1Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 2the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest; 6this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which Jehovah the God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him. 7Some of the children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple slaves came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. 10For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of Jehovah, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel. 11This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of Jehovah, and of His statutes to Israel: 12Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of Heaven: Perfect peace, and now: 13I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14And whereas you are being sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand; 15and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem; 16and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be freely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem; 17now therefore, be diligent to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. 18And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God. 19Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. 20And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king's treasure house. 21And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of Heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, 22up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without stipulation. 23Whatever is commanded by the God of Heaven, let it diligently be done for the house of the God of Heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? 24Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or toll upon any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple slaves, or servants of this house of God. 25And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are beyond the River, all such as know the Laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them. 26Whoever will not observe the Law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed diligently upon him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment. 27Blessed be Jehovah the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this into the king's heart, to beautify the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem, 28and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty rulers. So I was encouraged, as the hand of Jehovah my God was upon me; and I gathered chief men of Israel to go up with me.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 EZRA GOES UP TO JERUSALEM. (
Ezra 7:1-
Ezra 7:10)
in the reign of Artaxerxes--the Ahasuerus of Esther.
Ezra the son of Seraiah--that is, grandson or great-grandson. Seraiah was the high priest put to death by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah (
2Kgs 25:18). A period of one hundred thirty years had elapsed between that catastrophe and the journey of Ezra to Jerusalem. As a grandson of Seraiah, namely, Jeshua, who held the office of high priest, had accompanied Zerubbabel in the first caravan of returning exiles, Ezra must have been in all probability a grandson, descended, too, from a younger son, the older branch being in possession of the pontificate.
6 This Ezra . . . was a ready scribe in the law of Moses--The term "scribe" does not mean merely a penman, nor even an attorney well versed in forms of law and skilled in the method of preparing public or private deeds. He was a rabbi, or doctor, learned in the Mosaic law, and in all that related to the civil and ecclesiastical polity and customs of the Hebrew people. Scribes of this description possessed great authority and influence (compare
Matt 23:25;
Mark 12:28).
the king granted him all his request--left Babylon entrusted with an important commission to be executed in Jerusalem. The manner in which he obtained this office is minutely related in a subsequent passage. Here it is noticed, but with a pious acknowledgment of the divine grace and goodness which disposed the royal mind in favor of Ezra's patriotic objects. The Levites, &c., did not go at that time, but are mentioned here by anticipation.
8 he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month--that is, corresponding to the end of our July or beginning of our August. As he left Babylon on the Jewish New Year's Day (
Ezra 7:9), the journey must have occupied not less than four months (a long period), but it was necessary to move at a slow pace and by short, easy stages, as he had to conduct a large caravan of poor people, including women, children, and all their household gear (see on
Ezra 8:24).
10 Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, &c.--His reigning desire had been to study the divine law--its principles, institutions, privileges, and requirements; and now from love and zeal, he devoted himself, as the business of his life, to the work of instructing, reforming, and edifying others.
11 GRACIOUS COMMISSION OF ARTAXERXES. (Ezra 7:11-26)
this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave--The measure which this document authorized, and the remarkable interest in the Jews displayed in it, were most probably owing to the influence of Esther, who is thought to have been raised to the high position of queen a few months previous to the departure of Ezra [HALES]. According to others, who adopt a different chronology, it was more probably pressed upon the attention of the Persian court by Ezra, who, like Daniel, showed the prophecies to the king; or by some leading Jews on his accession, who, seeing the unsettled and disordered state of the colony after the deaths of Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Haggai, and Zechariah, recommended the appointment of a commission to reform abuses, suppress disorder, and enforce the observance of the law.
12 Artaxerxes, king of kings--That title might have been assumed as, with literal truth, applicable to him, since many of the tributary princes of his empire still retained the name and authority of kings. But it was a probably a mere Orientalism, denoting a great and powerful prince, as the heaven of heavens signified the highest heaven, and vanity of vanities, the greatest vanity. This vainglorious title was assumed by the kings of Assyria, from whom it passed to the sovereigns of Persia.
unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven--The appointment of Ezra to this influential mission was of the highest importance to the Hebrew people, as a large proportion of them were become, in a great measure, strangers both to the language and the institutions of their forefathers.
14 sent of the king, and of his seven counsellors--This was the fixed number of the privy council of the kings of Persia (
Esth 1:10,
Esth 1:14). The document describes, with great clearness and precision, the nature of Ezra's commission and the extent of power and prerogatives with which he was invested. It gave him authority, in the first place, to organize the colony in Judea and institute a regular government, according to the laws of the Hebrew people, and by magistrates and rulers of their own nation (
Ezra 7:25-
Ezra 7:26), with power to punish offenders by fines, imprisonment, exile, or death, according to the degree of their criminality. Secondly, he was empowered to carry a large donation in money, partly from the royal treasury and partly raised by voluntary contributions among his countrymen, to create a fund out of which to make suitable provision for maintaining the regular worship of God in Jerusalem (
Ezra 7:16-
Ezra 7:17). Thirdly, the Persian officers in Syria were commanded to afford him every assistance by gifts of money within a certain specified limit, in carrying out the objects of his patriotic mission (
Ezra 7:21).
22 an hundred talents of silver--Ł22,000 according to the rate of the silver talent of Babylon. Fourthly, Artaxerxes gave his royal sanction in the establishment of the divine law, which exempted priests and Levites from taxation or tribute and confirmed to them the exclusive right to officiate in the sacred services of the sanctuary. And, finally, in the expression of the king's desire for the divine blessing upon the king and his government (
Ezra 7:23), we see the strong persuasion which pervaded the Persian court, and had been produced by the captivity of the Hebrew people, as to the being and directing providence of the God they worshipped. It will be observed, however, that the commission related exclusively to the rebuilding of the temple--not of the walls. The Samaritans (
Ezra 4:20-
Ezra 4:22) had succeeded in alarming the Persian court by their representations of the danger to the empire of fortifying a city notorious for the turbulent character of its inhabitants and the prowess of its kings.
27 EZRA BLESSES GOD FOR THIS FAVOR. (
Ezra 7:27-
Ezra 7:28)
Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers--This devout thanksgiving is in unison with the whole character of Ezra, who discerns the hand of God in every event, and is always ready to express a pious acknowledgment for the divine goodness.
