Ezra 7:1--8:18

The Arrival of Ezra

7:1 Now after these things had happened, during the reign of King Artaxerxes ¹  of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon. ²  Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah, 7:2 who was the son of Shallum, who was the son of Zadok, who was the son of Ahitub, 7:3 who was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Meraioth, 7:4 who was the son of Zerahiah, who was the son of Uzzi, who was the son of Bukki, 7:5 who was the son of Abishua, who was the son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eleazar, who was the son of Aaron the chief priest. 7:6 This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. 7:7 In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought ³  up to Jerusalem ⁴  some of the Israelites and some of the priests, the Levites, the attendants, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants. 7:8 He entered Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 7:9 On the first day of the first month he had determined to make ⁵  the ascent from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, ⁶  for the good hand of his God was on him. 7:10 Now Ezra had dedicated himself ⁷  to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching ⁸  its statutes and judgments in Israel.

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

7:11 What follows ⁹  is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. ¹⁰  Ezra was ¹¹  a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:

7:12 ¹² “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the perfect law of the God of heaven: 7:13 I have now issued a decree ¹³  that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel – even the priests and Levites – who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem. ¹⁴  7:14 You are authorized ¹⁵  by the king and his seven advisers to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession, ¹⁶  7:15 and to bring silver and gold which the king and his advisers have freely contributed to the God of Israel, who resides in Jerusalem, 7:16 along with all the silver and gold that you may collect ¹⁷  throughout all the province of Babylon and the contributions of the people and the priests for the temple of their God which is in Jerusalem. 7:17 With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate ¹⁸  meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem. 7:18 You may do whatever seems appropriate to you and your colleagues ¹⁹  with the rest of the silver and the gold, in keeping with the will of your God. 7:19 Deliver to ²⁰  the God of Jerusalem the vessels that are given to you for the service of the temple of your God. 7:20 The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply, ²¹  you may do so from the royal treasury.

7:21 “I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of ²²  Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you – 7:22 up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of olive oil, ²³  and unlimited ²⁴  salt. 7:23 Everything that the God of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath ²⁵  against the empire of the king and his sons? 7:24 Furthermore, be aware of the fact ²⁶  that you have no authority to impose tax, tribute, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or the attendants at the temple of this God.

7:25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ²⁷  appoint judges ²⁸  and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught. 7:26 Everyone who does not observe both the law of your God and the law of the king will be completely ²⁹  liable to the appropriate penalty, whether it is death or banishment or confiscation of property or detainment in prison.”

7:27 ³⁰ Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem! 7:28 He has also conferred his favor on me before the king, his advisers, and all the influential leaders of the king. I gained strength as the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

The Leaders Who Returned with Ezra

8:1 These are the leaders ³¹  and those enrolled with them by genealogy who were coming up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

8:2 from the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom;

from the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel;

from the descendants of David, Hattush 8:3 the son of Shecaniah; ³² 

from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were enrolled by genealogy 150 men;

8:4 from the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men;

8:5 from the descendants of Zattu, ³³  Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men;

8:6 from the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men;

8:7 from the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men;

8:8 from the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men;

8:9 from the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men;

8:10 from the descendants of Bani, ³⁴  Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men;

8:11 from the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men;

8:12 from the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men;

8:13 from the descendants of Adonikam there were the latter ones. ³⁵  Their names were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men;

8:14 from the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai, and Zaccur, ³⁶  and with them ³⁷  70 men.

The Exiles Travel to Jerusalem

8:15 I had them assemble ³⁸  at the canal ³⁹  that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I observed that the people and the priests were present, but I found no Levites there. 8:16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, ⁴⁰  Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers. 8:17 I sent them to Iddo, who was the leader in the place called Casiphia. I told them ⁴¹  what to say to Iddo and his relatives, ⁴²  who were the temple servants in ⁴³  Casiphia, so they would bring us attendants for the temple of our God.

8:18 Due to the fact that the good hand of our God was on us, they brought us a skilled man, from the descendants of Mahli the son of Levi son of Israel. This man was Sherebiah, ⁴⁴  who was accompanied by his sons and brothers, ⁴⁵  18 men,

[7:1]  ¹ sn If the Artaxerxes of Ezra 7:1 is Artaxerxes I Longimanus (ca. 464–423 B.C.), Ezra must have arrived in Jerusalem ca. 458 B.C., since Ezra 7:7-8 connects the time of his arrival to the seventh year of the king. The arrival of Nehemiah is then linked to the twentieth year of the king (Neh 1:1), or ca. 445 B.C. Some scholars, however, have suggested that Ezra 7:7 should be read as “the thirty-seventh year” rather than “the seventh year.” This would have Ezra coming to Jerusalem after, rather than before, the arrival of Nehemiah. Others have taken the seventh year of Ezra 7:7-8 to refer not to Artaxerxes I but to Artaxerxes II, who ruled ca. 404–358 B.C. In this understanding Ezra would have returned to Jerusalem ca. 398 B.C., a good many years after the return of Nehemiah. Neither of these views is certain, however, and it seems better to retain the traditional understanding of the chronological sequence of returns by Ezra and Nehemiah. With this understanding there is a gap of about fifty-eight years between chapter six, which describes the dedication of the temple in 516 b.c., and chapter seven, which opens with Ezra’s coming to Jerusalem in 458 b.c.

