Though we are not told exactly what Ezra asked from the king, the letter that King Artaxerxes sent to him (Ezra 7:11–26) was probably a response to his request1 In this letter he is granted permission to return to Jerusalem, he is given various supplies for the temple, and he is given authority to teach God’s law. We can assume that Ezra had asked the king for all these things.
6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him.