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Book 15 of 39 · History

Ezra

The Complete Story19:38

Overview

Ezra tells how Jewish exiles returned from Babylon to Judah under Persian rule and rebuilt the temple and community in Jerusalem. It opens with the decree of Cyrus in 538 BC, repeating the last words of 2 Chronicles, and closes in about 458 BC. In the Hebrew Bible Ezra and Nehemiah were counted as one book. Tradition credits Ezra with the work, and many scholars see it as part of the same broad tradition as Chronicles. Parts are written in Aramaic (4:8–6:18 and 7:12–26), the official language of the Persian empire, quoting royal letters and decrees.

The book has two halves separated by about sixty years. The first (chapters 1–6) covers the first return under Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and the rebuilding of the temple, finished in 516 BC. The second (7–10) follows Ezra the priest and scribe, who comes from Babylon in the seventh year of Artaxerxes (458 BC) to teach the law, and confronts a crisis of intermarriage. The precise order of some Persian kings and letters in chapter 4 is debated; the writer groups opposition thematically rather than strictly by date.

Structure: Part 1 the first return and the altar (chapters 1–3); Part 2 opposition and the finished temple (4–6); Part 3 Ezra's journey (7–8); Part 4 Ezra's prayer and the people's response (9–10).

Part 1 — The First Return (chapters 1–3)

Cyrus's decree (1). "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus." The king proclaims that the God of heaven has charged him to build a house at Jerusalem, and that any of God's people may go up, helped by their neighbours with silver, gold, goods and livestock. Cyrus returns the temple vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken; his treasurer Mithredath counts 5,400 gold and silver articles to Sheshbazzar, "the prince of Judah".

The returnees (2). A long list names those who came back, led by Zerubbabel (a descendant of David) and Jeshua the high priest: families by clan and town, priests, Levites, 128 singers of Asaph's line, gatekeepers and temple servants. Some priests cannot prove their descent and are barred from the priesthood until a priest with Urim and Thummim arises. The whole assembly numbers 42,360, with 7,337 servants and 200 singers, horses, mules, camels and donkeys. Family heads give freewill offerings for the house of God.

The altar and the foundation (3). In the seventh month the people gather "as one man" in Jerusalem. "Fear was upon them because of the people of those countries", yet Jeshua and Zerubbabel rebuild the altar on its old base and restore the daily burnt offerings and the Feast of Tabernacles. In the second year they lay the foundation of the temple, using cedar from Lebanon as Solomon had. Priests with trumpets and Levites with cymbals praise God "after the ordinance of David": "For he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel." The people shout for joy, but many older priests and leaders who had seen the first house weep aloud, "so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping."

Part 2 — Opposition and the Finished Temple (chapters 4–6)

Help refused, work hindered (4:1–5). "The adversaries of Judah and Benjamin" offer to help: "we seek your God, as ye do." Zerubbabel and Jeshua refuse, citing Cyrus's commission. The people of the land then discourage and frighten the builders and hire counsellors against them "all the days of Cyrus… even until the reign of Darius".

Letters to Persian kings (4:6–24). The writer gathers later examples of opposition. Under Xerxes (Ahasuerus) an accusation is lodged; under Artaxerxes, Rehum and Shimshai write that Jerusalem is "the rebellious and the bad city", and that if its walls are finished it will stop paying taxes. Artaxerxes finds that Jerusalem had rebelled in the past and orders the work stopped, and it is halted "by force and power". The narrative then returns to the temple: the work ceased until the second year of Darius (520 BC).

The prophets stir the builders (5). Haggai and Zechariah prophesy, and Zerubbabel and Jeshua begin again, "and with them were the prophets of God helping them." Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, asks who authorised the building, but "the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews", so the work is not stopped while he writes to Darius. The elders' reply is quoted: they are "the servants of the God of heaven and earth", rebuilding the house destroyed because their fathers had provoked God, under Cyrus's decree.

Darius confirms the decree (6:1–12). A search finds a scroll in the citadel of Ecbatana in Media recording Cyrus's decree, even with the temple's dimensions and the order that costs be paid from the royal treasury. Darius tells Tattenai to leave the work alone, to fund it from the taxes of the province, and to supply animals, wheat, salt, wine and oil for sacrifices, "that they may… pray for the life of the king, and of his sons". Anyone who alters the edict is to be impaled on a beam from his own house.

