Ezra 7:15 - Exposition

And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered. Large sums in specie had in ancient times to be remitted from one country to another under escort . The roads were never safe from robbers; and the more considerable the remittance, the greater the danger of its being intercepted. We hear of its being usual to protect the treasure annually remitted to Jerusalem from Babylon in Roman times by an escort of above 20,000 men (see Joseph; 'Ant. Jud.,' 18:9, § 1). The God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem. No more seems to be meant by "habitation" here than by "house" in Ezra 1:2 , Ezra 1:3 . Artaxerxes does not regard Jehovah as a local God.