2 Raja-raja 17:24

The King of Assyria Populates Israel with Foreigners

17:24 The king of Assyria brought foreigners ¹  from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria ²  in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.

Ezra 4:2

4:2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders ³  and said to them, “Let us help you build, ⁴  for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him ⁵  from the time ⁶  of King Esarhaddon ⁷  of Assyria, who brought us here.” ⁸ 

Ezra 4:7-10

4:7 And during the reign ⁹  of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, ¹⁰  Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues ¹¹  wrote to King Artaxerxes ¹²  of Persia. This letter ¹³  was first written in Aramaic but then translated.

[Aramaic:] ¹⁴ 

4:8 Rehum the commander ¹⁵  and Shimshai the scribe ¹⁶  wrote a letter concerning ¹⁷  Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows: 4:9 From ¹⁸  Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues – the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is, ¹⁹  the Elamites), 4:10 and the rest of nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal ²⁰  deported and settled in the cities ²¹  of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates. ²² 

Ezra 4:17

4:17 The king sent the following response:

“To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and other parts of Trans-Euphrates: Greetings! ²³ 

Mazmur 69:35

69:35 For God will deliver Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah,

and his people ²⁴  will again live in them and possess Zion. ²⁵ 

Yeremia 31:4-6

31:4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, ²⁶ 

so that you will once again be built up.

Once again you will take up the tambourine

and join in the happy throng of dancers. ²⁷ 

31:5 Once again you will plant vineyards

on the hills of Samaria. ²⁸ 

Those who plant them

will once again enjoy their fruit. ²⁹ 

31:6 Yes, a time is coming

when watchmen ³⁰  will call out on the mountains of Ephraim,

“Come! Let us go to Zion

to worship the Lord our God!”’” ³¹ 

Yehezkiel 36:6-12

36:6 “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I have spoken in my zeal and in my anger, because you have endured the insults of the nations. 36:7 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I vow ³²  that the nations around you will endure insults as well.

36:8 “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will grow your branches, and bear your fruit for my people Israel; for they will arrive soon. ³³  36:9 For indeed, I am on your side; ³⁴  I will turn to you, and you will be plowed and planted. 36:10 I will multiply your people ³⁵  – the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities will be populated and the ruins rebuilt. 36:11 I will increase the number of people and animals on you; they will increase and be fruitful. ³⁶  I will cause you to be inhabited as in ancient times, and will do more good for you than at the beginning of your history. ³⁷  Then you will know that I am the Lord. 36:12 I will lead people, my people Israel, across you; they will possess you and you will become their inheritance. No longer will you bereave them of their children.

Yehezkiel 36:28

36:28 Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. ³⁸ 

Yehezkiel 37:21-25

37:21 Then tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land. 37:22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms. ³⁹  37:23 They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness ⁴⁰  by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.

37:24 “‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow ⁴¹  my regulations and carefully observe my statutes. ⁴²  37:25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it – they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever.

Yehezkiel 47:13-21

Boundaries for the Land

47:13 This is what the sovereign Lord says: “Here ⁴³  are the borders ⁴⁴  you will observe as you allot the land to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Joseph will have two portions.) ⁴⁵  47:14 You must divide it equally just as I vowed to give it to your forefathers; ⁴⁶  this land will be assigned as your inheritance. ⁴⁷ 

47:15 “This will be the border of the land: ⁴⁸  On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to the entrance of Zedad; 47:16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, as far as Hazer-hattikon, which is on the border of Hauran. 47:17 The border will run from the sea to Hazar-enan, at the border of Damascus, and on the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. 47:18 On the east side, between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, will be the Jordan. You will measure from the border to the eastern sea. This is the east side. 47:19 On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, the river, ⁴⁹  to the Great Sea. This is the south side. 47:20 On the west side the Great Sea will be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side.

47:21 “This is how you will divide this land for yourselves among the tribes of Israel.

