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Introduction
to Ezra
This summary of the book of Ezra provides information about the
title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a
brief overview, and the chapters of the Book of Ezra.
Although the caption to Ne 1:1, "The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah,"
indicates that Ezra and Nehemiah were originally two separate compositions,
they were combined as one very early. Josephus (c. a.d. 37-100) and the Jewish
Talmud refer to the book of Ezra but not to a separate book of Nehemiah. The oldest
manuscripts of the Septuagint (the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT)
also treat Ezra and Nehemiah as one book.
Origen (c. a.d. 185-253) is the first writer known to distinguish
between two books, which he called 1 Ezra and 2 Ezra. In translating the Latin
Vulgate (c. a.d. 390-405), Jerome called Nehemiah the second book of Esdrae
(Ezra). The English translations by Wycliffe (1382) and Coverdale (1535) also
called Ezra "I Esdras" and Nehemiah "II Esdras." The same
separation first appeared in a Hebrew manuscript in 1448.
As in the closely related books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, one notes
the prominence of various lists in Ezra and Nehemiah, which have evidently been
obtained from official sources. Included are lists of (1) the temple articles (Ezr 1:9-11), (2) the returned exiles (Ezr
2, which is virtually the same as Ne 7:6-73), (3) the genealogy of Ezra (Ezr 7:1-5), (4) the heads of the clans (Ezr 8:1-14), (5) those involved in mixed
marriages (Ezr 10:18-43), (6) those who helped rebuild the
wall (Ne 3), (7) those who sealed the covenant (Ne 10:1-27), (8) residents of Jerusalem and
other towns (Ne 11:3-36) and (9) priests and Levites (Ne 12:1-26).
Also included in Ezra are seven official documents or letters (all
in Aramaic except the first, which is in Hebrew): (1) the decree of Cyrus (1:2-4), (2) the accusation of Rehum and others
against the Jews (4:11-16), (3) the reply of Artaxerxes I (4:17-22), (4) the report from Tattenai (5:7-17), (5) the memorandum of Cyrus's decree (6:2b-5), (6) Darius's reply to Tattenai (6:6-12) and (7) the authorization given by
Artaxerxes I to Ezra (7:12-26). The documents are similar to
contemporary non-Biblical documents of the Persian period.
Certain materials in Ezra are first-person extracts from his
memoirs: 7:27-28; 8:1-34; 9.
Other sections are written in the third person: 7:1-26; 10;
see also Ne 8. Linguistic analysis has shown that the
first-person and third-person extracts resemble each other, making it likely
that the same author wrote both.
Most scholars conclude that the author/compiler of Ezra and
Nehemiah was also the author of 1,2 Chronicles. This viewpoint is based on
certain characteristics common to both Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah. The verses
at the end of Chronicles and at the beginning of Ezra are virtually identical.
Both Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah exhibit a fondness for lists, for the
description of religious festivals and for such phrases as "heads of
families" and "the house of God." Especially striking in these
books is the prominence of Levites and temple personnel. The words for
"singer," "gatekeeper" and "temple servants" are
used almost exclusively in Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles. See Introduction to 1
Chronicles: Author, Date and Sources.
The Ezra memoirs (see note on 7:28)
may be dated c. 440 b.c. and the Nehemiah memoirs c. 430. These were then
combined with other materials somewhat later. See Introduction to 1 Chronicles:
Author, Date and Sources.
According to the traditional view, Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in
the seventh year (Ezr 7:8) of Artaxerxes I (458 b.c.), followed by
Nehemiah, who arrived in the king's 20th year (444; Ne 2:1,11).
Some have proposed a reverse order in which Nehemiah arrived in
444 b.c., while Ezra arrived in the seventh year of Artaxerxes II (398). By
amending "seventh" (Ezr
7:8) to either "27th" or "37th," others place
Ezra's arrival after Nehemiah's but still maintain that they were
contemporaries.
These alternative views, however, present more problems than the
traditional position. As the text stands, Ezra arrived before Nehemiah and they
are found together in Ne 8:9 (at the reading of the Law) and Ne 12:26,36 (at the dedication of the wall).
