EZRA

Ezra thanks God for his help

Persian Empire

Map of the Persian Empire in 490 B.C.Public Domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia. Created by West Point's History

Department

The Decree of CyrusEzra 1:1-11; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23

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Return of Judah

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Second Temple

I. INTRODUCTIONTO THE BOOK OF EZRA

AUTHOR: Ezra DATE: 456-444 B.C.

Title and Authorship The book, named after this principal character, originally formed one work with the books of Nehemiah and Chronicles. Although Ezra is not mentioned in the book as its author, he most likely did write the book using various documents (e.g., 4:7-16), genealogies (e.g., 2:1-70), and personal memoirs (e.g., 7:27-9:15) as his sources. In the Vulgate (Latin Bible,), Ezra and Nehemiah are titled 1 and 2 Esdras, while the apocryphal book called 1 Esdras in the English text is 3 Esdras in the Vulgate.

Date Although some date the book around 330 B.C., its linguistic similarities with the fifth century Aramaic papyri from the Jewish community at Elephantine, Egypt, argue for an earlier date during the lifetime of Ezra (who lived to the time of Nehemiah, Neh. 8:1-9; 12:36). Ezra probably finished the book between 456 (when the events of 10:17-44 took place) and 444, when Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem.

Historical Backgraound The book records the fulfillment of God’s promise to restore Israel to her land after the seventy years of captivity in Babylon (Jer. 25:11). This was accomplished through the help of three Persian Kings (Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes) as well as Jewish leaders such as Zerubbabel, Joshua, Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra. Cyrus overthrew Babylon in October 539, and in accord with his policy of encouraging subject people to return to their homelands, he issued a decree in 538 allowing the Jews to do the same (see Introduction to Zechariah). About fifty thousand did return under the leadership of

Zerubbabel, and the foundation of the Temple was laid, though it was not completed until 515 in the reign of Darius. Ezra 1-6 describe these events. Chapters 7-10 describe Ezra’s return to Jerusalem under the favor of Artaxerxes to help bring spiritual revival to the people.

The Persian kings involved in this period (in relation to Ezra and other portions of the O.T.) are as follows:

King (dates) Corresponding Chapters in Ezra

Relation to Other

Books of O.T.

Cyrus 538-530

Chapters 1-6 (though there is no mention of Cambyses of Smerdis)

Haggai (520)Zechariah (520-515)

Cambyses 530-522

" " " "

Smerdis 522 " " " "Darius I 521-486

" " " "

Xerxes I (Ahasuerus) 486-465

4:6 Esther (474)

Artaxerxes I 464-423

4:7-23 and chaps. 7-10

Malachi (450-400)

Darius II 423-404

Nehemiah (445-425)

II. OUTLINE OF EZRA

I. The Return Under Zerubbabel, 1:1-6:22

A. The Decree of Cyrus, 1:1-11

B. The Census of the People, 2:1-70

1. Leaders, 2:1-22. Families, 2:3-203. Cities, 2:21-354. Priests, 2:36-395. Levites, 2:40-426. The Temple servants, 2:43-547. Solomon’s servants, 2:55-588. Uncertain genealogies, 2:59-639. Totals, 2:64-70

C. The Construction of the Temple Begun

1. Sacrifices begun, 3:1-62. Foundation begun, 3:7-13

D. The Opposition, 4:1-24

1. The comprise, 4:1-32. The campaign, 4:4-53. The climax, 4:6-24

E. The Construction Renewed, 5:1-6:12

1. The preaching of the prophets, 5:1-22. The protest of Tattenai, 5:3-173. The decree of Darius, 6:1-12

F. The Temple Completed, 6:13-22

1. The completion, 6:13-152. The dedication, 6:16-183. The Passover, 6:19-22

II. The Return Under Ezra, 7:1-10:44

A. The Return to Jerusalem, 7:1-8:36

1. The leader, Ezra, 7:1-102. The letter of Artaxerxes, 7:11-283. The journey, 8:1-36

B. The Revival of Jerusalem, 9:1-10:44

1. The condition of the people, 9:1-42. The confession of Ezra, 9:5-153. The covenant of the people, 10:1-84. The cleansing of the people, 10:9-44

■ Source of Commentaries and Outline and Bible Verses: The RYRIE Study Bible – New International Version■ Source of Images: Wikipedia, Photobucket & Christiansunite.com

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