2 Esdras
The Second Book of Esdras (IV Esdras) is found in the books of the Septuagint, the Old Testament accepted as inspired and canonical by the Orthodox Church in the Greek Orthodox Bible, and found in the books of the Old Testament of the Vulgate. The core of the book, the "Jewish Apocalypse of Ezra", 2 Esdras 3–14, is canonical scripture in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It is not recognized as canonical by Jews, Catholics, Orthodox, or Protestants. It was not included in the canon of scripture by the Third Council of Carthage (397). Since the Council of Trent it is not accepted as inspired and canonical by the Catholic Church in the Catholic Bible—books of the Bible accepted as divinely inspired by the majority of Christian believers in the United States.[1][2]
The apocryphal book of 2 Esdras is included in many English translations of the Bible. In printed Bibles of the 17th through 18th and 19th centuries, II Esdras (2 Esdras) was listed as IV Esdras (4 Esdras), the Book of Ezra was called I Esdras (1 Esdras), the Book of Nehemiah was called II Esdras (2 Esdras), and I Esdras (not Ezra) was called III Esdras (3 Esdras), hence this book was designated IV Esdras (4 Esdras). This has been a source of some confusion for many beginning students of the Bible.
While 1 Esdras (3 Esdras) is presented as an historical text, 2 Esdras (4 Esdras) is an example of a Jewish apocalypse, similar to parts of the Book of Daniel and the Book of Enoch, and to Christian works such as the Book of Revelation. It describes seven visions given to Ezra, three of which come in answer to his questions about human suffering as related to God's justice. Its outlook is profoundly pessimistic. The vast majority of humanity as well as many Jews will be eternally damned. God is unconcerned about the fate of those who do not obey him. Ezra himself is presented as a paragon of righteousness and asceticism, chosen by God to renew the divine word of the sacred scriptures to the chosen people.
II Esdras was first included in the Apocrypha by Martin Luther in the 16th century.
See Apocrypha.
Naming and numbering
The naming and numbering of this book is varied. In some early Latin manuscripts it is "3 Esdras". Jerome titled it 4 Esdras in the Vulgate. Books that Jerome called 1 and 2 Esdras were later called the Book of Ezra (1 Esdras) and the Book of Nehemiah (2 Esdras). The designation 2 Esdras (for 3 Esdras) became common in most English Bibles, but not all of them. It appears in the Appendix to the Old Testament in the Slavonic Bible as 3 Esdras. The Georgian Bible numbers it 3 Ezra, with the canonical Book of Ezra (Ezra-Nehemiah combined) being called 1 Esdras and the book known in most English editions as 1 Esdras labeled as "2 Esdras" (which makes 2 Esdras "3 Esdras"—"3 Ezra").
Contents
The extant text of 2 Esdras states it was written by "Ezra", the name of the great Jewish priest-scribe and leader who primarily established Second Temple Judaic tradition after the Babylonian exile. This same author Ezra is also called "Salathiel" in the book, which could make him the father of the exile leader Zerubbabel, rather than Ezra the Scribe, since Zerubbabel is of the line of David, and Ezra the priest-scribe is of the line of Aaron.
Christian interpolations
The Greek form of this book in the Septuagint does not have the first two chapters of 2 Esdras which appear in the Latin version of the book. For this reason most scholars hold them to be of Christian origin, because they speak of the the Messiah in Christian terms and assert God's rejection of the Jews in words resembling Christian theological language of the second and third centuries.
"I gathered you as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but now, what shall I do to you? I will cast you out from my presence." (1:30) —Compare Matthew 23:37; Luke13:34; Deuteronomy 32:10-18.
This section also contains a vision of the the Messiah as the Son of God who ministers to the martyred saints in heaven:
"Then I said to the angel, 'Who is that young man who places crowns on them and puts palms in their hands?' He answered and said to me, 'He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world.'" (2:46-47) —Compare Revelation 6:9-11; Daniel 7:13-14, 27.
