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,
In the reign of Artaxerxes - i:e., him who was surnamed Longimanus. An interval of 50 years intervenes between the close of the last chapter and this; i:e., between the dedication of the temple and the journey of Ezra to Palestine. A number of stirring events occurred during that period-namely, the expedition of Xerxes into Greece, the battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis, with the deeds of Miltiades, Leonidas, and Cimon, which brought such humiliating disasters on the Persian empire. Then, after the return of Xerxes from this unfortunate expedition, there was the episode of Esther and the exaltation of Mordecai, both of which produced a happy change on the condition and prospects of the Jews, a short time before the mission of Ezra.
Ezra the son of Seraiah, х `Ezraa' (H5830), help; Septuagint, Esdras]. A period of 120 years had elasped between that catastrophe and the journey of Ezra to Jerusalem; and as a grandson of Seraiah-namely, Jeshua, who held the office of high priest-had accompanied Zerubbabel in the first caravan of returning exiles, Ezra must have been in all probability a grandson, descended too from a younger son, the older branch being in possession of the pontificate.