True Bible Study - Rebuilding the House of God - Book of Ezra
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About this ebook
The Book of Ezra records details about the Lord God continuing to help His people via Ezra in accordance with the good-message regarding the Christ.
It includes information about Ezra's two journeys to Jerusalem from Babylon, building the sacrificial altar, the foundation, and the house of God according to God's instructions and the help of prophecy from Haggai and Zechariah.
The chronological timeframe of the Book of Ezra begins after the Books of Esther and II Chronicles, plus Nehemiah 7:4. Ezra 1:1 occurred during the 1st year of the reign of Esther's son, Cyrus, in the same year that Esther's husband took full control of Babylon.
This book includes verses translated from the Greek old covenant writing, sometimes referred to as the Septuagint. Additionally, some comparisons to the Hebrew text are provided.
Maura K. Hill
Maura K. Hill was born and raised in Ireland. After working in Ireland and the UK for several years, she relocated to the United States in 1995. She began her formal education in Biblical Koine Greek and Biblical Hebrew at Phillips Theological Seminary via the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma in 1996. A diligent student of the Biblical Languages, Maura published her first Greek-to-English Translation and Study Guide to I Thessalonians in the Fall of 1997. Since then, she published many additional, original Greek-to-English translations and comprehensive study guides for the New and Old Testaments. She has also published numerous and unique Biblical research articles on various topics. Maura continues her diligent research of the Critical Greek Texts and Papyri. Her publications include: True Bible Study - Adam and Eve Genesis 1-5 Noah and the Flood Genesis 6-11 Abraham Genesis 12-25 Isaac and Jacob/Israel Genesis 26-36 Joseph and Judah Genesis 37-50 Moses leaving Egypt Exodus 1-14 Moses and the Law Exodus 15-23 Moses and the Holy Tent Exodus 24-40 Joshua enters the Promised Land Joshua 1-12 Joshua and Israel's Inheritance Joshua 13-24 Deborah, Gideon, Samson Book of Judges Ruth and God's blessings Book of Ruth Samuel and Saul First Samuel 1-15 Saul and David First Samuel 16-31 King David Second Samuel 1-24 Psalms 1-41 Psalms 42-72 Psalms 73-89 Psalms 90-106 Psalms 107-150 Esther and Mordechai Book of Esther Rebuilding the House of God Book of Ezra Rebuilding Jerusalem Book of Nehemiah Jonah and the Sign Matthew Mark Luke John Acts of the Apostles Romans I Corinthians II Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians and Philemon I and II Thessalonians I and II Timothy and Titus Hebrews James and Jude I and II Peter I, II, and III John Revelation of Jesus Christ Life, Death, and Resurrection Quantum spirit Christian, son of God
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True Bible Study - Rebuilding the House of God - Book of Ezra - Maura K. Hill
Preface
The Book of Ezra provides information about the following:
Ezra’s first journey from Babylon to Jerusalem
The sacrificial-altar and the foundation of the House of God are built
The prophets Haggai and Zechariah
Completion of the House of God
Ezra’s second journey from Babylon to Jerusalem
Lawlessness among the people and Ezra’s prayer to God for help
A covenant and the people take action to correct their behavior
This book includes verses translated from the Greek old covenant writing, sometimes referred to as the Septuagint. The Septuagint (also identified as: LXX) is a translation of the old Hebrew texts along with the spoken language; it was made by approximately seventy scholars in Alexandria, Egypt, during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus from about 285 to 247 B.C. Some comparisons to the traditional Masoretic Hebrew text (after 1 A.D.) are also provided in this book.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss or comment on this Word Translation and Study via the Contact link on https://www.TrueBibleStudy.com.
Thanks to God for His love and grace.
Maura K. Hill
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Relevant Notes
Unless otherwise stated , all scriptures are quoted from the following:
The True Bible Study Word Translation (TBS)
Ezra chapters 1 – 10 are translated from the Greek old covenant writing (Septuagint) by Maura K. Hill.
The various resources and reference materials are listed at https://www.truebiblestudy.com/bible-materials.
In the TBS Word Translation and Study:
Words in parentheses and italicized within a scripture verse are words inserted to help our English understanding of those words which are translated from Greek words.
Additional explanatory insertions within a scripture verse are enclosed in square brackets and italicized.
Non-English words are printed with English letters.
I use an initial capital letter for all occurrences of the words Lord
and Master
when referring to either God or the Lord Jesus Christ due to my respect for them, therefore the reader will need to carefully consider the context of each particular usage to understand to whom that usage refers.
Where the word spirit
refers to God, I use an initial capital or upper-case S
- Spirit. But when the word spirit
refers to the gift of holy spirit, etc, I use a small or lower-case s
- spirit.
Underlined text is used for the English word but
when translated from the Greek word alla to show that it implies a strong contrast to that-which has just previously been stated, and/or to strengthen a command.
Underlined text is used for the singular form of the word you
to distinguish it from the plural form of the word you
which is not underlined.
