Author: The Book of Ezra, whose name means "the LORD is our help", derives its title from the heading of chapters 7-10. We can't be completely sure that Ezra himself compiled the book or if it was an unknown compiler. Conservative opinion generally accepts that Ezra compiled or edited this book, along with I and II Chronicles, and Nehemiah. The Hebrew Bible considers Ezra-Nehemiah to be a single work.
Ezra was a priest and scribe versed in the commandments of Jehovah (7:11). He led the second of the three groups that returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. A devout man, he established the Law (the Pentateuch) decisively as the basis of faith (7:10).
The Holman Bible Handbook adds:
There is a continuing debate about the relationship of Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah. The last verses of II Chronicles (36:22-23) are the same as Ezra 1:1-3a. In fact, Chronicles ends in the middle of a sentence that only occurs in full in Ezra. This overlapping may indicate that the books were intended to be read together.
Many scholars think that Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah formed a single historical work, called the "Chronicler's History", authored by an anonymous individual or school of historians.Other scholars, both evangelical and critical, believe that Ezra and Nehemiah have independent authorship from Chronicles. There are significant dissimilarities in language and view point. (See the "Historical Books").
In Jewish tradition Ezra the scribe is the author of Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah. (See the introduction to "I Chronicles".) While the attribution of all these books to Ezra cannot be demonstrated it is clear that at least he contributed personal memoirs to the book that bears his name and probably had a significant role in the compilation of Ezra-Nehemiah. The Book of Ezra dates in the later half of the fifth century B.C.
Sources for the Book of Ezra included Ezra's firsthand account (probably 7:11-9:15), empirical documents and correspondence written in Aramaic (4:8-6:18; 7:12-26), and registers of Jewish immigrants (2:1-70; 8:1-14).
Chronology of Ezra-Nehemiah: (HBH) The date of writing is dependent on the chronology of Ezra's return to Jerusalem. The traditional opinion has Ezra's ministry in the seventh year (458 B.C.) and Nehemiah's ministry in the twentieth year (445 B.C.) of Artaxerxes I (Ezra 7:8; Neh. 2:1). Problems exist with the traditional opinion. For example, the high priest in Nehemiah's time was Eliashib (Neh. 3:1,20-21; 13:28), but Ezra ministered during the priesthood of Jehohana, the son of Eliashib (Ezra 10:6).
Because of such problems, alternative opinions have been suggested. Another view dates Ezra's expedition in the seventh year of Artaxerxes II (398 B.C.) after the time of Nehemiah. A third alternative dates Ezra in 428 B.C. by emending Ezra 7:8 to read the "thirty-seventh year" rather than the seventh year of Artaxerxes.
Although the traditional view has difficulties, its arguments are more compelling. For example, scholars have suggested that there was more than one Eliashib and Jehohanan and that Nehemiah and Ezra speak of different ones. Therefore, following the fifth century date for Ezra's ministry, the composition of Ezra-Nehemiah was about 400 B.C. since the genealogies of Chronicles exceed this date (compare I Chron. 3:19-24; see "The Historical Books").
The restoration period commenced with the defeat of Babylon by the Persian monarch Cyrus, who ordered the release of the Jews in 538 B.C. The chronology of the period can be summarized by the expeditions that returned from the captivity.
Occasion and Date: The events that are included in the Book of Ezra offer a panorama of more than eighty years of Jewish history and are divided into two distinct segments. The first of them (chapters 1-6) cover some twenty-three years and deal with the first wave of those who returned from the exile under Zerubbabel, and the reconstruction of the temple.
After more than sixty years of Babylonian captivity, GOD touches the heart of the governor of Babylon, King Cyrus of Persia, and he dictates a decree where he proclaims that the Jews who wish to may return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city. A group of the faithful respond positively and leave in 538 B.C. under the direction of Zerubbabel. The reconstruction of the temple is begun, but the opposition of the non-Jewish inhabitants discourages the people, who halt the work. GOD then raises the prophetic ministries of Haggai and Zechariah, who call the people to complete the begun work. Although less splendid that the earlier temple of Solomon, the new temple is finished and dedicated in 515 B.C.
Around sixty years later (458 B.C.) another group of exiles return to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra (chapters 7-10). They are sent by the Persian king Artaxerxes with additional resources and objectives to develop the temple worship. Ezra is also commissioned to name leaders in Jerusalem to supervise public affairs.
Once in Jerusalem, Ezra assumes the role of religious reformer for about a year. After that, it appears that he continued living as an influential member of the community until the time of Nehemiah. As a devout priest, he finds an Israel that has adopted many pagan practices; he calls for repentance and renewed submission to the Law, to the point of ordering the Israelites to divorce their pagan wives.
Content: Two principal messages are born from Ezra: the faithfulness of GOD and the infidelity of the human being.
GOD has promised through Jeremiah (25:12) that the Babylonian captivity would last only a time. In due time, He fulfilled his promise and inclined the heart of King Cyrus of Persia to make a decree through which he authorized the return of the exiles (1:1-4). He then provided leaders (Zerubbabel and Ezra) who were sent bearing a cargo that included things taken from the temple of Solomon (1:5-10).
