The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest:
The genealogy traces Ezra's ancestry through Abishua, Phinehas, and Eleazar to Aaron the chief priest, placing him in the priestly line descending from Aaron. He was both a priest and a scribe of God's commandments and law. He returned to Jerusalem to support the people and to restore the city. His priestly standing made him an instrument for Israel's good and for restoring honor to a priesthood whose glory had diminished during the captivity.
The chapter containing the genealogy records the Persian king's decree to restore and build Jerusalem. Artaxerxes' decree completed the earlier authorization to restore Jerusalem and began the seventy-week prophecy. The decree was given in 457 B.C. That date marks the beginning and starting point of the 2300 years of Daniel 8:14 and of the prophetic periods.
Counting 2300 years from 457 reaches 1843 by subtracting 457 from 2300. The calculation was so simple and plain that even children could understand it, and 1843 was fixed as the end of the period and the expected time for the coming of the Lord. The period's completion was placed in the fall of 1844. Its end was first placed at the end of 1843, but because the decree was issued near the end and close of 457 B.C., the period reaches the fall of 1844 rather than the end of 1843.
The genealogy traces Ezra's ancestry through Abishua, Phinehas, and Eleazar to Aaron the chief priest, placing him in the priestly line descending from Aaron. He was both a priest and a scribe of God's commandments and law. He returned to Jerusalem to support the people and to restore the city. His priestly standing made him an instrument for Israel's good and for restoring honor to a priesthood whose glory had diminished during the captivity.
The chapter containing the genealogy records the Persian king's decree to restore and build Jerusalem. Artaxerxes' decree completed the earlier authorization to restore Jerusalem and began the seventy-week prophecy. The decree was given in 457 B.C. That date marks the beginning and starting point of the 2300 years of Daniel 8:14 and of the prophetic periods.
Counting 2300 years from 457 reaches 1843 by subtracting 457 from 2300. The calculation was so simple and plain that even children could understand it, and 1843 was fixed as the end of the period and the expected time for the coming of the Lord. The period's completion was placed in the fall of 1844. Its end was first placed at the end of 1843, but because the decree was issued near the end and close of 457 B.C., the period reaches the fall of 1844 rather than the end of 1843.