Smoodock's Blog

After spending three days in Ahava, Ezra and company left on a 618-mile journey to Jerusalem,[1] departing on the 12^th day of the first month (Ezra 8:31; cp. Ezra 7:9; 8:15), a journey of about four months. Ezra and company arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month during the 7th year of King Xerxes (Ezra 7:8-9). Ezra had told the king: “The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him” (Ezra 8:22). In telling Xerxes these things, Ezra felt it would be contradictory to ask him for the protection of a military unit against enemies who would lie in wait for them on the way to Jerusalem. Therefore, the Lord honored Ezra’s faith in him before the king, and the Lord delivered Ezra and company from the hands of their enemies in their route to Jerusalem, and they arrived safely in Jerusalem.[2] Upon arrival, they stayed in their tents, resting three days before they presented themselves to the Jewish authorities there (Ezra 8:32).

Thus, when the three days were accomplished, Ezra and his chosen men presented themselves and their gifts for the Temple to the Jewish authorities. No doubt, the authorities had become aware of the new release offered by the king, Xerxes (cp. Esther 2:16-18), and that Ezra’s caravan represented at least the bulk of that release. So, Ezra’s official introduction in Ezra 8:33 wouldn’t have been a total surprise. However, the number of those arriving, together with the value of the gifts made for the work of the Temple may have been a surprising delight over the goodwill of the king toward the Jews (cp. Ezra 8:33-34).

At this time, also, all the families in the caravan offered their burnt offerings to the priests at the Altar of God (12 bulls for all Israel and 96 rams, 77 male lambs and 12 male goats) for a sin offering, as they presented themselves before the Lord in his House at Jerusalem (Ezra 8:35).

Finally, Ezra delivered King Xerxes’ decrees (cp. Ezra 7:21-24) to his satraps and to his governors who ruled west of the Euphrates, and they immediately gave their support for the Jews and the House of God in Jerusalem (Ezra 8:36).

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[1] The distance from Ahava (modern Hit) to Jerusalem is 618 miles using modern roads, which was calculated by Google Maps on June 26, 2020.

[2] Taking the word of God as true, in that the journey took exactly four months, leaving Babylon on the first day of the first month, and arriving in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month (Ezra 7:8-9), it would have taken 118 days (30 days each for the first and 3^rd months and 29 days each for the 2^nd and 4^th months). Thus, their journey took about 17 weeks to complete, so they would have paused for 17 Sabbaths, leaving 101 days for traveling. They would have also gone 2 days journey from Ahava, and paused again for at least 8 days to celebrate the Passover, leaving 93 days. Next, they would have paused to celebrate Pentecost in the 3^rd month, probably for about 3 days, since that seems to be the pattern for rests This leaves 90 days of actual travel for the 618-mile journey (the 80 miles from Babylon to Ahava already considered). Therefore, at a pace of about 10 miles per day, considering a slower pace for women and children, this would take another 60 days, leaving us with 30 additional days to account for. If we take into consideration that there were obstructions like mountains and difficult terrain, causing a need for additional 3-day rest periods, this would allow for 10 additional rest periods during the four months of traveling from Babylon to Jerusalem. Thus, the four months, 118 days, seems to be reasonable.