When the people were discouraged by other peoples' ridicule, GOD remained faithful and raised up Haggai and Zechariah to exhort them to finish the work they had begun. Their exhortation bore fruit (5:1,2).
Finally, when the people turned away from the truths of the Word of GOD, the LORD faithfully sent devout priests who instructed them in the faith, and called them to confess their sins and repent of their wandering ways (chapters 9; 10).
GOD's faithfulness contrasts with the unfaithfulness of the people. In spite of their return and the divine promises, the chosen people allowed their enemies to discourage them and momentarily halt the work that had been begun (4:24). Having completed the begun work, so that they could worship in their own temple, the people then forgot GOD's commandments; an entire generation arose whose "iniquities are multiplied over our head" (9:6). However, as has already been seen, GOD's faithfulness prevails in each situation.
Theme: (HBH) GOD used pagan kings and godly leaders to restore His people by reinstituting temple worship and reviving the law of Moses.
Purpose and Theology: (HBH)
Priests and Levites were a major concern of Ezra's administration (chaps. 7-10). Ezra was careful to include them among those returning from exile (7:7,13,24; 8:15-20,24-34). Their sinful intermarriage with Gentiles provoked Ezra's reforms (9:1-2). They were placed under oath (10:5), and the guilty were noted (10:18-24).
The LORD was also responsible for the success of Ezra's expedition. Ezra was called and protected by the LORD's "gracious hand" (7:9; 8:18,22). GOD used the Persian government to enable Ezra to accomplish his task (7:27-28).
GOD accomplished His purposes through special spokesmen as well. The prophets Zechariah and Haggai delivered the message of GOD, which motivated the people to complete the temple (5:1-2; 6:14). Together pagan kings, godly leaders, common people, and prophets were the LORD's hands and feet to do His bidding.
Historical Setting: (IBD) The Book of Ezra belongs to the post-exilic period. These were the years just after a remnant of the nation returned to Jerusalem following their exile of about 50 years in Babylon. The return came about after the defeat of Babylon by the Persian Empire. Unlike the Babylonians, the Persians allowed their subject nations to live in their own native regions under the authority of a ruling governor. The Persians also practiced religious tolerance, allowing each nation to worship its own god. This explains the proclamation of Cyrus of Persia, which allowed the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple.Cyrus even returned the Temple treasures that the Babylonians took when they destroyed Jerusalem about 50 years earlier (1:7-11).
Special Considerations: (IBD) Many scholars believe the Jewish people in Babylon and Persia must have numbered at least two million. Yet only about 50,000 chose to return to Jerusalem with the first group under Zerubbabel (2:64-65). This indicates that most of them probably had become comfortable with their lives in these foreign lands. Or perhaps the certainties of their present existence were more appealing than the uncertainties of life in Jerusalem - a city which most of them had never seen.
Some Bible readers are bothered by Ezra's treatment of the pagan women whom the Jewish men had married (10:10-19). How could he be so cruel as to insist that these wives be "put away" (divorced) with no means of support? His actions must be understood in light of the drastic situation that faced the Jewish community in Jerusalem following the Exile. Only a small remnant of the Covenant People had returned, and it was important for them to keep themselves from pagan idolatry and foreign cultural influences at all costs. Ezra must have realized, too, that this was one of the problems which had led to their downfall and captivity as a people in the first place. Yet even the horrors of defeat and exile by the Babylonians had failed to teach the people a lesson. He was determined to stamp out the problem this time before it became a widespread practice among GOD's Covenant People.
Personal Application: The messages of Ezra are a constant reminder of how the people of GOD can lose their heart and their ways. GOD was fulfilling his promises. In spite of that, the people of the covenant easily forget their promises and the qualities that should characterize a "royal priesthood, holy nation, people acquired by GOD" (I Peter 2:9). When this happens, GOD s plans are delayed. The errors of the holy can't frustrate GOD's plans, but they can delay or oppose them. GOD is greater than us and has ways of overcoming our limitations. However, he wants us to be obedient so that his plans are fulfilled as they have been revealed.
Christ Revealed: Ezra himself anticipates Christ in his life and the functions that he fulfills. Three particular aspects leap out of the pages:
The Holy Spirit in Action: The work of the Holy Spirit in Ezra is clearly seen in the providential action that GOD achieved through him to fulfill his promises. This is indicated with the phrase "the hand of Jehovah", which is repeated six times.
It must have been through his Spirit that the LORD "stirred...the spirit of Cyrus" (1:1) and turned "the heart of the king of Assyria" toward them (6:22). It also has to have been through the Holy Spirit that "Haggai and Zechariah prophesied" (5:1).
The work of the Holy Spirit is seen clearly in the life of Ezra, as much in terms of what he did in him, "Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of Jehovah" (7:10), as through him, "the king granted him all his request" (7:6).
| Home | Site Index | Bible Index |
| Kingdom Dynamics | Truth in Action | Links |