Because of their apparently Christian character, many scholars and students of the Bible regard these chapters as late second or third century Christian additions to the work.
Ezra's three questions
Chapters 3–14, the main text of 2 Esdras, is presented as a Jewish apocalypse of seven revelations given to Ezra while he was in Babylon. Ezra "the Scribe," is here also a great prophet, a new Moses who fasts and prays in the wilderness as he is being prepared by God to renew God's Law to the people.
The archangel Uriel is Ezra's guide and teacher, sent from God.
In the first vision, Ezra asks God how Israel can be kept in such misery if God is just. Uriel is sent to answer him, responding that God's ways cannot be understood by the human mind. But the end of the current world will come soon, and God's justice will be manifest.
In the second vision, Ezra asks why Israel was delivered up to the Babylonians. He is told that man cannot understand God's ways, and that the end is near.
In the third vision, Ezra asks why Israel, as God's chosen people, does not possess the world. Uriel tells him the current state of the people is a period of transition. The fate of evil-doers, who are the vast majority of mankind, as well as many Jews, is described—compared to the fate of the few righteous ones who will be saved. As Ezra attempts to intercede for those who are so harshly condemned, he is told that no one can escape his destiny.
Ezra is deeply concerned with fairness, justice, and with theodicy, the problem of evil—why good people suffer, and why evil prospers, if God is both almighty and just—and the fact that, because the world is populated primarily by sinners, the vast majority of human souls will suffer eternal damnation. God answers that he cares only for the few truly good people like Ezra.
"I will rejoice over the few who shall be saved, because it is they who have made my glory to prevail now, and through them my name has now been honored. And I will not grieve over the multitude of those who perish; for it is they who are now like a mist, and are similar to a flame and smoke—they are set on fire and burn hotly, and are extinguished." (8:61-62)
Ezra is told that God has predestined from the beginning of creation those who are to be saved and those who are to be condemned, and it is not for Ezra, a mere human, to intervene on behalf of the damned, even when their fate seems cruel to him. No one can escape his fate, and even the prayers of parents begging for the lives of their children cannot influence the eternal decree of the sovereign and almighty God. This is the same doctrine of double predestination also found in Calvinism.
Four symbolic visions
The fourth vision is of a woman mourning for her only son, who is transformed into a city when she hears of the desolation of Jerusalem and its temple. Uriel explains that the woman is a symbol of the holy city.
The fifth vision shows Ezra an eagle with three heads and 20 wings (12 large wings and eight smaller ones), which is rebuked by a lion and then burned. Uriel interprets this as a symbol the fourth kingdom of the vision of Daniel, and the wings and heads as rulers. The vision presents the triumph of the Messiah over this empire.
The sixth vision is of a man, representing the Messiah, who breathes fire on the crowd attacking him. He then turns toward another peaceful multitude, which accepts him.
Ezra transcribes the scriptures
The seventh vision concerns the restoration of sacred scripture. God appears to Ezra in a bush and commands him to restore the Law. Ezra gathers five scribes and begins to dictate. After 40 days, he has produced 94 books: the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible and 70 secret works which he is not to reveal to the masses. This vision contained in the Greek text is omitted in the Latin translation of the text.
Purpose
While for Job the question is why what appears to be clearly unfair suffering is imposed by God on a righteous man (Job), in 2 Esdras it is the question of why God allows so many people to be eternally damned, and why he has allowed his beloved people of Israel to suffer. The answer given to Ezra is like that given to Job: God is absolutely sovereign, and his ways are not to be questioned by mere humans.
Lost verses
Most Latin editions trace their common origin to one early manuscript, Codex Sangermanensis, which was missing an entire page, a large lacuna (a section of missing text) of about 70 verses between 7:36 and 7:37. An 1895 published critical edition restored the lost verses, numbered 7:36 to 7:106, with the verses formerly numbered 7:37–7:69 in the defective manuscripts renumbered to 7:107–7:137. The final two chapters of 2 Ezra found in the Latin version are not in the Eastern Greek texts. These chapters predict wars led by the Messiah (called "son of God") and harshly rebuke sinners. Many suggest that these chapters also date from a much later period (late third century?) and may be Christian in origin, possibly that they were added at the same time as the first two chapters of the Latin version. It is also possible that they are actually Jewish in origin, having been found in some Greek manuscripts which most scholars agree were translated from a Hebrew original.