Ezra and Nehemiah were written in a form of late Hebrew with the
exception of Ezr 4:8 -- 6:18; 7:12 -- 26,
which were written in Aramaic, the language of international diplomacy during
the Persian period. Of these 67 Aramaic verses, 52 are in records or letters.
Ezra evidently found these documents in Aramaic and copied them, inserting
connecting verses in Aramaic.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah relate how God's covenant people
were restored from Babylonian exile to the covenant land as a theocratic
(kingdom of God) community even while continuing under Gentile rule. The major
theological themes of this account are:
I.
First Return from Exile and Rebuilding of the Temple (chs. 1-6)
A.
First Return of the Exiles (ch.
1)
B.
List of Returning Exiles (ch.
2)
D.
Opposition to Rebuilding (4:1-23)
E.
Completion of the Temple (4:24;6:22)
II. Ezra's Return
and Reforms (chs. 7-10)
──《New
International Version》
Introduction to Ezra
The history of this book is the
accomplishment of Jeremiah's prophecy concerning the return of the Jews out of
Babylon. From its contents we especially learn, that every good work will meet
with opposition from enemies, and be hurt by the misconduct of friends; but
that God will make his cause to prevail, notwithstanding all obstacles and
adversaries. The restoration of the Jews was an event of the highest consequence,
tending to preserve religion in the world, and preparing the way for the
appearance of the Great Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Ezra》
00 Overview
EZRA
INTRODUCTION
That the Book of Ezra is a continuation of the Books of Chronicles
is evident from the fact that the last verses of “Chronicles” are repeated as
the first verses of Ezra. There is also the most marked similarity in the
literary style and method.
The Authorship of the Book
There is no reasonable ground for denying that Ezra was the author
of the book that now bears his name. But the admission must be made that the
present form of the work may be due to the editorial labours of the Great
Synagogue in the early days of the Grecian ascendancy. It is quite possible
that Ezra was rather a collector than an organiser, and that what he left at
his death was rather a mass of material than a completely edited history. These
materials may have come into the hands of a later editor, who had the
historical genius, and he has put them into the shape with which we are
familiar, making necessary editorial corrections and editions.
Date of the Book
There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether the Jewish
literary “renaissance” is to be dated the time of Ezra or between one and two
centuries later, when the nation felt the inspiration of contact with Greek
culture. We should have no doubt about its identification with the later
period, but we must be willing to admit that the revived literary interest, and
the new standards, must have materially influenced the re-editing of the
ancient Scripture records.
An Unfinished Fragment
The Book of Ezra, as it stands, is an evidently unfinished
fragment; and some would find the natural continuation in Nehemiah, chap. 8.
The object of the compiler is evidently the same as that which gives character
and tone to the Books of Chronicles. The mission upon which Ezra’s whole heart
was set was the full re-establishment of the old Mosaic ritual; the reassertion
of the old Mosaic social laws; and the revival of religion of that formal type
which is always dear to the heart of the priest.
The Personality of Ezra
It may greatly help to a right understanding of the Book of Ezra
if some effort is made to form a fair estimate of the personality of this
scribe, and to notice how the circumstances of his age found a fitting sphere
for the intense expression of his personality.
Ezra was a priest, with an unusually valuable pedigree, of which
he would be sure to think much, and to make much. He was descended from
Hilkiah, and traced his line back to Aaron. And he “magnified his office.” How
he had gained his position of influence at the Persian Court we do not know,
but we may be sure that his residence at Babylon made him familiar with the
Chaldee language, which he introduces in some portions of his work (see Ezra 4:8; Ezra 6:18; Ezra 7:12-26). In the seventh year of the
reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, Ezra was granted a commission to lead a second
body of Jews back to Jerusalem, to take upon himself the administration of
public affairs, and to correct those social abuses which had arisen among the
returned exiles, and of which serious news had reached Babylon. This commission
Ezra carried out, but in the spirit of the priest rather than in the spirit of
the statesman. He showed himself to be a ruler with a very narrow, one-sided,
and exaggerated point of view. The reformation that he effected proved to be
the beginning of mischiefs as serious as the evils which he so violently rooted
out. The healthy and lasting reformation always has its basis in some spiritual
truth, either freshly revealed or quickened to the view of men by the vivid
apprehension of some reformer. Ezra was strong on duty, but he had no
revelation or inspiration of truth at the back of the demands he made. He
forced men to do what he thought right, and men only await the relief of the
“force” to turn back to their wrong again.
