Глава 10

1. The impression made on the people by Ezra's prayer. 2–4. Shekhania's speech. 5. Oath of obedience to the law. b-7. Meeting of immigrants. 10–15. Decisions made regarding mixed marriages. 16–19. Investigation of the case. 20–44. List of persons who violated the law on mixed marriages. 1Ezra 10:1. When Ezra prayed like this and confessed, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large congregation of Israelites, men and women and children, flocked to him, because the people wept a lot. Ezra's prayer takes place in front of the house of God, i.e. in the front yard. Since many others were imbued with the consciousness of the sins of the people, a very large meeting was formed around Ezra, and the courtyard of the church was filled with crying. 1Ezra 10:2. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel from the sons of Elam answered and said to Ezra: We have committed a crime before our God in taking foreign wives from the nations of the earth, but there is still hope for Israel in this matter; The expression of the feelings of the people was “Shechaniah, the son of Jehiel of the sons of Elam.” This Shechaniah is different from the one mentioned in 1Ezra 8.5; likewise his father. Jehiel cannot be identified with the one mentioned in v. 26 Jehiel. The sons of Elam, to whom he belonged, are mentioned back in 1Ezra 2:7, 8:7, 10:26. Shekhania was neither a priest nor a prince. Therefore, his speech was an expression of the repentant mood of the community. Shekhania recognizes marriages with foreigners as the main sin of the people. But contrary to 1Ezra 9:10, he believes that there is still hope for Israel. Instead of the words “in this matter” from Heb. (al-zoth) would be better rendered: “despite this.” 1Ezra 10:3. Let us now make a covenant with our God that, according to the advice of my lord and those who revere the commandments of our God, we will send away all the wives and children born to them - and let it be done according to the law! Shechaniah proposes to enter into a sworn alliance with God (2 Chronicles 15:12, 29:10, 34:31–32; Nehemiah 10.29) - and to release the wives of foreigners, as well as the children born from them. As can be seen from Art. 44 and from Nehemiah 13.23 et al., the proposal of Shechaniah was carried out in full. However, adult children, especially sons, if they agreed to obey the law, could probably remain in Judea. “According to the advice of my lord”: instead of the adonai standing here, Jehovah is read in many manuscripts; in Vulg. juxta voluntatem Domini, according to the will of the Lord. The connection with what follows will then be like this: according to the will of the Lord, as it is understood by those who reverence the commandments of God (Schultz). In Russian in the text adonai (my lord) is understood as a reference to Ezra. In a similar way, ὡς ἐκριτθη σοι is conveyed in 2 Ezra. Under the advice of Ezra in this case in v. 3, of course, the prayer of Ezra (1Ezra 9.6-16), which inspired the people with the decision taken. 1Ezra 10:5. And Ezra stood up and commanded the rulers of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel to swear an oath that they would do so. And they took an oath. Ezra took advantage of the mood of the moment and took an oath from the leaders of the people that they would fulfill what Shechaniah said. 1Ezra 10:6. And Ezra arose and went from the house of God to the dwelling of Johanan the son of Eliashib, and came there. He did not eat bread or drink water, because he cried about the crime of the settlers. After the oath of the people, Ezra left the courtyard of the church and went to the dwelling (LXX γαζαφυλάκιον, slav. “treasury house”) of Johanan, the son of Eliashib. Apparently, this was an extension to the church for storing sacred clothing and accessories of worship, as well as for the temporary residence of priests and Levites. Since the writer does not give any explanations regarding the identity of Yochanan, after whom one of the rooms of the church was named, it can be concluded from here that his identity was well known. In the book. Nehemiah (Nehemiah 12:23, 10) mentions Jochanan the high priest, who appears to be the grandson of Eliashib and a contemporary of Nehemiah. Probably, one of the church rooms was named after this Yohanan. This name, however, could have arisen later than the time mentioned in 1Ezra 10, since at that time Jochanan was not yet a high priest. But the writer, for the sake of clarity of the story, uses this later, obviously well-known name. “He did not eat bread or drink water” (cf. Ex 34.28; Deut 9.9) 1Ezra 10:7. And they announced in Judea and in Jerusalem to all those who were in captivity that they should gather to Jerusalem; 1Ezra 10:8. and whoever does not come in three days, according to the determination of the rulers and elders, a spell will be placed on all his property, and he himself will be excommunicated from the society of the immigrants. Since the final formal decision on the issue of foreign wives depended on the entire community, the rulers and elders, sympathizing with Ezra’s plans, convened a meeting of the immigrants in Jerusalem. 