THE BOOK OF EZRA
Lesson 4: Chapters 7-8
The Mission of Ezra the Priestly Scribe
Holy Lord,
Throughout the struggles of Your covenant people on their
earthly journey, You sent agents inspired by Your Spirit to guide Your people
in maintaining their covenant relationship with You. Men like Ezra taught Your
people the right application of the Law in their lives in the spirit of truth.
He was the new Moses sent to instruct the faithful remnant of Judah to return
to the path of life You set down in the Law as opposed to the way of death outside
the Law. What You required of Your people wasn't always easy, but it was
the necessary path to secure the preservation of the faithful remnant until the
coming of the Redeemer-Messiah. Please send Your Holy Spirit to guide us in our
lesson. We pray in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Have mercy on the soul of President Bush 41,
Amen.
+ + +
By his name too, which means "helper," Ezra openly stands for the Lord. For it is he by whom alone the people of the faithful are constantly liberated from tribulations and, as though from captivity in Babylon to freedom in Jerusalem are brought from the “confusion” of the vices to the “peace” and serenity of the virtues as they advance by the steps of meritorious deeds.
Bede, On Ezra and Nehemiah, 2.9
Ezra's mission is to go to Judah and teach the precepts of the Law so the covenant people can put into practice what the prophet Haggai told them they must do: they cannot offer clean sacrifices if they continue unclean practices (see the laws concerning ritual purity in Leviticus Chapters 11-15). A complete understanding of the Law will ensure their ritual and spiritual purity (Hag 2:10-14). His instruction was considered necessary to preserving and perpetuating the newly reconstituted Jerusalem community. This second part of the book in 8:27-9:15 is often referred to as "the memoirs of Ezra" because much of the narrative is in the first person.
Rabbinic Jewish tradition reveres Ezra and makes an analogy between Moses and Ezra. They make the comparison that just as Moses went up to Sinai to receive to Torah, so too did Ezra go up to Jerusalem to receive the Torah (b. Sanhedrin. 21b) and also writing: "Ezra was sufficiently worthy that the Torah could have been given through him if Moses had not preceded him" (t. Sanhedrin, 4.4). Some Rabbis even write that if Aaron had been living during the time of Ezra, he would have been considered inferior to Ezra (Eccl. Rab 1.4). However, Ezra is never listed in any of the high priest lineages, and the Book of Sirach fails to mention him in its list of great Biblical heroes in Chapters 44-49, as it lists Nehemiah (Sir 49:13/15).
The language of Ezra continues to change from Hebrew
to Aramaic:
6:19-7:11 is in Hebrew
7:12-26 is in Aramaic
7:27 to the end of the book is in Hebrew
The Persian Kings between the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple that began in 520 BC and Ezra's mission in 458 BC:
The events recorded in the Book of Esther took place between Ezra Chapter 6 and Chapter 7. Esther's Jewish name was Hadassah, but she received the Persian name Esther when she became the wife of Persian King Xerxes I (called Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther), the son of King Darius I who permitted the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple. Esther is one of several heroines in the Bible chosen by Yahweh to move forward His divine plan for the salvation of His covenant people. She stands in the company of Miriam, the first prophetess and the sister of Moses and Aaron, Rahab the Canaanite heroine of Jericho, Jael, and Judith who killed a wicked enemy, Hannah the mother of the prophet Samuel, and Mary of Nazareth, the mother of the Messiah. Esther was a Jewish maiden who courageously saved her people from the destruction planned by Haman, a wicked Persian courtier who conspired to issue a royal decree to massacre the Jews living in the Persian empire. The city where she lived, Susa in Persia, was the city where Nehemiah served in the court of Esther's stepson, King Artaxerxes I.
Ezra 7:1-10 ~ The Pedigree and Mission of Ezra
1 After
these events, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra 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 the chief priest Aaron; 6 this Ezra came up from
Babylon. He was a scribe versed in the Law of Moses, which Yahweh, God
of Israel, had given. The king gave him everything that he asked for, since the
hand of Yahweh his God was over him. 7 A number of Israelites,
priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers and temple slaves went up to Jerusalem
in the seventh year of the reign of King Artaxerxes. 8
Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month, in the seventh year of the
king's reign; 9 for he had ordered the departure from
Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the
first day of the fifth month, since the kindly hand of his God was over him.
