This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.
This Ezra ... was a ready scribe in the law of Moses. The term "scribe" does not mean a penman, nor even an attorney well versant in forms of law, and skilled in the method of preparing public or private deeds. He was a rabbi, or doctor, learned in the Mosaic law, and in all that related to the civil and ecclesiastical polity and customs of the Hebrew people. Scribes of this description possessed great authority and influence (cf. Matthew 23:25; Mark 12:28).
The king granted him all his request. Nothing is said as to the ground or channel of Ezra's influence with the king. But Josephus ('Antiquities,' b. 11:, ch. 5:, sec. 1) says that he enjoyed a reputation in society for the integrity and high qualities of his character. He left Babylon entrusted with an important commission to be executed in Jerusalem. The manner in which he obtained this office is minutely related in a subsequent passage. Here it is noticed, but with a pious acknowledgment of the divine grace and goodness which disposed the royal mind in favour of Ezra's patriotic objects. The Levites, etc. did not go at that time, and are mentioned here by anticipation.