1Ezra 10:9. And all the inhabitants of Judah and the land of Benjamin gathered to Jerusalem in three days. It was in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. And all the people sat in the square near the house of God, trembling both because of this matter and because of the rains. The meeting took place four months after Ezra's arrival, on the twentieth day of the ninth month, corresponding to our December. The meeting place was the square in front of the church. Characterizing the state of those gathered, the writer says that the people sat trembling both because of this matter and because of the rains. Thus, the people were worried about the importance of the expected decision, and in addition, they suffered from the bad weather that occurs in Palestine in December. 1Ezra 10:10. And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them: You have committed a crime by taking foreign wives for yourselves, and thereby increased the guilt of Israel. 1Ezra 10:11. Therefore repent of this before the Lord God of your fathers, and do His will, and separate yourselves from the nations of the earth and from the foreign women. 1Ezra 10:12. And the whole congregation answered and said with a loud voice, “As you have said, so we will do.” To Ezra’s proposal to separate from the “nations of the earth,” i.e. from the pagans, and from foreign wives, the whole assembly with a “loud voice,” i.e. with complete determination, expressed its consent. 1Ezra 10:13. However, there are many people and now it is rainy, and there is no opportunity to stand on the street. And this is not a matter of one day or two, because we have made a lot of mistakes in this matter. Having agreed with Ezra’s proposal, the meeting, however, postponed its implementation, since in order to accurately establish the facts of mixed marriages, in addition to the inconvenience of carrying it out in a large assembly (“the people are numerous”), a long time was needed (v. 13: “this is not a matter of one day or two”), and the rainy season made it impossible to stay on the street for a long time. 1Ezra 10:14. Let our leaders take the place of the whole community, and let everyone in our cities who have taken foreign wives come here at appointed times, and with them the elders of each city and its judges, until the burning wrath of our God for this matter is turned away from us. The meeting entrusts the completion of the decided task of reform to the “superiors.” Husbands with foreign wives, accompanied by city elders and judges, must appear before them at the appointed time to clarify the matter. 1Ezra 10:15. Then Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah took charge of the matter, and Meshullam and Shabbai the Levite were their assistants. “Then (ach) Jonathan... stood over this matter” (amdu al zoth). Hebrew ach expresses the limitation of the thought expressed earlier, and in this article it is better to convey it in Russian, but, only. The expression amdu al, respectively 1 Chron 21.1; 2 Chron 20.23; Dan 8.25, 11.14, it is more correct to convey not “stood over it”, but stood against it. Thus Thus, the persons named in Article 15 protested against the decision made by the society, the writer does not indicate what their protest was. 1Ezra 10:16. And those who came out of captivity did so. And for this Ezra the priest, the heads of the generations, were separated from each generation of them, and they were all named. And they held a meeting on the first day of the tenth month to examine this matter; 1Ezra 10:17. and they completed the study of all those who took foreign wives by the first day of the first month. Ezra and the heads of the generations were elected to carry out the resolution of the people's assembly. The first meeting of this commission took place on the first day of the 10th month, i.e. only 10 days after the general meeting. The work of the commission lasted almost three months. By the first day of the first month - of course, next year - it was over. Due to the difficulty of designing the heb. text of the verse, it is considered by some researchers (Rissel) to be damaged: the words “who took foreign wives” are considered as an inscription to a further list, transferred, by mistake of copyists, to the middle of the verse. 