Yehezkiel 48:1-9

The Tribal Portions

48:1 “These are the names of the tribes: From the northern end beside the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the border of Damascus, toward the north beside Hamath), extending from the east side to the west, Dan will have one portion. 48:2 Next to the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher ⁵⁰  will have one portion. 48:3 Next to the border of Asher from the east side to the west, Naphtali will have one portion. 48:4 Next to the border of Naphtali from the east side to the west, Manasseh will have one portion. 48:5 Next to the border of Manasseh from the east side to the west, Ephraim will have one portion. 48:6 Next to the border of Ephraim from the east side to the west, Reuben will have one portion. 48:7 Next to the border of Reuben from the east side to the west, Judah ⁵¹  will have one portion.

48:8 “Next to the border of Judah from the east side to the west will be the allotment you must set apart. It is to be eight and a quarter miles ⁵²  wide, and the same length as one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west; the sanctuary will be in the middle of it. 48:9 The allotment you set apart to the Lord will be eight and a quarter miles ⁵³  in length and three and one-third miles ⁵⁴  in width.

[17:24]  ¹ tn The object is supplied in the translation.

[17:24]  ² sn In vv. 24-29 Samaria stands for the entire northern kingdom of Israel.

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.” So also in v. 3.

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “Let us build with you.”

[4:2]  ⁵ tc The translation reads with the Qere, a Qumran MS, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Arabic version וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and him”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, וְלֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[4:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “days.”

[4:2]  ⁷ sn Esarhaddon was king of Assyria ca. 681-669 b.c.

[4:2]  ⁸ sn The Assyrian policy had been to resettle Samaria with peoples from other areas (cf. 2 Kgs 17:24-34). These immigrants acknowledged Yahweh as well as other deities in some cases. The Jews who returned from the Exile regarded them with suspicion and were not hospitable to their offer of help in rebuilding the temple.

[4:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “And in the days.”

[4:7]  ¹⁰ tn The LXX understands this word as a prepositional phrase (“in peace”) rather than as a proper name (“Bishlam”). Taken this way it would suggest that Mithredath was “in agreement with” the contents of Tabeel’s letter. Some scholars regard the word in the MT to be a corruption of either “in Jerusalem” (i.e., “in the matter of Jerusalem”) or “in the name of Jerusalem.” The translation adopted above follows the traditional understanding of the word as a name.

[4:7]  ¹¹ tc The translation reads the plural with the Qere rather than the singular found in the MT Kethib.

[4:7]  ¹² sn Artaxerxes I ruled in Persia from ca. 465–425 b.c.

[4:7]  ¹³ tc It is preferable to delete the MT’s וּכְתָב (ukhÿtav) here.

[4:7]  ¹⁴ sn The double reference in v. 7 to the Aramaic language is difficult. It would not make sense to say that the letter was written in Aramaic and then translated into Aramaic. Some interpreters understand the verse to mean that the letter was written in the Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language, but this does not seem to give sufficient attention to the participle “translated” at the end of the verse. The second reference to Aramaic in the verse is more probably a gloss that calls attention to the fact that the following verses retain the Aramaic language of the letter in its original linguistic form. A similar reference to Aramaic occurs in Dan 2:4b, where the language of that book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. Ezra 4:8–6:18 and 7:12-26 are written in Aramaic, whereas the rest of the book is written in Hebrew.

[4:8]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.

[4:8]  ¹⁶ sn Like Rehum, Shimshai was apparently a fairly high-ranking official charged with overseeing Persian interests in this part of the empire. His title was “scribe” or “secretary,” but in a more elevated political sense than that word sometimes has elsewhere. American governmental titles such as “Secretary of State” perhaps provide an analogy in that the word “secretary” can have a broad range of meaning.

[4:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps “against.”

[4:9]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “then.” What follows in v. 9 seems to be the preface of the letter, serving to identify the senders of the letter. The word “from” is not in the Aramaic text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:9]  ¹⁹ tn For the qere of the MT (דֶּהָיֵא, dehaye’, a proper name) it seems better to retain the Kethib דִּהוּא (dihu’, “that is”). See F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 25, §35; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 36.

[4:10]  ²⁰ tn Aram “Osnappar” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV), another name for Ashurbanipal.

[4:10]  sn Ashurbanipal succeeded his father Esarhaddon as king of Assyria in 669 B.C. Around 645 B.C. he sacked the city of Susa, capital of Elam, and apparently some of these people were exiled to Samaria and other places.