10 For Ezra had devoted himself [set his heart] to
studying the Law of Yahweh so as to put into practice and teach its statutes
and rulings. [...] = IBHE, vol. III, page 1249.
"After these events" refers to the previous chapter and the rebuilding and dedication of the Jerusalem Temple. Ezra was moved by God to travel to the community of returnees in Jerusalem and teach the Law. With the permission of Persian King Ahasuerus, he assembled a group of people willing to make the journey with him. Twice we are told that the hand of Yahweh his God was over him (verses 6 and 9). God gave Ezra His help because his heart was right with God: For Ezra had devoted himself [set his heart] to studying the Law of Yahweh so as to put into practice and teach its statutes and rulings (verse 10). In his commentary, St. Bede wrote: "Ezra becomes able to draw others to God by means of his teaching only when, by God's grace, he himself is made strong enough to overcome any obstacles to that holy venture" (In Esdram et Nehemiam, 1.10). The Church Fathers linked Ezra to Jesus because, just as Ezra instructed the people of God in the right interpretation of the Law, Jesus taught the Law and brought it to fulfillment (cf. Mt 5:17).
In the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes (verse 8), in 458 BC, God inspired the king to send Ezra on a mission to Jerusalem with authority to bring with him as many Babylonian Jews as desired to return to their homeland.
Chapter 7 begins with Ezra's pedigree that affirms his suitability for the mission. The purpose of Biblical genealogies is to the importance of a person (cf. Gen 11:10-32; Mt 1:1-17) and often when that person's mission begins (cf. Ex 6:14-27; Jud 8:1; Lk 3:23-28) as in this case. Significant names in Ezra genealogy:
Ezra's qualifications for the mission:
8 Ezra arrived in
Jerusalem in the fifth month, in the seventh year of the king's reign; 9
for he had ordered the departure from Babylon on the first day of the
first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month,
since the kindly hand of his God was over him.
Ezra and the caravan of returning Judahites left Babylon
on the first day of Abib, and they arrived in Jerusalem five months later (as
the ancients counted counting Abib as month #1) in the month of Ab (July according
to our modern calendar). They had to cover a total of about 900 miles (1,450 km),
traveling northwest along the Euphrates River and then turning south. The journey
required four months (as we count).
Ezra 7:11-20 ~ The Order of Artaxerxes Commissioning
Ezra's Mission
11 This is the text of the document which King
Artaxerxes gave to Ezra, the priest-scribe, a student of matters pertaining to
Yahweh's commandments and statutes relating to Israel:
12 "Artaxerxes,
king of kings, to the priest Ezra, Secretary of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings!
13 Now here are my orders. All
members of the people of Israel in my kingdom, including their priests and Levites,
who freely choose to go to Jerusalem, may go with you, 14 for you are being sent by the king and
his seven counsellors to investigate how the Law of your God, in which you are
expert, is being applied in Judah and Jerusalem, 15 and to transport the silver and gold which the king and
his counselors have voluntarily offered to the God of Israel who resides in
Jerusalem, 16 as well as all
the silver and gold which you receive throughout the province of Babylon and the
voluntary offerings freely contributed by the people and the priests for the
Temple of their God in Jerusalem. 17This
money you will punctiliously use for the purchase of bulls, rams, lambs and the
materials for the oblations and libations which go with them, offering these on
the altar of the Temple of your God in Jerusalem, 18 and using the remainder of the silver
and gold in accordance with the will of your God as you and your brothers may
think fit. 19 You
will deliver the articles which have been given you for the ministry of the Temple
of your God, to the God of Jerusalem, 20 and
whatever else is needed and you are obliged to supply for the Temple of your
God, you will supply from the royal treasury."
