Ezra | |
|---|---|
 Ezra Reads the Law to the People byGustave Doré, 1866 | |
| Prophet and Priest | |
| Honored in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | July 13 (Catholic) Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (Eastern Orthodox) |
Ezra (fl. fifth or fourth century BCE)[1][a][b] is the main character of theBook of Ezra. According to theHebrew Bible, he was an important Jewish scribe (sofer) and priest (kohen) in the earlySecond Temple period. In the GreekSeptuagint, the name is rendered asÉsdrās (Ἔσδρας), from which the Latin nameEsdras comes. His name is probably a shortened Aramaic translation of the Hebrew nameעזריהו (Azaryahu), meaning "Yah helps".
In theHebrew Bible, or the ChristianOld Testament, Ezra is an important figure in the books ofEzra andNehemiah, which he is traditionally held to have written and edited, respectively. According to tradition, Ezra was also the author of theBooks of Chronicles and theBook of Malachi.[5][6] He is depicted as instrumental in restoring the Jewish scriptures and religion to the people after the return from theBabylonian Captivity and is a highly respected figure inJudaism.[7] He is regarded as a saint in theRoman Catholic Church, which sets his feast day as July 13, the same as that of his contemporary,Nehemiah.[8] He is also venerated as a saint in theEastern Orthodox Church, which sets his feast day on theSunday of the Holy Forefathers.[9]
There is no historical consensus on Ezra’s existence or mission due to a lack of extrabiblical evidence and conflicting scholarly interpretations, ranging from viewing him as a historicalAramean official to a literary figure, with debates hinging on the authenticity of theArtaxerxes rescript and its dating.[10]
The canonicalBook of Ezra andBook of Nehemiah are the oldest sources for the activity of Ezra.[11] Many of the other books ascribed to Ezra[12] (First Esdras, 3–6 Ezra) are later literary works dependent on the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The book ofEzra–Nehemiah was always written as one scroll.[13]
In late medieval Christian Bibles, the single book was divided into two, as First and Second Ezra. This division became Jewish practice in the first printed Hebrew bibles.[14] Modern Hebrew Bibles call the two books Ezra and Nehemiah, as do other modern Bible translations. A few parts of the Book of Ezra (4:8 to 6:18 and 7:12–26) were written inAramaic, and the majority inHebrew, Ezra himself being skilled in both languages.[15]
According to theHebrew Bible he was a descendant ofSeraiah,[16] the lastHigh Priest to serve inSolomon's Temple,[17] and a close relative ofJoshua, the first High Priest of theSecond Temple.[18] He returned from Babylonian captivity and reintroduced theTorah in Jerusalem.[19] According to1 Esdras, a Greek translation of the Book of Ezra still in use inEastern Orthodox Church, he was also a High Priest.Rabbinic Judaism supports the positions that Ezra was an ordinary member of the priesthood[20] and that he served as aHigh Priest of Israel.[21]
in the seventh year ofArtaxerxes I, theAchaemenid emperor (c. 457 BCE) sent Ezra fromBabylon to Jerusalem to teach the laws ofGod to any who did not know them. The Book of Ezra describes how he led a group of Judean exiles living inBabylon to their home city ofJerusalem[22] where he is said to have enforced observance of the Torah.
When Ezra discovered that Jewish men had been marrying foreign pagan women, he tore his garments in despair. He confessed the sins of Israel before God, then braved the opposition of some of his countrymen to purify the community by enforcing the dissolution of the sinful marriages. He was described as exhorting the Israelite people to be sure to follow the Torah Law so as not to intermarry with people of foreign blood, a set of commandments described in the Torah.[23][11] Some years later, Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah, a Jewish noble in his service, asgovernor in Jerusalem with the task of rebuilding the city walls. Once this task was completed, Nehemiah had Ezra read the Torah to the assembledIsraelites and the people and priests entered into a covenant to keep the law and separate themselves from all other peoples.[24]
Several traditions have developed over his place of burial. One tradition says that he is buried inEzra's Tomb nearBasra, Iraq while another tradition alleges that he is buried inTadef nearAleppo in northernSyria.[25][26][27][28]
According toJosephus, Ezra died and was buried "in a magnificent manner in Jerusalem."[29] If the tradition that Ezra wrote under the pen nameMalachi is correct, then he was probably buried in theTomb of the Prophets, the traditional resting place ofMalachi, along with two other prophets from Ezra's lifetime,Haggai andZechariah. However, according to archeological research, these tombs date from the 1 century BC.[30]
1 Esdras, probably from the late 2nd/early 1st centuries BCE, preserves aGreek text of Ezra and a part of Nehemiah distinctly different from that of Ezra–Nehemiah – in particular it eliminates Nehemiah from the story and gives some of his deeds to Ezra, as well as telling events in a different order. Scholars are divided on whether it is based on Ezra–Nehemiah, or reflects an earlier literary stage before the combination of Ezra and Nehemiah accounts.
