Ezra 7:11-26

2. The letter of Artaxerxes

TEXT, Ezra 7:11-26

11

Now this is the copy of the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, learned in the words of the commandments of the LORD and His statutes to Israel:

12

Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, And now

13

I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.

14

Forasmuch as you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God which is in your hand,

15

and to bring the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,

16

with all the silver and gold which you shall find in the whole province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;

17

with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their libations and offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.

18

And whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God.

19

Also the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.

20

And the rest of the needs for the house of your God, for which you may have occasion to provide, provide for it from the royal treasury.

21

And I, even I King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently,

22

even up to 100 talents of silver, 100 kors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt as needed.

23

Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, lest there be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons.

24

We also inform you that it is not allowed to impose tax, tribute or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God.

25

And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and you may teach anyone who is ignorant of them.

26

And whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment.

COMMENT

Ezra 7:11 introduces us to Artaxerxes-' letter giving Ezra his authority. Ezra is identified in full, by both of his positions, as a priest and a scribe.

Ezra 7:12 is the salutation of the letter. Ezra 7:12 through 26 are in Aramaic, indicating again that Ezra has inserted an official document. Artaxerxes is called king of kings, a title he may have borrowed from the Babylonians (Daniel 2:37).

Ezra 7:13-14 are the heart of the letter, declaring authorization for Ezra to go, and to be accompanied by as many as desired, of his brethren.

Ezra 7:14 has a reference to the structure of the government; the seven counsellors are also referred to in Esther 1:14.

Ezra 7:15-20 portray the articles which they were to transport back to their homeland. Ezra 7:15 emphasizes that the king and his counsellors made a healthy contribution; this is another recognition by the state of the value which religion has in maintaining a wholesome society.

Ezra 7:16 adds to this the free-will offerings particularly of their remaining brethren in Babylon, plus what they could find throughout the province: probably contributions from Babylonian individuals and businesses as a gesture of good will to these people who had been their neighbors for the past few generations.

Ezra 7:17 recommends that they purchase necessary materials for sacrifice; the king could have learned from Ezra what would be acceptable; the list resembles that in Ezra 6:9.

Ezra 7:18 gives them some leeway to make personal decisions, in harmony with the pleasure of their God, in the use of any superfluous funds for the decoration of the Temple. There is always a place for a little extra flourish in worship.

Ezra 7:19 specifies that these articles must be faithfully delivered in Jerusalem.

Ezra 7:20 gives authorization to call upon the royal treasury for any additional funds which they may need. The royal treasury would belong to the king himself; thus they are promised access to the highest government source of all.

Ezra 7:21-24 give instructions to all the treasurers of the surrounding provinces to give Ezra their co-operation, within certain financial limits as specified.

The 100 silver talents of Ezra 7:22 would come to a weight of 650 pounds;[44] the 100 kors of wheat would be 1167 bushels; the 100 baths of wine, 900 gallons; the same amount of oil; and don-'t spare the salt!

[44] These figures are taken from Interpreter's Bible, Vol. III, p. 629.

These governments would have a ready store of such supplies to assist the travelers because much of their taxes were collected in produce rather than money.

Ezra 7:23 explains the reason for this generosity: the Persian ruler would hesitate to incur the wrath of any deity lest his kingdom suffer the consequences. In fact, Egyptian records reveal both Persian interest in the sacrificial cultus of their subjects and Persian generosity in supporting it.[45]

[45] Ibid.

It was also their policy to try to keep their subject peoples contented, to assure the continued peace and prosperity of their empire. It may, indeed, be that God approved and blessed this policy, for In the seventh year of Artaxerxes, B.C. 458, the tide of success turned for Persia against the Athenians in Egypt.[46]

[46] Ellicott's Commentary on The Whole Bible, Vol. III, p. 473.

Ezra 7:24 adds the further support to the cause of religion that all of Israel's religious officials be totally exempted from taxation.

The last part of the letter, Ezra 7:25-26, were addressed directly to Ezra.

In Ezra 7:25, he was to be guided by the wisdom (i.e., laws) of God in appointing rulers and judges throughout his country. In this way Ezra was placed over all the Jews, that is, those who knew the law of his God. He could also instruct those who were ignorant[47] of these laws; either he was given authority to seek to recover all Jews who had backslidden and had forsaken the law, or to proselytize all others within their country's borders who had other religions. In many ways these scriptures describe the Persian government as one of the most generous and enlightened of ancient times.

[47] See Word Studies, end of this chapter.

Ezra 7:26 gave Ezra the right to employ the full weight of government to punish all who violated either the religious or the civil law. The description which we have of Ezra's character suggests that he would be reluctant to use such powers,

WORD STUDIES

SCRIBE: (Ezra 7:6): to scratch, scrape, write; thus a secretary or scribe; then it became a designation of one skilled in the sacred books and in the law.

TEACH (Ezra 7:10): Lamad (Talmud comes from this word). To beat with a rod, chastise, hence to train, teach, accustom. It is the name of the twelfth letter of the Hebrew or Aramaic alphabets, and in its early form it looked like a whip. This is apparently a recognition that to be taught, one must often be willing to accept some discomfort and discipline.

TEACH (Ezra 7:25): Yeda: to cause to see, perceive, understand, know. Our word, idea, may come from it.

IGNORANT (Ezra 7:25): not to know (see above). Some are ignorant because they have had no opportunity to know. Of course, some have rejected the opportunity to know (Hosea 4:6). One who simply does not know is an excellent prospect for teaching. This would be a good description of Gentiles, in the O.T.

(This is a different word from that used of sins of ignorance [Leviticus 4:2], which indicates wandering or straying unconsciously.)