¹sn If the Artaxerxes of Ezra 7:1 is Artaxerxes I Longimanus (ca. 464-423 b.c.), Ezra must have arrived in Jerusalem ca. 458 b.c., since Ezra 7:7-8 connects the time of his arrival to the seventh year of the king. The arrival of Nehemiah is then linked to the twentieth year of the king (Neh 1:1), or ca. 445 b.c. Some scholars, however, have suggested that Ezra 7:7 should be read as “the thirty-seventh year” rather than “the seventh year.” This would have Ezra coming to Jerusalem after, rather than before, the arrival of Nehemiah. Others have taken the seventh year of Ezra 7:7-8 to refer not to Artaxerxes I but to Artaxerxes II, who ruled ca. 404-358 b.c. In this understanding Ezra would have returned to Jerusalem ca. 398 b.c., a good many years after the return of Nehemiah. Neither of these views is certain, however, and it seems better to retain the traditional understanding of the chronological sequence of returns by Ezra and Nehemiah.

²tn The words “came up from Babylon” do not appear in the Hebrew text until v. 6. They have been supplied here for the sake of clarity.

³tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular wayya`al (“he brought up”) rather than the Qal plural wayya`alu (“they came up”) of the MT.

tn Aram “he brought”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴tc The translation reads yissad (he appointed” [= determined]) rather than the reading yesud (“foundation”) of the MT.

⁵tn Heb “his heart.”

⁶tn Heb “this.”

⁷tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.

⁸sn Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.

⁹tn Aram “sent.”

¹⁰tn Aram “in your hand.”

¹¹tn Aram “find.”

¹²tc The translation reads mesah battin rather than battin mesah of the MT.

¹³tn Aram “in your hand.”

¹⁴tc For the MT reading sapetin (“judges”) the LXX has grammateis (“scribes”).

¹⁵tc For the MT reading ra’sim (“heads”) the LXX has andras (“men”).