that Ezra came up from Babylon, a scribe expert in the Teaching of Moses that the ETERNAL God of Israel had given, whose request the king had granted in its entirety, thanks to the benevolence of GOD toward him.
(Some of the Israelites, the priests and Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants set out for Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes,
Word-by-Word Analysis
ויעלו
122
מבניישראל
643
ומןהכהנים
226
והלוים
97
והמשררים
801
והשערים
631
והנתינים
571
אלירושלם
617
בשנתשבע
1124
לארתחשסתא
1400
המלך
95
Ezra 7:8
Gematria: 2975
ויבאירושלםבחדשהחמישיהיאשנתהשביעיתלמלך
arriving in Jerusalem in the fifth month in the seventh year of the king.)
On the first day of the first month the journey up from Babylon was started, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived in Jerusalem, thanks to the benevolent care of his God for him.
The following is the text of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest-scribe, a scholar in matters concerning GOD’s commandments and laws to Israel:
Word-by-Word Analysis
וזה
18
פרשגן
633
הנשתון
811
אשר
501
נתן
500
המלך
95
ארתחשסתא
1370
לעזרא
308
הכהן
80
הספר
345
ספר
340
דברי
216
מצותיהוה
562
וחקיו
130
עלישראלפ
721
Ezra 7:12
Gematria: 3890
ארתחשסתאמלךמלכיאלעזראכהנאספרדתאדיאלהשמיאגמירוכענת
aAramaic resumes here through v. 26. “Artaxerxes king of kings, to Ezra the priest, scholar in the law of the God of heaven, and so forth.band so forth Meaning uncertain. And now,
I hereby issue an order that anyone in my kingdom who is of the people of Israel and its priests and Levites who feels impelled to go to Jerusalem may go with you.
and whatever silver and gold that you find throughout the province of Babylon, together with the freewill offerings that the people and the priests will give for the House of their God, which is in Jerusalem.
You shall, therefore, with dispatch acquire with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and libations, and offer them on the altar of the House of your God in Jerusalem.
I, King Artaxerxes, for my part, hereby issue an order to all the treasurers in the province of Beyond the River that whatever request Ezra the priest, scholar in the law of the God of Heaven, makes of you is to be fulfilled with dispatch
up to the sum of one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without limit.
Whatever is by order of the God of Heaven must be carried out diligently for the House of the God of Heaven, else wrath will come upon the king and his sons.
We further advise you that it is not permissible to impose tribute, poll tax, or land tax on any priest, Levite, singer, gatekeeper, temple servant, or other servant of this House of God.
And you, Ezra, by the divine wisdom you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people in the province of Beyond the River who know the laws of your God, and to teach those who do not know them.
Let anyone who does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king be punished with dispatch, whether by death, corporal punishment, confiscation of possessions, or imprisonment.”
and who inclined the king and his counselors and the king’s military officers to be favorably disposed toward me. For my part, thanks to GOD’s care for me, I summoned up courage and assembled leaders in Israel to go with me.