Ezra 3:1

The Altar is Rebuilt

3:1 When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites ¹  were living ²  in their ³  towns, the people assembled ⁴  in ⁵  Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Ezra 4:8

4:8 Rehum the commander ⁷  and Shimshai the scribe ⁸  wrote a letter concerning ⁹  Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

Ezra 4:20

4:20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates ¹⁰  and who were the beneficiaries of ¹¹  tribute, custom, and toll.

Ezra 7:7

7:7 In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought ¹²  up to Jerusalem ¹³  some of the Israelites and some of the priests, the Levites, the attendants, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants.

Ezra 7:9

7:9 On the first day of the first month he had determined to make ¹⁴  the ascent from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, ¹⁵  for the good hand of his God was on him.

¹ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

² tn The word “living” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied. Some translations supply “settled” (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

³ tc The translation reads with some medieval Hebrew MSS and ancient versions בְּעָרֵיהֶם (be’arehem, “in their towns”), rather than the reading בֶּעָרִים (be’arim, “in the towns”) found in the MT. Cf. Neh 7:72 HT [7:73 ET].

⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds the phrase “like one man.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn Heb “to.”

⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁷ tn Aram “lord of the command.” So also in vv. 9, 17.

⁸ sn Like Rehum, Shimshai was apparently a fairly high-ranking official charged with overseeing Persian interests in this part of the empire. His title was “scribe” or “secretary,” but in a more elevated political sense than that word sometimes has elsewhere. American governmental titles such as “Secretary of State” perhaps provide an analogy in that the word “secretary” can have a broad range of meaning.

⁹ tn Or perhaps “against.”

¹³ sn The statement that prior Jewish kings ruled over the entire Trans-Euphrates is an overstatement. Not even in the days of David and Solomon did the kingdom of Israel extend its borders to such an extent.

¹⁴ tn Aram “were being given to them.”

¹⁹ tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּעֲל (vayya’al, “he [Ezra] brought up”) rather than the Qal plural וַיַּעַלוּ (vayya’alu, “they came up”) of the MT.

²⁰ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁵ tc The translation reads יִסַּד (yissad, “he appointed” [= determined]) rather than the reading יְסֻד (yÿsud, “foundation”) of the MT. (The words “to make” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.)

²⁶ sn Apparently it took the caravan almost four months to make the five hundred mile journey.