Ezra 10:18

“And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives, etc.] So that it need not be wondered at that this evil should spread among the people, when those who understood the law, and should have instructed the people in it, set such an example: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak; who was the high priest; and perhaps for this fault of his, in not restraining his sons from such unlawful marriages, is he represented in filthy garments, (<380303>Zechariah 3:3), and his brethren, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah; these were the brethren of Jeshua. Ver. 19-43. And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives, etc.] They proposed to…”

“THOSE THAT HAD TAKEN STRANGE WIVES. (Ezra 10:18-44) among the sons of the priests--From the names of so many men of rank appearing in the following list, some idea may be formed of the great and complicated difficulties attending the reformatory work.”

“Compare with the list in Ezra 2:0. Ezra 10:19 They gave their hands - i. e., “solemnly pledged themselves” (compare the marginal references). Ezra 10:44 The guilty persons, it would seem, were 113 in number. They comprised 4 members of the high priest’s family, 13 other priests, 10 Levites, and 86 lay Israelites belonging to at least 10 distinct families. The fact noted in the second clause of the verse must have increased the difficulity of Ezra’s task. return to 'Top of Page' Footnotes: Copyright Statement These files are public domain. Bibliographical Information Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Ezra 10". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible".…”

“the sons: Ezr 9:1; Lev 21:7, Lev 21:13-15; Sa1 2:22-24; Neh 13:28; Jer 23:11, Jer 23:14; Eze 44:22; Mal 2:8, Mal 2:9; Ti1 3:11 Jeshua: Ezr 2:2, Ezr 3:2, Ezr 5:2; Ch1 6:14, Ch1 6:15; Neh 12:10; Hag 1:1; Zac 3:1, Joshua Maaseiah: Neh 8:4, Neh 8:7 Ezra 10:19”

“Among the priests there stand first, four names of sons and brethren of the high priest Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel. אחיו, his (Jeshua's) brethren. Judging by Ezr 2:36, these were among the descendants of Jedaiah, a section of the house of the high-priestly family (see rem. on Ezr 2:36), and were therefore distant cousins of the high priest. They gave their hands, i.e., bound themselves by shaking hands, to put away their wives, i.e., to dismiss them, and to sever them from the congregation of Israel, ואשׁמים, "and guilty a ram for their trespass," i.e., condemned to bring a ram as a trespass-offering. ואשׁמים is to be regarded as the continuation of…”