did he inherit his piety towards God, and honour of him. For he did all things agreeably to his father's will relating to divine worship; and was exceeding friendly to the Jews. Now about this time a son of Jeshua, whose name was Joacim, was the high-priest. Moreover there was now in Babylon a righteous man, and one that enjoyed a great reputation among the multitude. He was the principal priest of the people; and his name was Esdras. He was very skilful in the laws of Moses, and well acquainted with King Xerxes. He had determined to go up to Jerusalem, and to take with him some of those Jews that were in Babylon; and he desired that the king would give him an epistle to the governors of Syria, by which they might know who he was. Accordingly, the king wrote the following epistle to those governors :

try of the Babylonians, as dedicated to God; and let all this be carried to Jerusalem for sacrifices. Let it also be lawful for thee and thy brethren to make as many vessels of silver and gold as thou pleasest. Thou shalt also dedicate those holy vessels which have been given thee, and as many more as thou hast a mind to make, and shalt take the expenses out of the king's treasury. I have moreover written to the treasurers of Syria and Phoenicia, that they take care of those affairs that Esdras the priest and reader of the laws of God is sent about. And that God may not be angry with me, or with my children, I grant all that is necessary for sacrifices to God, according to the law, as far as a hundred cori of wheat; and I enjoin you not to lay any treacherous imposition, or any tributes, upon their priests or Levites, sacred "Xerxes, king of kings, to Ezra, the priest, singers, porters, sacred servants, or scribes of and the reader of the divine law, greeting. I the temple. And do thou, O Esdras, appoint think it agreeable to that love which I bear judges according to the wisdom given thee to mankind, to permit those of the Jewish na- of God and those such as understand the law, tion that are so disposed, as well as those of that they may judge in all Syria and Phothe priests and Levites, that are in our king-nicia: and do thou instruct those also who are dom, to go together to Jerusalem. Accord- ignorant of it, that if any one of thy countryingly I have given command for that purpose; men trangress the law of God, or that of the and let every one that hath a mind go, ac-king, he may be punished; as not transgressing cording as it hath seemed good to me, and it out of ignorance, but as one that knows, but to my seven counsellors, and this in order boldly despises and contemns it; and such may to their review of the affairs of Judea, to see be punished by death, or by paying fines. Farewhether they be agreeable to the law of God. well." Let them also take with them those presents which I and my friends have vowed, with all that silver and gold that is found in the coun

throne, and four others by Atossa, the daughter of Cy-
rus, who were all born after it. Of the former Arta-
basanes was the eldest; of the latter Xerxes: and, as
Darius advanced in years, between these two was the
competition for the succession. Artabasanes urged, that,
as he
was the eldest son, according to the custom and
usage of all nations, he ought to be preferred before any
that was younger. But Xerxes replied to this, That he
was the son of Darius by Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus,
who was the first founder of the Persian empire; for
which reason he held it just and reasonable, that the
crown of Cyrus should rather come to a descendant of
Cyrus, than to one that was not; and to this he added,
that though Artabasanes was the eldest son of Darius, yet
he was not the eldest son of a king; that he was born
when he was only a private person, and could therefore
claim no more than to be heir of his private fortunes; but
that as to himself, he was the first-born after his father
was king, and had therefore the best right to succeed

When Esdras had received this epistle, he was very joyful, and began to worship God, and confessed that he had been the cause of

him in the kingdom. Whereupon he was nominated to
the succession, but not so much for the strength of his
plea, as for the influence which his mother Atossa had over
the inclinations of her husband. Prideaux's Connection,
anno 486.
B.

* An. 479.

That the histories of Ezra or Esdras the scribe, when he came and settled the Jewish commonwealth, after their return from the Babylonish captivity; and of Nehemiah, when he built the walls of Jerusalem, do not belong to Artaxerxes, the son, but to Xerxes the father, as Josephus here rightly places them contrary to all our other copies of Ezra and Nehemiah, is largely proved in my Literal Accomplishment of Scripture Prophecies, Supplement pag. 59-75. As also that Daniel's famous seventy weeks take their date, not from the seventh or twentieth of Artaxerxes, as commonly supposed, but from the twenty-fifth of Xerxes, is there proved at large, pag. 78 -91.

offerings, twelve bulls, on account of the common preservation of the people, ninety rams, seventy-two lambs, and twelve kids of the goats, for the remission of sins. He also delivered the king's epistle to the king's officers, and to the governors of Colesyria and Phoenicia. And as they were under a necessity of doing what was enjoined by him, they honoured our nation, and were assistant to them in all their necessities.

