Ezra 4:10

10 together with the other peoples whom the great and powerful Ashurbanipal moved from their homes and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in West-of-Euphrates Province."

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.

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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 Also Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the secretary of the province, wrote the following letter to Emperor Artaxerxes about Jerusalem:

9 "From Rehum, the governor, from Shimshai, secretary of the province, from their associates, the judges, and from all the other officials, who are originally from Erech, Babylon, and Susa in the land of Elam,

10 together with the other peoples whom the great and powerful Ashurbanipal moved from their homes and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in West-of-Euphrates Province."

11 This is the text of the letter: "To Emperor Artaxerxes from his servants who live in West-of-Euphrates.

12 "We want Your Majesty to know that the Jews who came here from your other territories have settled in Jerusalem and are rebuilding that evil and rebellious city. They have begun to rebuild the walls and will soon finish them.

Footnotes

• [a]. west-of-euphrates province: [Under Persian rule the land of Judah was part of this large Persian province west of the Euphrates River.]