Ezra’s first visit to Jerusalem was not prolonged. He returned a
second time, apparently a short time after Nehemiah’s appointment as governor,
and he was able to render to him valuable assistance. Ezra’s life-work appears
to cover a period of about eighty years; but no account of the place or date of
his death is given in Scripture. It is generally assigned to 432 or 481 b.c.,
but as Josephus says that he died a very old man, Rawlinson prefers the date
420-410 b.c. Traditions assign him a grave near Samara, after his return to
dwell in Persia; and is said to have lived to be 120 years old.
G. Rawlinson says of Ezra: “He comes before us in so many capacities,
and is revealed to us in such brief and hurried flashes, that we can with
difficulty form any distinct conception of his personality. He was student,
critic, linguist, antiquary, historian, teacher and preacher, judge, governor,
reformer of a religious system, second founder of a political community. We
cannot call him a person of brilliant genius, or of great originality; but yet
we have to acknowledge in him one of the born leaders of men, one of those who
have exercised on the world a vast influence, and an influence almost entirely
good . . . It may be true that his aims were ‘narrow,’ and his methods ‘rigid.’
But he achieved a great success. In temperament Ezra was passionate and
emotional.”
Dr. Geikie says:
“Intensely earnest, he had the absolute confidence of a zealot in his own
definitions of the requirements of the law. To enforce the Levitical holiness
of Israel had become his one idea, and no Puritan was ever more energetic or
stern in pressing his will on others as that of God.”
Dr. W. B. Pope says:
“There is no character in the Old Testament more perfect and complete than that
of Ezra. We see him as a servant and as a master; as a student of the law, and
as its administrator, as supreme in authority and as subordinate, in public and
in private, uniformly and always the same devout, disinterested, patriotic
lover of his people, and friend of God.”
Dean Stanley says:
“Ezra and Nehemiah (for in some respects they are inseparable) are the very
impersonations of the impenetrable toughness and persistency which constituted
them the reformers of their people. Reformers in the noblest sense of that word
they were not.”
As to the Contents of the Book of Ezra, it may be noted that they
are divided into two periods (a third period is treated by Nehemiah). The first
period is anterior to the time of Ezra, and extends over twenty-three years,
from the first return of the exiles in 538 b.c., up to the completion of the
temple, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, 515 b.c. The books of the
prophets Haggai and Zechariah shed light on this period. The second period
begins with the eighth chapter of Ezra, and extends to the close of the book.
One of the difficulties felt in dealing with the work of Ezra
arises from the fact that some sections are written in the first person, and
some in the third person. The most simple and natural explanation of this
peculiarity may be found in the habit of Ezra, in inserting his extracts
bodily, just as he found them.
Regarding Ezra and Nehemiah as one book, Dean Stanley writes: “In this one book is
discoverable the agglomeration of four distinct elements; which is instructive
as an undoubted instance of the composite structure shared by other books of
the Old and New Testaments, where it is not so distinctly traceable. These
component parts are as follows:
a. The portions written by the chronicler--the same as the
compiler of the Book of Chronicles (comp. Ezra 1:1-2; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23)-- Ezra 1:3-6.; Nehemiah 13:1-20.
b. Ezra’s own narrative, Ezra 7:1-28; Ezra 8:1-36; Ezra 9:1-15; Ezra 10:1-44.
c. Nehemiah’s own narrative, Nehemiah 1-7:5; Neh_8-11:2; Neh_12:27-47; Neh_13:1-31.
d. Archives; Ezra 2:1-70.; Nehemiah 7:6-73; Nehemiah 11:8-36. In the divisions a.,
b., c. it may be questioned whether Ezra 7:1-26; Ezra 10:1-44; Nehemiah 8:1-18; Nehemiah 9:1-38; Nehemiah 10:1-39; Nehemiah 11:1-2; Nehemiah 7:27-73; Nehemiah 8:1-18; Nehemiah 9:1-38; Nehemiah 10:1-39; Nehemiah 11:1-36; Nehemiah 12:1-47; Nehemiah 13:1-3 (in which Ezra and
Nehemiah are described in the third person) belong to another narrative
interwoven by the chronicler who compiled the whole book.”