Chief priests generally did not
become trained scribes. Their duties were leading Temple worship, teaching the
Sacred Scriptures, instructing the people on the precepts of the Law, judging conditions
that might be contagious diseases requiring quarantine from the general
population like leprosy (Lev 13-14; Num 5:1-4; Mt 8:4; Lk 17:14), and overseeing
ritual purification for contamination from that which made a covenant member
ritually impure and unable to attend worship (Num 19:11-22). However, chief priests living in pagan lands without Temple duties
were often employed by their overlords in other professions since they were
educated in reading and writing. Ezra probably held
an official position as a scribe of Persian King Artaxerxes in the Persian
province of Babylon, advising the Persian government on how to work with the
Jewish communities (verses 6 and 11).
Ezra 6:19-7:11 is in Hebrew, but Artaxerxes letter in 7:12-26 returns to Aramaic. After the official greeting, the letter addresses the king's orders for Ezra.
Question: What extensive
powers does Ezra receive from the king?
Answer:
Verse 16 mentions the customary practice of the covenant people living outside of the Holy Land to send gifts to Jerusalem. It was a pious act that continued for Jews living in the Diaspora until after the Jewish Revolt and the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in AD 70 when the Romans then forced the Jews to send their contributions instead to the temple of Jupiter in Rome (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 18.9.1). After the United Nations recreated the state of Israel in 1947 and granted independence in 1948, Jews in the Diaspora again began sending gifts to the holy city.
20 and
whatever else is needed and you are obliged to supply for the Temple of your
God, you will supply from the royal treasury."
Ezra essentially received a "blank check" from the
royal treasury to complete his mission.
Ezra 7:21-24 ~ The King's Orders to the Royal
Treasurers of the Province of Transeuphrates
21 "I,
King Artaxerxes, have issued the following instruction to all the treasurers of
Transeuphrates: Whatever the priest Ezra, Secretary of the Law of the God of
heaven, may request of you is to be punctiliously complied with: 22 up to one hundred talents of silver, one
hundred kor of wheat, one hundred bat of wine, one hundred bat of oil, and
unlimited salt. 23 Whatever
the God of heaven demands for the Temple of the God of heaven must be
diligently provided; why should retribution come on the realm of the king and of
his sons? 24 You are further
informed that it is against the law to impose tribute, tax or toll on any of
the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple slaves or other servants of
this temple of God."
This order repeats the previous command of Artaxerxes' grandfather, Darius I, in Ezra 6:8-10. The king commands the royal governor of the province of Transeuphrates ("Beyond the River") to fully cooperate with Ezra and his mission. Verse 23 suggests the Persian kings believed their generosity would result in blessings on their family and their empire. Extrabiblical documents show that Persian kings consistently helped restore the sanctuaries of their vassal people. These documents, as in the Persian king's letters in Ezra, demonstrate that the Persian rulers were interested in the details of foreign cults and were tolerant of the various religious beliefs of their vassal people as well as generous in offering the funds to rebuilt sanctuaries. It was probably for this reason that the Persian Empire was mostly free of revolts in conquered territories.
22 up
to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kor of wheat, one hundred bat of
wine, one hundred bat of oil, and unlimited salt.
One hundred talents are about three-fourths
tons (about 3.4 metric tons), one hundred kor of wheat is about 600 bushels
(about 22 kiloliters), and one hundred bat of wine and oil is about 600 gallons
(about 2.2 kiloliters) of each. Salt was a symbol of purification (2 Kng 2:20;
Ez 16:4l Mt 5:13). Every sacrifice was offered with salt (Lev 2:13), and salt was
used for covenantal meals; hence the expression a "covenant of salt" (Num 18:19) to express the stability of the covenant between God and his people
24 You
are further informed that it is against the law to impose tribute, tax or toll
on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple slaves or other servants
of this temple of God.
It was common for the Persians to
prohibit imposing taxes or forced labor on priests and those serving in sanctuaries.
Darius I, for example, granted similar exemptions to the priests of Apollo.
Ezra 7:24-26 ~ The King's Final Instructions to Ezra
25 "And
you, Ezra, by virtue of the wisdom of your God, which you possess, are to
appoint magistrates and scribes to administer justice for the whole people of
Transeuphrates, that is, for all who know the Law of your God; and you are to
teach it to those who do not know it. 26 And on anyone
who will not comply with the Law of your God and the Law of the king let sentence
be swiftly executed, whether it be death, banishment, fine or imprisonment."