Underlined text is also used for emphasis.
In order to communicate the fullness of the emphasis when the Greek definite article is repeated both with the noun and its adjective - for example: I Corinthians 15:4 the Greek is te hemera te trite, which literally means the day the third
– I translate it as "the day, the third (day)."
Verbs in the imperfect
tense are translated with the words used-to
and then the meaning of the verb.
For example: used-to teach
indicates that the one teaching spent time teaching, his action of teaching continued during a past time that is now finished for some reason, not that it was a quick one-time occurrence. The one teaching taught others taking time to teach, and he may have repeated his teaching at different times and in different ways. This tense is also used to historically describe past events relating what happened.
Verbs in the perfect
tense are translated from Greek with a superscript number 2 immediately following the verb - for example: it was written².
This tense indicates an action done during a past time and which has a present continuing result, meaning it is still the same at the time the verb was spoken/written. Therefore, this example could be translated as: it was written and continues written.
The noun love¹
or the verb to love¹
comes from the Greek word agape which is God’s kind of love.
When the Biblical writers wrote, there were no punctuation marks, no chapter or verse divisions indicated, etc, as we see them today in many of our English Bible translations and versions. Therefore we must read the whole context of each particular passage of Scripture for thought-content to more clearly understand the truth of what has been written.
Also, the original language was not English, and therefore when I may write that the writer said or wrote such and such, please understand that the writer actually spoke and wrote in the original language the equivalent to that-which I state in the English language to the best of my knowledge.
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Introduction to Rebuilding the House of God
The Book of Ezra records details about the Lord God continuing to help His people via Ezra in accordance with the good-message regarding the Christ; it focuses on rebuilding the house of God (the temple).
Ezra was a priest; he represented the descendants of Israel before God, making necessary offerings towards God on behalf of the people. He was also a scribe who was quick in his understanding and application of the law that the Lord God gave to Moses for Israel (refer to Ezra 7:1-6).
The genealogy of the Christ includes Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and others including Jechonias, Salathiel, and Zorobabel during the Babylonian captivity (refer to Ezra 3:2; Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38).
The chronological timeframe of the Book of Ezra begins after the Books of Esther and II Chronicles, plus Nehemiah 7:4. Ezra 1:1 occurred during the 1st year of the reign of Esther’s son, Cyrus, in the same year that Esther’s husband took full control of Babylon.
Ezra 1:1-4 records the proclamation of the emancipation of the Judeans (freedom from captivity and servitude after 70 years which began in the 4th year of Jehoiakim king of Judah) from Babylon, allowing the descendants of Israel to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of God, which had been burned by Nebuchadnezzar 50 years earlier (refer to II Chronicles chapter 36; Jeremiah chapter 25).
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The Lord God communicates His purpose
________
Ezra 1
Proclamation to build the house of God
The Book of Ezra begins with details about Cyrus the king of Persia. This king was the son of Queen Esther and King Artaxerxes, and he was brought up with his parent and those who assisted them, such as: Mordechai and Nehemiah, plus he may have been aware of much of the prophesies written by Jeremiah, Daniel, and the other prophets of the only true God who lived before him or during his lifetime.
Ezra 1:1-4:
¹:¹And in the first year of Cyrus the king of Persians – for the (purpose of) a word of (the) Lord from (the) mouth of Jeremiah to be completed – (the) Lord raised the spirit of Cyrus king of Persians up-out-from (other people) and he charged a sound in all his kingdom and indeed in writing saying,
.2"Thus says Cyrus king of Persians: The Lord God of the heaven gave to me all the kingdoms of the earth and He looked-intensely-on me to build a house for Him in Jerusalem, the (Jerusalem) in Judea.
.3Someone among you from all of His people and the God of him will be with him – even he will ascend into Jerusalem, the (Jerusalem) in Judea, and he must build the house of (the) God of Israel, God Himself, the (God) in Jerusalem;
.4and every-person leaving-down from all of the places where he sojourns there – even adult-males of his place will receive him in silver and gold and household-vessel and animals with the willingness with-a-view-for (the) house of God, the (God) in Jerusalem."
During the 1st year of Cyrus the king of Persians (at 40 years old he was the royal ruler, the sovereign having royal dominion and government and rule and territory and power, etc, over the Persian people; the land of Persia was located north and east of the Persian Gulf; his rulership included the land of Israel, and Babylon, and it extended from India on the east side, to the northeast part of Africa and northeast of Greece)...