As a general conclusion, it may be said that there is no
sufficient reason for distrusting the uniform tradition that the materials of
the book were provided by Ezra.
EZRA
INTRODUCTION
That the Book of Ezra is a continuation of the Books of Chronicles
is evident from the fact that the last verses of “Chronicles” are repeated as
the first verses of Ezra. There is also the most marked similarity in the
literary style and method.
The Authorship of the Book
There is no reasonable ground for denying that Ezra was the author
of the book that now bears his name. But the admission must be made that the
present form of the work may be due to the editorial labours of the Great
Synagogue in the early days of the Grecian ascendancy. It is quite possible
that Ezra was rather a collector than an organiser, and that what he left at
his death was rather a mass of material than a completely edited history. These
materials may have come into the hands of a later editor, who had the
historical genius, and he has put them into the shape with which we are
familiar, making necessary editorial corrections and editions.
Date of the Book
There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether the Jewish literary
“renaissance” is to be dated the time of Ezra or between one and two centuries
later, when the nation felt the inspiration of contact with Greek culture. We
should have no doubt about its identification with the later period, but we
must be willing to admit that the revived literary interest, and the new
standards, must have materially influenced the re-editing of the ancient
Scripture records.
An Unfinished Fragment
The Book of Ezra, as it stands, is an evidently unfinished
fragment; and some would find the natural continuation in Nehemiah, chap. 8.
The object of the compiler is evidently the same as that which gives character
and tone to the Books of Chronicles. The mission upon which Ezra’s whole heart
was set was the full re-establishment of the old Mosaic ritual; the reassertion
of the old Mosaic social laws; and the revival of religion of that formal type
which is always dear to the heart of the priest.
The Personality of Ezra
It may greatly help to a right understanding of the Book of Ezra
if some effort is made to form a fair estimate of the personality of this
scribe, and to notice how the circumstances of his age found a fitting sphere
for the intense expression of his personality.
Ezra was a priest, with an unusually valuable pedigree, of which
he would be sure to think much, and to make much. He was descended from
Hilkiah, and traced his line back to Aaron. And he “magnified his office.” How
he had gained his position of influence at the Persian Court we do not know,
but we may be sure that his residence at Babylon made him familiar with the
Chaldee language, which he introduces in some portions of his work (see Ezra 4:8; Ezra 6:18; Ezra 7:12-26). In the seventh year of the
reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, Ezra was granted a commission to lead a second
body of Jews back to Jerusalem, to take upon himself the administration of
public affairs, and to correct those social abuses which had arisen among the
returned exiles, and of which serious news had reached Babylon. This commission
Ezra carried out, but in the spirit of the priest rather than in the spirit of
the statesman. He showed himself to be a ruler with a very narrow, one-sided,
and exaggerated point of view. The reformation that he effected proved to be
the beginning of mischiefs as serious as the evils which he so violently rooted
out. The healthy and lasting reformation always has its basis in some spiritual
truth, either freshly revealed or quickened to the view of men by the vivid
apprehension of some reformer. Ezra was strong on duty, but he had no
revelation or inspiration of truth at the back of the demands he made. He
forced men to do what he thought right, and men only await the relief of the
“force” to turn back to their wrong again.
Ezra’s first visit to Jerusalem was not prolonged. He returned a
second time, apparently a short time after Nehemiah’s appointment as governor,
and he was able to render to him valuable assistance. Ezra’s life-work appears
to cover a period of about eighty years; but no account of the place or date of
his death is given in Scripture. It is generally assigned to 432 or 481 b.c.,
but as Josephus says that he died a very old man, Rawlinson prefers the date
420-410 b.c. Traditions assign him a grave near Samara, after his return to
dwell in Persia; and is said to have lived to be 120 years old.
