Ezra the scribe3/11/2023 ![]() He showed his doubts concerning the correctness of some words of the text by placing points over them. Ezra reestablished the text of the Pentateuch, introducing therein the Assyrian or square characters, apparently as a polemical measure against the Samaritans (Sanh. According to another opinion, Ezra remained behind so as not to compete, even involuntarily, with Jeshua ben Jozadak for the office of chief priest. ![]() R.) his studies prevented him from joining the first party returning to Jerusalem in the reign of Cyrus, the study of the Law being of greater importance than the reconstruction of the Temple. Ezra was the disciple of Baruch ben Neriah (Cant. But for its sins, Israel in the time of Ezra would have witnessed miracles as in the time of Joshua (Ber. It was forgotten, but Ezra restored it (Suk. Ezra was worthy of being the vehicle of the Law, had it not been already given through Moses (Sanh.21b). "The flowers appear on the earth" ( Song of Solomon 2:12) refers to Ezra and Nehemiah (Midr. ![]() Ezra is further mentioned as the leader or one of the two choirs singing hymns of thanksgiving at the dedication of the wall ( Nehemiah 12:36 et seq.), but this note is suspected of being a gloss of questionable historical value.Įzra marks the springtime in the national history of Judaism. Nehemiah 8:1 et seq.) that he published the "book of the law of Moses" which he had brought with him from Babylon, and made the colony solemnly recognize it as the basis of their religious and civil code. Soon after his arrival Ezra was compelled to take strenuous measures against marriage with non-Hebrew women (which had become common even among men of high standing), and he insisted in a very dramatic manner upon the dismissal of such wives ( Ezra 9 and ) but it was only after the arrival of NEHEMIAH (444 B.C. After observing a day of public fasting and prayer, on the twelfth day of the first month (Nisan = April), without military escort but with due precaution for the safeguarding of the rich gifts and treasures in their keeping, they set out on their journey, and arrived without mishap at Jerusalem in the fifth month (Ab = August). But no Levite being among them, Ezra induced 38 Levites and 220 Nethinim to join his expedition. To the number of about 1, 500, mostly from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin ( Ezra 8:1-14), not counting the women and children, the companions of Ezra assembled at the river flowing toward AHAVA. Probably the reputation he enjoyed for learning (hence "the ready scribe": Ezra 7:6) stood him in good stead with the king, who in the firman appears to have conferred upon him extensive authority to carry his intention into effect. Wellhausen, "Die Rückkehr der Juden," pp. Meyer, "Die Entstehung des Judenthums," 1896, pp. 103 et seq.) that Ezra arrived in Jerusalem only during the second visit of Nehemiah (433 B.C.), can not be maintained (see Ed. Though received with greater favor, the assumption of Kosters (in "Het Herstel van Israel," German ed. 537 Kuenen, "Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur Bibl. 252 Piepenbring, "Histoire du Peuple d'Israel," p. Winckler, "Altorientalische Forschungen," 2:2 Cheyne, in "Biblical World," Oct., 1899), is untenable (see Guthe, "Gesch. van Hoonacker's contention ("Néhémie et Esdras," etc., Paris, 1890) that Ezra came to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes II. Nor is there any ground for holding that the king in question was any other than Artaxerxes Longimanus. 550) at their utmost reflect on the verbal, not the virtual, accuracy of the decree. 264 Driver, "Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament," 10th ed., p. The arguments advanced for the opposite view (Cornill, "Einleitung in das Alte Testament," p. There is no reason to doubt the authenticity of the document as incorporated in Aramaic in the Book of Ezra, though Jewish coloring may be admitted. This edict was issued in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, corresponding to 458 B.C. The first definite mention of him is in connection with a royal firman granting him permission to lead a band of exiles back to Jerusalem ( Ezra 7:12-26). ![]() The name, probably an abbreviation of "Azaryahu" (God helps), appears in Greek (LXX., Apocrypha, Josephus) and in Latin (Vulgate) as "Esdras." Though Ezra was one of the most important personages of his day, and of far-reaching influence upon the development of Judaism, his biography has to be reconstructed from scanty material, furnished in part by fragments from his own memoirs (see EZRA, BOOK OF). 2 Kings 25:18-21) a member of the priestly order, and therefore known also as Ezra the Priest ( : Ezra 7:11 10:10,16). ![]() A descendant of Seraiah the high priest ( Nehemiah 8:13 Ezra 7:1 et seq. ![]()
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