Ezra
Ezra was a priest and scribe[1] (Ezra 7:11, Nehemiah 8:1-2)
Ezra the Scribe (lived in the fourth century of the fourth millennium, died on the 9th or 10th of Tevet) was a leader of the Jews during the days of the Return to Zion and the beginning of the Second Temple period. His nickname "the Scribe" describes his knowledge of the Torah and his activities in studying and copying the Torah.[2]
According to most biblical scholars he lived at the time of Artaxerxes I (about 458 B.C.)[3]
The Book of Ezra describes his initial journey by approbation of King Artaxerxes from Babylon to Jerusalem, and his ministry there.
| “ | [I]n the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah(...)—this Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to Yahweh his God’s hand on him. Some of the children of Israel, including some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God on him. For Ezra had set his heart to seek Yahweh’s law, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. (Ezra 7:1, 6-10 World English Bible (WEB) translation in the public domain) | ” |
He is accredited with the initial formation of Judaism, interpretation of the Torah of Moses, the Law of Israel. He is credited with (1) the zealous preservation of Judaism against pagan corruption and (2) the collection of the scriptures of the Old Testament into the TaNaKh, the Bible of the Jews. He is honored and regarded by many orthodox Jews as being a Second Moses.
Both Jews and Protestants teach that divine inspiration before the time of Jesus ceased with the death of Ezra (see Biblical Canon). The apocryphal book of 2 Esdras is attributed to him.
See also
References
- ↑ The Story of Ezra the Scribe in the Bible
- ↑ Another opinion explains that it was the nickname of a high official in the Persian Empire.
- ↑ Others propose a later date, during the reign of Artaxerxes II (about 398 B.C.). New American Bible (1970) footnote Ezra 7:1-8. See multiple commentaries on Ezra 7:6
External links
- Ezra the Scribe (jewishencyclopedia.com)
- Ezra: Hebrew religious leader (Britannica.com)
- Mixed Marriages as a Challenge to Identity in Second Temple Judaism, By Christian Frevel and Benedikt Rausche, Chair of Old Testament Studies, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, January 2012
- Wesley Center Online: Second Esdras (Wesley.nnu.edu)
- Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism (jewfaq.org)
