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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Ezra
| What is the last word of Ezra (in the King James Version)? | Ezra
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children. Ezra 10:44 All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.
Ezra means "God helps". (http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p15.htm)
Ezra is sometimes called the father of the Jews because he was so important in Jewish history. (from the book Sources of Stregth by Jimmy Carter)
I hope you enjoyed the quiz. The next one will be questions about the book of Nehemiah.
| What does Ezra tell the men to do in Chapter 10? | Ezra
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Leave their wives. Ezra 10:3: Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
Ezra knew not only were the people around him guilty of sin, but so was he. It was considered bad to marry outside of the Jewish faith if you were Jewish back then.
The fact that Ezra knew he wasn't perfect, and had weaknesses is what made him such a strong leader.
| Who was Obadiah's father? | Ezra
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Jehiel. Ezra 8:9 Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.
Obadiah means "servant of the Yah". He is one of the minor prophets. (http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p56.htm) NB: Yah is another word for "Lord".
| Who was Aaron's son? | Ezra
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Eleazar. Ezra 7:5 The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest.
Eleanzar's mother was Elizabeth. (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05373b.htm)
| Who does King Cyrus decree will pay for the temple? | Ezra
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Cyrus. Ezra 6:3-4 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; 4 With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house.
King Darius also made similar decrees about the temples he made (Ezra 6:1)
| Who is the first prophet mentioned in Chapter 5:1? | Ezra
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Haggai. Ezra 5:1: Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.
Haggai is one of the twelve minor prophets. The others are: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Zechariah and Malachi. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_prophets)
| What was Shimshai's job? | Ezra
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writer. Ezra 4:8: Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort.
Shimshai was Rehum's secretary.
(http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/Sh/Shimshai.html)
| What was the youngest age of people working on building the temple according to Ezra 3:8? | Ezra
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20. Ezra 3:8: Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the Lord.
The Levites were the only tribe to have cities but no tribal land.
(http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Levites)
| Were there more children going into Bethlehem or Jericho? | Ezra
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Jericho. Ezra 2:21 The children of Bethlehem, an hundred twenty and three.
Ezra 2:34 The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five.
These children were returning to their homes after having been held prisoner for so long.
On March 16, 2005 Israel turned the present day Jericho over to Palastine. Israel had captured it in 1967 during the Six-Day War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho)
| Who is king of Persia in chapter one of Ezra? | Ezra
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Cyrus. Ezra 1:1a: Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia.
Cyrus means "like the sun". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_the_Great)
Perhaps the reason that Cyrus was well liked was because he was so generous and full of mercy.
| In Ezra 10:7 we see that on Ezra's authority, "all the descendants of the captivity" were ordered to gather at Jerusalem. What was the reason for the compulsory national meeting? | BBB Bible Series: Ezra
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widespread intermarriage with the pagan tribes. Ezra 9 and 10 conclude with the story of the purification of the Jews: beginning with Ezra (who appears to have gone into mourning on behalf of the nation, rather than from personal guilt), and supported by Shechaniah, the Jews determined to cleanse themselves (spiritually) in obedience to God's command.
In spite of the fact that the worst offenders were among the leaders of the people (Ezra 9:2b), the pagan wives and their children were 'put away'. This is a marked change in the history of Israel's relationship with God: for the first time, the Jews were choosing to be faithful, and were sufficiently in earnest to sustain this faithfulness. What happened to the women and children who were turned out is not recorded.
| King Darius' response was to approve the completion of the Temple; however, as described in Ezra 6:8-10, he added an unexpected further command. What was this? | BBB Bible Series: Ezra
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The building costs were to be paid out of the king's own taxes. This is almost as startling as Cyrus's original command. Rulers in those days were extremely possessive about their taxes - how else could they continue to govern? Darius not only commands that the building costs be covered by his taxes from that district, but that this money be paid directly to the builders!
