Ezra (Scribe)

Biblical Record

Ezra first appears in chapter 7 of the Book of Ezra. Scripture introduces him as a priest descended from Aaron and as "a ready scribe in the law of Moses" (Ezra 7:6). His name is understood to mean "help." Ezra 1–6 recounts the first return under King Cyrus and the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel; Ezra was active at a later time.

• Return: In the seventh year of the Persian king Artaxerxes, Ezra received a royal decree and led a group of the Babylonian exiles back to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:7–26). Before setting out, at the river Ahava, he did not ask the king for an armed escort but instead fasted and sought God's protection (Ezra 8:21–23).
• The problem of intermarriage: Upon learning that members of the returned community had intermarried with the surrounding peoples, he tore his garments and offered a prayer of repentance (Ezra 9). The people then resolved to send away their foreign wives and the children born to them (Ezra 10).
• Reading of the law: In the time of Nehemiah, he read the book of the law in the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, while the Levites explained its meaning so that the people understood (Nehemiah 8:1–8). The Feast of Tabernacles was then observed.
• Dedication of the wall: At the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem, he led one of the processions (Nehemiah 12:36).

Significance Within Scripture

Ezra is portrayed as the figure who reestablished the postexilic community around the law. The verse "For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments" (Ezra 7:10) is regarded as a summary of his life. Ezra's name does not appear in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Issues

• Dating: Depending on whether the Artaxerxes in question is Artaxerxes I or Artaxerxes II, Ezra's return is dated either to around 458 BC or to around 398 BC. Accordingly, scholars also differ on whether Ezra or Nehemiah was active first.
• The dissolution of marriages: Some interpreters read the episode as a model of the covenant community's purity and of repentance; others, comparing it with the story of the Moabite woman Ruth, argue that the suffering the foreign wives and children must have endured should also be taken into account.
• Extrabiblical traditions: Jewish tradition holds that Ezra founded the "Great Assembly," restored and organized the law, and wrote 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles. The Jewish apocalyptic work 4 Ezra also contains an account in which Ezra has the lost books dictated and written down anew. These traditions are not found in the biblical text, and views also differ on who should be regarded as the author of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

In the Korean Church

Ezra 7:10 is frequently cited in sermons emphasizing a life of learning, practicing, and teaching the Word, and it is also used as a text of exhortation for Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders. The scene of the reading of the law in Nehemiah 8 is often addressed in sermons on the restoration of the community through the Word.