After these things, when Artaxerxes the king of the Persians was reigning, Ezra came …: After these things may be rendered “Later” or even “Much later” (Contemporary English Version). The events here took place more than 50 years after those in the previous chapter. When Artaxerxes the king of the Persians was reigning may be translated “when King Artaxerxes was ruling over Persia.” For Artaxerxes I, see 1 Esd 2.16; for the king of the Persians, see 1 Esd 2.1. The high point of this sentence, as well as of the book, is Ezra came. Translators should find a way to point this out to their readers. In some literary traditions there are special discourse markers for indicating that a new person is being brought into the narrative. These special devices should be used to make it clear that a new part of the narrative is beginning through the presentation of the new character. Here in English we may say “there was a man named Ezra and he came” (similarly Good News Bible) to indicate the beginning of a new development in the account. Another possible model is “there was a certain man, his name was Ezra, and he came.” It would be helpful to indicate also where he came from (Babylonia; see verse 3) or at least where he came to (Jerusalem; see verse 5). The name Ezra is probably a shortened form of Azariah, meaning “the LORD has helped.” The Greek form of this name is the origin of the name “Esdras.” Contemporary English Version begins verses 1-3 with “Much later, when Artaxerxes was king of Persia, Ezra came to Jerusalem from Babylonia.” But we may also say “Many years later, when Artaxerxes was king of Persia, a man named Ezra arrived in Jerusalem from Babylonia.”

The son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of Abishua, son of Phineas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest: This long genealogy of Ezra, which was very impressive to ancient Jewish readers, will get in the way of many readers today. Recounting the ancestry of Ezra was important in order to establish that he was a priest descended from Aaron the High Priest and that he had the right to introduce certain reforms in the Temple and in the life of the Jews from the Law. Good News Bible begins this long family line by expressing as a separate thought its main point, which is “He traced his ancestry back to Aaron, the High Priest.” Some cultures have special literary forms or a special genre for tracing ancestry. Where they exist, the special rules of this genre should be followed in presenting this genealogy. As in the Greek text, it may be traced from Ezra to his father, grandfather and great-grandfather back to Aaron. Alternatively, the order of presentation may be reversed to trace Ezra’s ancestors from Aaron in descending order (so first model below). Chief priest is literally “first priest” (Contemporary English Version). Aaron was the ancestor and the first of all priests in Israel.

This Ezra came up from Babylon as a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which was given by the God of Israel: In this context Babylon refers to the country of “Babylonia” (Good News Bible; see the comments on 1 Esd 1.40). The Greek word for scribe in this context means “scholar” (compare 1 Esd 2.16). Skilled in the law of Moses means Ezra knew everything there was to know about the Law of Moses. The law of Moses refers to the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is called “the book of Moses” in 1 Esd 1.11 (see the comments there).

Models that combine verses 1-3 are:

• Much later, when Artaxerxes was king of Persia, a man named Ezra came from Babylonia to Jerusalem. Ezra was descended from Aaron, the first High Priest, through Eleazar, Phinehas, Abishua, Bukki, Uzzi, Amariah, Ahitub, Zadok, Shallum, Hilkiah, Azariah, and Seraiah. Ezra was a scholar who knew everything there was to know about the Law of Moses, which God gave to Israel.

• … Ezra was a scholar who was familiar with everything in the Law of Moses, which God gave to Israel.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.