Ezra 7:7

7:7 In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought ¹  up to Jerusalem ²  some of the Israelites and some of the priests, the Levites, the attendants, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants.

Ezra 7:11

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

7:11 What follows ³  is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. ⁴  Ezra was ⁵  a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:

Ezra 7:27

7:27 ⁶ Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem!

Ezra 8:25

8:25 and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels intended for the temple of our God – items that the king, his advisers, his officials, and all Israel who were present had contributed.

¹ 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.

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³ tn Heb “this.”

⁴ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.

⁵ tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (7:12-26) back to Hebrew.