Unity: It seems that in the Hebrew canon Ezra and Nehemiah were one book (Ezra-Nehemiah) a. Ezra Nehemiah were regarded as one by the Babylonian Talmud, 10 Josephus 11 and Melito of Sardis 12. b. Ezra probably knew Nehemiah though the Bible doesn't specifically state this as fact. 4. He was perhaps aware that under Ezra the wall-building had been stopped by the king’s command because of complaints from local enemies of the Jews (Ezra 4:12, 17–23). A. Ezra and Nehemiah were both builders, in the physical but also the spiritual sense. Ezra a famous priest and scribe a descendant from Hilkiah the high priest. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah provide our pri-mary source of information about the 100 years following the Babylonian captivity. He is the one who in 457 B.C. Haggai was the main prophet in the day of Ezra, and Zechariah was the prophet in the day of Nehemiah. Rabbi Joshua ben Levi even derived the term "Great Assembly" from Ezra's choice of words in Nehemiah 9:32; indicating that he viewed the Great Assembly as being present at the ceremony in Nehemiah 9. At one time the two books were treated as one and called Ezra. Nehemiah 8:2-18 or Ezra 1:1-13:30. Ezra and Nehemiah discuss these events in great detail. The year was 539 BC and the Jews’ period of exile in Babylon was at last over. The books of Ezra–Nehemiah were originally one scroll. It was during his reign that Ezra and Nehemiah lived and labored. The People of the Bible—Part XXI The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra and Nehemiah Summary Ezra. Ezra and Nehemiah. Those who were familiar with the message of the prophets knew God had promised that after a 70-year period of captivity, He would bring the captives back to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 25:8-11; 29:10). In Nehemiah 8-13 we have the rebuilding of Israel’s spiritual life. Origen (184–253 AD), an early Christian scholar, was the first to divide the book into two separate books. Ezra-Nehemiah builds our messianic hopes. It was during his reign that Ezra and Nehemiah lived and labored. It seems that in Old Testament times the books of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah were joined to form a continuous story. They were called 1 and 2 Ezra (or Esdras, the Greek transliteration of Ezra). In Hebrew, the books are often referred to by their prominent first word(s). 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates. Ezra shows the event of the rebuilding of the wall. It was Jerome with his Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate, who in the late 300s renamed the second book Nehemiah. The themes are returning to Jerusalem after the Exile, rebuilding the temple, restoring the wall, and then learning to walk before the Lord with sincerity and purity. He wrote the books, Ezra and Nehemiah. This history occurred during the first half of the Persian Empire, which continued from 539 b.c., when Babylon was conquered by Cyrus, until, the death of Darius III in 331 b.c., when the empire fell and was succeeded by Alexander the Great. The wall of Jerusalem had been rebuilt and the gates set up, but a large part of the city was still in ruins. Ezra and Nehemiah THOTC Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018. He is the one who in 457 B.C. Foreshadowings: We see in the Book of Ezra a continuation of the biblical theme of the remnant. Inspired by God's spirit, he tells the Israelites that they can head home and rebuild their temple. Biblical References: The book of Ezra in the Bible tells about the Jewish peoples return back to Jerusalem after they were exiled. But few people realize that these ancient events are actually prophecies for our time. Ezra 1–6 deals with the first group of returnees, who rebuilt the temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel and the spiritual guidance of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Ezra and Nehemiah were formerly counted as one book and contain the account of the restoration of the exiles to Jerusalem and the re- establishment of their worship. issued the third and final decree for the restoration of Jerusalem. issued the third and final decree for the restoration of Jerusalem. Nehemiah has the people celebrate instead of mourn when they hear the teachings, according to 8:9-12. The Post-Exilic Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were written about the period between 537 and perhaps 430 BC. Wright. Ezra And Nehemiah Commentary. They tell us of the repopulation of Palestine by the Jews, the rebuilding of the temple, and the reconstruction of the wall of Jerusalem. One of the first of these great men who followed on the very heels of the last prophets was Ezra the Scribe. 26 They served in the days of Joiakim son of Joshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest, the teacher of … Also in Nehemiah they are mentioned together. THESE are the men who were in strategic positions of authority and influence when the Lord’s time came for the Hebrew people to be released from their captivity, which began under Nebuchadnezzar and had continued through the fall of Babylon into the ascendancy of the Medo-Persian Empire. As such they provide instructive examples to us of how to be focused on God's purposes as they worked diligently, persistently, and patiently under difficult and distracting circumstances. Prophets spoke of how the restoration and transformation of Israel would happen through a Davidic king and the Holy Spirit. Background Reading: Esra reads the Law of Moses. In the ancient Hebrew manuscripts the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were