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Ezra 7

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Introduction of Ezra the Scribe 1–5

1
Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, ​
2
the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,
3
the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,
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the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,
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the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— ​

Ezra Prepares for the Journey 6–10

6
this Ezra went up from Babylon. And he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Jehovah, the God of Israel, had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him. ​
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And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. ​
8
And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.
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For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon; and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. ​
10
For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Jehovah, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances. ​

The Decree of King Artaxerxes 11–26

11
Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of Jehovah, and of his statutes to Israel: ​
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Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect and so forth. ​
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I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, that are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with thee.
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Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king and his seven counsellors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand, ​
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and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,
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and all the silver and gold that thou shalt find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill-offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;
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therefore thou shalt with all diligence buy with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meal-offerings and their drink-offerings, and shalt offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.
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And whatsoever shall seem good to thee and to thy brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do ye after the will of your God.
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And the vessels that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem.
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And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure-house.
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And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers that are beyond the River, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done with all diligence, ​
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unto a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. ​
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Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? ​
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Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, upon them. ​
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And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God that is in thy hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people that are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye him that knoweth them not. ​
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And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him with all diligence, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment. ​

Ezra's Doxology and Response 27–28

27
Blessed be Jehovah, the God of our fathers, who hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem; ​
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and hath extended lovingkindness unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. And I was strengthened according to the hand of Jehovah my God upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Ezra 7

Verse 1

Ezra the son of Seraiah — Seraiah was 'the chief priest' whom the captain of the guard took, and the king of Babylon slew at Riblah (2 Kgs 25:18–21). The line runs through sixteen names back to Aaron (vv.1–5). 'After these things' follows the finished house of Darius's sixth year (6:15); no interval is stated before Artaxerxes' seventh year (v.7).

Verse 5

Aaron the chief priest — Literally 'the priest, the head'. The line passes through Phinehas, who received 'the covenant of an everlasting priesthood' (Num 25:13) and whose act 'was counted unto him for righteousness' (Ps 106:31). The same order, Eleazar, Phinehas, Abishua, stands in 1 Chr 6:4.

Verse 6

a ready scribe — Mahir, quick or skilled: the 'ready writer' of Ps 45:1, and the man 'diligent in his business' who 'shall stand before kings' (Prov 22:29), as Ezra does. The phrase 'the hand of the LORD his God upon him' returns for the journey in vv.9, 28 and in 8:18, 22, 31.

Verse 7

the Nethinims — Nethinim, 'given ones', temple servants whom 'David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites' (Ezra 8:20). The same five groups, priests, Levites, singers, porters and Nethinims, are named in 2:70 and again in v.24, where the king exempts them from tax. Verse 9 dates the arrival.

Verse 9

the good hand of his God — The going up began on the first day of the first month and ended on the first day of the fifth, four months. The phrase returns in 8:18, 'by the good hand of our God upon us'. At the river of Ahava the company stayed three days and left on the twelfth day (8:15, 31), when the hand 'delivered us from the hand of the enemy'.

Verse 10

prepared his heart — Kun, to set firm, to establish: Jehoshaphat 'prepared' his heart 'to seek God' (2 Chr 19:3), and Rehoboam 'prepared not his heart to seek the LORD' (2 Chr 12:14). The order is seek, do, teach. Christ names the last two together: 'whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great' (Matt 5:19).

Verse 11

a scribe of the words of the commandments — The Hebrew narrative introduces the king's letter, which is in Aramaic, the language of royal correspondence in Ezra from 4:8, through vv.12–26; v.27 returns to Hebrew. The king calls Ezra by the same office, 'scribe of the law of the God of heaven' (vv.12, 21), that v.6 gave him.

Verse 12

king of kings — The title Nebuchadnezzar bears in Dan 2:37, 'a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom'; it is the name of Christ in Rev 19:16. 'The God of heaven' was Cyrus's own phrase in Ezra 1:2. 'Perfect peace, and at such a time' is the letter's greeting and date formula, as in 4:17.

Verse 14

his seven counsellors — Esther 1:14 names 'the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king's face'. Ezra is sent 'to enquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand'. The same expression returns in v.25, 'the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand': the law is what he carries with him.

Verse 21

beyond the river — The province across 'the river' in which Jerusalem lay (6:8; 8:36, 'governors on this side the river'). 'Treasurers' (gizbar) occurs only here. Darius had earlier ordered expenses 'of the tribute beyond the river' for the house (6:8); this decree makes the same treasuries answer to Ezra, 'speedily'.

Verse 22

without prescribing how much — A hundred talents of silver, a hundred measures of wheat, a hundred baths each of wine and oil, and salt without limit. 'Prescribing' is ketab, writing, so there is no written cap on the salt. These are the materials of the offerings, as in Darius's 'wheat, salt, wine, and oil' (6:9), Num 15:4–5 and Lev 2:13.

Verse 23

the house of the God of heaven — 'Diligently' (adrazda) occurs only here. The king asks, 'why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?' Darius's decree gave the same reason: that the priests 'pray for the life of the king, and of his sons' (6:10). Both kings direct their giving to the God of heaven.

Verse 24

toll, tribute, or custom — The three levies named together in 4:13 and 4:20, where the city's enemies warned the king that a rebuilt Jerusalem would pay none. Here the king remits all three for the priests, Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims and 'ministers of this house of God', the same company listed in 2:70 and 7:7.

Verse 25

set magistrates and judges — Ezra is to appoint them 'after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand', on the pattern of the law: 'Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates' (Deut 16:18). The root yeda occurs three times in the clause, as 'know', 'teach' and 'know': those who know the laws judge, and those who 'know them not' are taught.

Verse 26

the law of thy God, and the law of the king — One Aramaic word, dath, stands for both laws, side by side. The four penalties are death, banishment (sheroshu, an uprooting), confiscation of goods and imprisonment. Darius had also decreed a penalty for any who altered his word about the house (6:11).

Verse 27

Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers — The Hebrew resumes after the king's Aramaic letter, and Ezra speaks in the first person from here. What stirred the king is the LORD's doing: 'The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD… he turneth it whithersoever he will' (Prov 21:1). 'To beautify' (pa'ar) the house is the word of Isa 60:13.

Verse 28

extended mercy unto me — Chesed, covenant kindness, 'stretched out' to Ezra before the king, his counsellors and his princes, as the LORD 'shewed him mercy' to Joseph (Gen 39:21) and to the people in Ezra 9:9. 'I was strengthened' (chazaq) is the effect of the hand of the LORD (vv.6, 9), and the 'chief men' (heads) he gathered went up with him.