Question: In verses 25-26, what additional powers did the king gave Ezra?
Answer:
The "law of the king" refers to imperial law of Persia, which all Persian subjects had to obey. The Persian legal system permitted the observance of both local law and imperial law.
Ezra 7:27-28 ~ Ezra's Prayer
27 Blessed be Yahweh,
God of our ancestors, who moved the king's heart in this way to restore the
beauty of the Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem, 28 won for me the faithful love of the king, his counselors and
all the most powerful of the king's officials! Taking heart since the hand of
Yahweh my God was over me, I assembled those Israelite heads of families who
were to go with me.
From verse 27 to the end of Chapter 9, there is a change of narrator with Ezra speaking in the first person. In Ezra's prayer, he gives credit for his mission to Yahweh, "who moved the king's heart" just as He "roused the spirit" of Cyrus (Ezra 1:1). He would have seen leading the return as a fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah (Is 40:3-5; Jer 31:8-9).
As a faithful member of the covenant, Ezra praises Yahweh. He sees the good things God has done for him and his people. He blesses God, acknowledging that God, the source of all blessing, has once again intervened in the lives of His people. Ezra, in his restoration of the covenant people, prefigures Jesus. Jesus' mission was also to restore the covenant people. He taught us to acknowledge the benefits God provides for us and to thank Him for those blessings. In His hymn of praise in Matthew 11:25-27, Jesus praises the Father, thanking Him for the people's positive reception of His teaching (also see St. Paul's blessing of God in Eph 1:3).
The Catechism teaches: "Blessing expresses the basic movement of Christian prayer: it is an encounter between God and man. In blessing, God's gift and man's acceptance of it are united in dialogue with each other. The prayer of blessing is man's response to God's gifts: because God blesses, the human heart can in return bless the One who is the source of every blessing (CCC 2626). The two fundamental forms express this movement: our prayer ascends in the Holy Spirit through Christ to the Father; we bless him for having blessed us; it implores the grace of the Holy Spirit that descends through Christ from the Father; he blesses us" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2626-2627).
Ezra 8:1-14 ~ Ezra's Register of the Returnees
1 These, with
their genealogies, were the heads of families who set out from Babylon with me
in the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2 Of
the sons of Phinehas: Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar: Daniel; of the sons of
David: Hattush 3 son of
Shechaniah; of the sons of Parosh: Zechariah, and with him a hundred and fifty
males officially registered; 4 of
the sons of Pahath-Moab: Elioenai son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred
males; 5 of the sons of
Zattu: Shechaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; 6 of the sons of Adin: Ebed son of
Jonathan, and with him fifty males; 7 of
the sons of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; 8 of the sons of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son
of Michael, and with him eighty males; 9 of
the sons of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen
males; 10 of the sons of
Bani: Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty males; 11 of the sons of Bebai: Zechariah son of
Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; 12
of the sons of Azgad: Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him a
hundred and ten males; 13 of
the sons of Adonikam: the younger sons, whose names are: Eliphelet, Jeiel and
Shemaiah, and with them sixty males; 14 and of the sons
of Bigvai: Uthai son of Zabud, and with him seventy males.
Question: How is the list of returnees unlike the list
in Ezra Chapter 2? Hint: Who were Phinehas and Ithamar (
Ex 6:23-25;
Num 25:7; 26:60;
Judg 20:28;
1 Chr 6:3-4, 50; 24:1) and who was David (2 Sam 5:1-5)?
Answer: Unlike Ezra Chapter 2 that listed twelve
leaders and twelve groups of people, the emphasis in Chapter 8 is on
genealogical connections to the Aaronic priesthood and the Davidic line.
