And whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren ,.... The priests, that he should think fit to take in to his assistance in this work: to do with the rest of the silver and gold ; which should be left after the sacrifices were offered up: that do after the will of your God ; as they should be directed by him, or was prescribed by him in the law. read more
After the will of your God - He gave them the fullest liberty to order every thing according to their own institutions, binding them to no form or mode of worship. read more
The reformer's commission. The insertion here of this decree of Artaxerxes at length, and in its original Chaldee form, is in more or less close keeping with the earlier parts of this book ( Ezra 1:2-4 ; Ezra 4:11-16 , Ezra 4:17-22 ; Ezra 5:6-17 ; Ezra 6:3-12 ); and furnishes an argument, therefore, strongly in favour of the unity of authorship of the whole book. It is also in keeping with the character of Ezra himself. As a special student of God's written law, he would... read more
Pagan piety. It is certainly a striking fact that a second Persian monarch should have shown so right a feeling toward the people and the cause of God. We have in this Artaxerxes another illustration of pagan piety. We see— I. ITS FAITH . "Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done," etc. ( Ezra 7:23 ). Evidently Artaxerxes thoroughly believed in the existence and the power of Jehovah. It is noteworthy that he speaks of him not as the God of Judaea or... read more
Ezra's commission from Artaxerxes. After giving a general account of the exodus of Israel from Babylon under his leadership, Ezra transcribes the letter of the king of Persia containing his commission. In considering this very remarkable document, we notice— I. THE GREETING . 1. The monarch announces himself. "Artaxerxes king of kings." 2. He addresses his letter : II. THE FAVOURS . Verse 13, etc. The particulars are— 1. Permission to go up to Jerusalem. ... read more
1. the permission accorded to all Persian subjects of Israelite descent to accompany Ezra to Jerusalem (verse 13); 2. the commission to Ezra to convey to Jerusalem certain offerings made by the king and his chief courtiers to the God of Israel (verses 15, 19); 3. the permission given him to convey to Jerusalem the free-will offerings of Jews and others resident in Babylonia (verse 16); 4. permission to Ezra to draw on the royal treasury to the amount of a hundred talents of... read more
7:1-8:36 RETURN UNDER EZRAThe temple was completed in 516 BC. Ezra’s return was in 458 BC, the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes I (see 7:1,7). There is therefore a gap of about sixty years between Chapters 6 and 7. By the time of Ezra, former leaders such as Zerubbabel, Joshua, Haggai and Zechariah had died. Without their leadership, Israel’s religious life became weak and its community life disordered. The only detailed information that the Bible gives of events during these years is... read more
INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THE MONEY"And whatsoever shall seem good to thee and to thy brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do ye after the will of your God. And the vessels that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, deliver thee before the God of Jerusalem. And whatsover more may be needed for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure-house. And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to... read more
Artaxerxes’ decree 7:11-26This decree appears in Aramaic, the official language of the Persian Empire, in the Hebrew Bible.The king appointed Ezra as the person responsible to him for the affairs conducted in the Jewish community in Judah. He held a position in the Persian court equivalent to Secretary of State for Jewish Affairs. [Note: Whitcomb, p. 430; Bright, p. 370.] This decree encouraged any Jews in exile to return to their land (Ezra 7:12-13)."The Persians had respect for the laws of... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezra 7:11-26
We have here the commission which the Persian emperor granted to Ezra, giving him authority to act for the good of the Jews; and it is very ample and full, and beyond what could have been expected. The commission runs, we suppose, in the usual form: Artaxerxes, King of kings. This however is too high a title for any mortal man to assume; he was indeed king of some kings, but to speak as if he were king of all kings was to usurp his prerogative who hath all power both in heaven and in earth. He... read more