The first-century Jewish historianJosephus deals with Ezra in hisAntiquities of the Jews. He uses the name Xerxes for Artaxerxes I reserving the name Artaxerxes for the later Artaxerxes II whom he identifies as the Ahasuerus of Esther, thus placing Ezra before the events of the book of Esther. Josephus' account of the deeds of Ezra derives entirely from1 Esdras, which he cites as the 'Book of Ezra' in his numeration of the Hebrew bible. Contrariwise, Josephus does not appear to recognise Ezra-Nehemiah as a biblical book, does not quote from it, and relies entirely on other traditions in his account of the deeds ofNehemiah.
Theapocalypticfourth book of Ezra (also sometimes called the 'second book of Esdras' or the 'third book of Esdras') was written c. CE 100, probably inJudeo-Aramaic, but now survives in Latin, Slavonic and Ethiopic. In this book, Ezra has a seven part prophetic revelation, converses with anangel of God three times and has four visions. Ezra, thirty years into the Babylonian Exile (4 Ezra 3:1 / 2 Esdras 1:1), recounts thesiege of Jerusalem and the destruction ofSolomon's Temple.[23] The central theological themes are "the question of theodicy, God's justness in the face of the triumph of the heathens over the pious, the course of world history in terms of the teaching of the four kingdoms,[31] the function of the law, the eschatological judgment, the appearance on Earth of the heavenly Jerusalem, theMessianic Period, at the end of which theMessiah will die,[32] the end of this world and the coming of the next, andthe Last Judgment."[23] Ezra restores the law that was destroyed with the burning of theTemple in Jerusalem. He dictates 24 books for the public (i.e. the Hebrew Bible) and another 70 for the wise alone (70 unnamed revelatory works).[33] At the end, he is taken up toheaven like Enoch andElijah.[23] Ezra is seen as a new Moses in this book.[23]
There is also another work, thought to be influenced by this one, known as theGreek Apocalypse of Ezra.
Traditionally Judaism credits Ezra with establishing theGreat Assembly of scholars and prophets, the forerunner of theSanhedrin, as the authority on matters of religious law. The Great Assembly is credited with establishing numerous features of contemporary traditional Judaism in something like their present form, includingTorah reading, theAmidah, and celebration of the feast ofPurim.[20]
InRabbinic traditions, Ezra is metaphorically referred to as the "flowers that appear on the earth" signifying the springtime in the nationalhistory of Judaism.[20] A disciple ofBaruch ben Neriah, he favored study of the Law over thereconstruction of the Temple[34] and thus because of his studies, he did not join the first party returning to Jerusalem in the reign ofCyrus. According to another opinion, he did not join the first party so as not to compete, even involuntarily, withJoshua ben Jozadak for the office ofHigh Priest of Israel.[20]
According to Jewish tradition, Ezra was the writer of theBooks of Chronicles,[20][35] and is the same prophet known also as Malachi.[36] There is a slight controversy within rabbinic sources as to whether or not Ezra had served asHigh Priest of Israel.[37]
According to theBabylonian Talmud, Ezra the Scribe is said to have enacted ten standing laws and orders,[38] which are as follows:
In the Syrian village ofTedef, a synagogue said to be the place where Ezra stopped over has been venerated by Jews for centuries. Another tradition locates his tomb near Basra, Iraq.
In Christian tradition, Ezra is considered to be the author of the book of Ezra and 1 and 2 Chronicles. Due to the strong similarity between the books of Malachi and Ezra, some Christian traditions adopt the Jewish view that Ezra was Malachi;Jerome was one prominent Christian who held this view.[41]
Early Christian writers occasionally cited Ezra as author of the apocalyptic books attributed to him.Clement of Alexandria in hisStromata referred to Ezra as an example of prophetic inspiration, quoting a section from2 Esdras. Where early Christian writers refer to the 'Book of Ezra' it is always the text of1 Esdras that is being cited.[42]
In Islam, he is known asUzair (Arabic:عزير,romanized: ʿUzayr). He was mentioned in theQur'an. Although he was not mentioned as one of theProphets of Islam, he is considered one of them by someMuslim scholars, based onIslamic traditions.[43][44] His tomb atAl-ʻUzer on the banks of theTigris nearBasra,Iraq, is a pilgrimage site for the localMarsh Arabs.[45][46] Many Islamic scholars and modern Western academics do not view Uzer as "Ezra"; for example, Professor Gordon Darnell Newby associates ‘Uzayr with Enoch andMetatron.
