translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: EZR

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “the word of the Lord.”


label: NET textual note

text: The MT reads מִפִּי ( mippi , “from the mouth of”), but this should probably be emended to בְּפִי ( bÿfi , “by the mouth of”), which is the way the parallel passage in 2 Chr 36:22 reads. This is also reflected in the LXX, which is either reflecting an alternate textual tradition of בְּפִי or is attempting to harmonize Ezra 1:1 in light of 2 Chronicles. tn Heb “from the mouth of.”


text: Heb “spirit.” The Hebrew noun רוּחַ ( ruakh , “spirit”) has a broad range of meanings (see BDB 924-26 s.v.). Here, it probably refers to (1) “mind” as the seat of mental acts (e.g., Exod 28:3 ; Deut 34:9 ; Isa 29:24; 40:13 ; Ezek 11:5; 20:32 ; 1 Chr 28:12 ; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 6 ) or (2) “will” as the seat of volitional decisions (e.g., Exod 35:5, 22 ; Pss 51:12, 14; 57:8 ; 2 Chr 29:31 ; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 7 ). So also in v. 5 .


text: Heb “caused to pass.”


text: Heb “a voice.” The Hebrew noun קוֹל ( qol , “voice, sound”) has a broad range of meanings, including the metonymical (cause – effect) nuance “proclamation” (e.g., Exod 36:6 ; 2 Chr 24:9; 30:5; 36:22 ; Ezra 1:1; 10:7 ; Neh 8:15 ). See BDB 877 s.v. 3 .a.2.


text: Heb “house.” The Hebrew noun בַּיִת ( bayit , “house”) is often used in reference to the temple of Yahweh (BDB 108 s.v. 1 .a). This is also frequent elsewhere in Ezra and Nehemiah (e.g., Ezra 1:3, 4, 5, 7; 2:68; 3:8, 9, 11, 12; 4:3; 6:22; 7:27; 8:17, 25, 29, 30, 33, 36; 9:9; 10:1, 6, 9 ).


text: For location see Map5-B1 ; Map6-F3 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-F2 ; Map10-B3 ; JP1-F4 ; JP2-F4 ; JP3-F4 ; JP4-F4 .


text: Heb “from all.”


text: Heb “the men of his place.”


text: Heb “the heads of the fathers.”


text: Heb “arose.”


text: Heb “strengthened their hands.”


text: The MT reads בִּכְלֵי־כֶסֶף ( bikhley khesef , “with silver vessels”). However, part of the LXX manuscript tradition reads ἐν πᾶσιν ἀργυρίῳ ( en pasin arguriw ), which reflects an alternate Hebrew reading of בַּכֹּל־בַּכֶּסֶף ( bakkol-bakkesef , “everywhere, with silver”). The textual variant involves (1) simple omission of yod ( י ) between two words, a common scribal mistake; (2) haplography of the preposition bet ( בּ ); and (3) an alternate vocalization tradition of the first term.


text: Heb “besides” or “in addition to.”


text: Heb “and he gave them.”


text: Heb “brought them forth.”


text: Heb “upon the hand of.”


text: Heb “Sheshbazzar the prince to Judah”; TEV, CEV “the governor of Judah.”


text: Heb “these are their number.”


text: The exact meaning of the Hebrew noun אֲגַרְטָל (’ agartal , which occurs twice in this verse) is somewhat uncertain. The lexicons suggest that it is related to a common Semitic root (the Hebrew derivative has a prosthetic prefixed א [ aleph ] and interchange between ג [ gimel ] and ק [ kof ]): Judean Aramaic and Syriac qartalla , Arabic qirtallat , Ethiopic qartalo , all meaning “basket” (BDB 173-74 s.v.; HALOT 11 s.v.). There is debate whether this is a loanword from Greek κάρταλλος ( kartallo" , “basket”), Persian hirtal (“leather bag”) or Hittite kurtal (“container”). The term is traditionally understood as a kind of vessel, such as “basket, basin” (BDB 173-74 s.v.; HALOT 11 s.v.); but some suggest “leather bag” or a basket-shaped container of some sort (P. Humbert, “En marge du dictionnaire hébraïque,” ZAW 62 [1950]: 199-207; DCH 1:118 s.v.). The LXX translated it as ψυκτήρ ( yukthr , “metal bowl”). The precise meaning depends on whether the nouns כֶּסֶף ( kesef , “silver”) and זָהָב ( zahav , “gold”), which follow each use of this plural construct noun, are genitives of content (“containers full of silver” and “containers full of gold”) or genitives of material (“silver containers” and “gold containers” = containers made from silver and gold). If they are genitives of content, the term probably means “baskets” or “leather bags” (filled with silver and gold); however, if they are genitives of material, the term would mean “basins” (made of silver and gold). Elsewhere in , the nouns כֶּסֶף (“silver”) and זָהָב (“gold”) are used as genitives or material, not genitives of contents; therefore, the translation “gold basins” and “silver basins” is preferred.


text: Heb “knives.” The Hebrew noun מַחֲלָפִים ( makhalafim , “knives”) is found only here in the OT. While the basic meaning of the term is fairly clear, what it refers to here is unclear. The verb II חָלַף ( khalaf ) means “to pass through” (BDB 322 s.v. חָלַף ) or “to cut through” ( HALOT 321 s.v. II חלף ; see also Judg 5:26 ; Job 20:24 ); thus, the lexicons suggest מַחֲלָפִים means “knives” (BDB 322 s.v. מַחֲלָף ; HALOT 569 s.v. * מַחֲלָף ). The related noun חֲלָפוֹת ( khalafot , “knife”) is used in Mishnaic Hebrew ( HALOT 321 s.v. II חלף ), and חֲלִיפוֹת ( khalifot , “knives”) appears in the Talmud. The noun appears in the cognate languages: Ugaritic khlpnm ( “knives”; UT 19) and Syriac khalofta (“shearing knife”; HALOT 321 s.v. II חלף ). The Vulgate translated it as “knives,” while the LXX understood it as referring to replacement pieces for the offering basins. The English translations render it variously; some following the Vulgate and others adopting the approach of the LXX: “knives” (KJV, NKJV, NRSV), “censers” (RSV), “duplicates” (NASV), “silver pans” (NIV), “bowls” (TEV), “other dishes” (CEV). Verse 11 lists these twenty-nine objects among the “gold and silver vessels” brought back to Jerusalem for temple worship. The translation above offers the intentionally ambiguous “silver utensils” (the term מַחֲלָפִים [“knives”] would hardly refer to “gold” items, but could refer to “silver items”).


text: The meaning of the Hebrew term מִשְׁנִים ( mishnim ) is uncertain. The noun מִשְׁנֶה ( mishneh ) means “double, second” (BDB 1041 s.v.), “what is doubled, two-fold” ( HALOT 650 s.v. מִשְׁנֶה 3). The translations reflect a diversity of approaches: “410 silver bowls of a second kind ” (KJV, NASV, RSV margin), “410 other silver bowls” (NRSV) and “410 matching silver bowls” (NIV). BDB 1041 s.v. משׁנה 3.a suggests it was originally a numeral that was garbled in the transmission process, as reflected in the LXX: “two thousand” (so RSV: “ two thousand four hundred and ten bowls of silver”). The BHS editor suggests revocalizing the term to מְשֻׁנִים ( mÿshunim , “changed”).