the king's great favour to him; and for the same reason he gave all the thanks to God. So he read the epistle at Babylon, to those Jews that were there; but he kept the epistle itself, and sent a copy of it to all those of his own nation, that were in Media. And when these Jews had understood what piety the king had towards God, and what kindness he had for Esdras, they were all greatly pleased. Nay, many of them took their effects with them, and came to Babylon; as very desirous Now these things were truly done under the of going down to Jerusalem. But then the conduct of Esdras; and he succeeded in them; entire body of the people of Israel remained because God esteemed him worthy of the sucin that country. Wherefore there are but two cess of his conduct, on account of his rightetribes in Asia and Europe, subject to the Ro- ousness. But some time afterward there came mans; while the ten tribes are beyond Eu- some persons to him, and brought an accuphrates till now; and are an immense multi-sation against certain of the multitude, and tude, and not to be estimated by numbers. Now there came a great number of priests, Levites, porters, sacred singers, and sacred servants to Esdras. So he gathered those that were in captivity together beyond Euphrates, and stayed there three days, and ordained a fast for them; that they might make their prayers to God for their preservation; that they might suffer no misfortunes by the way; either from their enemies, or from any other ill accident. For Esdras had said beforehand that he had told the king how God would preserve them; and so he had not thought fit to request that he would send horsemen to conduct them. So So when they had finished their prayers, they removed from Euphrates from Euphrates on the twelfth day of the first month of the seventh year of the reign of Xerxes, and they came to Jerusalem on the fifth month of the same year. New Esdras presented the sacred money to the easurers, who were of the family of the priests, of silver six hundred and fifty talents; vessels of silver one hundred talents; vessels of gold twenty talents; and vessels of brass, that was more precious than gold, twelve talents by weight. For these presents had been made by the king, and his counsellors, and by all the Israelites that stayed at Babylon. So when Esdras had delivered these things to the priests he gave to God as the appointed sacrifices of whole burnt

* Dr. Hudson observes here, that this kind of brass or copper, or rather mixture of gold and brass or copper, was

of the priests and Levites, who had trans-
gressed their settlement and dissolved the
laws of their country, by marrying strange
wives; and had brought the family of the
priests into confusion. These persons desired
him to support the laws, lest God should take
up a general anger against them all, and re-
duce them to a calamitous condition again.
Hereupon he rent his garment immediately,
out of his grief, and pulled the hair of his head
and beard; and cast himself upon the ground:
because this crime had reached the principal
men among the people, and considering that
if he should enjoin them to cast out their
wives, and the children they had by them, he
should not be hearkened to, he continued lying
upon the ground.
upon the ground. However all the better
sort came running to him; who also them-
selves wept, and partook of the grief he was
under for what had been done. So Esdras
rose up from the ground, and stretched out his
hands towards heaven, and said, that he was
ashamed to look towards it, because of the sins
which the people bad committed, while they
had cast out of their memories what their
fathers had undergone on account of their
wickedness. And he besought God, who had
saved a seed and a remnant out of the cala-
mity and captivity they had been in, and had
restored them again to Jerusalein, and to
their own land, and had obliged the kings of

called Aurichalcum; and that this was of old esteemed the most precious of all metals.

Persia to have compassion on them, that he would also forgive them the sins they had now committed, which, though they deserved death, yet was it agreeable to the mercy of God to remit the punishments due to them.

were not of their own nation. But that now they would do a thing both pleasing to God and advantageous to themselves, if they would put those wives away. Accordingly they all cried out that they would do so: that however After Esdras bad said this, he left off pray- the multitude was great, and the season of the ing; and when all those who came to him year was winter, and this work would rewith their wives and children were under la- quire more than one or two days. "Let mentation, one whose name was Jechonias, a their rulers, therefore," said they, " and those principal man in Jerusalem, came to him and that have married strange wives, come hither said, that they had sinned in marrying strange at a proper time while the elders of every wives; and he persuaded him to adjure then place, that are in common to estimate the all, to cast those wives out, and the children number of those that have thus married, are born of them, and that those should be punish-to be there also. † Accordingly this was ret ed who would not obey the law. So Esdras solved on. And they began the inquiry after hearkened to this advice, and made the heads those that had married strange wives, on the of the priests, and of the Levites, and of the first day of the tenth month; and continued Israelites swear that they would put away the inquiry till the first day of the next month; those wives and children according to the ad- and found a great many of the posterity of vice of Jechonias. And when he had received Jeshua the high-priest, and of the priests and their oaths, he went in haste out of the tem- Levites, and Israelites, who had a greater ple, into the chamber of Johanan, the son of regard to the observance of the law, than to Eliasib and as he had hitherto tasted nothing their natural affection and immediately cast at all, for grief, so he abode there that day. out their wives, and the children which were And when proclamation was made, that all born of them. And in order to appease God, those of the captivity should gather themselves they offered sacrifices and slew rams, as oblatogether to Jerusalem, and that those that did tions to him. But it does not seem necessary not meet there in two or three days, should to set down the names of these men. So when be banished from the multitude, and that their Esdras had reformed this sin, about the marsubstance should be appropriated to the uses riages of the aforementioned persons, he reof the temple according to the sentence of duced that practice to purity; so that it conthe elders, those that were of the tribes of tinued in that state for the time to come. Judah and Benjamin came together in three Now when they kept § the feast of taberdays; viz. on the twentieth day of the ninth nacles in the seventh month, and almost all month, which, according to the Hebrews, is the people were come together to it, they called *Tebeth, and according to the Ma- went up to the open part of the temple, to the cedonians, Apelleus. Now as they were sit-gate that looked eastward, and desired of Esting in the upper room of the temple where the elders also were present, but were uneasy because of the cold, Esdras stood up and told them they had sinned in marrying wives that