Scholars debate the dating of Ezra’s mission due to textual emendations and lack of extrabiblical evidence, with proposed timelines placing his activity either during the reign ofArtaxerxes I orArtaxerxes II, complicating the historical context and relationship with Nehemiah.[1] Ezra came to Jerusalem "in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the King".[47] The text does not specify whether the king in the passage refers to Artaxerxes I (465–424 BCE) or toArtaxerxes II (404–359 BCE).[48][49] Most scholars hold that Ezra lived during the rule of Artaxerxes I, though some have difficulties with this assumption:[11] Nehemiah and Ezra "seem to have no knowledge of each other; their missions seem to have no overlap". These difficulties have led many scholars to assume that Ezra arrived in the seventh year of the rule of Artaxerxes II, i.e. some 50 years after Nehemiah. This assumption would imply that the biblical account is not chronological. The last group of scholars regard "the seventh year" as a scribal error and hold that the two men were contemporaries.[11][50]However, in Nehemiah 8, Nehemiah has Ezra read the Torah to the people. So, they clearly were contemporaries working together in Jerusalem at the time the wall and the city of Jerusalem were rebuilt in contrast to the previously stated viewpoint.[51] There is a much clearer problem with the timeline in a story from Ezra 4, that tells of a letter that was sent to Artaxerxes asking to stop the rebuilding of the temple (which started during the reign of Cyrus and then restarted in the second year of Darius, in 521 BCE). Clearly no such letter could have been sent to Artaxerxes, as he only became king in 465 BCE, so apparently some events detailing the resistance of leaders of nearby peoples against the works of Nehemiah must have been confused with events during the days of Zerubbabel.[citation needed][relevant? –discuss]
There is no historicalconsensus on Ezra’s existence or mission due to a lack of extrabiblical evidence and conflicting scholarly interpretations, ranging from viewing him as a historicalAramean official to a literary figure, with debates hinging on the authenticity of theArtaxerxes rescript and its dating.[10]
Mary Joan Winn Leith inThe Oxford History of the Biblical World believes that Ezra was a historical figure whose life was enhanced in the scripture and given a theological buildup.[52] Gosta W. Ahlstrom argues the inconsistencies of thebiblical tradition are insufficient to say that Ezra, with his central position as the 'father of Judaism' in the Jewish tradition, has been a later literary invention.[53] Those who argue against the historicity of Ezra argue that the presentation style of Ezra as a leader and lawgiver resembles that of Moses. There are also similarities between Ezra the priest-scribe (but nothigh priest) and Nehemiah the secular governor on the one hand andJoshua andZerubbabel on the other hand. The early 2nd-century BCE Jewish authorBen Sira praises Nehemiah, but makes no mention of Ezra.[52]
Richard Friedman argues in his bookWho Wrote the Bible? that Ezra is the one who redacted the Torah, and in fact effectively produced the first Torah.[54] It has been argued that even if one does not accept thedocumentary hypothesis, Ezra was instrumental in the start of the process of bringing the Torah together.[55]
One particular aspect of Ezra's story considered dubious historically is the account inEzra 7 of his commission. According to it, Ezra was given truly exalted status by the king: he was seemingly put in charge of the entire western half of thePersian Empire, a position apparently above even the level of thesatraps (regional governors). Ezra was given vast hoards of treasure to take with him to Jerusalem as well as a letter where the king seemingly acknowledges the sovereignty of the God of Israel. Yet, his actions in the story do not appear to be that of someone with near unlimited government power, and the alleged letter from a Persian king is written withHebraisms and Jewish idiom.[56]
Biblical scholar Tova Ganzel has recently argued that Ezra's status as both priest and scribe fits well in itsfifth century BCE historical context in light of parallels with theBabylonian temple scribes of theNeo-Babylonian andPersian Periods.[57]
A textual emendation in Ezra 7:7 shifts the work of Ezra from the seventh to the thirty-seventh year of Artaxerxes and thus by extension, following Neh 13, into the second phase of Nehemiah's activity in the year 428 BCE. Since this is a rather arbitrary solution, the dating under Artaxerxes II Mnemon (405/4-359/58 BCE) is discussed in scholarship as an alternative to the dating of Ezra under Artaxerxes I Longimanus (465-424/23 BCE), so that the appearance of Ezra in Jerusalem after Nehemiah occurs in the year 398 BCE. The difficulty of reading the Torah in the square in front of the Water Gate in the Nehemiah Report can then only be solved in terms of editorial history, which is often underpinned by the Greek 1 Esdras, where Neh 8 follows Ezra 7-10…There are no compelling arguments for dating Ezra. The fact that the question cannot be decided from a historical perspective is due to the lack of any tangible historical details regarding Ezra, for whom no extrabiblical indications exist.
There are no compelling arguments for dating Ezra. The fact that the question cannot be decided from a historical perspective is due to the lack of any tangible historical details regarding Ezra, for whom no extrabiblical indications exist. Here, too, scholarship oscillates between the historical figure of a rich Aramean official and the literarily transfigured legend of Moses redivivus. As with Nehemiah, historical evaluation faces the difficulty of a highly artificial integration of notes about Ezra into a network of biblical reference texts, especially from the Torah. At the textual level, this presupposes the validity of the Torah, which is usually linked to Ezra 7. An evaluation depends on the source value of the Artaxerxes rescript in Ezra 7:12-26. In the maximalist view, Ezra's mission is considered historical because of the Aramaic language; in the minimalist view, even Ezra's existence is denied. Sebastian Grätz's analysis, for example, denies the Achaemenid period background of the document and assigns it to the Hellenistic period.
Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Ezra the Scribe".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
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