Ezra 7

Ezr 7:1-10.

EZRA

GOES

UP TO

JERUSALEM.

1, 2. 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

(2Ki 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

Mt 23:25;

Mr 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

(Ezr 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

Ezr 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.

Ezr 7:11-26.

GRACIOUS

COMMISSION OF

ARTAXERXES.

11. 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

(Es 1:10, 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

(Ezr 7:25, 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

(Ezr 7:16, 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

(Ezr 7:21).

22-24. an hundred talents of silver--£22,000 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

(Ezr 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

(Ezr 4:20-22)

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.

Ezr 7:27, 28.

EZRA

BLESSES

GOD FOR

THIS

FAVOR.

27. 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.