Furthermore, anyone who hindered the work on the Temple was to be hanged from the roofbeam of his own (destroyed) house. (Ezra 6:11-12)
| Later on, the Persian governor Tattenai wrote a letter to Darius asking what action should be taken in regard to the renewed building work on the Temple. Tattenai says in his letter that when he asked the Jewish elders on whose authority they were acting, they gave what answer? (Ezra 5:11, NKJV) | BBB Bible Series: Ezra
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we are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. While there is nothing specific in the text, one just has such a feeling that some angry little bird whispered in the governor's ear, complaining about the Jews and their Temple. *Something* certainly stirred Tattenai to investigate what was going on! However, the Jews cleverly referred the enquiry back to Cyrus's original command to restore the Temple in Jerusalem (without mentioning the interim letter from Artaxerxes which prohibited further work). One must remember that this was many decades after the initial return, and only the written records could authoritatively report what the commands of the Persian kings had been.
| In Ezra 5:1, which two prophets are named as instigating a renewal of the building work on the Temple? | BBB Bible Series: Ezra
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Haggai and Zechariah. Ezra and Nehemiah were not prophets, but Jewish leaders! (Nehemiah 8:9 describes Nehemiah as a governor, Ezra as 'priest and scribe'.)
Hosea and Malachi are the first and last of the minor prophets (the Twelve); Hosea prophesied in Israel before the fall of Samaria, and Malachi in Judah after the Temple had been rebuilt.
Habakkuk and Zephaniah both prophesied during the Exile in Babylon, before the return.
| Other tribes offered to help in the work on the Temple but their help was rejected by Zerubbabel and the rest of the Jews. Angered, these tribes tried to hinder the work in any way they could, but failed to stop it. What, according to Ezra 4:6-16, did they do next? | BBB Bible Series: Ezra
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they wrote a letter to Artaxerxes, accusing the Jews of rebellion. A very clever letter, in which they pointed out all the old history of Jerusalem and the Jews, and every case they could remember in which Jerusalem had rebelled against her ruling overlords. They also wrote as if it were Jerusalem being rebuilt, and neglected to point out that most of the work was focused upon the Temple!
| What happened in "the second month of the second year of their coming to ... Jerusalem" according to Ezra 3:8, 10? | BBB Bible Series: Ezra
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work began on the foundations of the Temple. While it seems to us today that a delay of more than a year in beginning work on the Temple (their whole purpose in returning to Jerusalem!) is very slow progress, we need to bear in mind that in those days there was no such civilised support system in place to sustain life, such as we have today.
No supermarkets, modern transport, hospitals or schools - the returning exiles had first to put in place enough of a base on which to survive: to plant crops, close off fields, dig or open wells, etc. Only after they had done this was it possible for them to give their attention to beginning work on the Temple.
offer burnt offerings to the Lord. While Haggai was to rail against the Jews' provision for themselves before they provided for God's Temple, that came much later. The Jews began by reinstituting the worship of JHWH, with the morning and evening burnt offerings, and all the prescribed sacrifices.
| Ezra 2:64-67 gives a very precise tally of the company that arrived at Jerusalem: 42360 Jews, together with 7337 servants, and a large number of animals. What accompanying group is listed at the end of verse 65? | BBB Bible Series: Ezra
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200 men and women singers. There is no mention of any escort of Persian soldiers, nor of any Persian citizens (who were not Jewish). These singers could well have been important for their role in remembering and communicating the lore of Israel while in Exile, as well as for their role in worship in synagogues and in the Temple. (cf. 2 Chronicles 25:35)
all those whose spirits God had moved. Not all the Jews in exile returned at once. This verse indicates that it was those whom God had called who returned first. Many others remained in Persia for a long time to come. Cyrus took Babylon in 539 BC, and issued this command soon afterwards. Nehemiah's return to Jerusalem, for example, took place nearly a hundred years later. Following the first return, led by Zerubbabel, Jews seem to have continued to leave Persia for Jerusalem in groups until at least 400 BC.
| Cyrus, King of Persia, commanded that the Jews in exile should return to Jerusalem to rebuild God's Temple there. What were his instructions to Persian citizens with regard to departing Jews? | BBB Bible Series: Ezra
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to help them with silver and gold, goods and livestock. Cyrus actually says that God has told him to see that the Temple of Jerusalem is rebuilt! "All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah." (Ezra 1:2, NKJV).
In addition to giving the assistance commanded by Cyrus to returning Jews, he also encourages voluntary donations specifically for the rebuilding of the Temple (verse 4b).
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