Ezra 3:5

And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5) Both of the new moons.—And of the new moons. The whole verse is general and anticipatory. The new moons, the three feasts, and the constant presentation of freewill offerings, added to the daily sacrifice, made up the essentials of ritual; all being, like the arrangements in the Book of Leviticus, fixed before the Temple was built, and afterwards observed.

Benson Commentary

Ezra 3:5. And afterward offered the continual burnt-offering — The morning and evening sacrifice. The law required much, but they offered more; for though they had little wealth, they had much zeal. Happy they that bring with them out of the furnace of affliction such a holy heat as this!

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

3:1-7 From the proceedings of the Jews on their arrival, let us learn to begin with God, and to do what we can in the worship of God, when we cannot do what we would. They could not at once have a temple, but they would not be without an altar. Fear of danger should stir us to our duty. Have we many enemies? Then it is good to have God our Friend, and to keep up communion with him. Our fears should drive us to our knees. The sacrifices for all these solemnities were a heavy expense for so poor a company; yet besides those expressly appointed, many brought free-will offerings to the Lord. And they made preparation for the building of the temple without delay: whatever God calls us to do, we may depend upon his providence to furnish us with the needful means.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Upon his bases - They restored the old altar of burnt-offerings, which stood directly in front of the temple-porch, upon the old foundation. This became apparent on the clearing away of the ruins, and on a careful examination of the site.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Ezr 3:4-7. Offerings Renewed.

4, 6. They kept also the feast of tabernacles … From the first day of the seventh month—They revived at that time the daily oblation, and it was on the fifteenth day of that month the feast of tabernacles was held.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The continual burnt offering; thee morning and evening sacrifice; of which see on Numbers 28:6.

Consecrated, i.e. set apart for the solemn and holy service of God.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And afterwards offered the continual burnt offering,.... Not after the feast of tabernacles, as if they then began to offer the daily sacrifice; for that they did as soon as the altar was set up, and on the first day of the month, Ezra 3:3, rather the sense is, that after the daily burnt offering of the morning, they offered the other sacrifices peculiar to the several days of the feast of tabernacles; they never neglected that, yea, always began with it; all the rest were after it, and so on other festivals:

both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated; to the service of the Lord, and the honour of his name, as every first day of the month, and every other appointed festival, they offered the sacrifices appropriate to each; but not to the neglect of that sacrifice, and always after it:

and of everyone that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord; these they were careful also to offer in their proper time.

Geneva Study Bible

And afterward offered {d} the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.

(d) That is, after the feast of tabernacles.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. and afterward offered] R.V. ‘and afterward’, the verb being supplied from the previous verse.

The clause implies that after the celebration of this Feast of Tabernacles the Jews resumed for the first time since the destruction of Jerusalem the regular sacrificial system.

the continual burnt offering] i.e. the daily morning and evening sacrifice, prescribed in Exodus 29:38-42.

both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts &c.] R.V. ‘and the offerings of the new moons, and of all the set feasts’ &c. The A.V. gives the wrong impression that ‘the continual burnt offering’ belonged to ‘the new moons, set feasts,’ &c. The R.V. gives the right meaning.

The verse states that the Jews, now that the altar had been set up and the new order of things initiated by the solemn celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, resumed the customary burnt offerings, (1) daily, morning and evening, (2) at the new moon, (3) on all ‘set feasts’, (4) on the occasion of freewill offerings.

‘the new moons’. A popular day of religious observance among the Israelites (cf. 2 Kings 4:23; Hosea 2:11; Amos 8:5): not included among ‘the set feasts’ described in Leviticus 23, where the first day of the seventh month is the only new-moon day spoken of as a ‘holy convocation’ (Leviticus 23:24). Perhaps because the observance of ‘the new moons’ had been adopted from the general religious customs of the Semitic races, it received no special prominence in the Levitical code. The sacrifices for the ‘new moons’ are described in Numbers 28:11-15.

the set feasts]—see Leviticus 23:2-37, ‘The set feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations’ (R.V.),—i.e. (1) the Sabbath ( Leviticus 23:3), (2) the Passover ( Leviticus 23:5), (3) the Feast of Weeks ( Leviticus 23:15-21), (4) the Feast of Trumpets ( Leviticus 23:24), (5) the Day of Atonement ( Leviticus 23:27-32), (6) the Feast of Tabernacles ( Leviticus 23:34-36). In 2 Chronicles 8:13, ‘the set feasts’ are the three great annual festivals, ‘unleavened bread’, ‘weeks’, ‘tabernacles’, and these are probably intended here.

The ‘new moons’ and the ‘set feasts’ are found along with ‘the Sabbaths’ in 1 Chronicles 23:31; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 2 Chronicles 8:13; 2 Chronicles 31:3; Nehemiah 10:33.

a freewill offering] Freewill offerings were made (1) on the great feast-days, see Deuteronomy 16:10; Deuteronomy 16:16-17; and (2) whensoever any individual Israelite or Gentile desired (Numbers 29:39). They are called ‘oblations’ (Corbans) in Leviticus 1, 2, 3, where they are defined in detail.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - The continual burnt offering. This is beyond a doubt the daily morning and evening sacrifice, called "the continual burnt offering" in Exodus 29:42 and Numbers 28:3-6. The clause is not modified by the succeeding words, which are additional, not exegetical, and which should not be translated, as in the A. V., both of the new moons, but, "and those of the new moons." The returned exiles kept henceforth regularly both the daily morning and evening sacrifice, and also that appointed for the new moons (Numbers 28:11-15), and those appointed for the other "set feasts,"such as the passover and the feast of Pentecost. And of every one that willingly offered. Nor was this all. The practice was resumed of sacrificing on the great altar at any time any free-will offerings that individual Israelites might bring (see Leviticus 1, 2, 3, etc.). Thus provision was made for all that was most essential in the ritual of religion, while the temple itself still remained unbuilt (see ver. 6). PREPARATION OF MATERIALS FOR THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE (ver. 7). When the restoration of religion had pro-greased thus far, the civil and ecclesiastical rulers turned their attention to that object which had been specially mentioned in the "decree of Cyrus" (Ezra 1:2, 3), the rebuilding of the temple. And, first of all, it was necessary to collect building materials, wood and stone, which were the chief materials of the first temple, and which Cyrus had particularized in a supplementary decree (Ezra 6:4) as those to be employed in the construction of the second. Ezra 3:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

And afterward, i.e., after the feast of tabernacles, they offered the continual, i.e., the daily, burnt-offering, and (the offerings) for the new moon, and all the festivals of the Lord (the annual feasts). עלות must be inserted from the context before לחדשׁים to complete the sense. "And for every one that willingly offered a free-will offering to the Lord." נדבה is a burnt-offering which was offered from free inclination. Such offerings might be brought on any day, but were chiefly presented at the annual festivals after the sacrifices prescribed by the law; comp. Numbers 29:39. - In Ezra 3:6 follows the supplementary remark, that the sacrificial worship began from the first day of the seventh month, but that the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. This forms a transition to what follows.

(Note: Bertheau, comparing Ezra 3:6 with Ezra 3:5, incorrectly interprets it as meaning: "From the first day of the seventh month the offering of thank-offerings began (comp. Ezra 3:2); then, from the fifteenth day of the second month, during the feast of tabernacles, the burnt-offerings prescribed by the law (Ezra 3:4); but the daily burnt-offerings were not recommenced till after the feast of tabernacles, etc. Hence it was not from the first day of the seventh month, but subsequently to the feast of tabernacles, that the worship of God, so far as this consisted in burnt-offerings, was fully restored." The words of the cursive manuscript, however, do not stand in the text, but their opposite. In Ezra 3:2, not thank-offerings (זבהים or שׁלמים), but burnt-offerings (עלות), are spoken of, and indeed those prescribed in the law, among which the daily morning and evening burnt-offering, expressly named in Ezra 3:3, held the first place. With this, Ezra 3:5, "After the feast of tabernacles they offered the continual burnt-offering, and the burnt-offerings for the new moon," etc., fully harmonizes. The offering of the continual, i.e., of the daily, burnt-offerings, besides the new moon, the feast-days, and the free-will offerings, is named again merely for the sake of completeness. The right order is, on the contrary, as follows: The altar service, with the daily morning and evening sacrifice, began on the first day of the seventh month; this daily sacrifice was regularly offered, according to the law, from then till the fifteenth day of the second month, i.e., till the beginning of the feast of tabernacles; all the offerings commanded in the law for the separate days of this feast were then offered according to the numbers prescribed; and after this festival the sacrifices ordered at the new moon and the other holy days of the year were offered, as well as the daily burnt-offerings, - none but these, neither the sacrifice on the new moon (the first day of the seventh month) nor the sin-offering on the tenth day of the same month, i.e., the day of atonement, having been offered before this feast of tabernacles.)