mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament, relative to the commissioning for a certain task or office (i.e., Num 27:18). Either the “hand” of God or the “gracious hand” of God repeats itself seven times in Ezra-Nehemiah (7:9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31; Neh 2:8, 18). The phrase and its repetition signify that Ezra was acutely aware of God’s involvement and presence in his life and that God had set him apart for the task of going to Jerusalem.11 The favor he found with Artaxerxes, therefore, derived from being