Ezr 7-8 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Ezra 7:1-5: 7:1-5 Ezra highlights his standing by listing his own genealogy through Zadok, priest under Solomon (1 Kgs 2:35 ), all the way back to Aaron the high priest , Moses’ brother. This list is clearly abbreviated: It has only sixteen generations from Aaron to eighty years after the Exile, while 1 Chr 6:3-15 has twenty-three generations from Aaron to the Exile. 7:1 Many years later: Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in 458 BC (7:7-8 ), about fifty-seven years after the dedication of the second Temple. Ezra has been recording events that occurred before his time, but now he begins to record his own history. • son: In biblical genealogies, the Hebrew word translated son often means descendant. • Seraiah was high priest under Zedekiah; he was executed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC (2 Kgs 25:18-21 ).

Summary for Ezra 7:1-5: 7:1-5 ^a Ezra highlights his standing by listing his own genealogy through Zadok, priest under Solomon (1 Kgs 2:35 ^b), all the way back to Aaron the high priest, Moses’ brother. This list is clearly abbreviated: It has only sixteen generations from Aaron to eighty years after the Exile, while 1 Chr 6:3-15 ^c has twenty-three generations from Aaron to the Exile. 7:1 ^d Many years later: Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in 458 BC (7:7-8 ^e), about fifty-seven years after the dedication of the second Temple. Ezra has been recording events that occurred before his time, but now he begins to record his own history.

• son: In biblical genealogies, the Hebrew word translated son often means descendant.

• Seraiah was high priest under Zedekiah; he was executed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC (2 Kgs 25:18-21 ^f).
7:6 ^g Ezra came from Babylon, where there was still a substantial and prosperous Jewish community.

• The Hebrew term translated scribe is sometimes translated as “secretary.” It describes an educated and reliable individual who transcribed and interpreted official documents. Accordingly, many scholars think that Ezra functioned like a “Secretary of State for Jewish Affairs” in the Persian government. Here, however, the emphasis is on his scribal role of studying and teaching from the five Books of Moses.
7:9 ^h Ezra and his entourage had arranged to leave Babylon on April 8 but did not actually leave until April 19, 458 BC (8:31 ⁱ). In those intervening eleven days, he organized the group and assembled it at the Ahava Canal, searched for more Levites, and proclaimed a fast.

• To make the 800-mile journey in four months, Ezra’s party would have walked an average of about ten miles per day, five days per week. Ezra knew that his success was attributable only to the gracious hand of his God (see also 7:6 ^j, 28 ^k; 8:22 ^l, 31 ^m).
7:10 ⁿ Ezra had three life goals: (1) to study God’s word, (2) to obey what God said, and (3) to teach ... the people of Israel. He allowed God’s word to transform his character and behavior so that he could influence the lives of others.
Summary for Ezra 7:11-26: 7:11-26 ^o In this letter, King Artaxerxes granted Ezra the power and responsibility to evaluate the situation in Jerusalem (7:14 ^p), present freewill offerings to God (7:15-20 ^q), obtain supplies and finances from local authorities (7:21-24 ^r), and institute judicial reforms (7:25-26 ^s).
7:14 ^t I and my council of seven: The Greek historian Xenophon knew of this council (Xenophon, Anabasis 1.6.4-5), and Esth 1:14 ^u lists the names of the seven princes of Xerxes, Artaxerxes’ father.

• your God’s law: The word translated law in this verse is the Aramaic word dath rather than the Hebrew torah (7:10 ^v), suggesting that a Persian wrote this letter (7:11-26 ^w).
7:15 ^x who lives in Jerusalem: God’s Temple was located there. Artaxerxes probably thought that he was helping rebuild the house of Jerusalem’s local deity (cp. 1 Kgs 8:27 ^y; Ps 24:1 ^z).
7:16 ^aa Like Cyrus (1:4 ^ab, 6 ^ac), Artaxerxes allowed Jews in Babylon to send freewill offerings to Jerusalem. A sizeable sum was collected from the king and his council as well as from Jewish contributors (8:25-27 ^ad).
Summary for Ezra 7:21-22: 7:21-22 ^ae The items listed were typically used as offerings in worship (cp. Exod 27:20 ^af; 29:2 ^ag; Lev 2:4 ^ah, 13 ^ai; 14:10 ^aj; Num 28:7 ^ak).
7:23 ^al the God of heaven: This is the title by which the Jews had referred to the Lord (5:11-12 ^am) and that Cyrus had used (1:2 ^an). 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 ^ao) the worship that he required.
7:24 ^ap 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 ^aq 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.

‏ Ezra 8

Summary for Ezra 8:1-14: 8:1-14 ^ar This list of the family leaders designates those who stepped out in faith and traveled with Ezra back to Jerusalem to join the Jewish community there. It lists fifteen families represented by 1,515 men. Including women and children, the total could have been around 5,000 people.
8:15 ^as The Ahava Canal came off the Euphrates River near Babylon.

• not one Levite had volunteered: Only a few Levites had come earlier with Sheshbazzar (2:40 ^at). It is unclear why so few Levites returned to Jerusalem.
Summary for Ezra 8:16-17: 8:16-17 ^au The Hebrew term translated men of discernment refers to those who could interpret and explain the Torah. These men were probably respected because of their expertise in Scripture (cp. Neh 8:8-9 ^av). Ezra commissioned them to use their influence to recruit more Levites.
8:18 ^aw the gracious hand of our God: Ezra, his leaders, and Iddo all took action to rectify the problem, but ultimately everything was accomplished because of God’s grace. Only thirty-eight Levites (including the leaders) and 220 Temple servants responded.
8:20 ^ax first instituted by King David and his officials: See 1 Chr 24–26 ^ay.
8:21 ^az fast and humble ourselves: Ezra recognized the need to look to God for the protection, safety, and health of 5,000 people going 800 miles on foot. Robbers might be hiding in the hills, there was danger in crossing rivers, and people could get sick.
8:22 ^ba ashamed: Ezra had openly proclaimed his faith in God’s ability to protect the Israelites on their journey. Asking the king for help now would suggest that Ezra did not really believe in God’s ability to provide.
8:23 ^bb fasted ... prayed: In the Old Testament, fasting often accompanied prayer as a demonstration of need before God (1 Kgs 21:9 ^bc; 2 Chr 20:3 ^bd; Neh 1:4 ^be; Dan 9:3 ^bf).
8:25 ^bg The items that the leaders were in charge of transporting included offerings for the Temple and sacrifices. Because these gifts belonged to God and were holy (8:28 ^bh), it was necessary that the priests care for them.
Summary for Ezra 8:26-27: 8:26-27 ^bi The Persians and supportive Jews had given an enormous amount of money. It was a huge risk to transport it without a royal escort.
Summary for Ezra 8:31-32: 8:31-32 ^bj We broke camp ... on April 19: It took twelve days to get organized, to encourage some Levites to join them, and to pray for God’s protection before Ezra could actually get the people moving toward Jerusalem (see 7:9 ^bk).
8:35 ^bl sacrificed burnt offerings: For many of the Jews who came to Jerusalem with Ezra, this was probably the first sacrifice they had ever offered. It would have been a moving spiritual experience for them to confess their sins and dedicate their lives to God in this way. For details on the burnt offering, see Lev 1 ^bm.