Ezra 7:1-10

Ezra Sent to Teach the People

1 Now after this, ¹in the reign of ²Artaxerxes king of Persia, ³Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,

2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub,

3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth,

4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki,

5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest--

6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe ⁴skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, ⁵for the hand of the LORD his God was on him.

7 And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and ⁶some of the priests and ⁷Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple ⁸servants.

8 And Ezra^[a] came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ⁹for the good hand of his God was on him.

10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it ¹⁰and to ¹¹teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

Ezra 7:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 7

In this chapter we have the lineage and character of Ezra described, Ezr 7:1-6, his expedition to Jerusalem, and of many others with him, Ezr 7:7-10, a copy of the commission King Artaxerxes gave him to execute, Ezr 7:11-26, and his thankfulness, Ezr 7:27,28.

and the dedication of it, and keeping the passover:

\\in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia\\; in the seventh year of his reign, Ezr 7:7,8, who is the same with Darius in the preceding chapter; so Jarchi and Aben Ezra; \\See Gill on "Ezr 6:14"\\.

\\Ezra the son of Seraiah\\; the high priest slain by Nebuchadnezzar Jer 52:24,27, this Ezra was a younger son of his, brother to Josedech, and uncle to Joshua, who were high priests in succession; his pedigree is carried in the ascending line up to Aaron, in this and the four following verses; only six generations, for brevity sake, are omitted, between Azariah and Meraioth, which may be supplied from 1Ch 6:7-10, \\See Gill on "1Ch 6:3\\. 20133-950205-1547-Ezr7.2

Cross References

• 1. Nehemiah 2:1
• 2. Nehemiah 2:1
• 3. For ver. 1-5, see 1 Chronicles 6:4-14
• 4. ver. 11, 12, 21; Neh. 8:1-3, 13; Nehemiah 12:26, 36
• 5. ver. 9, 28; Ezra 8:18, 22, 31; Nehemiah 2:8, 18; [Ezra 5:5]
• 6. See Ezra 8:1-14
• 7. Ezra 8:15-19
• 8. Ezra 8:17, 20; [Ezra 2:43]
• 9. See ver. 6
• 10. ver. 25; [Deuteronomy 33:10]
• 11. [2 Chronicles 17:7; Malachi 2:7; Matthew 23:2, 3]; See Nehemiah 8:1-8

Footnotes

• [a]. Aramaic he