Dedication and Passover (6:13–22). The temple is finished on the third of Adar in the sixth year of Darius (516 BC), "according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes". It is dedicated with joy: 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and 12 goats as a sin offering "for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes". Priests and Levites are set in their divisions "as it is written in the book of Moses". On the fourteenth of the first month the returned exiles keep the Passover, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations to seek the LORD, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, "for the LORD had made them joyful."

Part 3 — Ezra Comes to Jerusalem (chapters 7–8)

Ezra introduced (7:1–10). "After these things", in the reign of Artaxerxes, Ezra comes up from Babylon. His genealogy runs back to Aaron. He is "a ready scribe in the law of Moses", and "the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him." The key verse: "Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments" (7:10). The journey takes four months.

Artaxerxes' letter (7:11–28). The king's Aramaic decree allows any Israelite, priest or Levite to go with Ezra; sends silver and gold from the king and his counsellors for offerings; orders provincial treasurers to supply Ezra up to set limits; exempts temple staff from taxes; and authorises Ezra to appoint magistrates and judges who know the law of his God, and to teach those who do not. Ezra breaks into praise: "Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD."

Gathering at Ahava (8:1–20). The family heads who travel with Ezra are listed. Camped three days by the river Ahava, Ezra finds no Levites and sends to Iddo at Casiphia, who supplies Sherebiah and others, with 220 temple servants.

Fasting and the journey (8:21–36). Ezra proclaims a fast "that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones." He was "ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers", having said, "The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him." God hears. Ezra weighs out the silver, gold and vessels to twelve leading priests, who guard them on the road; God delivers them "from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way." In Jerusalem everything is weighed again in the temple and recorded, and the returned exiles offer burnt offerings for all Israel: twelve bulls, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs and twelve goats.

Part 4 — Confession and Covenant (chapters 9–10)

The report (9:1–4). Leaders tell Ezra that many people, including priests, Levites and leaders, have not kept separate from the peoples of the land and their practices, and have taken their daughters as wives, so that "the holy seed have mingled themselves". Ezra tears his garment and mantle, pulls hair from his head and beard and sits "astonied" until the evening sacrifice. "Every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel" gathers around him.

Ezra's prayer (9:5–15). At the evening sacrifice Ezra kneels and spreads out his hands: "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee… for our iniquities are increased over our head." He recalls the guilt that led to exile and the grace now shown: God has left a remnant, given "a nail in his holy place", and "a little reviving in our bondage", and has not forsaken them in Persia. He acknowledges that they have broken the commands against such marriages, given so that they would not be drawn after other gods, and ends without asking for anything: "behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this."

Shecaniah's proposal (10:1–8). A great assembly of men, women and children gathers, weeping bitterly. Shecaniah son of Jehiel speaks: "We have trespassed against our God… yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing." He proposes a covenant to send away the foreign wives and their children "according to the law", and urges Ezra, "Arise… be of good courage, and do it." Ezra has the leaders swear, then fasts and mourns. A proclamation summons all the returned exiles to Jerusalem within three days, on pain of losing their property and being excluded from the assembly.

The assembly in the rain (10:9–17). On the twentieth of the ninth month (December) all the men of Judah and Benjamin sit in the square before the temple, "trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain." Ezra calls them to confess and separate. They agree, though a few oppose, but ask for an orderly process because of the rain and the size of the matter. Leaders and town elders and judges hear each case, finishing within three months.

The list (10:18–44). The book closes with the names of those who had married foreign wives, beginning with members of the high priest Jeshua's own family, then priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers and laymen. Some had children by these marriages. The book ends there, without further comment.

Key themes, and the bridge to Nehemiah

  • God keeps his word. The return fulfils Jeremiah's seventy years; God works through pagan kings, Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, "turning their hearts".
  • The hand of God. Repeated phrases such as "the hand of the LORD his God upon him" and "the eye of their God" show God guiding events without dramatic miracles.
  • Worship restored. Altar, foundation, temple, festivals and priestly order are re-established "as it is written".
  • Opposition and perseverance. Discouragement, accusation and official delay are overcome through prophetic encouragement and patient appeal to the law.
  • The word of God at the centre. Ezra the scribe embodies a community shaped by studying, doing and teaching the Torah.
  • Holiness and identity. The intermarriage crisis reflects fears of losing the people's distinct faith, as before the exile. Readers have long wrestled with the painful outcome, and the book records it soberly.

Ezra ends abruptly with a list of names: the temple stands and the law is being taught, but the community's faithfulness remains fragile and Jerusalem's walls are still broken. Nehemiah continues the story about thirteen years later, when news of the ruined walls reaches a Jewish cupbearer in the Persian court.