Ezra 5:17

Ezr 5:17 Now therefore, if [it seem] good to the king, let there be search made in the king’s treasure house, which [is] there at Babylon, whether it be [so], that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

Ver. 17. Now, therefore, if it seem good] Verba byssina. Flaxen words.

Whether it be so] They supposed it was nothing so, and hoped that these Jews would he found falsaries, but it fell out far otherwise; like as St Paul’s persecutions at Rome fell out "rather unto the furtherance of the gospel" than else, Php 1:12.

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 5:17. Now therefore, let there be search made, &c. — So they properly propose, that the real facts might be ascertained; in the king’s treasure-house — The house or place where the records of the kingdom were preserved very carefully, as rich treasures are wont to be. Thus these Samaritans seem to have given a fair representation of the cause of the Jews to the king, telling him only what was done namely, that they were rearing the temple, as persons that intended to worship, and not what was not done, that they were fortifying the city, as if they intended war; as those Samaritans that had written to Artaxerxes had falsely represented. It is probable, if their case had been as fairly stated to the former king (see the foregoing chapter) as it was now to Darius: he would not have ordered the work to be hindered. God’s people could not be persecuted if they were not belied. Let but the cause of God and truth be fairly stated and heard, and it will keep its ground.

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

Meaning, in the library, or places where lay the register or records of times.

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

Verse 17. The - treasure house] גנזיא ginzaiya. This is a Persian word, [Persian] gunji, a treasury.

There is a great deal of good sense and candour in this letter. Nothing of passion or prejudice appears in it. They laid before the king a fair statement without any attempt to prejudice his mind, and gave him those directions which were most likely to lead him to the truth, and to form a correct judgment on a business which, however it issued, must be of considerable importance to the state. God was in all this business; he was now giving an additional proof of his continued regard for a disobedient people, whom, though he had punished in his justice, he had spared in his mercy.

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

(17) Let there be search made.—All depended on the original decree, which nothing done intermediately by the usurper could cancel. And the request of Tatnai seems to imply that it would be found: although the original was not found in Babylon, as was expected, a copy had been made.

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

17. if it seem good to the king] A similar phrase in Ezr_7:18; Est_1:19.

in the king’s treasure house] which apparently was the repository of important documents as well as of treasure. The expression occurs again in Est_3:9; Est_4:7. The word rendered ‘treasure’ (ginzayya) is rendered by ‘gaza’ (γάζα) in the LXX. Compare Ezr_1:8; (gizbar) ‘treasurer’; 1Ch_28:11 (ganzak) ‘treasure’; chap. Ezr_6:1 gives the full explanation of the present phrase. The Vulgate too narrowly renders ‘bibliotheca’.

at Babylon] i.e. where would be kept the records of the Babylonian Empire.

his pleasure] Same word as that in Ezr_7:18, ‘the will of God’. The LXX. by a mistake of similar letters renders ‘having learnt’ (γνούς).

concerning this matter] Same phrase as in Ezr_5:5 (where see note). The word ‘matter’ added here in the English for the sake of explicitness. Tattenai asks for instructions as to how he should proceed generally in dealing with the Jews and their Temple-building.

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.

Let there be search made ... at Babylon - They perhaps doubted whether proof of the decree of Cyrus remained in the archives. The Pseudo-Smerdis had had the records in his power for seven months; and, when he reversed the policy of his predecessors, might have been expected to destroy their edicts. The decree was not found at Babylon, the most natural place for it, but in the provincial capital of Ecbatana, which Tatnai and his friends had not asked Darius to have searched (see Ezr 6:2).

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

Library. Septuagint, "treasury-house." Arabic, "for the archives." It is called "the house of books," chap. vi. 1. (Calmet)

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).

17. The king’s treasure-house — Where important records would be carefully preserved.

There at Babylon — Where the official documents of Cyrus were supposed to be still remaining. But they were found at Achmetha. Ezr_6:2.

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

Let there be search made in the king"s treasure house. The Vulgate has "in the king"s library;" and this, though not the literal rendering, is probably what was intended by Tatuai. Libraries or record chambers were attached to the royal residences under the old Assyrian and Babylonian kings; and the practice was no doubt continued by the Persians. Some of these record offices have been recently found, and their stores recovered. In the year 1850 Mr. Layard came upon the royal library of Asshur-bani-pal at Koyunjik, and obtained from it several hundreds of documents. More recently, in 1875-6, some Arab explorers happened upon a similar collection near Babylon, which yielded from 3000 to 4000 tablets ("Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology," vol. 6. pp. 4, 582). It is quite possible that the "decree of Cyrus" may still exist, and be one day recovered.

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

Now therefore. &c. - If the case had been so fairly stated to Artaxerxes, he would hardly have hindered the work. The people of God could not be persecuted, if they were not belied.

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

After thus representing the state of affairs, the royal officials request Darius to cause a search to be made among the archives of the kingdom, as to whether a decree made by Cyrus for the erection of the temple at Jerusalem was to be found therein, and then to communicate to them his decision concerning the matter. "And if it seem good to the king, let search be made in the king's treasure-house there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king." על טב הן, like the Hebrew על טּוב אם, Est 1:19, for which in older Hebrew לו טּוב, Deu 23:17, or בּעינים טוב, Gen 19:8; Jdg 10:15, and elsewhere, is used. גּזיּא בּית, house of the treasure, more definitely called, Ezr 6:1, house of the rolls, where also the royal treasures were deposited. Hence it is obvious that important documents and writings were preserved in the royal treasury. תּמּה, there, is explained by "which at Babylon." רעוּת, chald. voluntas, comp. Ezr 7:18. Concerning the behaviour of these officials Brentius well remarks: vides differentiam inter calumniatores et bonos ac probos viros. Una eademque causa erat aedificii templi, unus idemque populus Judaeorum; attamen hujus populi causa aliter refertur ab impiis calumniatoribus, aliter a bonis viris.

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.)

General Information:

The letter from Tattenai to the king that began in Esra 5:7 continues. Tattenai has finished telling the king what the Judeans told him and now asks the king to see if what the Judeans told him was true.

may it be investigated

This can be translated in active form. AT: "I would like you to have someone investigate this matter" (See: Active or Passive)

if a judgment from King Cyrus exists there

"if there is a record there that King Cyrus issued a law"

translationWords

judge

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And now And now, if it pleases the king, let the matter be known and searched out in the king’s archives, which is located in Babylon.

whether it is so whether this incident is so, that permission was issued by Cyrus to build this House, which is in Jerusalem.

and the will of the king And the will of the king concerning this he shall send to us.

to us Aram. עֲלֶינָא, lit. on us. Until here is the text of the letter that Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai sent.

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.