This procedure of Ezra, and of the best part of the Jewish nation, after the return from the Babylonish Captivity, of reducing the Jewish marriages, one for all, to the strictness of the law of Moses; without any regard to the greatness of those who had broken it; and without regard to that natural affection or compassion for their heathen wives, and their children by them, which made it so hard for Ezra to correct them, deserves greatly to be observed among Christians. The contrary conduct having ever been the bane of true religion, both among

dras that the laws of Moses might be read to
them. Accordingly he stood in the midst of
the multitude, and read them from the morn-
ing to noon. Now by hearing the laws read

Jews and Christians; while political views, human pas-
sions, or prudential motives, are suffered to take place, in-
stead of the divine laws; and the blessing of God is for-
feited, and the church suffered to continue corrupt, from
one generation to another.

This Jewish feast of tabernacles was imitated in seve
ral heathen solemnities: as Spanheim here observes, and
proves. He also farther observes, presently, what great
regard many heathens had to the monuments of their
fore-fathers, as Nehemiah had here.

1

to them, they were instructed to be righteous || to the ground: and that the neighbouring na-
men for the present and for the future. But tions did a great deal of mischief to the Jews;
as for their past offences they were displeased while in the day-time they overran the coun-
at themselves, and proceeded to shed tears on try, and pillaged it, and in the night did them
their account; as considering with themselves, mischief; insomuch that not a few were led
that if they had kept the law, they had en- away captive out of the country, and out of
dured none of those miseries which they had Jerusalem itself: and that the roads were, in
experienced. But when Esdras saw them in the day-time, found full of dead men. Here-
this disposition, he bade them go home, and upon Nehemiah shed tears, out of commise-
not weep; for that it was a festival, and that ration of the calamities of his countrymen: and
they ought not to weep thereon; for that looking up to heaven, he said,
"How long,
it was not lawful so to do. * He exhorted O Lord, wilt thou overlook our nation, while
them rather to proceed immediately to feast- it suffers so great miseries; and while we are
ing, and to do what was agreeable to a day made the prey and the spoil of all men ?"
of joy, but let their repentance and sorrow for And while he stayed at the gate, and lament-
their former sins be a security, and a guard to ed thus, one told him that the king was going
them, that they fall no more into the like of- to sit down to supper. So he made haste,
fences. So upon Esdras's exhortations, they and went as he was, without washing himself,
began to feast; and when they had so done to minister to the king in his office of cup-
for eight days in their tabernacles, they de- bearer. But as the king was very pleasant
parted to their own homes: singing hymns after supper, and more cheerful than usual, he
to God, and returning thanks to Esdras, for cast his eyes on Nehemiah, and seeing him
his reformation of what corruptions had been look sad, he asked him why he was sad?
introduced into their settlement. So it came Whereupon he prayed to God to give him
to pass, that after he had obtained this repu- favour, and afford him the power of persuading
tation among the people, he died an old man; by his words, and said:"How can I, O
and was buried in a magnificent manner at king, appear otherwise than thus, and not be
Jerusalem. About the same time it happened in trouble, while I hear that the walls of Je-
also, that Joacim, the high-priest died; and rusalem, the city where are the sepulchres of my
his son Eliasib succeeded in the high-priest- fathers, are thrown down to the ground, and
hood.
that its gates are consumed by fire. But do
Now there was one of those Jews that had thou grant me the favour to go and build its
†
been carried captive, who was cup-bearer to wall, and to finish the buildings of the tem-
king Xerxes. His name was Nehemiah. As
As ple." Accordingly the king gave him a
this man was walking before Susa, the metro- signal, that he freely granted him what he
polis of the Persians, he heard some strangers asked; and told him, that he should carry an
that were entering the city, after a long jour- epistle to the governors, that they might pay
ney, speaking to one another in the Hebrew him due honour, and afford him whatever as-
tongue. So he went to them and asked them, sistance he wanted, and as he pleased. "Leave
whence they came? and when their answer off thy sorrow then," said the king," and be
was that they came from Judea, he began to cheerful in the performance of thy office here-
inquire of them again, in what state the mul- after."
after." So Nehemiah worshipped God, and
titude was? and in what condition Jerusalem gave the king thanks for his promise; and
was? They replied, that they were in a bad cleared up his sad and cloudy countenance,
state; for that their walls were thrown down by the pleasure he had from the king's pro-

governor, and before Nehemiah came with his commission to build the walls of Jerusalem. Nor is that at all disagreeable to these histories in Josephus: since Ezra came on the seventh, and Nehemiah not till the twentyfifth of Xerxes; at the interval of eighteen years.

§ Nehemiah ii, 1-5.