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44. All these. In Hebrew the entire verse is somewhat obscure. The most literal rendering would be the following, in which only two small grammatical adjustments are made in the Hebrew text: “All these had taken strange women, and there were some among the women who had given birth to sons.” Most modern scholars would alter the text and read the latter part of the verse thus: “and they sent away from them the women and their sons.” Whatever the original meaning, it seems clear that the author intended to convey the idea that it was more difficult to arrange a divorce where there were children than where there were not. All cases were dealt with in the same way.

The list given in vs. 18-43 shows that 113 men were guilty of marrying heathen wives. It would be interesting to know the size of the population of Judea in Ezra’s time, in order to secure a right picture of the extent of this evil in Judea. Since such figures are not available, a comparison can be made only with the people who had come to Judea with Zerubbabel about 80 years earlier.

Since so few Levites had returned in Zerubbabel’s time, the percentage of transgressors in this group seems high in comparison with the other groups listed. It is apparent that in all groups an average of at least 3 men in every 1,000 had married foreign women. The small percentage may explain, in part, why Ezra experienced little or no opposition to the reform measures he proposed to carry out.

Although the number of transgressors was relatively small, the tendency was dangerous, and Ezra, like other serious-minded leaders, was determined to keep the nation free from pagan influence. Parallels to Ezra’s reform occurred among other ancient nations, though usually with the purpose of keeping the race pure. In Rome patricians were prohibited from marrying plebeians before 445 b.c. (some say 437). In 451/50 b.c. Pericles enforced a law in Athens, according to which only those whose parents were full-blooded Athenians could remain Athenian citizens. Almost 5,000 persons were sold into slavery because they were so unfortunate as not to be of pure Athenian stock.

Ezra knew that the great disaster of 586 b.c., when Jerusalem was destroyed and the nation ceased to exist, had resulted from idolatry. A recurrence of those conditions must now be avoided by all means. The evil, still of small proportions when he reached Jerusalem, would, if unchecked, be out of hand in a short time. Therefore it had to be eradicated irrespective of individual hardships. The situation was especially dangerous because of the fact that leaders and members of the high-priestly family were among the transgressors. The measures of Ezra now, and of Nehemiah later, were instrumental in leading the Jews to look with abhorrence on mixed marriages, an attitude that has kept the Jewish nation comparatively free of intermarriage to the present day. In contrast, the ancient nations surrounding Judea have been lost through racial admixture and migration.

the book of nehemiah

[A combined introduction to Ezra and Nehemiah appears immediately preceding the comment on Ezra.]