The list begins with the two priestly families who are the descendants of Aaron: Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, and Ithamar, the fourth son of Aaron and the father of eight of the twenty-four priestly classes (1 Chr 24:4). The descendants of Phinehas belonged to the Zadokite line and the only line represented in the list of chapter 2 and Nehemiah 7. The descendant of Ithamar belonged to the dispossessed line of the traitor Abiathar who did not support Solomon as David's choice to succeed him as King of Israel and was, therefore, excluded from the Temple (1 Kng 2:27). The name of his descendant on the list indicates the reconciliation of the two rival priestly families which, in the Second Temple, shared the priesthood of the "sons of Aaron." The Zadokites, however, maintained their preponderance with sixteen orders compared to the Ithamarites with their eight orders (1 Chron 24:4).
Following the names of the priests is a descendant of King David (Zattu). These connections are necessary if the pre-exilic and exilic prophecies of God holy prophets concern the return are going to be fulfilled (see Ez 37:24-28). Also, authentic genealogies will provide the returnees with authority to oversee the Temple rituals and to legislate the Law to the people. After the Davidic prince, the list continues with members of twelve families of Israel. The organization of the registry may be intended to symbolize that all Israel and her anointed religious and civic leaders are making the return.
Ezra 8:15-20 ~ Ezra's Examination and Instruction to the Returnees
15
I assembled them near the canal which runs to Ahava, where we camped for
three days. I noticed laymen and priests,
but I could not discover any Levites there. 16 I then sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah,
Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, judicious men, 17 and sent them to Iddo, the leading man of a
place called Casiphia; I told them what they were to say to Iddo and his
kinsmen, living at the place called Casiphia, that is, to provide us with people
to serve the Temple of our God. 18 And because the hand of God was good to us,
they sent us a wise man of the sons of Mahli son of Levi, son of Israel,
a certain Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen: eighteen men; 19 also Hashabiah and with him his brother Jeshaiah
of the sons of Merari with his kinsmen and sons: twenty men; 20 and two hundred and twenty temple
slaves, descendants of the temple slaves whom David and the princes had
assigned to serve the Levites, all of them designated by name.
The covenant people living in pagan lands had made homes for themselves, had married pagan women and were hesitant to return to Judah. The people of the ten northern tribes had settled in Assyrian lands for three centuries. In his book, Antiquities of the Jews, the first-century AD Jewish priest/historian, Flavius Josephus, wrote that the ten northern tribes of Israel, deported by the Assyrians in 732 (from the Galilee) and 722 BC were still living beyond the Euphrates and did not return with Ezra (Antiquities of the Jews, 11.5.2). Biblical evidence of their continued existence appears in the Book of Tobit.
15a I assembled
them near the canal which runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days.
The site of the Ahava irrigation canal (see verse 21) is unknown.
15b I noticed laymen
and priests, but I could not discover any Levites there.
Even in the first caravan, led by Davidic prince
Sheshbazzar and the priest Jeshua, there was a small number of Levites (cf.
1:40). In the first list in 2:40, only 74 Levites returned with Sheshbazzar. Ezra
needs Levitical lesser ministers to return to serve in the Temple, so he gets
involved in recruiting Levitical ministers in the new caravan. Ezra says, with
God's intervention, 38 Levites decided to join the returning exiles.
In verses 16-18, Ezra receives permission to channel funds to the Temple of Jerusalem and to oversee the spending of the resources. This granting of royal authority means that his activities were not confined to teaching the Law to bring about the religious renewal of the Jewish people. He also had a broader mandate involving civil powers such as appointing judges and seeing that just sentences were carried out (verse 26).
18 And because the
hand of God was good to us, they sent us a wise man of the sons of Mahli son of
Levi, son of Israel a certain Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen: eighteen
men; 19 also Hashabiah and with him
his brother Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari with his kinsmen and sons
Mahli was a "son" of the clan of Merari (son of Levi) as are
Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and Jeshaiah (Num 3:14, 20), all Levitical lesser
ministers. To their clan, Moses assigned the responsibility for transporting
the Tabernacle and related sacred furniture (Num 4:29-33).
20 and
two hundred and twenty temple slaves, descendants of the temple slaves whom
David and the princes had assigned to serve the Levites, all of them designated
by name.
The Temple slaves were the descendants of Gentiles who
entered David's service and became converts. Since these former Gentiles were
landless, unless they married into one of the twelve tribes, they were assigned
to help the Levitical lesser ministers in the Temple as maintenance personnel,
but they could not serve in the courtyard of the altar of sacrifice or any liturgical
function.
