C. F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch on Ezra 8:21-30

Ezr 8:21-30

The last preparations for the journey. - Ezr 8:21 Then the company of fellow-travellers was thus completed, Ezra proclaimed a fast at the place of meeting at the river Ahava, “that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a prosperous journey for ourselves, our families, and our goods,” Fasting, as a means of humbling themselves before God, for the purpose of obtaining an answer to their petitions, was an ancient custom with the Israelites: Jdg 20:26; 1Sa 7:6; Joe 1:14; 2Ch 20:3. ישׁרה דּרך, a straight way, a way made level by the removal of obstructions, i.e., a prosperous journey; comp. Psa 112:7. טף, a noun collective, properly the little children, more frequently denoted the entire family, a man’s wives and children; see remarks on Exo 12:37. רכוּשׁ, possessions in cattle and other goods.