G. Rawlinson says of Ezra: “He comes before us in so many capacities,
and is revealed to us in such brief and hurried flashes, that we can with
difficulty form any distinct conception of his personality. He was student,
critic, linguist, antiquary, historian, teacher and preacher, judge, governor,
reformer of a religious system, second founder of a political community. We
cannot call him a person of brilliant genius, or of great originality; but yet
we have to acknowledge in him one of the born leaders of men, one of those who
have exercised on the world a vast influence, and an influence almost entirely
good . . . It may be true that his aims were ‘narrow,’ and his methods ‘rigid.’
But he achieved a great success. In temperament Ezra was passionate and emotional.”
Dr. Geikie says:
“Intensely earnest, he had the absolute confidence of a zealot in his own
definitions of the requirements of the law. To enforce the Levitical holiness
of Israel had become his one idea, and no Puritan was ever more energetic or
stern in pressing his will on others as that of God.”
Dr. W. B. Pope says:
“There is no character in the Old Testament more perfect and complete than that
of Ezra. We see him as a servant and as a master; as a student of the law, and
as its administrator, as supreme in authority and as subordinate, in public and
in private, uniformly and always the same devout, disinterested, patriotic
lover of his people, and friend of God.”
Dean Stanley says:
“Ezra and Nehemiah (for in some respects they are inseparable) are the very
impersonations of the impenetrable toughness and persistency which constituted
them the reformers of their people. Reformers in the noblest sense of that word
they were not.”
As to the Contents of the Book of Ezra, it may be noted that they are
divided into two periods (a third period is treated by Nehemiah). The first
period is anterior to the time of Ezra, and extends over twenty-three years,
from the first return of the exiles in 538 b.c., up to the completion of the
temple, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, 515 b.c. The books of the
prophets Haggai and Zechariah shed light on this period. The second period
begins with the eighth chapter of Ezra, and extends to the close of the book.
One of the difficulties felt in dealing with the work of Ezra
arises from the fact that some sections are written in the first person, and
some in the third person. The most simple and natural explanation of this
peculiarity may be found in the habit of Ezra, in inserting his extracts
bodily, just as he found them.
Regarding Ezra and Nehemiah as one book, Dean Stanley writes: “In this one book is
discoverable the agglomeration of four distinct elements; which is instructive
as an undoubted instance of the composite structure shared by other books of
the Old and New Testaments, where it is not so distinctly traceable. These
component parts are as follows:
a. The portions written by the chronicler--the same as the
compiler of the Book of Chronicles (comp. Ezra 1:1-2; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23)-- Ezra 1:3-6.; Nehemiah 13:1-20.
b. Ezra’s own narrative, Ezra 7:1-28; Ezra 8:1-36; Ezra 9:1-15; Ezra 10:1-44.
c. Nehemiah’s own narrative, Nehemiah 1-7:5; Neh_8-11:2; Neh_12:27-47; Neh_13:1-31.
d. Archives; Ezra 2:1-70.; Nehemiah 7:6-73; Nehemiah 11:8-36. In the divisions a.,
b., c. it may be questioned whether Ezra 7:1-26; Ezra 10:1-44; Nehemiah 8:1-18; Nehemiah 9:1-38; Nehemiah 10:1-39; Nehemiah 11:1-2; Nehemiah 7:27-73; Nehemiah 8:1-18; Nehemiah 9:1-38; Nehemiah 10:1-39; Nehemiah 11:1-36; Nehemiah 12:1-47; Nehemiah 13:1-3 (in which Ezra and
Nehemiah are described in the third person) belong to another narrative
interwoven by the chronicler who compiled the whole book.”
As a general conclusion, it may be said that there is no
sufficient reason for distrusting the uniform tradition that the materials of
the book were provided by Ezra.
──《The Biblical Illustrator》