Ezra 6:15

6:15 They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth ¹  year of the reign of King Darius.

Ezra 7:7-8

7:7 In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought ²  up to Jerusalem ³  some of the Israelites and some of the priests, the Levites, the attendants, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants. 7:8 He entered Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king.

Ezra 4:24

4:24 So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. ⁴ 

Ezra 5:13

5:13 But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, ⁵  King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God.

Ezra 3:8

3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, ⁶  in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, ⁷  along with the rest of their associates, ⁸  the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed ⁹  the Levites who were at least twenty years old ¹⁰  to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple.

Ezra 1:1

The Decree of Cyrus

1:1 ¹¹ In the first ¹²  year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the Lord’s message ¹³  spoken through ¹⁴  Jeremiah, ¹⁵  the Lord stirred the mind ¹⁶  of King Cyrus of Persia. He disseminated ¹⁷  a proclamation ¹⁸  throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict ¹⁹  the following: ²⁰ 

Ezra 6:3

6:3 In the first year of his reign, ²¹  King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ²²  ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. ²³  Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety ²⁴  feet, ²⁵ 

Ezra 5:11

5:11 They responded to us in the following way: ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king ²⁶  of Israel built it and completed it.

Ezra 6:19

6:19 ²⁷  The exiles ²⁸  observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

Ezra 3:5

3:5 Afterward they offered the continual burnt offerings and those for the new moons and those for all the holy assemblies of the Lord and all those that were being voluntarily offered to the Lord.

Ezra 10:16

10:16 So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out ²⁹  by name men who were leaders in their family groups. ³⁰  They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month,

Ezra 7:1

The Arrival of Ezra

7:1 Now after these things had happened, during the reign of King Artaxerxes ³¹  of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon. ³²  Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah,

Ezra 7:6

7:6 This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

[6:15]  ¹ sn The sixth year of the reign of Darius would be ca. 516 B.C.

[7:7]  ² 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.

[7:7]  tn Heb “he brought”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:7]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:24]  ⁴ sn Darius I Hystaspes ruled Persia ca. 522–486 b.c.

[5:13]  ⁵ sn Cyrus was actually a Persian king, but when he conquered Babylon in 539 b.c. he apparently appropriated to himself the additional title “king of Babylon.” The Syriac Peshitta substitutes “Persia” for “Babylon” here, but this is probably a hyper-correction.

[3:8]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[3:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “their brothers.”

[3:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “stood.”

[3:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”

[1:1]  ¹¹ sn In addition to the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, there are two deuterocanonical books that are also called “Ezra.” Exactly how these books are designated varies in ancient literature. In the Septuagint (LXX) canonical Ezra is called Second Esdras, but in the Latin Vulgate it is called First Esdras. Our Nehemiah is called Third Esdras in some manuscripts of the LXX, but it is known as Second Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. (In the earliest LXX manuscripts Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as one book, as they were in some Hebrew manuscripts.) The deuterocanonical books of Ezra are called First and Fourth Esdras in the LXX, but Third and Fourth Esdras in the Latin Vulgate. The titles for the so-called books of Ezra are thus rather confusing, a fact that one must keep in mind when consulting this material.

[1:1]  ¹² sn The first year of Cyrus would be ca. 539 B.C. Cyrus reigned in Persia from ca. 539-530 B.C.

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads מִפִּי (mippi, “from the mouth of”), but this should probably be emended to בְּפִי (bÿfi, “by the mouth of”), which is the way the parallel passage in 2 Chr 36:22 reads. This is also reflected in the LXX, which is either reflecting an alternate textual tradition of בְּפִי or is attempting to harmonize Ezra 1:1 in light of 2 Chronicles.

[1:1]  tn Heb “from the mouth of.”

