preface

We are happy to present the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (eec) series on the Bible. Though there are many excellent commentaries that have been produced in recent years, the eec is a needed addition for scholars, pastors, and students of the Bible. As the title of the series indicates, the authors of this series are committed to both the evangelical faith and a careful exegesis of the biblical text. Each of the authors affirms historic, orthodox Christianity and the inspiration and inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures. In this series, the biblical books are studied with the tested tools of biblical scholarship, keeping in mind that these books, produced by human authors, come from the very mouth of God (2 Tim 3:16). The eec reflects the important interpretative principles of the Reformation, while utilizing historical-grammatical and contextual interpretative methods.

Each part of the biblical text—as reflected in the original reading—has something to teach us about God, His world, and how we should relate ...