[4:10]  ²¹ tc The translation reads with the ancient versions the plural בְּקֻרְיַהּ (bÿquryah, “in the cities”) rather than the singular (“in the city”) of the MT.

[4:10]  ²² tn Aram “beyond the river.” In Ezra this term is a technical designation for the region west of the Euphrates river.

[4:17]  ²³ tn Aram “peace.”

[69:35]  ²⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[69:35]  ²⁵ tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to “Zion” (see Pss 48:12; 102:14); thus the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Virgin Israel.”

[31:4]  sn For the significance of this metaphor see the note on Jer 14:17. Here the emphasis appears on his special love and care for his people and the hint (further developed in vv. 21-22) that, though guilty of sin, he considers them like an innocent young virgin.

[31:4]  ²⁷ sn Contrast Jer 7:34 and 25:10.

[31:5]  ²⁸ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[31:5]  ²⁹ sn The terms used here refer to the enjoyment of a period of peace and stability and the reversal of the curse (contrast, e.g., Deut 28:30). The Hebrew word translated “enjoy its fruit” is a technical one that refers to the owner of a vineyard getting to enjoy its fruit in the fifth year after it was planted, the crops of the first three years lying fallow, and that of the fourth being given to the Lord (cf. Lev 19:23-25).

[31:6]  ³⁰ sn Watchmen were stationed at vantage points to pass on warning of coming attack (Jer 6:17; Ezek 33:2, 6) or to spread the news of victory (Isa 52:8). Here reference is made to the watchmen who signaled the special times of the year such as the new moon and festival times when Israel was to go to Jerusalem to worship. Reference is not made to these in the Hebrew Bible but there is a good deal of instruction regarding them in the later Babylonian Talmud.

[31:6]  ³¹ sn Not only will Israel and Judah be reunited under one ruler (cf. 23:5-6), but they will share a unified place and practice of worship once again in contrast to Israel using the illicit places of worship, illicit priesthood, and illicit feasts instituted by Jeroboam (1 Kgs 12:26-31) and continued until the downfall of Samaria in 722 b.c.

[36:7]  ³² tn Heb “I lifted up my hand.”

[36:8]  ³³ tn Heb “they draw near to arrive.”

[36:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I (am) toward you.”

[36:10]  ³⁵ tn Heb “I will multiply on you human(s).”

[36:11]  ³⁶ sn These verbs occur together in Gen 1:22, 28; 9:1.

[36:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “your beginning.”

[36:28]  ³⁸ sn This promise reflects the ancient covenantal ideal (see Exod 6:7).

[37:22]  ³⁹ sn Jeremiah also attested to the reuniting of the northern and southern kingdoms (Jer 3:12, 14; 31:2-6).

[37:23]  ⁴⁰ tc Heb “their dwellings.” The text as it stands does not make sense. Based on the LXX, a slight emendation of two vowels, including a mater, yields the reading “from their turning,” a reference here to their turning from God and deviating from his commandments. See BDB 1000 s.v. מְשׁוּבָה, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:407.

[37:24]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “walk [in].”

[37:24]  ⁴² tn Heb “and my statutes they will guard and they will do them.”

[47:13]  ⁴³ tc This translation follows the reading זֶה (zeh) instead of גֵּה (geh), a nonexistent word, as supported by the LXX.

[47:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “territory”; see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:715.

[47:13]  ⁴⁵ tc The grammar is awkward, though the presence of these words is supported by the versions. L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:274) suggests that it is an explanatory gloss.

[47:13]  sn One portion for Ephraim, the other for Manasseh (Gen 48:17-20).

[47:14]  ⁴⁶ sn Gen 15:9-21.

[47:14]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “will fall to you as an inheritance.”

[47:15]  ⁴⁸ sn The measurements resemble those in Num 34:1-2.

[47:19]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “valley.” The syntax is difficult. Some translate “to the river,” others “from the river”; in either case the preposition is supplied for the sake of English.

[48:2]  ⁵⁰ sn The tribes descended from Jacob’s maidservants are placed farthest from the sanctuary. See Gen 30.

[48:7]  ⁵¹ sn The tribe from which the Davidic prince would come is given the most prestigious allotment (see Gen 49:8-12).

[48:8]  ⁵² tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[48:9]  ⁵³ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[48:9]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).