Ezra-Nehemiah

A Mentor Commentary

Tiberius Rata

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright © Tiberius Rata 2010

ISBN 978-1-84550-571-4

Published in 2010

in the

Mentor Imprint

by

Christian Focus Publications,

Geanies House, Fearn,

Ross-shire, IV20 1TW, Scotland.

www.christianfocus.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher or a license permitting restricted copying. In the U.K. such licences are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London, EC1 8TS www.cla.co.uk.

I dedicate this commentary to my parents

George and Maria Rata

who encourage continually

and

love unconditionally

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Ezra 1

Ezra 2

Ezra 3

Ezra 4

Ezra 5

Ezra 6

Ezra 7

Ezra 8

Ezra 9

Ezra 10

Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah 2

Nehemiah 3

Nehemiah 4

Nehemiah 5

Nehemiah 6

Nehemiah 7

Nehemiah 8

Nehemiah 9

Nehemiah 10

Nehemiah 11

Nehemiah 12

Nehemiah 13

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Bibliography

Scripture Index

Subject Index

Detailed Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction—The World of Ezra and Nehemiah

1.1 The Fall of the Babylonian Empire and the Rise of the Persian Empire

1.2 The Religion of the Persians

1.3 The theology of Ezra

A. What does the book of Ezra teach us about God?

B. What does the book of Ezra teach us about God’s people and the faithless?

1.4 The theology of Nehemiah

A. What does the book of Nehemiah teach us about God?

B. What does the book of Nehemiah teach us about God’s people and the faithless?

1.5 Date and Authorship

Ezra

Ezra 1

I. God moves the heart of Cyrus (1:1–4)

II. God moves the hearts of His people (1:5–11)

Ezra 2

I The leaders of the restoration (2:1–2a)

II. Returnees identified by their name or geographical location (2:2b–35).

III. The priests (2:36–39)

IV. The Levites (2:40–42)

V. The temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants (2:43–58)

VI. Returnees without a family record (2:59–63)

VII. Statistics and settlement (2:64–70)

Ezra 3

I. Sacrifices to God: the foundation of worship (3:1–6)

II. Bringing the very best: the materials for the temple (3:7)

III. Beginning to build (3:8–9)

IV. Praising and giving thanks to the Lord (3:10–13)

Ezra 4

I. The source of the opposition (4:1–3)

II. The persistence of the opposition (4:4–5)

III. The many faces of opposition (4:6–22)

IV. The consequences of opposition (4:23–24)

Ezra 5

I. The rebuilding of the temple starts again (5:1–2)

II. The rebuilding of the temple is challenged again (5:3–5)

III. The rebuilding of the temple is reported to Darius (5:6–17)

Ezra 6

I. God moves the heart of the King (6:1–12)

II. God’s House is completed (6:13–15)

III. God’s House is dedicated (6:16–18)

IV. God’s people ...