written as if they were one; but the title, "The Words of Nehemiah, the son of Hachaliah" (i: 1) clearly indicate the beginning of another book, and justify the separation which was made in the Greek translation at an early period. Cyrus, Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. The canonical Book of Ezra and Book of Nehemiah are the oldest sources for the activity of Ezra, [6] whereas many of the other books ascribed to Ezra (First Esdras, 3–6 Ezra) are later literary works dependent on the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Nehemiah was governor of Judah (Nehemiah 5:14). We will be able to see many admirable qualities in these men. Name - Each book is named for its central character. Welcome to the message of Ezra-Nehemiah! Both men went back to Jerusalem during the reign of Artaxerxes. From the rubble. Ezra-Nehemiah covers three successive missions to rebuild Jerusalem. David J. Shepherd and Christopher J.H. No matter how hard-working Ezra, Nehemiah, and others were, they couldn’t circumcise people’s hearts and cause obedience like the Spirit can. Many were gathered at Jerusalem. The emphasis in the book of Ezra is the rebuilding of the Temple. Read Scripture. One of the most interesting aspects of Judah's ancient history is the events and people who were involved with the building of the second temple. Both Ezra and Nehemiah were God-fearing individuals dedicated to rebuilding Israel physically and spiritually, and both were effective to a large degree. In chapter 8 Ezra and the priests read and explain the law while standing on specially built platforms in the new temple area. In the Hebrew Bible, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were a single book. Nehemiah’s story is told in the Book of Nehemiah, part of which indeed seems to be based upon the memoirs of Nehemiah. As the curtain rises and the orchestra dramatically swells, King Cyrus of Persia has just defeated the Babylonians. After reading through Genesis to Kings, you know why the Israelites ended up in Babylon in the first place. Ezra was born in 480 B.C. There were no more prophets after them, though there never ceased to appear men of wisdom and vision in Israel who were leaders and sages, and inspired their brethren with the spirit of the Torah and of the prophets. Name. The scene was one of mournful interest. From the style and contents of the first chapter it has been argued with great plausibility that it was written by Daniel; for similar reasons it has been argued that the portion of Ezra from 3:2 to 4:22 inclusive was written by Haggai the prophet. In Nehemiah (1:1, 4, 2:9, 15) “I” is referring to Nehemiah. Many were homesick and wondered whether they would ever see their beloved city of Jerusalem again. This page is also available in: हिन्दी (Hindi) Ezra and Nehemiah recorded the history of post-exilic Jews. There are no explicit evaluations of either Ezra or Nehemiah by the narrator, typical of biblical narrative. They sang, ″By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion″ (Psalm 137:1). The prophets Haggai and Zechariah make that clear in their prophecies concerning the temple. Nehemiah’s reconstructive work in Palestine was subsequently continued by the religious leader Ezra (q.v.). 26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe. In the MT there is no space between the end of Ezra 10 and the beginning of Nehemiah 1 13. c. Jerome first called the second book Nehemiah. B. The Tanakh consists of twenty-four books: it counts as one book each Samuel, Kings, Chronicles and Ezra–Nehemiah and counts the Twelve Minor Prophets (תרי עשר ) as a single book. Ezra is the only Old Testament book to refer to the ministries of three writing prophets. The book itself, however, was compiled by a later, anonymous writer who apparently also compiled the books of Ezra and the Chronicles. The book of Ezra begins at the point where the account in Chronicles ends. Several rabbinic traditions give clear preference to Ezra, while showing ambivalence toward Nehemiah. Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1) -Ezra had been there 13 years Nehemiah is Governor for 12 years (Nehemiah 5:14 Wall built (Nehemiah 2:13; 6:15) Malachi was a prophet during this time (Nehemiah 13:10,23; Malachi 2:11; 3:8) CHRONOLOGY OF EZRA, NEHEMIAH, AND ESTHER They soon came to be called First and Second Ezra. Available at Amazon.com By Dr. Jill Firth The authors Ezra returned from captivity to Jerusalem in 458BC. On a platform of wood, erected in one of the broadest streets, and surrounded on every hand by the sad reminders of Judah's departed glory, stood Ezra, now an aged man. Ezra in Hebrew means: Help. Originally written together as a single book in the Jewish Scriptures, Ezra and Nehemiah document the fulfillment of God's promise that Israel will return home after 70 years of exile in Babylon and restore their ruined dwellings again. According to Israel’s prophets, it was the result of centuries of abandoning Yahweh for other gods, and for allowing covenant violation and social injustice. and he died in 440 B.C. He returns the sacred temple vessels stolen by the Babylonians and personally bankrolls the whole building project from his treasury . Nehemiah learned that, several years after Ezra’s return to Jerusalem, the city’s wall and gates were still in a state of disrepair. Torah. In Nehemiah it says: “we” build the wall, so both were there. The exile of Israel and their expectation of a coming Messiah may be one of the most historically and spiritually confusing sections of the Bible for many.
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