Ezra 10 Study Notes

10:16-17 The family heads selected by Ezra probably met from December 29, 458 to March 27, 457 BC.

10:18-44 The list of offenders, which concludes the book of Ezra, reflects a “top down” progression that begins with the high priest’s own family (vv. 18-19). If the population of Judah at that time was more than 30,000 people and only 113 people were identified as involved in the sin of intermarriage, this would be only one-third of one percent of the population. A number of suggestions have been offered for the surprising brevity of the list, among them: (1) only a partial list has been preserved, (2) only those found guilty of the charge of intermarriage are listed, and (3) only those who were found guilty and followed through by putting away their foreign wives and children are listed.

While there is no certainty on the exact nature of the list, it is clear that Ezra’s ministry did not end the problem of intermarriage. About thirty years later Nehemiah confronted it once again (Neh 13:23-29). The list in Ezr 10, like other OT lists, has variant names and variant spellings of some names.

10:18-19 The first four offenders were of the priestly family of Jedaiah (2:36). These priests vowed to put away their foreign wives and offered a ram from the flock for their guilt. While this action is recorded only here in reference to the priests, it is probable that this was the pattern for all who were found guilty.

10:20-22 Offenders from the three other priestly families (Immer, Pashhur, and Harim) represented in the return (2:37-39) are listed.

10:34 The second mention (v. 29) of the family name Bani is unusual since family names were usually unique and served as identifiers for their descendants. Some scholars suggest that the text originally read “Bigvai,” a person mentioned in the return (2:14) and later in 8:14. The name Uel does not occur anywhere else in the OT. A variant of “Uel” is Joel.

10:40 The name Machnadebai is probably not a Hebrew name and is found nowhere else in the OT. Its position in the verse may suggest that it originally designated a family group, possibly “Zaccai’s descendants” (2:9).

10:44 The abrupt ending of the book of Ezra, with no summations or conclusions, is attributable to the fact that Ezra was originally joined with Nehemiah. This was not originally a closing to a book, but merely a closing to the section on Ezra’s early ministry. The focus then shifted to Nehemiah, who, like Ezra, faithfully served God.