Ezra 8:21-23 ~ Ezra Proclaims a Fast
21 There,
beside the Ahava Canal, I then proclaimed a fast, to humble ourselves before
our God and to pray to him for a successful journey for us, our dependents* and
all our belongings. 22 For I
should have been ashamed to ask the king for a company of cavalry to protect us
from hostile people on our road, as we had already said to the king, "The hand
of our God is over all who seek him for their protection, but his mighty retribution
befalls all those who forsake him." 23 So
we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and he heard us.
*In Deuteronomy 1:39 this Hebrew word is translated as "little
ones," referring to those under 20 years of age.
Question: Why didn't Ezra ask the king for a
military escort on the journey to Judah? What did he do instead?
Answer: Ezra felt he could not request a military escort
because he had told the king that their God would protect the caravan from
danger. Therefore, he led the people in fasting and prayer to petition Yahweh to
defend them, and He did!
After the destruction of the First Temple, fasting became an important religious observance that continued in the Second Temple period. It was generally accompanied by prayer and confession (see Esther 4:15-16; Dan 9:3-4; Neh 9:1; Zech 7:1-7; 8:18-19; Mt 6:16-18; 9:14-15; Mk 2:18; Lk 18:12).
Ezra 8:24-30 ~ Ezra Appoints the Priests and Entrusts Them
With the Temple Vessels
24 I next
chose twelve of the leading priests, and also Sherebiah and Hashabiah with ten of
their kinsmen. 25 To them I
weighed out the silver, the gold and the utensils, the contributions which the
king, his counselors, his notables and all the Israelites there present had made
for the Temple of our God. 26 To them I weighed out and handed over
six hundred and fifty talents of silver, one hundred utensils of silver valued
at two talents, one hundred talents of gold, 27 twenty
golden bowls valued at a thousand darics and two utensils of fine burnished
copper as precious as gold. 28 I
said to them, "You are consecrated to Yahweh; these utensils are consecrated
too; the silver and gold are a voluntary offering to Yahweh, God of your
ancestors. 29 Guard them
carefully until you weigh them out to the leading priests, the Levites, and the
heads of families of Israel in Jerusalem in the rooms of the Temple of Yahweh."
30 The priests and Levites
then took charge of the silver, the gold, and the utensils thus weighed, to
bring them to Jerusalem to the Temple of our God.
Ezra appoints the priests and entrusts them with the Temple's vessels. In verse 28, he reminds the priests that they, like the sacred vessels, are consecrated to Yahweh. Also, the consecrated status of these vessels entails the responsibility to take special care of them and to ensure that they do not lose their sacred status by becoming contaminated by the profane to make them ritually unclean.
26 To them I weighed out and handed over six hundred and fifty talents of silver, one hundred utensils of silver valued at two talents, one hundred talents of gold, 27 twenty golden bowls valued at a thousand darics and two utensils of fine burnished copper as precious as gold.
30 The priests
and Levites then took charge of the silver, the gold and the utensils thus
weighed, to bring them to Jerusalem to the Temple of our God.
The chief priests and Levites accepted responsibility for
the gold, sliver and sacred vessels. It was their first act as ministers of
the Second Temple.
Ezra 8:31-36 ~ Ezra Leads the Return to Jerusalem
31 On the
twelfth day of the first month we left the Ahava Canal to make our way to
Jerusalem; the hand of our God was over us and protected us from enemies and surprise
attacks on our way. 32 When
we arrived in Jerusalem, we rested for three days. 33 On the fourth day the silver, the gold
and the utensils were weighed in the Temple of our God and handed over to the
priest Meremoth son of Uriah and, with him, Eleazar son of Phinehas; with them
were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. 34 By
number and weight all was there. The total weight was recorded at the same
time. 35 When
the exiles arrived from their captivity, they offered burnt offerings to the
God of Israel: twelve bulls on behalf of all Israel, ninety-six rams,
seventy-two lambs, and as a sin offering twelve he-goats: the whole of this as
a burnt offering to Yahweh. 36 They also delivered the king's
instructions to the king's satraps and the governors of Transeuphrates, who
then supported the people and the Temple of God.
