Ezra 7:1
in Ezra 7Many years later, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
KJV
Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
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This verse in Ezra 7
Commentary
6 notes on this verseNow after these things,.... The finishing of the temple, and the dedication of it, and keeping the passover: in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia; in the seventh year of his reign, Ezr 7:7, who is the same with Darius in the preceding chapter; so Jarchi and Aben Ezra; See Gill on Ezr 6:
This site's exposition
Now after these things
on Ezra 7:1-5
Now after these things marks a silence of roughly six decades between the temple's dedication in chapter 6 and Ezra's arrival under Artaxerxes, a gap the book does not narrate though the Esther story falls inside it. Ezra's pedigree runs unbroken to Aaron the chief priest, Wesley noting that several generations are omitted for brevity and may be supplied from 1 Chronicles 6. The line matters because Ezra 2:62 has already put priests without a recorded father's house out of the priesthood, so this scribe's credentials stand beyond question before he opens his mouth.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
After these words, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, etc. Josephus (Antiq. XIII, 5) considers this Artaxerxes, under whom Ezra ascended from Babylon to Jerusalem, to be Xerxes, the son of Darius, who reigned after him. Furthermore, the books of Chronicles believe that …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Artaxerxes - The same of whom he speaks, chap. vi, 14. Here are divers persons omitted for brevity sake, which may be supplied out of 1 Chron. vi, 1-xi, 47. Ezra was not himself the high priest; but he was nearly related to him.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
After these things - The words mark an interval of 57 years; if, with most commentators, we take Artaxerxes to be Longimanus. See the introduction to the Book of Ezra. Three kings named Artaxerxes, the Greek rendering of the Hebrew Artakhshasta, and the Persian Artakhshatra, ruled over Persia, namely,: Longimanus, Mnemon, and Ochus. The evidence is in favor of the first being meant here: he was the grandson of Darius Hystaspis, Jeshua’s contemporary. The genealogy of Ezra here is incomplete.
In the reign of Artaxerxes - This was Artaxerxes Longimanus, the seventh of whose reign chronologers place A.M. 3547, sixty-eight years after Cyrus had sent back Zerubbabel. - Calmet. See the introduction. Son of Seraiah - Either this could not have been Seraiah the high priest, who had been put to death by Nebuchadnezzar one hundred and twenty-one years before this time, or the term son here must signify only his descendants, or one of his descendants. Were it otherwise, Ezra must now be at least one hundred and twenty-two years of age, supposing him to have been born in the year of his father’s death; if, indeed Seraiah the high priest was his father; but this is evidently impossible. In this place there are only sixteen generations reckoned between Ezra and Aaron, but in 1Ch 6:3, 1Ch 6:4, etc., there are not less than twenty-two. We must therefore supply the deficient generations from the above place, between Amariah son of Meraioth, 1Ch 6:7, and Azariah the son of Johanan, 1Ch 6:10. There are other discrepancies relative to genealogies in these historical books which it would be useless to investigate. On these differences much has been already said in different parts of this comment.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַחַר֙ | veachar | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַדְּבָרִ֣ים | hadevarim | the things | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| בְּמַלְכ֖וּת | bemalkhut | in [the] reign of | H4438 → | 91 times |
| אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֣סְתְּא | ʾartachshast' | Artaxerxes | H783 → | 15 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| פָּרָ֑ס | paras | Persia | H6539 → | 28 times |
| עֶזְרָא֙ | ʾezra' | Ezra | H5830 → | 22 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שְׂרָיָ֔ה | serayah | Seraiah | H8304 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עֲזַרְיָ֖ה | ʾazaryah | Azariah | H5838 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חִלְקִיָּֽה׃ | chilkiyah | Hilkiah | H2518 → |
וְאַחַר֙and after
veacharH310 →715 times
הַדְּבָרִ֣יםthe things
hadevarimH1697 →1440 times
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
בְּמַלְכ֖וּתin [the] reign of
bemalkhutH4438 →91 times
אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֣סְתְּאArtaxerxes
ʾartachshast'H783 →15 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
פָּרָ֑סPersia
parasH6539 →28 times
עֶזְרָא֙Ezra
ʾezra'H5830 →22 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
שְׂרָיָ֔הSeraiah
serayahH8304 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
עֲזַרְיָ֖הAzariah
ʾazaryahH5838 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
חִלְקִיָּֽה׃Hilkiah
chilkiyahH2518 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Kings 22:4“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 12:4
Then Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as sacred gifts into the house of the LORD—the census money, the money from vows, and the money brought voluntarily into the house…
- 2 Kings 12:4
Through
Nehemiah 2:1Now in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:11
O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him…
- Nehemiah 1:1
These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,
- Nehemiah 1:11
Through
Ezra 7:12Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 26:7
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company…
- Daniel 2:37
You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
- Ezekiel 26:7
Through
Ezra 7:21I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided…
it leads to
- Ezra 7:6
this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for…
- Ezra 4:16
We advise the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are restored, you will have no dominion west of the Euphrates.
- Ezra 6:6
Therefore Darius decreed: To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region: You must stay away from that place!
- Ezra 7:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Ezra
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.