1Ezra 10:18. And some of the sons of the priests were found who had taken foreign wives—of the sons of Joshua the son of Jozedek and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jareb, and Gedaliah; 1Ezra 10:19. and they gave their hands in assurance that they would let their wives go, and that they were guilty of sacrificing a ram for their guilt; 1Ezra 10:20. and of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah; 1Ezra 10:21. and of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah; 1Ezra 10:22. and of the sons of Pashhur: Eliohenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nathanael, Jozabad and Elasah; 1Ezra 10:23. and from the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei and Kelaiah, who is also Clitha, Paphahiah, Judah and Eliezer; 1Ezra 10:24. and of the singers: Eliashiv; and from the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem and Uri; 1Ezra 10:25. and from the Israelites, from the sons of Parosh: Ramaiah, Izziah, Malchiah, Miyamin, Eleazar, Malchiah and Benaiah; 1Ezra 10:26. and of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Obadiah, Iremoth and Elijah; 1Ezra 10:27. and of the sons of Zaffu: Elioenai, Eliashiv, Mattaniah, Iremoth, Zabad and Azizah; 1Ezra 10:28. and of the sons of Bebai: Johanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Aflay; 1Ezra 10:29. and of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaya, Jashub, Sheal and Jeramoth; 1Ezra 10:30. and of the sons of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Helal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, Binnui and Manasseh; 1Ezra 10:31. and of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishshiya, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Simeon, 1Ezra 10:32. Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah; 1Ezra 10:33. and of the sons of Hashum: Mathnai, Maphapha, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremiah, Manasseh and Shimei; 1Ezra 10:34. and of the sons of Vani: Maadai, Amram and Uel, 1Ezra 10:35. Benaiah, Bidya, Kelugi, 1Ezra 10:36. Benaiah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 1Ezra 10:37. Matthania, Mafnai, Jaasai, 1Ezra 10:38. Vanii, Binnui, Shimei, 1Ezra 10:39. Shelemia, Nathan, Adaiah, 1Ezra 10:40. Makhnadbai, Shashai, Sharai, 1Ezra 10:41. Azariel, Shelemiyahu, Shemariah, 1Ezra 10:42. Shallum, Amariah and Joseph; 1Ezra 10:43. and of the sons of Nebo: Jeel, Matthithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah. 1Ezra 10:44. All these married foreign wives, and some of these wives bore them children. List of persons guilty of violating the law on mixed marriages. This list includes 17 priests (vv. 18–22), 10 Levites (vv. 23–24), and 86 laymen (vv. 25–43), for a total of 113 persons. In first place in the list are the sons of Jesus (v. 18), by which we must mean Jesus the high priest, a contemporary of Zerubbabel, and his brothers - probably (cf. 1 Ezra 2:36-39), the sons of Jedaiah. “And they gave their hands as assurance.” Members of the high priestly house solemnly (cf. 2 Kings 10.15; Ezekiel 17.18; Lamentations 5.6) pledged to release the foreign wives and sacrificed a ram to atone for their guilt. The basis for the latter could be the injunction of Lev. 5.14–19. Some of those mentioned in Art. 20–22 names are found in Nehemiah 8.4 and Nehemiah 10.2–9 (cf. note to 1Ezra 2.19–39). The name Kelaya is usually found in the form of Cleitus (Neh. 8.7, 10.10) “And from the Israelites”, i.e. from the laity. Named in Art. 25–43 persons belong to the ten families mentioned in 1Ezra 2. In the list, two families (v. 29 and 34) name the sons of Vaniyah, and the second time (v. 31) they are counted in the number of 27 people. Further, attention is drawn to the fact that in the list there is no mention of the inhabitants named in 1Ezra 2.21–28, 33–35 cities, whereas (according to Articles 7, 14) the study of the issue of mixed marriages should have also concerned them. One can therefore think that those counted in Art. 34–42 The 27 individuals were residents of different places in Judea. In Art. 44, the second half of the verse attracts attention: “And some of these wives bare them children.” Heb. the construction of the verse arouses bewilderment (male r. verb Vojaschimu, gave birth). The purpose of the remark is also unclear, since it is difficult to consider as such a purpose the desire to indicate the severity of the practical implementation of the meeting’s resolution (Rolipson) or the thoroughness of the study of the case (Keil). In the parallel text of 2Ezra 9.36 it reads: “and they sent them (the wives) away with their children.” This reading may be preferable to the reading of 1Ezra 10.44. The thought of the latter, in this case, will be this: while most husbands sent away only their wives, some, the most zealous ones, also sent away children. You might be interested in: