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King James Version (KJV)
“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody
Scripture focus
Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It [was] the ninth month, on the twentieth [day] of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of [this] matter, and for the great rain.
Ezra 10:9 — KJV
The twentieth day. In 457 B.C., Kislev 20 was probably December 7 (see p. 108).
Street. Literally, “wide space.” This was probably the outer court of the large Temple compound. Great numbers of people could easily be accommodated there. The present Haram esh-Shetif in Jerusalem, which corresponds roughly to the ancient Temple site, with all its auxiliary buildings, covers approximately 170,000 sq. yds. (142,137 sq. m.), and in its spacious, open courts many thousands of people can be accommodated. The situation with the Temple was probably similar.
Trembling. The seriousness of the reason for which the people had been summoned must have been evident to all from the heavy penalties with which they were threatened in case they failed to attend.
The great rain. The ninth month, beginning in our November or December, brings heavy rains to Palestine. The winter rains start toward the end of October or the beginning of November, with light showers, but by early December heavy rain is falling. The incidental mention of “the great rain” is one of those seemingly unimportant touches that mark the writer as an eyewitness and the story as authentic.
By SdaBc
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