Ezra 10:6

Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God,.... Departed from thence: and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib; who was of the family of the high priest.

Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the

Went into the chamber, that he with the princes and elders, as it follows, , might consult about the execution of their resolution.

Ezra 10:6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and [when] he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.Ver. 6. Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God] Where God had promised to hear prayers for Christ’ s sake, whereof that house was a type. See Ezra 10:1. And went into the chamber of Johanan] As a fit meeting place, where they might consider, consult, and give counsel. Over the council chamber at Venice is written, Let nothing be done here against the public welfare. A professor of the Turks’ law proclaimeth before they advise or attempt aught, That nothing be done against religion. Over the townhall in Zant are set these two verses in letters of gold: “ Hic locus odit, amat, punit, conservat, honorat, Nequitiam, pacem, crimina, iura, bonos. ” Think the same we must needs of this holy conclave or council chamber, where the Sanhedrim was present, and Ezra president. He did eat no bread, nor drink water] Though fasting and faint with much mourning, yet no food would down with him till he had gone thorough stitch with the work. It was his food and drink to do the will of his heavenly Father. So it was good Job’ s, Job 23:12, and our Saviour’ s, Matthew 21:17; Matthew 21:23. It was then, when disappointed of a breakfast at the barren fig tree, and coming hungry into the city, he went not into an eating house nor into a friend’ s house to refresh himself; but into God’ s house, where he continued teaching the people all that day. For he mourned because of the transgression] It was not then a natural abstinence, arising from sickness, nor a civil, for health’ s sake, or for some other worldly respect; but a religious fast, which is usually to be held out a whole day, usque dum stellae in caelo appareant (as an old canon hath it), till the stars appear in the sky; yet so as that nature be chastised, not disabled for duty.

X.(1-6) The covenant of repentance and amendment. Here the narrative assumes another form; and, in accordance with the solemnity of a great public transaction, Ezra adopts the third person. (1) Before the house of God.—Prostrating himself towards the Temple in the court, where all the people saw him and marked his distress. Wept very sore.—The evil penetrated domestic life, and the punishment, as was already foreseen by “the women bringing the children with them,” brought special family distress. (2) Shechaniah.—The son of one of the transgressors (Ezra 10:2), whose action as the representative of the people gives him an honourable memorial in Scripture. There is hope in Israel.—A noble sentiment for a reformer even at the worst of times. (3) Special covenants with God—general, as in 2 Kings 23:3, and in regard to particular offences, as here, and in Jeremiah 34:8—were familiar in Jewish history. And at all times of critical sin or danger the voluntary intervention of individuals was held in honour. (Comp. Numbers 25:12 seq.) According to the counsel of my lord.—Better, according to, or in, the counsel of the Lord. Ezra would hardly be called “my lord,” nor had he given any counsel. According to the law.—Which in Deuteronomy 24 prescribes the terms of divorce. (4) Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee.—The commission given to Ezra (Ezra 7:11 seq.) seems specially referred to, and the deep prostration of his spirit renders the encouragement here given very appropriate. It had its effect: as Ezra’s grief had made the people sorrowful, so their vigour made him energetic. (5) According to this word.—“According to” occurs three times, and each instance must be noted. First, it was “in the counsel of the Lord” as God’s law, rightly interpreted, demanded this measure, however seemingly harsh; secondly, it was to be done “according to the law;” and, thirdly, according to the present covenant, which, went beyond the law of Moses. (6) The chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib.—Ezra retired for fasting and prayer into one of the chambers opening on the court. It seems impossible to identify these names with the Eliashib of Neh 12:10 and his grandson. Both names were common.

Verse 6. Johanan the son of Eliashib] Eliashib was high priest, and was succeeded in that office by his son Joiada, Ne 12:10. Probably Johanan here is the same as Jonathan in Nehemiah, who was the son of Joiada, and grandson of Eliashib. Some suppose that Johanan and Joiada were two names for the same person.

6–15. The Assembly and the Reform6. went into the chamber] See on Ezra 8:29, and cf. Nehemiah 13:4. Johanan the son of Eliashib] R.V. Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. The best-known Eliashib of this period is the High-priest who appears as a contemporary of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:1; Nehemiah 13:4; Nehemiah 13:28). In Nehemiah 12:23 we find the mention of a ‘Johanan the son of Eliashib’, but who, by comparison with Ezra 10:7; Ezra 10:22, must have been this Eliashib’s grandson. It is probable that the ‘Jehohanan the son of Eliashib’ is the same as that ‘Johanan the son of Eliashib’. If so, how are we to account for a chamber, presumably in the Temple precincts, being assigned to one who was the grandson of the High-priest Eliashib? (a) Some suppose that Johanan the grandson of Eliashib was old enough at this time to receive as one of the High-priestly family a special chamber. But why should Ezra betake himself to the chamber of one who must have been but a mere boy? For Eliashib was living 20 years later (cf. Nehemiah 13:7). (b) Others suppose the Compiler to be using the language of a considerably later generation than that of Ezra; he knew of a certain chamber in the Temple’s precincts as Johanan’s chamber, because it had become associated with the name of Eliashib’s grandson during his High-priesthood. This appears to be the most probable explanation. If so, the use of the name helps to determine the date at which Ezra’s Memoirs were compiled. It is however possible that the Jehohanan the son of Eliashib was of a different family from the Johanan the son of Joiada and grandson of Eliashib, and that the difficulty is only an apparent one arising from the similarity of names in the families of the same great house or tribe. and when he came thither, he did eat, &c.] So the R.V. text. The R.V. marg. says ‘According to some ancient versions, and he lodged there’. The Hebrew word for ‘he came’ is the same as that for ‘went’ in the previous clause. This reading is supported by the Hebrew text and by the LXX. (καὶἐπορεύθηἐκεῖ). It is however hard to believe that it can be the original reading. (1) The repetition of the word is awkward. (2) The clause, stating that he refused to taste food, does not follow suitably upon the mention of his arrival. (3) The adverb in the original does not strictly mean ‘thither’, but ‘there’. The parallel passage in 1 Esdras (Ezra 9:2) has ‘and having lodged there’, and this reading is supported by the Syriac Peshitto and the Arabic. The variation in the Hebrew text requisite to give this meaning is exceedingly small. In the old Hebrew characters the two letters (ο and κ) are very liable to be confused, while the use of the very similar verb just before made an accidental repetition very possible. This reading is probably correct, and we should accordingly translate ‘And he lodged (or passed the night) there’.

The “chamber of Johanan” was probably one of those attached externally to the temple (see 1 Kings 6:5-6). Eliashib was the grandson of Jeshua Ezra 3:2, and was high priest under Nehemiah Nehemiah 3:1.

6. Chamber of Johanan — One of the chambers or cells of the temple where this son of Eliashib abode. Compare Nehemiah 13:4-5. Johanan, or Jehohanan, was probably the same as Jonathan in Nehemiah 12:11.