Smith Gary - Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

Philip W. Comfort

D. Litt. et Phil., University of South Africa;

Tyndale House Publishers; Coastal Carolina University.

Tremper Longman III

PhD, Yale University; Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College.

Grant Osborne

PhD, University of Aberdeen; Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Jason Driesbach

MA, Biblical Exegesis and Linguistics, Dallas Theological Seminary; Tyndale House Publishers.

Mark R. Norton

MA, Theological Studies, Wheaton Graduate School; Tyndale House Publishers.

James A. Swanson

MSM, Multnomah Biblical Seminary; MTh, University of South Africa; Tyndale House Publishers.

Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Volume 5b

Visit Tyndales exciting Web sites at www.newlivingtranslation.com and www.tyndale.com.

Ezra-Nehemiah copyright 2010 by Gary V. Smith. All rights reserved.

Esther copyright 2010 by Gary V. Smith. All rights reserved.

Designed by Luke Daab and Timothy R. Botts.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cornerstone biblical commentary.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4143-2207-0 (hc : alk. paper)

1. BibleCommentaries. I. Smith, Gary V.

BS491.3.C67 2006

220.7'7dc22 2005026928

ISBN 978-1-4143-9912-6 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-4143-9911-9 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-4143-9913-3 (Apple);

Build: 2018-01-12 17:23:25 EPUB 3.0.1

Each section of the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary includes the NLT text for the sections passage, a set of notes commenting on specific verses, and a commentary on the passage as a whole. The [Commentary] link in the Bible text heading will take you to the commentary for that passage. In the commentary heading, the [Text] link will take you back to the Bible text. In the Bible text, a linked verse number will take you to the note that starts with that verse. The verse reference at the beginning of the note will take you back to the starting verse in the Bible text for that note. In the Bible text, an asterisk in square brackets ([*]) will take you to an NLT footnote. The verse reference at the beginning of the footnote will take you back to the footnote callout in the Bible text. Sometimes the verse reference at the start of a commentary note will take you to an NLT footnote. The reference in square brackets after the verse reference at the start of the footnote will take you back to the commentary note.

BA, Wheaton College;

MA, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School;

PhD, Dropsie College;

Professor of Christian Studies, Union University.

The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary is based on the second edition of the New Living Translation (2015). Nearly 100 scholars from various church backgrounds and from several countries (United States, Canada, England, and Australia) participated in the creation of the NLT. Many of these same scholars are contributors to this commentary series. All the commentators, whether participants in the NLT or not, believe that the Bible is Gods inspired word and have a desire to make Gods word clear and accessible to his people.

This Bible commentary is the natural extension of our vision for the New Living Translation, which we believe is both exegetically accurate and idiomatically powerful. The NLT attempts to communicate Gods inspired word in a lucid English translation of the original languages so that English readers can understand and appreciate the thought of the original writers. In the same way, the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary aims at helping teachers, pastors, students, and laypeople understand every thought contained in the Bible. As such, the commentary focuses first on the words of Scripture, then on the theological truths of Scriptureinasmuch as the words express the truths.

The commentary itself has been structured in such a way as to help readers get at the meaning of Scripture, passage by passage, through the entire Bible. Each Bible book is prefaced by a substantial book introduction that gives general historical background important for understanding. Then the reader is taken through the Bible text, passage by passage, starting with the New Living Translation text printed in full. This is followed by a section called Notes, wherein the commentator helps the reader understand the Hebrew or Greek behind the English of the NLT, interacts with other scholars on important interpretive issues, and points the reader to significant textual and contextual matters. The Notes are followed by the Commentary, wherein each scholar presents a lucid interpretation of the passage, giving special attention to context and major theological themes.

The commentators represent a wide spectrum of theological positions within the evangelical community. We believe this is good because it reflects the rich variety in Christs church. All the commentators uphold the authority of Gods word and believe it is essential to heed the old adage: Wholly apply yourself to the Scriptures and apply them wholly to you. May this commentary help you know the truths of Scripture, and may this knowledge help you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord (2 Pet 1:2, NLT).

P HILIP W. C OMFORT

G ENERAL E DITOR

b. Babylonian Gemara

bar. baraita

c. circa, around, approximately

cf. confer, compare

ch, chs chapter, chapters

contra in contrast to

DSS Dead Sea Scrolls

ed. edition, editor

e.g. exempli gratia, for example

et al. et alii, and others

fem. feminine

ff following (verses, pages)

fl. flourished

Gr. Greek

Heb. Hebrew

ibid. ibidem, in the same place

i.e. id est, that is

in loc. in loco, in the place cited

lit. literally

LXX Septuagint

Majority Text

m. Mishnah

masc. masculine

mg margin

ms manuscript

mss manuscripts

MT Masoretic Text

n.d. no date

neut. neuter

no. number

NT New Testament

OL Old Latin

OS Old Syriac

OT Old Testament

p., pp. page, pages

pl. plural

Q Quelle (Sayings as Gospel source)

rev. revision

sg. singular

sv. sub verbo, under the word

t.