Ezra 4:15

Ezr 4:15 That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city [is] a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed.

Ver. 15. In the book of the records] Chaldee, of the remembrances, that is, the chronicles usual in all kingdoms.

And know that this city is a rebellious city] {See Trapp on "Ezr 4:1"} {See Trapp on "Ezr 4:2"} Learn, that fidelity to governors is ever both safe and honourable. Zedekiah’s falsifying his oath to the king of Babylon, was the overthrow of that commonwealth. See what God himself saith, not without great indignation, Eze 17:18, "Seeing he" (Zedekiah) "despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape."

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_4:15

That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers.

Church registers

in a general view, all human records are interesting, if they are scarcely more than registers of names. Those names are always appended to some act or event, however concisely stated, and thus these mere catalogues serve to show us how they who have gone before us have been occupied, and are the founts and rills which flow into the great stream of human history; or, rather perhaps, to change the metaphor, are among the foundation-stones on which the fabric of human history is reared; they are low and concealed from observation, but are nevertheless essential to the building. Nothing can be apparently more devoid of interest than the pages of a church register; and yet, let us look at it nearly and intently, and with a reference to the principle just intimated, and interest will be found in every column, in every name. Consider--

I. The register of baptisms.

II. The register of marriages.

III. The register of deaths. (F. W. P. Greenwood.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ezr 4:15. In the book of the records of thy fathers — That is, thy predecessors, the former emperors of this empire; namely, in the Assyrian and Babylonish records; which, together with the empire, were now in the hands of the Persian kings.

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

4:15-16 The Persians had access to Babylonian records, which described Jerusalem’s revolts against Nebuchadnezzar (see 2 Kgs 24:1-7). • The claim that the Persians would lose the whole province west of the Euphrates was an exaggeration: The Jews actually comprised a small minority in that province.

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

Verse 15. The book of the records of thy fathers] That is, the records of the Chaldeans, to whom the Persians succeeded.

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

(15) The book of the records of thy fathers.—“The book of the records of the Chronicles” which in Est_6:1 is “read before the king.” This extended beyond his own fathers back to the times of the predecessors of the Median dynasty.

Of old time.—From the days of eternity, or time immemorial. The spirit of exaggeration if not of falsehood appears in every word here.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers] Literally, that one may search, i.e. the officials in whose keeping the records were. Perhaps the plural should be read, as in Ezr_4:19.

For this appeal to ‘the book of records’, compare chap. Ezr_6:1-2, and the allusions in the book of Esther to the existence of such an official register recording facts and events of State importance, Est_2:23; Est_6:1; Est_10:2. Rawlinson refers to Diodorus Siculus (II. 32) who speaks of ‘the royal parchments in which the Persians in accordance with some law preserved the record of the deeds of former time’ (ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν διφθερῶν, ἐν αἷς οἱ Πέρσαι τὰς παλαιὰς πράξεις κατά τινα νόμον εἶχον συντεταγμένας).

thy fathers] This expression might be adduced to prove that the Artaxerxes addressed could not be Pseudo-Smerdis. But it would be unfair to lay stress upon it. The context shows that the king’s predecessors in the rule of Western Asia are intended, Assyrian and Babylonian no less than Median and Persian.

hurtful] i.e. as a nucleus of revolt.

kings and provinces] i.e. to subject kings as well as to the great king.

‘Provinces’ (cf. the use of the word, Ezr_2:1) applied to the large districts into which the Empire was divided. See Dan_2:48; Dan_3:2; Est_1:22; Est_3:8, &c. They are described as 127 in number in Est_1:1; Est_8:9.

they have moved sedition within the same] i.e. the Jews within the city of Jerusalem; cf. 19.

… of old time: for which cause, &c.] An expression better suited to writers in the days of Artaxerxes than in the reign of Pseudo-Smerdis, only 65 years from the date of the destruction of Jerusalem (586 b.c.).

destroyed] R.V. laid waste.

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.

We certify the king, that if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up,.... As it formerly was, and now attempted, as they suggest:

by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river; the river Euphrates; intimating that the Jews would not only shake off his yoke, and refuse to pay tribute themselves, but would seize on all his dominions on that side the river, and annex them to their own.

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

The book of the records - Compare Est 2:23; Est 6:1; Est 10:2. The existence of such a “book” at the Persian court is attested also by Ctesias.

Of thy fathers - i. e., thy predecessors ripen the throne, Cambyses, Cyrus, etc. If Artaxerxes was the Pseudo-Smerdis (Ezr 4:7 note), these persons were not really his “fathers” or ancestors; but the writers of the letter could not venture to call the king an impostor.

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

Fathers, the preceding emperors, Nabuchodonosor, Salmanasar, &c. (Haydock)

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).

The records of thy fathers; political fathers, i.e. thy predecessors, the former emperors of this empire, namely, in the Assyrian and Babylonish records, which together with the empire were now in the hands of the Persian kings, to be searched or read as the king’s pleasure was, or as the affairs of the empire required.

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

15. Book of the records — Public and official annals of the kingdom, and of the acts of its kings, prepared by the scribes and recorders, and deposited for reference and use among the archives of the nation. See Introduction to the Books of Kings, (chapter on the sources.)

Of thy fathers — This word is here used of the king’s predecessors on the throne — records of previous kings and dynasties that had held dominion over all Western Asia. These records contained accounts of the rebellions in different provinces of the empire, and of the efforts that had been made to suppress them; and prominent among them must have been the rebellions and wars of Judah and Jerusalem — the causes of their exile.

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

That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers. It was the practice at the Persian court to register all important events in a book, which from time to time was read to the kings. (Est_2:23 Est_6:1) The Samaritans suggest a consultation of this book, which would at any rate contain their own previous accusations against Jerusalem (supra, vers. 5, 6), and might make some mention of the revolts from Babylon (see the comment on ver. 12). For which cause was this city destroyed. This was the great fact on which the Samaritans relied. Nebuchadnezzar had only destroyed Jerusalem in consequence of repeated rebellions. True; but no sufficient indication that there would be revolt from Persia, which was anti-idolatrous, and had proved herself so true a friend to the Jews.

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

That one should search that a seeker should search and seek in the annals of your fathers, the first kings.

and you will find And you will find in the annals, and you will know that this city is a rebellious city, and it injures the kings and the countries.

and they have made rebellion in its midst And its inhabitants were making rebellion in its midst, for Israel would rebel against the kings of the nations.

since days of yore Aram. מִן יוֹמָת עָלְמָא, from days of yore. Since ancient times, it has been their custom to rebel against the kings of the nations.

because of this Because of this, this city was destroyed.

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.