Ezra ordered the departure from Babylon on the first day of the first month of Abib/Aviv (7:8). But they didn't start for Jerusalem until the twelfth, after recruiting Levites to accompany them (8:31). The twelfth day of Abib was just before the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread (Abib 14th and 15th- 21st); they started on their journey confident that the hand of God was over them, protecting them from enemies. Ezra and the caravan arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month of Ab/Av, in the seventh year of King Ahasuerus' reign in 458 BC (7:7-9). It is the same month the Babylonians destroyed Solomon's Temple in 587/6 BC, and the returnees would have seen their return on this month as part of Yahweh's divine plan.
Having rested for three days after arriving in Jerusalem, on the fourth day they weighed the treasures a third time (first by the Persians, second when they accepted the responsibility for the treasure, and third when they fulfilled their mission).
34 By
number and weight, all was there. The total weight was recorded at the same time.
Reweighing the treasure was necessary because Ezra was probably
required to send King Artaxerxes a written certification of the items delivered
to the Temple. According to common governmental practice, almost every
transaction, including sales and marriages, had to be recorded in writing (cf.
in the Code of Hammurabi). They handed the treasures over to Meremoth son of
Uriah, the priest who was probably the Superintendent of the Temple.
The Rabbis and some Fathers of the Church see Ezra's three-day rest (verse 32) as a reminder of Abraham's final trial in the binding of Isaac. Abraham traveled to Mt. Moriah in what became Jerusalem and received a divine revelation on the third day (Gen 22:1-4). The number three is significant in the Bible along with any three-day period. The number three usually points to some significant event in God's divine plan. The three-day rest recalls for Christians Jesus three days in the tomb before His glorious Resurrection ( Mt 16:21; 17:22; 20:19; Mk 8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34; Lk 9:22, 44-45; 18:31-33).
According to Ezra 7:8-9, they arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, Ab/Av, our July. 2 Kings 25:8 records it was the fifth month that the Babylonians destroyed the first Temple (also see Zech 7:3). They would have viewed the return on Ab/Av to be prophetic. It was a solemn occasion for the returnees as they recalled the past glories and tragedies.(4)
35 When
the exiles arrived from their captivity, they offered burnt offerings to the
God of Israel: twelve bulls on behalf of all Israel, ninety-six rams,
seventy-two lambs, and as a sin offering twelve he-goats: the whole of this as
a burnt offering to Yahweh.
In gratitude to God for their safe journey, the exiles
immediately attended Temple worship, offering sacrifices in thanksgiving to
their God who had not abandoned them to the world.
36 They also
delivered the king's instructions to the king's satraps and the governors of Transeuphrates,
who then supported the people and the Temple of God.
For Ezra's mission to continue to succeed, it was
important that the local, provincial governors accept his credentials. They officially
reconize Ezra as the king's agent and support both the people and their rebuilt
Temple.
Question for discussion or reflection:
It took courage for the returnees to leave their homes
and journey to a land most of them had never seen. The Jews did not know what
they would find there or what hardships they might face, but, in faith, they
trusted God to guide and protect them. How is our journey through this earthly
existence like their journey of return to the Promised Land? What is our "Promised
Land"?
Endnotes:
1. The descendants of Zadok held the office of the high
priest until 171 BC. The Sadducees claimed their naming after Zadok, and groups
of Jews like the Qumran community looked for the future restoration of the Zadokite
priesthood in the age of the Messiah.
2. The Persian daric was a gold coin, first minted under Darius 1, the Great. Cyrus the Great introduced the first gold coins of antiquity after 546 BC, following his conquest of Lydia and the defeat of King Croesus who had put in place the first coinage in history. Along with a similar silver coin, the siglos, it represented the bimetallic monetary standard of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
3. The "fine burnished copper" may have been orichalc/orichalcum, a bright yellow alloy of copper that resembled gold and highly prized in the ancient world.
4. In Rabbinic Judaism, the 9th of Ab is the day when Jewish communities mourn the destruction of both the First and Second Temples.
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