Ezra 10:2

Ezr 10:2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, [one] of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

Ver. 2. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel] Egregie cordatus homo A prudent and a pious man, one that had feeding lips, and a healing tongue, one that knew how to time a word, and to set it upon the wheels, Isa 50:4 Pro 25:11.

Answered and said unto Ezra] Such words as were uttered more from the bowels than the brain, and thereby proved so effectual.

We have trespassed against our God] His father Jehiel had taken a strange wife, Ezr 10:18; Ezr 10:26, so perhaps had he himself; or if not, yet he might fear wrath, because of the same body politic with those sinners against their own souls. God, he knew, might well draw blood of the arm for the cure of the head; as Theodoret saith he did when he slew Pharaoh’s first-born.

Yet now there is hope in Israel, &c.] Hope that the people will repent, and hope that God will have mercy, upon their repentance. Superest sperare salutem, He survives to hope for health. If it were not for hope the heart would break. God, having opened a door of hope, let us go boldly to the throne of grace; what should hinder?

“ Qui nil sperare potest, desperet nihil. ”

Who is able to hope for nothing, gives up hope for nothing. Cast not away your confidence, which hath so great recompence of reward; but cast anchor within the veil, and wait for day, as Paul did in the shipwreck. See Isa 50:10.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ezr 10:2. We have trespassed against our God — He says we, in the name of the people, and their several families, and his own among the rest. For this man’s name is not in the following catalogue, but there we have his father Jehiel, and his father’s brethren, five other sons of his grandfather Elam, Ezr 10:26. It was therefore an evidence of his great courage and disinterested faithfulness, that he durst so freely discharge his duty, whereby he showed that he honoured God more than his nearest and dearest relations, and set an admirable example of zealous integrity. And have taken strange wives — Into conjugal society with ourselves. Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing — The case is sad, but not desperate: the disease threatening, but not incurable. Our ruin may yet be prevented by repentance and reformation. And there is hope that the people may be reformed, the guilty reclaimed, a stop put to the spreading of the contagion, and so the judgments which the sin deserves may be prevented. Therefore, let us not sorrow like persons without hope, or sit down in despair, but let us fall upon action, and amend our errors, and then trust to God’s mercy.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then one of the sons of Elam, Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel, stood forth from amidst the assembly, and uttered the confession: "We have been unfaithful towards our God by marrying strange wives, but there is yet hope for Israel concerning this thing. We will now make a covenant with God to put away all the strange wives and their children from the congregation, according to the counsel of the Lord, and of those who fear the commandment of our God, that it may be done according to the law." Shecaniah, of the sons of Elam (comp. Ezr 2:7; Ezr 8:7), is a different person from the descendant of Zattu, mentioned Ezr 8:5; nor is Jehiel identical with the individual whose name occurs in Ezr 10:26. ונּשׁב, and have brought home strange wives. הושׁיב, to cause to dwell (in one's house), said in Ezr 10:10, Ezr 10:14, Ezr 10:17, Ezr 10:18, and Neh 13:23, Neh 13:27, of bringing a wife home. Shecaniah founds his hope for Israel in this trespass upon the circumstance, that they bind themselves by a solemn covenant before God to put away this scandal from the congregation, and to act in conformity with the law. To make a covenant with our God, i.e., to bind themselves by an oath with respect to God, comp. Ch2 29:10. הוציא, to put away - the opposite of הושׁיב. All the wives are, according to the context, all the strange women (Ezr 10:2), and that which is born of them, their children. Instead of אדני בּעצת, according to the counsel of the Lord, De Wette, Bertheau, and others, following the paraphrase in the lxx and 1 Esdras, read אדני, according to the counsel of my lord, i.e., of Ezra. But this paraphrase being of no critical authority, there is no sufficient reason for the alteration. For Shecaniah to call Ezra my lord sounds strange, since usually this title was only given by servants to their master, or subjects to their sovereign, and Shecaniah afterwards addresses him simply as thou. Besides, Ezra had given no advice at all in this matter, and still less had he come to any resolution about it with the God-fearing members of the community. יעשׂה after the preceding נכרת־בּרית, we will make a covenant, must be taken as hortative: and let it be done according to the law. בּ חרד, caring for with trembling.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

10:2 Shecaniah was the first person brave enough to publicly admit that he had been unfaithful to God. Admission of guilt gives the hope of forgiveness for sin.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Meaning, that God would receive them to mercy.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Shechaniah . . . answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed--This was one of the leading men, who was not himself a delinquent in the matter, for his name does not occur in the following list. He spoke in the general name of the people, and his conduct evinced a tender conscience, as well as no small fortitude in making such a proposal; for as his father and five paternal uncles (Ezr 10:26) were involved in the guilt of unlawful marriages, he showed, by the measure he recommended, that he deemed it better to obey God than to please his nearest relatives.

yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing--This hope, however, depended on timely measures of reformation, and therefore, instead of surrendering themselves to despair or despondency, he counselled them to amend their error without delay, relying on God's mercy for the past. Though the proposal may seem harsh and cruel, yet in the peculiar circumstances of the Jews it was just as well as necessary; and he urged the duty of seeing it executed on Ezra, as the only person competent to carry it into effect, being possessed of skill and address for so delicate and difficult a work, and invested by God, and under Him by the Persian king (Ezr 7:23-28), with the requisite authority to enforce it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. Shechaniah the son of Jehiel] He speaks here in the name of the people, not acknowledging himself culpable, for he is not in the following list. It is in the same form of speech with that in James, Jas 3:9. With the tongue curse we men. He seems to have been a chief man among the people; and Ezra, at present, stood in need of his influence and support.