Usage
The book is considered an outstanding and valuable example of Jewish apocalyptic literature. It was widely cited by early Church Fathers, especially Ambrose of Milan. The core of the book, the "Jewish Apocalypse of Ezra", 2 Esdras 3-14, is canonical scripture in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
The introitus of the traditional Requiem in the Catholic Church is drawn from 2 Esdras 2:34-35:
- "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them."
Several other liturgical prayers are taken from the book. Pope Clement VIII placed the book in an appendix after the New Testament with the rest of the Apocrypha, "lest they perish entirely" (the Clementine Vulgate).
Historical-critical textual analysis
Study of 2 Esdras is complicated by the probability that some chapters may have been added to the beginning of the book and that later chapters may also suffer from similar additions, though this is debatable. Despite these and other difficulties with the text, the bulk of the work is considered one of the gems of Jewish apocalypticism.
Critics have widely debated the origin of the book. Hidden under two layers of translation and probably the work of more than one writer, it is difficult to determine whether the primary Jewish author hailed from Alexandria, Jerusalem, Rome, or some other location. Although it claims to have been written by Ezra/Salathiel around 400 B.C., internal evidence suggests a much later date, probably late A.D. first century, with other sections possibly added even later.
Most scholars today suggest the most likely date for the composition of 2 Esdras is sometime after Titus' destruction of the Second Temple in A.D. 70. The scholarly interpretation of the eagle of 2 Esdras 5 being the Roman Empire (whose heads might be Vespasian, Titus and Domitian, if that is the case) indicate that the probable date of composition is toward the end of the first century, perhaps 90–96, though some suggest a date as late as 218.
It is an open question among critics whether even the main body of the book—apart from the chapters found only in the Latin version—has a single author. Some see evidence of no fewer than five hands at work on the text. Others argue that, except for the apparently late Christian (?) interpolations, the book is most certainly written by one author. Even the "Christian" chapters are defended by some commentators as representing a Jewish concept of the Messiah as a supernatural being, as occasionally appears in later Midrashim and in the Talmudic rabbinical tradition.
References
- ↑ The Catholic Church is the world's largest Christian body comprised of several distinct "Rites". The Catholic Church (Latin Rite) is the largest religious body in the United States, with over 60 million adherents (4 times as large as the second largest church, the Orthodox).
“The Global Catholic Population,” © 2011, Pew Research Center.
The Largest Catholic Communities
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also referred to as the Orthodox Church and Orthodoxy, is the second largest Christian church in the world, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents, most of whom live in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Russia.
The Greek (Eastern) Orthodox Church. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Of America (1983). Retrieved on 7 May 2014.
Christianity:Basics:Eastern Orthodox Church Denomination. about.com. Retrieved on 22 May 2014.
Christianity. Major Branches of Religions Ranked by Number of Adherents. adherents.com. Retrieved on 22 May 2014. - ↑ See Percentage of Christians in Protestant Denominations (29.5%).
- Coggins, R.J., and Michael A. Knibb. The First and Second Books of Esdras. The Cambridge Bible commentary, New English Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. ISBN 9780521097574
- Myers, Jacob Martin. I and II Esdras. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1974. ISBN 9780385004268
- Taylor, Leslie, John. Extra-Biblicals: Forgotten Books of the Bibles. [S.l.]: 1st Books, 2003. ISBN 9781410735676
See also
External links
The Old Testament Text. (wmcarey.edu/browning/Classes)
Apocrypha: 2 Esdras (text online) (sacred-texts.com)
Greek and English Septuagint
Latin and English Vulgate
Kings James Apocrypha Online