17 And I gave them a commission to Iddo the chief, at the place Casiphia, and I put words in their mouths to say to Iddo [and] his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.
The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
And thou shalt speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.
And afterwards the Levites came in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron, and before his sons; as Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they to them. And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, This is that which concerneth the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward shall he come to labour in the work of the service of the tent of meeting. And from fifty years old he shall retire from the labour of the service, and shall serve no more; but he shall minister with his brethren in the tent of meeting, and keep the charge, but he shall not serve [in] the service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites with regard to their charges.
And I, behold, I have taken your brethren, the Levites, from among the children of Israel; to you are they given as a gift for Jehovah to perform the service of the tent of meeting.
A prophet will I raise up unto them from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, [As] thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, there is no turning to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king has spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words into the mouth of thy bondmaid:
And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward; and their number, by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand. Of these, twenty-four thousand were to preside over the work of the house of Jehovah; and six thousand were officers and judges; and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which I made, [said David,] to praise [therewith]. And David divided them into courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
and the Levites also have no more to carry the tabernacle, nor any of its vessels for its service. For by the last words of David was this [done], -- the numbering of the sons of Levi from twenty years old and upward. For their place was by the side of the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Jehovah, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the purifying of all holy things, and [for] the work of the service of the house of God; and for the loaves to be set in rows, and for the fine flour for the oblation, and for the unleavened cakes, and for [what is baked in] the pan, and for that which is saturated [with oil], and for all measure of capacity and size; and to stand every morning to thank and praise Jehovah, and likewise at even; and for all burnt-offerings offered up to Jehovah on the sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the ordinance concerning them, continually, before Jehovah; and they kept the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of Jehovah.
All the Nethinim and the children of Solomon's servants, three hundred and ninety-two.
(And there went up [some] of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the doorkeepers, and the Nethinim, to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.)
Therefore thus saith Jehovah: If thou return, then will I bring thee again, thou shalt stand before me; and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth. Let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ezra 8
Commentary on Ezra 8 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 8
This chapter gives us a more particular narrative of Ezra's journey to Jerusalem, of which we had a general account in the foregoing chapter
Ezr 8:1-20
Ezra, having received his commission from the king, beats up for volunteers, as it were, sets up an ensign to assemble the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah, Isa. 11:12. "Whoever of the sons of Sion, that swell with the daughters of Babylon, is disposed to go to Jerusalem, now that the temple there is finished and the temple-service set a-going, now is their time.' Now one would think that under such a leader, with such encouragements, all the Jews should at length have shaken themselves from their dust, and loosed the bands of their neck, according to that call, Isa. 52:1, 2, etc. I wonder how any of them could read that chapter and yet stay behind. But multitudes did. They loved their ease better than their religion, thought themselves well off where they were, and either believed not that Jerusalem would better their condition or durst not go thither through any difficulties. But here we are told,
Ezr 8:21-23
Ezra has procured Levites to go along with him; but what will that avail, unless he have God with him? That is therefore his chief care. In all our ways we must acknowledge God, and in those particularly wherein we are endeavouring to serve the interest of his kingdom among men. Ezra does so here. Observe,
Ezr 8:24-30
We have here an account of the particular care which Ezra took of the treasure he had with him, that belonged to God's sanctuary, Observe,
Ezr 8:31-36
We are now to attend Ezra to Jerusalem, a journey of about four months in all; but his multitude made his marches slow and his stages short. Now here we are told,