[1:1]  ¹⁵ sn Cf. Jer 29:10; 25:11-14. Jeremiah had prophesied that after a time of seventy years the Jews would return “to this place.” How these seventy years are to be reckoned is a matter of debate among scholars. Some understand the period to refer to the approximate length of Babylon’s ascendancy as a world power, beginning either with the fall of Nineveh (612 b.c.) or with Nebuchadnezzar’s coronation (605 b.c.) and continuing till the fall of Babylon to the Persians in 539 b.c. Others take the seventy years to refer to the period from the destruction of the temple in 586 b.c. till its rebuilding in 516 b.c.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “spirit.” The Hebrew noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) has a broad range of meanings (see BDB 924-26 s.v.). Here, it probably refers to (1) “mind” as the seat of mental acts (e.g., Exod 28:3; Deut 34:9; Isa 29:24; 40:13; Ezek 11:5; 20:32; 1 Chr 28:12; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 6) or (2) “will” as the seat of volitional decisions (e.g., Exod 35:5, 22; Pss 51:12, 14; 57:8; 2 Chr 29:31; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 7). So also in v. 5.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “caused to pass.”

[1:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a voice.” The Hebrew noun קוֹל (qol, “voice, sound”) has a broad range of meanings, including the metonymical (cause – effect) nuance “proclamation” (e.g., Exod 36:6; 2 Chr 24:9; 30:5; 36:22; Ezra 1:1; 10:7; Neh 8:15). See BDB 877 s.v. 3.a.2.

[1:1]  ¹⁹ sn For an interesting extrabiblical parallel to this edict see the Cyrus cylinder (ANET 315-16).

[1:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in writing, saying.”

[6:3]  ²¹ tn Aram “In the first year of Cyrus the king.”

[6:3]  ²² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:3]  ²³ tn Aram “raised”; or perhaps “retained” (so NASB; cf. NLT), referring to the original foundations of Solomon’s temple.

[6:3]  ²⁴ tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “twenty cubits” here, a measurement probably derived from dimensions given elsewhere for Solomon’s temple. According to 1 Kgs 6:2 the dimensions of the Solomonic temple were as follows: length, 60 cubits; width, 20 cubits; height, 30 cubits. Since one would expect the dimensions cited in Ezra 6:3 to correspond to those of Solomon’s temple, it is odd that no dimension for length is provided. The Syriac has apparently harmonized the width dimension provided here (“twenty cubits”) to that given in 1 Kgs 6:2.

[6:3]  ²⁵ tn Aram “Its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.

[5:11]  ²⁶ sn This great king of Israel would, of course, be Solomon.

[6:19]  ²⁷ sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (4:8–6:18) back to Hebrew. Aramaic will again be used in Ezra 7:12-26.

[6:19]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the sons of the exile.” So also in v. 20.

[10:16]  ²⁹ tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּבְדֵּל לוֹ (vayyavdel lo, “separated for himself”) rather than the Niphal plural וַיִּבָּדְלוּ (vayyibbadÿlu, “were separated”) of the MT.

[10:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers, to the house of their fathers, and all of them by name.”

[7:1]  ³¹ sn If the Artaxerxes of Ezra 7:1 is Artaxerxes I Longimanus (ca. 464–423 B.C.), Ezra must have arrived in Jerusalem ca. 458 B.C., since Ezra 7:7-8 connects the time of his arrival to the seventh year of the king. The arrival of Nehemiah is then linked to the twentieth year of the king (Neh 1:1), or ca. 445 B.C. Some scholars, however, have suggested that Ezra 7:7 should be read as “the thirty-seventh year” rather than “the seventh year.” This would have Ezra coming to Jerusalem after, rather than before, the arrival of Nehemiah. Others have taken the seventh year of Ezra 7:7-8 to refer not to Artaxerxes I but to Artaxerxes II, who ruled ca. 404–358 B.C. In this understanding Ezra would have returned to Jerusalem ca. 398 B.C., a good many years after the return of Nehemiah. Neither of these views is certain, however, and it seems better to retain the traditional understanding of the chronological sequence of returns by Ezra and Nehemiah. With this understanding there is a gap of about fifty-eight years between chapter six, which describes the dedication of the temple in 516 b.c., and chapter seven, which opens with Ezra’s coming to Jerusalem in 458 b.c.

[7:1]  ³² tn The words “came up from Babylon” do not appear in the Hebrew text until v. 6. They have been supplied here for the sake of clarity.