Ezra 7
King Artaxerxes sends Ezra to Jerusalem
Priest Ezra’s link to the first priest, Aaron
1A priest named Ezra was born a long time after Jews rebuilt the Temple. He lived during the reign of Persian King Artaxerxes. [1] Ezra’s family tree included the following priests, starting with his father:Seraiah, Azariah, Hilkiah,
2Shallum, Zadok, Ahitub,
3Amariah, Azariah, Meraioth,
4Zerahiah, Uzzi, Bukki,
5Abishua, Phinehas, Eleazar, and Israel’s first chief priest, Aaron.
Scholar Ezra leads Jerusalem caravan
6Ezra was an expert in laws Moses received from the LORD God of Israel. Ezra left Babylon and moved to Jerusalem. Persia’s king gave him whatever help he asked for. The king did that because God was looking out for Ezra.7Ezra traveled in a caravan that included other priests along with Temple support staff: Levites, [2] singers, security guards, and servants. They left Babylon in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes’ reign. [3] 8They reached Jerusalem that summer. [4] 9They left Babylon on the first day of the first month [5] and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month. They made good time because God was looking out for them.
10Earlier in his life, Ezra had set a goal for himself. He wanted to study the Jewish laws and teach them in Israel.
King Artaxerxes’ letter to Ezra
11These are the words of a letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra, the priest. Ezra was also a scholar who had become an expert in laws the LORD gave to Israel.12“Hello. This is Artaxerxes, king over an empire of kings. I’m writing to Ezra, a priest and a scholar in the laws of the God of heaven. Peace to you.
13I’m giving my permission for Jewish priests, Levities, and any other Jews in my kingdom to go to Jerusalem with you. If that’s what they want to do, they are free to go.
Ezra’s assignment from the king
14The king and his council of seven advisors are sending you to Judah and Jerusalem. Your task is to see if the people there are following the laws of God.15We are sending you with gifts of silver and gold for the Jerusalem Temple of Israel’s God. These gifts come from the king and his counselors. 16You may also solicit donations of silver and gold from anyone in the province of Babylon, including the Jewish people and their priests.
17Use this money mainly to buy sacrificial animals once you arrive in Jerusalem. Buy good quality bulls, rams, and lambs to sacrifice. And buy the grain and wine you need for those offerings, too. Take all of this to the Temple altar of your God, in Jerusalem. 18If you have any silver and gold leftover, do with it whatever you think your God would want.
19We are giving you some bowls and cups for the Temple. Don’t sell those. Deliver them to the Temple in Jerusalem. 20If you discover that you need anything else for the Temple, draw the money from local taxes collected for the king’s treasury.
King orders treasurers to supply Ezra
21This is an order that I, King Artaxerxes, am giving to all my treasurers in the province west of the Euphrates River. I’m sending Ezra to your province. He’s a priest and a scholar of the laws of the God of heaven. Give him whatever he asks. Do it right away. Don’t slow-walk his requests.22He can have up to three and a half tons of silver, 600 bushels of wheat, 600 gallons of wine and the same of olive oil. And he can have all the salt he wants. [6]
23Listen to me. Give Ezra whatever he says the God of heaven asks us to donate to his house, the Jerusalem Temple. If you don’t, God will unload his anger on your king and his family. [7]
24I’m also giving you notice not to tax these Temple workers in any way. No customs duties. No per-person tax. No required tribute to the royal treasury. I’m declaring it illegal to tax these priests, Levites, singers, security guards, and Temple servants.
Ezra’s authority to punish law-breakers
25And now for you, Ezra. I’m rewarding you for your God-given gift of wisdom. I’m putting you in charge of appointing Jewish judges and officials. They are to help you implement the laws of your God. You may do this wherever there are Jews west of the Euphrates River. When you find Jews who don’t know the laws, teach them.26If some of your people aren’t willing to obey the laws of your God and your king, I’m giving you the power to punish them. You may put them in prison, confiscate their property, banish them, or execute them.”
Ezra’s reaction
27Grateful for this letter of incredible support, Ezra said, “Thank the Good LORD, the God of our ancestors. He wrote this letter onto the king’s heart. He did it to honor the Temple.”Footnotes
Artaxerxes reigned from 465-425 BC. He became king 50 years after Jews finished rebuilding the Temple in 515 BC.
Levites were descendants of Levi, who was one of Jacob’s 12 sons. Levi’s descendants, or tribe, became the nation’s priests, Temple workers, and other worship leaders and associates. Bible writers often mention priests and Levites as though Levites were associates of priests. Yet, both were descendants of Levi, which makes them both Levites in one sense of the word. But there was another sense of the word. Historians still debate what the difference was between a priest and a Levite. It seems that priests performed what people considered the more important religious duties. Levites may have been more like associate ministers. But that’s a guess.
458 BC. Ezra 8:31 says they left on day 12 of the first month, Nisan (March-April).
Literally “in the fifth month,” which is the month of Av (July-August). Ezra 8:32 says they arrived on the first day of the fifth month. Their trip of roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) took three and a half months. If they didn’t travel on the Sabbath, they averaged perhaps a little better than 10 miles (16 km) a day on their journey. People traveling on their own could often travel 20 miles (32 km) in a day. Caravans were no faster than the slowest among them.
They didn’t travel for four months. They traveled for three and half (8:31-32). They delayed the start for 12 days, apparently to recruit Levites (8:16).
The Hebrew measurements are more poetic: 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, and 100 baths each of wine and olive oil. In today’s measurements: A talent is 75 pounds (34 kg) in some reports, so in this case, Ezra’s allowance was 7,500 pounds (3,400 kg) of silver. A cor is six bushels (211 liters). And a bushel of wheat weighs about 60 pounds (27 kg). A bath is about six gallons (23 liters).
The king doesn’t bother adding the obvious, “And your king will unload his anger on you and your family.”
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