Ezr 7:23-25 | TNotes | STEP | 7:23 the God of heaven: This is the title by which the Jews had referred to the Lord (5:11-12 ) and that Cyrus had used (1:2 ). The Persian king probably believed, like others in the ancient Near East, that each country’s god or gods controlled their territory. Artaxerxes did not want to risk bringing God’s anger against the realm of the king and undermine the peace of his empire by failing to provide for the God of Jerusalem (7:19 ) the worship that he required.

b5:11-12►

f7:25-26►

‏ Ezra 7:23-25

7:23 ^a the God of heaven: This is the title by which the Jews had referred to the Lord (5:11-12 ^b) and that Cyrus had used (1:2 ^c). The Persian king probably believed, like others in the ancient Near East, that each country’s god or gods controlled their territory. Artaxerxes did not want to risk bringing God’s anger against the realm of the king and undermine the peace of his empire by failing to provide for the God of Jerusalem (7:19 ^d) the worship that he required.
7:24 ^e The tax exemptions given to Temple personnel in Jerusalem were similar to the conciliatory gestures made to those in other nations.
Summary for Ezra 7:25-26: 7:25-26 ^f Ezra was to teach God’s laws and govern the area occupied by the Jews in accordance with God’s laws and the law of the king—i.e., Persian civil law.