Ezra Series

Ezra

Ezra was a Jewish scribe and priest. In the Book of Ezra, he is called "Ezra the Scribe" (sofer) and "Ezra the Priest" (kohen) and was a Jewish lawyer and teacher who was very wealthy. Ezra was an individual with his own ideas on many issues; he strongly disagreed with interracial marriage. In Greco-Latin, Ezra is called Esdras (Greek).

Jewish tradition has long attributed authorship of this historical book to the scribe and scholar Ezra, who led the second group of Jews returning from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11–26). Ezra 8 includes the first-person reference, implying the author's participation in the events. He plays a significant role in the second half of the book and the book of Nehemiah, its sequel. In the Hebrew Bible, the two books were considered one work. However, some internal evidence suggests they were written separately and joined together in the Hebrew canon (and separated again in English translations).

Context

Ezra

Date of birth: 504 BC

Place of birth: Babylon

Parents: Seraiah

1. In the Hebrew Bible

2. "Who wrote the book of Ezra?"

2.1 The apocalyptic Ezra traditions

2.2 "What is the big idea?"

2.3 "Where are we?

3. Why is Ezra so important?

4. Gaining knowledge of Ezra

5. Academic view: The question asked most often is, "who wrote the book of Ezra?"

6. Why is Ezra so important?

7. Second Temple period literature

8. The apocalyptic Ezra traditions

9. Ten Standing Laws and Orders

10. Timeline

11. Historicity

12. How Do I Apply This?

In the Hebrew Bible

The events in Ezra are set in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. The returning exiles could populate only a tiny portion of their former homeland. Ezra came at the head of a caravan of about 1,800 men, not including their women and children. They made the four-month journey from Babylon without the benefit of military escort, thereby demonstrating their trust and reliance upon God.

Soon after he arrived in Jerusalem, Ezra reorganized the Temple services. In response to his vigorous program to persuade the people to observe the Mosaic Law, they entered into a covenant to keep the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year and other precepts of the Torah. However, the problem that perplexed Ezra most was that many of the Judean settlers had taken heathen wives from the neighboring peoples. Mixed marriages had become so prevalent as to threaten the very survival of the Jewish community. Ezra induced his people to divorce their pagan wives and to separate from the community those who refused to do so.

Ezra's extreme action, but he felt the critical situation warranted it. It aroused the ire of the Samaritans and other peoples, who resented the affront to their women. In retaliation, the Samaritans denounced Ezra to the Persian King for attempting to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which he was not authorized to do. The King stopped the work, and the rebuilt part was demolished.

Ezra convened an assembly of the people in Jerusalem (about 445) to bring about a religious revival. Standing on a wooden pulpit, he read aloud a portion of the Law of Moses, which the Levites expounded. At that time, too, Ezra reinstituted the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. He probably died shortly after this episode. The traditional tomb of Ezra is located in Basra, Iraq, though Josephus stated that he was buried in Jerusalem.

The Talmud ascribes a far more critical role to Ezra than recorded in the scriptural book bearing his name. The Talmud asserts that Ezra would have been worthy of having the Torah given to Israel had Moses not preceded him. It also attributes to him many ancient laws, perhaps to give them prestige and authority. It states that he introduced the use of the square Hebrew script. Ezra also is said to have determined the precise text of the Pentateuch. Moreover, tradition regards him as the founder of the Kenesset Hagdolah, the Great Assembly, which exercised supreme religious authority until the end of the 4th century B.C.

Other prominent Jewish religious customs are associated with Ezra. He is generally credited with removing the Torah from the priesthood's control and democratizing it by teaching it to the people. Scholars believe Ezra replaced the altars and shrines in the villages with synagogues. Finally, Ezra is regarded as the savior of Judaism's national and religious life at a most critical period.

The son of Seraiah, Ezra was a descendant of the ancient priestly house of Zadok. In 458 B.C., the seventh year of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra obtained the King's permission to visit Judea, bearing the latter's gifts for the Holy Temple. However, the primary purpose of his mission was to inquire into the deteriorating religious conditions of the Jewish community in Judea.

The question asked most often is, "who wrote the book of Ezra?"