Ezra 1

What is the command Cyrus gave to the Israelites?

Cyrus issued a decree that allows the Israelite to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The
people are to supply silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for
them to be used as offerings in the temple (v. 2 -4).

What articles did the Israelite brought when they return to Jerusalem?

All the articles that King Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from the temple of Jerusalem to
place in the temple of  his god. There are in total 5,400 gold and silver articles including gold
dishes (30), silver dishes (1,000), silver pans (29), gold bowls (30), matching silver bowls (410)
and other articles (v. 7-11).

Ezra 2

Why were some excluded from the priesthood as unclean?

They couldn’t find their family records (v. 62).

How many Israelites return to Jerusalem in the first journey?

42,360 (v. 64).

Who else accompany the Israelite in the first journey of returning to Jerusalem?

7,337 male and female slaves; 200 male and female singers; 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels
and 6,720 donkeys (v. 65-67).

Ezra 3

What is the first that the Israelite do after they arrive at Jerusalem?

They rebuilt the altar to offer burnt offerings on it (v. 2).

What did the Israelite build upon returning to Jerusalem?

They rebuild the temple. They started by laying the temple foundation (v. 8, 10).

What is the emotion of the Israelite when the temple foundation is laid?
The people shout praises to God. The older generation wept when they saw the foundation being
laid because they had seen the former temple before (v. 10-13),

Ezra 4

Why did the enemies opposed to the rebuilding of the temple?

Because Zerubabbel, Joshua and the families head did not allow them to participate in the
rebuilding of the temple (v. 1-3).

What did Rehum do to oppose the Israelite rebuilding the temple?

Rehum wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes, telling him that the Jews would rebel by stop paying
tax after they finish rebuilding the city and restore its wall. He reminded Artaxerxes that
Jerusalem used to be a rebellious city so that he sent his men to stop the Jews to stop the
rebuilding work in Jerusalem (v. 6-24).

Ezra 5

Who stopped the Israelite from finishing to rebuild the temple?

Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates attempted to

stop the Israelite from rebuilding the temple and demand them to show who authorize them to do
so (v. 1-5).

What did Tattenai wrote to the governor of Trans-Euphrates?

Tattenai wrote to the governor of Trans-Euphrates, asking him to search the rotal archives in
Babylon to see if King Cyrus did issued a decree to let them rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
This is because the Israelite told them that King Cyrus issued a decree that let them rebuild the
temple (v. 6-17).

Ezra 6

What did Darius do to help the Israelite rebuild the temple?

Darius conducted a search and found the scroll that contains the decree of King Cyrus that allows
the Israelite to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. After Darius found the scroll, he issued
a decree to allow the work of the rebuilding of the temple to be carried out without any
interference (v. 1-12).
When did the completion of the temple rebuilding takes place?

On the 3rd day of the month of Adar in the 6th year of the reign of King Darius (v. 15).

Ezra 7

Who is Ezra?

Ezra was a teacher who is well versed with the law of Moses (v. 6, 10).

How did King Artaxerxes treat Ezra?

King Artaxerxes was very good to Ezra. He issued a decree that the treasurers of the Trans
Euphrates are to provide whatever Ezra demanded up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat,
100 baths of wine, 100 baths of olive oil, and salt without limit (v. 22).

Ezra 8

Why Ezra did not ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect them from the
enemies?

Ezra felt ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect them from the enemies
since he 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” (v. 22).

What did Ezra do that make God answer his prayer?

Ezra fasted and petitioned God about this in his prayer (v. 23).

Ezra 9

What did the Israelite do that made Ezra upset?

The Israelite had taken wives from foreign nations for themselves including Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the
Amorites (v. 1) (Deuteronomy 7:3).

Ezra 10
What did the Israelite pledge to do with their pagan wives?

The Israelite pledged to send away their pagan wives they take from other nations (v. 9-17).

How and when did the Israelite sent all their foreign wives away?

Since many Israelite had foreign wives, they agreed that anyone that has a foreign wife should
come at a set time until they finished sending away all their foreign wives (v. 9-17).