for the purpose of a word of the Lord (so that one of the spoken-accounts containing individual words constituting what was spoken – the spoken account of the Master’s inner thoughts)
from the mouth of Jeremiah (he spoke these words of prophecy that he received from the Lord God; Jeremiah was one of God’s prophets – he spoke-forth the words that God told him concerning the past, present and/or future to, before, in front of other people; refer to Jeremiah 25:1-14, and 29:10 or 36:10)
to be completed (to be brought to its ending issue, caused to be accomplished – after 70 years of captivity and servitude of the Judeans which began in the 4th year of Jehoiakim king of Judah) –
...the Lord raised the spirit of Cyrus king of Persians up-out-from other people (the Master caused his spirit to rise up for a specific purpose that other people did not have – in this context because Cyrus was the son of Esther this word spirit
could refer to the spirit-life within him that he received from God, which gave him the ability to receive God’s Word directly from God Himself, upon the condition of believing what God told him and then living accordingly, similar to the holy spirit that many of God’s people received from Him for specific periods of time throughout the ages, such as Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Esther, Mordechai – or it could refer to the consistency and constitution of a fleshy-being that is alive, the soulish living and moving creature, whereby the Lord God aroused the king’s disposition, make-up, condition, character to perform a particular action [in Hebrew the word is ruach which can be translated as wind
or breath
or spirit
])...
...and the king charged a sound in all his kingdom (he passed a message on from himself throughout his entire kingdom, every part of his kingly or royal dominion, by using his voice, speaking these words) and indeed in writing (also, in addition this charge was surely, emphatically, definitely recorded in written form) saying (laying out a collection of words to communicate the substance or content)...
"Thus (in this manner) says Cyrus king of Persians:
The Lord God of the heaven (the sky above the earth – at this time in history the house or temple of/for the Lord God had been destroyed and therefore God’s presence was not being manifested as previously in Jerusalem on earth [in the Hebrew text the word ‘heaven’ is always in the plural form and figuratively it emphasizes the expansive greatness of God’s spirit realm, God’s location today from mankind’s view])
gave to me all the kingdoms of the earth (every one of the kingly or royal dominions pertaining to the land, ground; this did not include all of the earth but those areas that the king deemed to be important to rule)
and emphatically He looked-intensely-on me (in Greek there is a definite word for ‘He’ plus the verb meaning ‘He looked-intensely-on’ giving emphasis – He Himself looked-upon, inspected, observed me with a view to help or relieve, visiting and doing what was needed in my situation, which was)
to build a house for Him (the verb translated ‘build’ and the noun ‘house’ come from the Greek word, oikos, and by repeating the same root-word great emphasis is given – definitely to edify, erect, construct a dwelling for Him)
in Jerusalem, emphatically and specifically the Jerusalem located in Judea.
Someone among you from all of His people (anyone of you having the sort or quality of being from among God’s people, the mass or group of people collectively as one unit, one united assembly; this word usually refers to the descendants of Israel/Jacob) and the God of him will be with him (including the truth that his God will be in company and association with that person; this verb expresses the king’s intention, will, volition in this situation)...
emphatically to the degree and in explanation that he will ascend (mount, go upwards; this verb also expresses the king’s intention, will, volition in this situation)
into Jerusalem (which is located on higher elevation than the surrounding areas),
emphatically and specifically the Jerusalem located in Judea,
and it is imperative that he builds the house of (for, pertaining to, belonging to)
the God of Israel (their God [the Hebrew text includes the word ‘Lord’ referring to God in His covenant-relationship to that-which He created]),
God Himself (emphatically He is the one and only true God – there is no other),
emphatically and specifically the God in Jerusalem (this was the city that God chose for His house to be built; refer to I Kings 2:11, 8:16-29; II Chronicles 6:1-6);
...and every-person leaving-down (all, everyone who is leaving themselves remain behind, not going to Jerusalem at this time) from all of the places (every location) where emphatically he sojourns there (in Greek there is a definite word for ‘he’ plus the verb meaning ‘he sojourns’ giving emphasis – where the man going to Jerusalem, he himself houses or dwells as a temporary resident in that location, as a settler beside or near the family but not having the citizenship rights as the true dwellers)...
emphatically to the degree and in explanation that adult-males (grown men [in Greek the word translated ‘adult-males’ is aner indicating grown men; the Hebrew word ish or enosh is used in some versions which indicates male human-beings or the general term for mankind emphasizing their limitation and low social rank relative to God])
who dwell at his place (living near the man going to Jerusalem)
will receive him (will be in the state of taking the man who will go back to Jerusalem, receive him so as to use or do something with him, which will be)
in (within the sphere of action of)
silver (pieces of silver, as silver coins, money in general) and gold (pieces of gold, as gold coins) and household-vessel (their belongings or possessions, as one unit) and animals [the Hebrew text has the word usually translated ‘quadruped’ in the singular form instead of ‘animals’]
in company and association with the willingness (each one of them voluntarily, from himself, his own free-will decision to perform it)
with a view for (into, directed to, for the purpose of, with the motive and purposed objective being for)
the house of God (the dwelling, habitation or place where God meets with mankind, which had not been rebuilt at this time – the house for, pertaining to, belonging to Him [in the Hebrew text the word for ‘God’ is Elohim which refers to God the Creator in relation to His creations]),
emphatically and specifically the God Who is (Who makes His presence known to His people in His house)
in Jerusalem."
The Lord God
The word