Ezra 10:8

And that whosoever would not come within three days,.... Or at the end of three days, as Jarchi, this was the space of time allowed, and which was decided upon for the quick dispatch of this affair,

And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; No JFB commentary on these verses.

Either by banishment; or rather, by excommunication from the church, and people, and house, and public worship of God.

Ezra 10:8 And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.Ver. 8. And that whosoever would not come, &c.] Laws, if they be not penal and compulsory, will soon be slighted by lawless, aweless persons. Howbeit, flies must not be killed upon men’ s brows with beetles; peccadillos must not be punished as heinous crimes. Draco made it a capital offence to be idle, to steal pot herbs, &c. Of his laws Aristotle saith that they were not worthy of remembrance, but only for their too great severity; Ezra’ s laws were more mild. All his substance shall be forfeited] This, to men of their metal, was a forcible motive. When some have a loss in their riches, it is, as it were, raked out of their bellies; a piece of their very heart goes with it, Job 20:15, and they are filled with unmedicinable sorrows, Ecclesiastes 5:12. And himself separated from the congregation] Banished the land, or at least cast out of the Church. Woe be to those that separate themselves, Judges 1:19, Cainites you may call them, Genesis 4:16; our church forsakers, worship scorners, that last brood of Beelzebub.

(7-17) Conference of the people and commission to try individual cases. (8) Forfeited.—This, as also what precedes and what follows, again recalls the express commission of Ezra 7. But “according to the counsel” removes all appearance of arbitrariness on the part of Ezra. (9) Within three days.—From the time of hearing the summons. No town was more than forty miles distant; and of course only those would come that were able, and who came within the scope of the proclamation, the precise terms of which are not given. They were not more than could assemble “in the street,” or open court of the Temple. The minute specifications of date, and the two reasons for the trembling of the people, and the whole strain of the narrative, bear witness to the veracity of an eye-witness. It was the ninth month.—Chisleu, our December, the rainy month in Palestine. (10) Ezra the priest.—He stood up, not as the commissioner of Artaxerxes, not at this moment as the scribe, but as the representative of God. (11) Do his pleasure.—This procedure, humanly severe, is connected with the Divine will. From the people of the land, and from the strange wives.—The marriages were but a subordinate branch, though a very important one, of the wider sin: that of confederacy with idolators. (13) We are many.—Better, we have greatly offended in this thing. The greatness of the offence of course implied the number of the offenders. (14) Stand.—As a representative body in session. Until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.—A difficult verse, owing to a slight peculiarity in the original. The meaning seems to be: until the fierce wrath of our God—fierce while this matter lasts—be turned away from us.(15) Were employed about.—Rather, stood against. Nothing is said as to the reason for opposition on the part of these and the two who abetted them. But the reason is obvious enough. Some modern expositors are of their mind, and regard the act of Ezra as remedying one sin by another still greater. They bring Malachi (Ezra 2:15) to their support; but nothing in his prediction about “the wife of thy youth,” rightly understood, tends to condemn the conduct here described. (16) By their names.—As in Ezra 8:20, the names were before the writer, but are not given. And sat down.—That is, held a session. This was ten days after the general assembly. (17) And they made an end.—Though the number of transgressors was only one hundred and thirteen, two months were occupied, which shows the care taken to do justice, especially to the claims of the women put away.

Verse 8. All his substance should be forfeited] To the use of the temple. So the Septuagint understood the place: Αναθεματισθησεταιπασαἡὑπαρξιςαυτου, "All his substance shall be devoted to a holy use." Himself separated] Excommunicated from the Church of God, and exiled from Israel.

8. and that whosoever would not come] R.V. and that whosoever came not, i.e. whosoever failed (not, whosoever refused) to appear. The causes for non-appearance are not hinted at. All defaulters were to be treated as contumacious. within three days] An expression which shows within what narrow limits the new community was established. The mention of Bethel (Ezra 2:28), Lod (Ezra 2:33), and Jericho (Ezra 2:34) as some of the most distant towns belonging to the Jews, shows that the requirement to be in Jerusalem within three days made no impossible demand upon the powers of an ordinarily active man. according to the counsel of the princes and the elders] The real administrative body in Jerusalem. The representatives of the chief households and families. On the elders cf. Ezra 5:5. all his substance should be forfeited] R.V. marg. Heb. devoted. A man’s substance is his possessions, ‘goods’. Cf. Ezra 1:4. The first part of the penalty was confiscation of property and the appropriation of the money, realized from its sale, by the Temple treasury. On ‘devotion’ (ḥ ?erem) see Leviticus 27:28-29. In early times ‘devotion’ was tantamount to ‘destruction’ (cf. Exodus 22:20; Joshua 7:1-26, &c.; 1 Samuel 15:8; 1 Samuel 15:33). and himself separated] The sentence of excommunication (see on Nehemiah 13:28). To be separated from the congregation was no mere decree of banishment. A man with such a sentence was to be outlawed and disowned by his own race. The community was a religious one. Its heaviest punishment was exclusion from its privileged ranks. from the congregation of those that had been carried away] R.V. from the congregation of the captivity.

Separated from the congregation - i. e., “excommunicated” (compare Exodus 12:19; Numbers 19:20, etc.). The power assigned to Ezra is stated in Ezra 7:25-26.

8. Forfeited — Placed under ban, and thereby devoted to Jehovah. See note on Joshua 6:17.