Pedigree is important in determining who’s who in Israel, especially when things concern either of the two royal families of the Jews, namely the line of David and the line of Aaron. This is also true, but, perhaps, to a lesser degree in the royal lines of the gentiles. Pedigree was at the forefront of the incident that took place in Ezra 2:59-62. There were Jews who couldn’t prove their pedigree, because, for whatever reason, family records weren’t kept, while they were in captivity. Therefore, it was decided by Zerubbabel, the Tirshatha or governor of the Jews (Ezra 2:63; cp. Nehemiah 8:10), that these men couldn’t eat of the most holy things, until there rose up among the people a priest, who was able to derive the Lord’s word from the Urim and Thummim. The Urim and Thummim had to do with the high priest’s ephod, which was used to judge Israel. Apparently, it was a miraculous event, whereby the high priest could determine the Lord’s will on a matter, because the Lord caused something to occur with the ephod (cp. Numbers 27:1; 1Samuel 28:6). Therefore, pedigree, being able to prove one’s lineage, was very important in ancient Israel.
“After these things…” (Ezra 7:1) concerns the finishing and dedication of the Temple (Ezra 6:15-18), but before the celebration of the first Passover after the Temple was completed (Ezra 6:19-22). These things occurred during the sixth year of the reign of Darius, the king (Ezra 6:15). So, after these things, namely, the things which occurred during the reign of Artaxerxes, the king of Persia (Ezra 7:1), thus, showing the reader that Darius, the king of Ezra, chapter 6, is the same as Artaxerxes, the king of Ezra, chapter 7.[1]
Ezra, the priest and scribe (cp. Ezra 7:11) is introduced in Ezra 7:1, and his pedigree is given in his genealogical record (Ezra 7:1-5). Sixteen generations are given, but there is a gap of no real consequence. In other words, there had to have been more than sixteen generations between Ezra, the priest and scribe and Aaron, the high priest at the time of Moses.[2] Nevertheless, the gap is inconsequential in that the gap can be supplied by 1Chronicles 6:7-10, which supplies six more names and 1Chronicles 9:11 supplies another name between Zadok and Ahitub, giving a total of 23 names prior to the captivity. Biblical scholars also conclude there is a gap of at least 130 years[3] between Ezra and Seraiah, and at least three more names could be added to Ezra’s genealogy, bringing it to 26 names and comparable to that of Zerubbabel’s genealogy.
The text tells us that Ezra was a ready scribe. The position of the scribe was a very important one, as one can determine, first, from the fact that he was able to gain an audience with the king (Ezra 7:6) and make requests for the good of the whole community of the Jews at Jerusalem. Secondly, the importance of the scribe is understood in the fact that later in the chapter Artaxerxes addressed his decree to Ezra personally (Ezra 7:11-12). During the days of the monarchy, the scribe was a kind of king’s secretary of state (2Samuel 8:17; 2Kings 18:18; Jeremiah 36:12). After the captivity, the term, scribe, took on the purpose of teaching the people (cp. Ezra 7:10, 25), but of a higher dignity, in which teachers are held today. Ezra, as the scribe, stood in the place of a prophet, whose influence even eclipsed that of the high priest. He was empowered by the king to set up magistrates and judges to ensure the king’s kingdom was peaceful and loyal to him (Ezra 7:25).
Ezra began his journey to Jerusalem from Babylon on the first day of the first month of the calendar with a group of Jews from all the tribes of Israel, and with them priests and Levites and Nethinims (servants of the Levites), and they came to Jerusalem in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, arriving in the fifth month of the calendar, a journey of about four to five months, and the Lord was with them (Ezra 7:7-9). This is the same release mentioned in Esther 2:18 as a result of the celebration of Esther’s Feast, which occurred in the tenth month of the calendar during the king’s seventh year (Esther 2:16).[4]
So, Ezra journeyed to Jerusalem because he had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord and teach Israel to know and obey its statutes and judgments (Ezra 7:10).
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[1] See my earlier study: The Search of the King’s Records.
[2] This can be determined by comparing Ezra’s record with that of Zerubbabel, who was one generation older than Ezra. Zerubbabel’s genealogy to Nahshon, prince of Judah and a contemporary of Moses and Aaron, has 26 names (1Chronicles 2:10-15 and 3:1-19).
[3] See Albert Barnes Commentary on Ezra 7:1.
[4] This would mean that the reign of the kings of Persia were reckoned from autumn to autumn, the fiscal year, instead of from the beginning of the calendar year, i.e. from the first month of the year to the first month of the following year. This can be seen in that the release is granted in tenth month of the year, which is during the king’s seventh year (Esther 2:16). Later, when Ezra actually leaves Babylon for Jerusalem on the first day of the first month of the new year, this also occurs during the seventh year of the reign of the king, which should now be his eighth year, if his reign were reckoned from the first day of the year to the first day of the next year. Therefore, the reign of the kings, must be from autumn to autumn.
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