[7:1]  ² tn The words “came up from Babylon” do not appear in the Hebrew text until v. 6. They have been supplied here for the sake of clarity.

[7:7]  ³ tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּעֲל (vayya’al, “he [Ezra] brought up”) rather than the Qal plural וַיַּעַלוּ (vayya’alu, “they came up”) of the MT.

[7:7]  tn Heb “he brought”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:7]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:9]  ⁵ tc The translation reads יִסַּד (yissad, “he appointed” [= determined]) rather than the reading יְסֻד (yÿsud, “foundation”) of the MT. (The words “to make” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.)

[7:9]  ⁶ sn Apparently it took the caravan almost four months to make the five hundred mile journey.

[7:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “established his heart.”

[7:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “to do and to teach.” The expression may be a hendiadys, in which case it would have the sense of “effectively teaching.”

[7:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “this.”

[7:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.

[7:11]  ¹¹ tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[7:12]  ¹² sn Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.

[7:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “from me is placed a decree.” So also in v. 21.

[7:13]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:14]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “sent.”

[7:14]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:16]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “find.”

[7:17]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “their meal offerings and their libations.”

[7:18]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “brothers.”

[7:19]  ²⁰ tn Or “before.”

[7:20]  ²¹ tn Aram “may fall to you to give.”

[7:21]  ²² tn Aram “who are in.”

[7:22]  ²³ tc The translation reads מְשַׁח בַּתִּין (mÿshakh battin) rather than מְשַׁח בַּתִּין (battin mÿshakh) of the MT.

[7:22]  ²⁴ tn Aram “he did not write.”

[7:23]  ²⁵ tn The Aramaic word used here for “wrath” (קְצַף, qÿtsaf; cf. Heb קָצַף, qatsaf) is usually used in the Hebrew Bible for God’s anger as opposed to human anger (but contra Eccl 5:17 [MT 5:16]; Esth 1:18; 2 Kgs 3:27). The fact that this word is used in v. 23 may have theological significance, pointing to the possibility of divine judgment if the responsible parties should fail to make available these provisions for the temple.

[7:24]  ²⁶ tn Aram “we are making known to you.”

[7:25]  ²⁷ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:25]  ²⁸ tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammatei", “scribes”).

[7:26]  ²⁹ tn On the meaning of this word see HALOT 1820-21 s.v. אָסְפַּרְנָא; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 14.

[7:27]  ³⁰ sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (7:12-26) back to Hebrew.

[8:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “the heads of their families.”

[8:3]  ³² tc The MT reads here “from the sons of Shecaniah” with no descendant identified in what follows, contrary to the pattern of the context elsewhere. However, it seems better to understand the first phrase of v. 3 with the end of v. 2; the phrase would then modify the name “Hattush.” This understanding requires emending the reading מִבְּנֵי (mibbÿne, “from the sons of”) in the MT to בֵּן (ben,“[the] son of”). Cf. NAB, TEV, CEV, NLT.

[8:5]  ³³ tc The MT lacks “of Zattu.” The translation adopted above follows the LXX in including the words.

[8:10]  ³⁴ tc The MT lacks “Bani.” It is restored on the basis of certain LXX MSS.

[8:13]  ³⁵ tn Or “those who came later.” The exact meaning of this Hebrew phrase is uncertain. It may refer to the last remaining members of Adonikam’s family who were in Babylon. So, for example, H. G. M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah (WBC), 108; cf. NASB, NIV, NCV. The phrase has also been taken to mean “the younger sons (so NAB), or the ones who “returned at a later date” (so TEV).

[8:14]  ³⁶ tc The translation reads with the Qere, the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate וְזַּכּוּר (vÿzakkur, “and Zaccur”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, וְזַבוּד (vÿzavud, “and Zabbud”).

[8:14]  ³⁷ tn The MT has “with him” (so NAB). The present translation (“with them”) is based on the reading of many medieval Hebrew MSS, the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate (so also KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[8:15]  ³⁸ tn Or “I gathered them.”

[8:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “river.” So also in vv. 21, 31.

[8:16]  ⁴⁰ tc The name “Elnathan” occurs twice in this list. Some, assuming an accidental repetition, would include it only once (cf. NAB).

[8:17]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “I placed in their mouth words.”

[8:17]  ⁴² tc The translation reads with the LXX and Vulgate וְאֶחָיו (vÿ’ekhayv, “and his brethren” = “relatives”; so NCV, NLT) rather than the reading אָחִיו (’akhiyv, “his brother”) of the MT.

[8:17]  ⁴³ tn Heb “in the place called.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and Sherebiah.” The words “this man was” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “relatives” (so CEV; NRSV “kin”); also in v. 19.