Yet now there is hope in Israel] מקוה mikveh, expectation, of pardon; for the people were convinced of the evil, and were deeply penitent: hence it is said, Ezr 10:1, that they wept sore.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam] R.V. Shecaniah. A Jehiel is mentioned in Ezr_10:26 as one ‘of the sons of Elam’ that had married ‘strange women’. It is hardly likely that Shecaniah would have taken action against his own father and mother (or stepmother); though, if he did, it would strikingly illustrate the intensity of the feeling aroused. ‘The children of Elam’ are mentioned in Ezr_2:7, Ezr_8:7.

We have trespassed] See on Ezr_9:2.

have taken strange wives] R.V. have married strange women. ‘Have married’ a word meaning literally ‘caused to dwell’ used in this technical sense here and Ezr_10:10; Ezr_10:14; Ezr_10:17-18; Neh_13:23; Neh_13:27.

of the people of the land] R.V. of the peoples of the land. ‘of the land’, not as in Ezr_9:1-2; Ezr_9:11 ‘of the lands’. Shecaniah refers especially to the heathen living amongst the people of Israel.

yet now there is hope in Israel] ‘Hope’. This word in the Hebrew is used for the object of hope in Jer_14:8; Jer_17:13; Jer_50:7. In 1Ch_29:15 ‘our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding (Heb. ‘hope’)’, and in this passage, the source or means of ‘hope’ is denoted.

Shecaniah relied upon the promise attached to repentance (e.g. Deu_30:1-10). ‘Even now’ corresponds to the ‘and now’ in Ezr_9:10.

concerning this thing] The same words in the Hebrew as ‘because of this’ (Ezr_9:15). Shecaniah clearly does not mean ‘on account of this repentance’, but ‘with reference to this offence’.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra,.... This man seems to be one of those that now came with Ezra from Babylon, see Ezr 8:3,

we have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land; not that he had taken any himself, being but just come into the land, nor is his name in the list of those that had; but inasmuch as many of the nation, of which he was a part, and his own father, and several of his uncles had, Ezr 10:26, he expresses himself in this manner:

yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing; of a reformation of this evil, and of pardon for it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Jehiel was one of those who had taken an idolatrous wife Ezr 10:26; and Shechaniah had therefore had the evil brought home to him.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Sechenias. 3 Esdras calls him "Jechoias." See chap. viii. 5. The name of Sechenias is not found among the transgressors; (ver. 20.) but that of Jehiel is, ver. 26. It seems, however, that the former returned with Esdras, and speaks in the name of the people, to encourage them to confess their guilt, (Calmet) unless his name be omitted. (Menochius) --- Repentance. Hebrew, "yet there is hope, (Protestants) or an assembly of Israel." (Du Dieu)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He saith

we, either,

1. Because he was guilty in this matter. Or rather,

2. In the name of the people, and their several families, and his own amongst the rest. For this man’s name is not in the following catalogue, but there we have his father, Jehiel, and his father’s brethren, five other sons of his grandfather Elam, Ezr 10:26. It was therefore an evidence of his great courage, and good conscience, that he durst so freely and fully discharge his duty, whereby he showed that he honored God more than his nearest and dearest relations.

There is hope concerning this thing, in case of our repentance and reformation. Therefore let us not sorrow like persons without hope, nor sit down in despair, but let us fall upon action, and amend our errors, and then trust to God’s mercy.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Of the sons of Elam — Two individuals of this name are mentioned in the list of those who returned with Zerubbabel, (Ezr_2:7; Ezr_2:31,) but there is nothing to decide which one of them is here intended. Compare Ezr_10:26.

Now there is hope — From the fact that the people weep. There is always hope for sinners that are penitent enough to weep.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jehiel. Probably the Jehiel" mentioned again in ver. 26, who was "of the sons of Elam," and had married an idolatrous wife. Yet now there is hope. The penitence of the people, evidenced by their "sore weeping, gave hope that they might be brought to amend their ways and return to God.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We - He saith, we, in the name of the people, and their several families, and his own amongst the rest. For this man's name is not in the following catalogue, but there we have his father, Jehiel, and his father's brethren, five other sons of his grandfather, Elam, ver. 26. It was therefore an evidence of his great courage, and good conscience, that he durst so freely discharge his duty, whereby he shewed, that he honoured God more than his nearest and dearest relations. Hope - In case of our repentance, and reformation.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

and we have taken And we took them in.

there is hope There is hope for Israel concerning this, for they can cast out their foreign wives and their offspring and cast out all the children born from these foreign wives.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.