Ezra 4:10

10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River wrote—and now

Ezra 4:10 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 4:10

And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar
brought over
The river Euphrates:

and set in the cities of Samaria;
placed there in the room of the Israelites carried captive; this Asnappar was, according to Jarchi and others F12 Sennacherib; but, with Grotius, Shalmaneser; rather he was Esarhaddon, the son of the former, and grandson of the latter; so Dr. Prideaux F13; though he might be only some commander of the Assyrian monarch, who carried them over by his orders:

and the rest that are on this side the river;
the river Euphrates:

and at such a time;
which may respect the date of the letter, which, no doubt, was expressed, though not here given; or this, as some think, was the same with our &c. something following, unto King Artaxerxes greeting, or something like that; though David de Pomis F14 takes it to be the general name of the people beyond the river.


FOOTNOTES:

F12 Kimchi Sepher Shorash. fol. 166. 2. & Vajikra Rabba in ib. T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 94. 1.
F13 Connexion vol. 1. p. 30.
F14 Tzemach David, fol. 63. 3.

Ezra 4:10 In-Context

8 Rehum the royal deputy and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows
9 (then Rehum the royal deputy, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the envoys, the officials, the Persians, the people of Erech, the Babylonians, the people of Susa, that is, the Elamites,
10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River wrote—and now
11 this is a copy of the letter that they sent): "To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the people of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now
12 may it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city; they are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.